The Manic Pixie Polymath

He’s a Renaissance Man!

He’s a go-getter.

The man is non-stop.

What can’t this guy do?

I don’t know about you; but I grew up thinking women could do anything men could do.

When people tried to tell me not to climb the monkey bars, shoot hoops, or spit, I told them they could take several seats.

Men could beat me out of trying things, or refuse to coach me because “where will she change?” But, they couldn’t keep me from dominating when I was finally asked to play. They’d regret telling me to “earn my place” or “prove it”.

Men couldn’t stop me from putting in the work go from “most improved” to “most valuable player” or risking my body to save the game in overtime. Men couldn’t stop me from out-learning them.

I’ve always looked for areas in which my ability to outlast or outplay my opponent was my greatest asset, because I was born intense and thirsty for new experiences. I didn’t want to just try one fun thing and see if I could win it. I wanted to win it all.

So, it’s no surprise that I’ve worn substantial hats in my career, and - as a former actress - ya girl can rock a hat.

But, when it came down to my resume, I felt stuffed into pencil skirt.

Whereas my male colleagues could list their experiences trying out entrepreneurial ventures, running a pickleball league, or taking improv classes, and be told “good for you!” “What a go-getter!” “What valuable experience!”

I was counseled to remove any experiences that could make me appeared “scattered” or “unfocused”. I mean, people already worry that “you have had so many jobs”. (I countered, “is 4 promotions in 6 years too many jobs?” That seems suss.)

But as I work longer in the entrepreneurial space, I realize that even here - in the Wild West - it’s run by men who perceive women as unable to hyphenate.

Venture Capital firms run by recent Stanford grads whose work experience includes only 2 other failed companies in as many years, find it so easy to tell you that they aren’t investing in you because they want someone who’s “only focused in the tech space” - or some similarly limited and naive view of how any business grows, balances, and funds a virtuous cycle. 

This same VC, will turn around and site Tim Ferriss, Seth Godin, or Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as their idols when every single one of these men considers themselves a multi-hyphenate. Or a polymath. They are allowed to wear many hats, do many things, and use all of that experience to build their businesses. No one calls them “Manic Pixie Dreamboys”. (Though, perhaps, we should.)

These same men will try to limit the description of the Oprahs, Brene’ Browns, and Glennon Doyles of the world. To them, these are “authors” who only speak to “women”.

So, I’m done playing within this ridiculous sandbox of nonsense. This box doesn’t fit. Your inability to accept value from a well-rounded woman that you would gladly welcome from a man is tired and outdated.

Yes.

Yes, I did excel at Cheerleading as a three-time All-American and NCA Brand Ambassador before I became a full time actress with an Equity Card in New York City, where I then leveraged my leadership abilities from 13 years of leading Rotary youth camps to become a full time producer who wrote and performed in 2 Off-Broadway shows to sold out audiences.

I then was a finalist on a fitness reality television show and took 3 years working as a personal trainer in which I became a triathlete, marathoner and a coach for age-group winning athletes.

Next, I went to business school where I was on the leadership team for the Media, Marketing, Running, and Wine Club. I also did a semester abroad in India and studied in China, Germany, and Japan.

I’ve worked on 3 Olympic Brands - 2 worth over a Billion dollars - and have consulted for 10 start ups in a variety of roles.

I love encouraging others, so I also serve on the boards for local arts groups, where I sometimes teach camps and mentor young business leaders.

I’ve taken on private coaching, writing strategic frameworks, and speaking all while still managing the occasional performance in a play. Just for fun.

I’m not dimming my spectrum of shine anymore.

Stop telling men they can be polymaths while telling women they seem “unfocused”.

It’s gross, and we see you.

A broad spectrum of experience means we know how to approach any situation and untangle it. A past of starting from the beginning, learning something new, then mastering it, means that we are resilient and can quickly pivot when the world turns. A life spent traveling, running different kinds of teams, and playing different roles, means we can be empathetic when others are hostile.

A life as a woman means that we are accustomed to doing all of this exhausted, because studies show that it is 30% harder for women to get hired than their male counterparts.

So, I’m coming out.

I’m not staying in the little box that looks “professional” to a small segment of sheltered male egos.

I have been a Professional:

• Cheerleader

• Vocalist

• Actor

• Producer

• Improver 

• Personal Trainer

• Speaker

• Writer

• Coach

• Brand Manager

• Founder

• CEO

• CMO

• Strategist

• Board Member

• President

And I don’t intend to stop anytime soon.

I’m not a Manic Pixie Dreamgirl.

I am a well-rounded, responsible, leader with wide-ranging insight and experience, and when you work with me, you get them all.

So, bring it on. (Pun intended.)

*data sited is from https://www.womenontopp.com/do-women-have-fewer-chances-of-getting-hired-than-men/#google_vignette

Related studies:
https://theconversation.com/women-work-harder-than-men-our-anthropological-study-reveals-why-196826#:~:text=assess%20their%20workloads.-,Women%20work%20harder,and%20by%20their%20activity%20trackers.
https://www.weforum.org/stories/2018/10/women-are-more-productive-than-men-at-work-these-days/#:~:text=First%2C%20both%20men%20and%20women,they're%20being%20more%20industrious.

and the defining statistic from the Bureau of Labor Statistics: https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2023/employment-differences-of-men-and-women-narrow-with-educational-attainment.htm#:~:text=In%202022%2C%2067.9%20percent%20of,with%2055.4%20percent%20of%20women.

A Drop in the Ocean

Are you making a difference? (And why maybe this isn’t the only question to ask.)

“Keep your head down.”

“Watch that guy over there. Do what he does.”

“Ah, don’t worry so much about your next job.”

“Love the passion, but…”

It’s easy to feel like what you’re doing isn’t enough.

We look at the world around us and think, “Why am I not to my Eras Tour, yet?” (Well, maybe not everyone is thinking that.) Us Type A/High-Performers can find all sorts of reasons why what we’re doing isn’t enough. And we will go through some exhausting gymnastics to do it.

If we’re not rated “Excellent” by every person who has ever met us, if we don’t manage to shut down every single bad practice, if we cannot make each day of our child’s life the happiest day, we’re willing to throw our whole proverbial baby out with the bathwater.

We must be useless. Middling, at best. No good. Coasting. The worst.

Whatever the story is that you tell yourself, have you ever considered it might be the very thing keeping you from “reaching your potential”? Have you ever considered that you might possibly be the greatest you that you could ever be? Have you ever considered that others might wish they were you?

We were plagued by the idea of “settling” growing up. Raised by parents fresh out of Vietnam and the Civil Rights Movement (or grandparents), nothing that we did was ever considered, truly, “having it all”.

Most banks would not allow women to open accounts without male relatives’ or husband’s assistance until 1974. That means that there are women still alive who still know for certain what it means to be tethered to daddy’s wallet and a husband’s prospects. They were afraid that if they slipped up just a little bit, their children would be damaged and abandoned, and the freedom that took 100s of years to earn would be gone in a flash.

This thinking isn’t wrong; but it certainly puts a high regard on excelling within the societal framework established by Capitalism and the so-called “Patriarchy”.

If you didn’t think, act, and succeed “like a man” (a lesson for a whole ‘nother day), then you were out of a job, an income, and back under the thumb of the men that raised you. If you weren’t also polite, “properly dressed”, and humble; then, you were an *itch that needed to be scratched out - possibly permanently.

So, we come by this need to succeed honestly and with hefty incentive; but we haven’t been free to consider the cost of perfection.

“Perfect” means that you don’t get to enjoy “great”.

There may only be a few “perfect” songs; but there are a good many “great” ones, and MAN do those bangers slap!

I wouldn’t for a moment trade one perfect song for all of the 60s rock, jazz, and country I’ve loved. I want them all. The good, the bad, and the ugly, so that I can have something beautiful each day. Not just one “perfect” thing that I’ll never see again.

In her book, Big Magic, Elizabeth Gilbert explores creativity after a bestseller. She says that she’s glad that JK Rowling found a pen name and kept writing after Harry Potter; because, how sad would it be if she spent her whole life not doing what she loved, because one time she did it to great acclaim?

80% of innovations fail.

Statistically, the only way to build a winner is to build a whole bunch of flops. Make what you love. If it’s a hit, cool. If it’s a flop, fine - then, you can move on to something else fun (and possibly great).

My friend, Ron Pope, has written songs his whole life. He started in his teens, found his voice (and his soul mate) in his 20s, and had a massive hit with the song “A Drop in the Ocean”.

But, Ron Pope isn’t just A Drop in the Ocean. My favorite Ron Pope song isn’t even “A Drop in the Ocean”. If that was the song Ron lived to write and he died creatively afterward, we’d be out a rich and glorious catalogue of music.

My favorite Ron Pope song is “Georgia” from an album about the Tuesday meetings we had in college with the songwriters club.

If Ron had only written “hit” songs, and never made a million other beautiful songs, I wouldn’t have Georgia. Or I wouldn’t have access to it because it would be overshadowed, or forgotten.

And while I certainly would have enjoyed A Drop in the Ocean, I would take a million Georgias over it any day of the week. I’d even take a million live performances with our friends over our one big success, each.

Because you can’t hoard magic, y’all. The more magic there is in the world, the more magic there is.

So, go make more magic.

Don’t wait for Perfect Magic. Don’t be A Drop in the Ocean.

Be all of Georgia.

NOTE: this is not an endorsement of any of JK Rowling’s beliefs. It is very much not.

Finding the Energy

I’ll sign off on a day of rest; but if that’s not on the table…

I’m certain that no entity in the world wakes up every morning with a consistently high amount of energy.

Any number of things can effect how we feel on a given day; but there are some things we can do to tip the odds in our favor.

Here are some that help me when preparing for a big ‘un.

1. Prepare your support system that you are out of pocket from the afternoon before the event until the event is over.

2. Don’t imbibe the night before on anything (food, alcohol, or otherwise) that will steal some of tomorrow’s energy; let’s keep that head clear as a bell. And - ya know - drink water.

3. Put yourself to bed with the intent to get 8 hours of sleep.

4. Use whatever meditations, readings, or music that gets you to that happy sleepy place.

5. Wake up a little earlier than usual, and write out the order of the morning from what you will do first, to what you need in your bag for the day.

6. Do the full shower through styling, including all the extras.

7. Speaking of styling, lay out or hang your outfit the night before.

While this may seem a bit basic to most of you, I find sometimes I just need a permission slip to treat the day with the reverence it deserves.

So, here ya go.

You have my permission.

Why are you like this?

Consumer research can sometimes be misleading if we don’t dig deep enough.

“Nobody likes the Holiday Program, and that’s why it didn’t sell.”

“Consumers don’t really want Disney anymore.”

“Men don’t shop this aisle.”

If you go into meetings unprepared, you’re gonna learn some strange - and incorrect - stuff.

The 3 items above are actual quotes from my last 15 years of Marketing. All three were made around programs that received record breaking sales and award-winning executions after deeper deliberation.

As Marketers, it can be so easy to just take a struggling program at face value. But, what research does for us is to tell us WHY something isn’t working, so we can make the easiest, least expensive, and most lucrative adjustment possible. It may turn out, that 90% of the work done was brilliant, and can be 100% stellar once the 10% that isn’t working is adjusted.

Here are three thinly veiled and non-proprietary examples from actual categories.

1. The display sucks. The program is bad. No one wants Christmas anymore.

   Well, cancelling Christmas seems a scrooge move to me - even if it’s not your scene. But, in one year of a usually dominant program at a large Mass retailer, that seemed to be just the case. Truckloads of displays carrying branded materials from a global partnership weren’t selling through in 1 out of 41 countries at one single retailer. (Granted, it was a large retailer!) In spite of the obvious proof to the contrary, the finger of blame came squarely around back to that global partnership as the cause. Of course - with deeper digging - the culprit was the mix of SKUs this retailer had demanded, not the products, themselves. One quick run of data from the country as a whole showed that the retailer had opted out of the most popular and fast-moving SKUs, leaving their displays empty on the options that drove larger baskets and incremental sales. Had the mix been evaluated and refined throughout the season, the program would have been a blockbuster, even at this retailer.

2. Evaluate, communicate, and craft the correct targets and goals.
   So many times, companies are seeking to bust through the noise at shelf with designs that drive “impulse purchase”. (This is the in-store version of a “viral video”.) They go all in on some exciting and loud property, color, or selection of products hoping to breathe fresh air into a category that seems stale. The problem is, that’s not how consumers buy in everyday essential categories. This is doubly true in a “stale” category. Consumers who are loyalists will likely always grab their preferred version of your product. Consumers in everyday retail tend to shop in auto-pilot for simplicity, and they stick to what they know works for them. In this case - as often happens - instead of understanding this dynamic, and promising incremental sales (and regular display support) building into lasting change over 1-3 years, the company promised a core change in consumer behavior at launch. While the product was able to drive additional sales, higher baskets, and new consumers at launch, the initiative was considered a let down when an incremental item couldn’t be a core essential. This could have been easily avoided with a little review of previous innovation case studies. When you launch something exciting, consumers may pick it up in addition to their regular product to try it out. They might even buy it once instead of their regular product, just to see if it’s any good. But, new innovations and designs need to be considered incremental in the first year of launch. They can add value to your category, and pull consumers from other brands; but they are unlikely to become a workhorse until consumers have been able to complete several buying cycles worth of reminders. And some incremental products and designs will always be just that. So, do your research on previous examples in other categories as well as yours, before you overpromise on a killer grab for new dollars and lose credibility in the process.

3. And last, but not least, the myth of the female shopper.
   Y’all, I have never once walked into a brand meeting in which the shopper was described as gender neutral, non-binary, or simply as a person. There is a myth that is still prevalent today that women hold the purse strings for family shopping and that they alone make decision for their household. Not only is this incorrect and bananas out of date; but it’s also correlated to a reporting bias that obscures the true consumer. Working on a brand that considered it’s consumer 80% female, we designed some very exciting and - some might say taboo - packaging with a famous women’s designer. Then, we were flummoxed to see that sales dropped by approximately 49%. Low and behold, a new study by Nielsen, our (then very new) social media followership, and data from our retailers showed that the new designs lacked one important factor: Male interest. And, you’ll never guess what the updated % of male shoppers in the category were? 49%! (i.e. NEARLY HALF.) Don’t take the information you have on file as the one source of truth and don’t discount global, local, and national trends’ effect on purchasing. Using outdated data can result in dropped sales; and - frankly - if outdated gender biases are driving your decisions, you are likely to find yourself in a dark place (in the red).

So, in order to ensure you don’t throw any babies out with the bathwater, follow the Steve Perry rule for voice:

Don’t stop believin’ in growth, innovation, and new designs.

You may want to consider, instead, asking the question of your creation, “But, WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS?”

Oh, I think that I found myself a Cheerleader!

That’s me, Demo, and Charisma on the front. (I’m between Erin’s crutches! I’m sorry, Erin!)

When I was growing up, I always knew that I loved to perform.

What it took me longer to figure out is that what I really loved was pushing others to perform their best.

My voice was in a constant state of tension between cheerleading and choir; and - for a while - it had disastrous consequences.

But, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned how to use my Cheerleading skillz in a new way.

I like to consider myself a professional hypewoman as well as a Marketing Strategist.

Have you ever been on a team that hummed like a finely tuned Top Gun aircraft? Do you remember that feeling? Communicating to your wingperson, knowing you were covered, speeding faster that you’d ever thought possible?

That’s why my programs work.

That’s why I’m good at my job.

That’s why I love what I do.

Because I’m one of the loudest, oldest, and most visible professionals, I often get asked for advice on “networking”. (Snooze. I agree folx, it’s the worst.)

Nope. Don’t do it. Don’t fall into the trap. Don’t attend endless happy hours dressed like every other tom, dick, and jane. Don’t ask the prescribed list of questions from HR - unless they are questions you’re actually interested in knowing the answers for - instead, follow your bliss. Follow your interests. Follow your gut.

What makes a 3-time All-American Cheerleader?

What makes an MVP?

What makes a Viral Program?

A team that is 100% behind each person. An audience that’s encouraged and engaged like Swifties for the Kelces at a Chiefs game.

So, here’s my 2 cents this week:

When you go on Alignable, LinkedIn, and networking trips, BE A CHEERLEADER.

Find what you want to work harder and pump it up.

Fill your brain with trivia on it, so you can draft a fantasy team.

Before the moment of truth, flip out with exaltant enthusiasm.

On the day of delivery, show up in mass, wear the colors and back up the message with repeated enthusiasm.

And when the smoke clears, chant, “we are proud of you”.

Once you’re a Cheerleader, you never go back; and nobody knows how to build support for any initiative like a cheerleader.

After all “Leader” is right there in the name.

Well, the weather outside is frightful…

What to do when your consumers cannot get to you.

It’s top of mind for most of us today in the US.

Regardless of where you live right now, there is probably a pretty intense winter weather situation. Snow, ice, and freezing rain is falling over us; and many retailers are left scratching their heads and staring into empty registers.

After the pandemic, many of us adopted a model that allowed us to stay at home and make some portion of the money we were making out in the world. However, for some local businesses this isn’t always an option.

We as consumers count on our local bookstores to be open when we need a new read for our kids and want to stop by to choose it. We want places to go to eat that serve our favorites. And we need to be able to get to entertainment without launching ourselves down a highway.

So, during weather like this, you may be wondering how to help your local haunts stay open.

As a consumer, you really hold all the power. So, here’s how to support your local haunts when you cannot physically get to them.

1. Gift Cards - Buy them online or over the phone; but this is free money your retailer can use to get through the blizzard. The bonus of this, is that you also delight friends with the gift, and bring in new customers once the doors are open.

2. Pre-Orders - Put in an order that you’ll pick up when they are open again. You’re shopping just like you would be, and you’ll get a little gift yourself once you’re out and about again. If you do Yoga or other service-based local items, buy some classes or passes you’ll use after the storm. Or buy those cozy toe socks you’ve been eyeing for your next class.

3. Share, Forward, Comment and Like your business’ Social Posts - Even if you’ve got no money to spend, you never know when a friend might see what you’ve shared and support because of their love for you! Maybe you’ll be introducing them to something new you can experience or wear together.

As a business, you can offer discounts or sweepstakes to incentivize these actions above. If you’ve been thinking about offering a 30% Friends and Family discount, deliver that to your client database and encourage them to share for as long as the cold snap lasts. Then, you can recoup a fresh crop of referrals and some new business from existing clients that will last beyond the storm. Offer a free gift with purchase for online orders and pre-orders the week of the storm. Or simply discount all online orders.

Whatever you can afford to do is better than not having income.

Cuz baby, it’s cold outside.

So Trendy

I often get questions about Trends.

How to understand them, how to monitor them, and how to interpret them are questions that can play havoc in the minds of analysts and marketers alike.

If you’re not working at the strategy level, it may be difficult to see the point of trends beyond this week’s TikTok; but, that’s actually a great beginning.

Few people have made as large of an impact on the fabric of the United States as the Roosevelts, so it is to the eloquent and wild Teddy I turn to whenever I’m beginning trend work:

“Do what you can, with what you’ve got, where you are.” – Teddy Roosevelt

If you’re working at the kitchen level, start counting the orders going out each day. If you’re at the store, get the weekly, monthly, annual, sales of each category and plot them over time.

Now, compare what you see today to what you saw yesterday.

Then, what you saw last week to the week before.

Then, months, then years.

Now, you’re developing a picture.

(SHAKE IT LIKE A POLAROID PICTURE! HEEEEYYYY YAAAAA!)

This can be used to visualize what’s happening today versus what happened yesterday, what happened yesterday with what happened over the last week, month and year.

Now it’s time to find out why.

Look at your data. Do you see patterns? Is each December the highest month of sales? You may have a seasonal product on your hands. Is there a lower demand for your hot cocoa in the summer? Are there indicators as to why these patterns are happening? What’s available to you? Who can you speak to?

Once you get an idea of your big picture, it’s time to move outward. If you’re in a category that doesn’t have store level data, you can engage in the free reports released by outlets like Nielsen & Google; or you can pay experts to gather specific comparisions of you, your category, and your competion.

How do you compare? What’s different for you? Is there an average that you seem to be ahead of or behind? Overall, does the category seem to be growing or declining?

Take a look at the market around your sales location(s). Are they experiencing the same patterns? If not, dig into why by looking at census and other data.

If so, it’s time to look bigger.

Is there a recession? Is there a war? Is there a breakthrough communication that’s changing where consumers are learning about products?

Then, apply this data to your brand, your categories, and your competition.

Is this a negative force that your brand could combat with a solution?

This is what I like to call the Ted Lasso effect. After Global Isolation and division caused by the pandemic, the show features people from different demographics finding common ground over kindness - something lonely and struggling populations desperately needed.

If it’s something that your brand isn’t a fix for, it doesn’t mean that your hands are tied.

Your brand may need to update your communication structure or messaging to better resonate with the reality in which consumers find themselves.

Think Red Lipstick in the 40s. Wearing a “Victory Red” certainly didn’t help stop the war; but it did give a powerful rallying signal to women all over the United States increasing sales in spite of global rationing.

Your brand may need to adjust a product feature to make it more accessible in a new environment. (Think Zoom Backgrounds - sometimes we’re not working in a place that we want to share with alllllll of our co-workers.)

However you start, Trends are an excellent way to grow your global and local awareness. I recommend finding things that you like to nerd out about, and allow yourself to do just that. Dig into your favorite subject’s history, effect on culture and society, and evolution with the times. (See Barbie.)

Read everything. Watch everything. Look for the overlaps.

Start where you are, with what you’ve got, and do what you can.

You may find you’re actually pretty great at Trends.

Palate Cleanser

Did you know that coffee grounds don’t actually help reset your sense of smell?

It’s a common misconception; but - when you think about it - coffee is a strong scent with strong sense behind it. It can mean clarity, it can mean foggy Irish mornings, it can mean the armoring that accompanies a metropolitan commute.

Few people don’t have strong memories associated with a cup of joe. It’s a Universal Scent. Something that is present almost globally and brings baggage with it.

The most effective way to “clear your palate”, nasally, is actually to sniff the crease of your own elbow! (SCJ FDC 2018)

That’s right, if you truly want to refresh and reset, it starts with what you actually are right now, here, today, in this moment. This is a scent so prevalent you carry it with you. You’re never without it. It’s ingrained. It’s your canvas for any fragrance. It’s your tare.

So many companies start their research with a bowl full of coffee.

They look outward at Nike, or at RedBull, or Tide and they ask, “why can’t we do THAT?” (“THAT” is often a noir black and white close up shoot of a sweaty sports icon, or a flume race, or a BIG goofy superbowl ad.) And, they’re sorely disappointed when their agency brings them just such costly and bombastic ideas. Often, they’ll say, “WOW that’s cool! We can’t do that! How would we afford it! What’s the ROI?” or worse, “Yikes! What made you think that was right for my brand!?!”

A Brand Reframe isn’t actually blowing up who you are and starting over - as tempting as that can be when you feel sales slipping or consumer trust faltering. What’s more interesting, is that if sales are slipping and consumer trust is faltering, a reframe can’t be the answer on its own. It won’t fix a product that doesn’t perform or a category that is failing. It won’t suddenly make your brand interesting to those who have rejected it. Consumers might notice the change - usually not - but, they won’t change their long-held opinion of you.

In fact, neuroscience research (IIMA, 2012) says it takes a minimum of 3 positive interactions to erase one negative interaction - no matter how small.

So, how should you begin your Reframe?

Sniff your own elbow.

I gave you a couple of spaces above to feel your feelings on this front. It’s not glamorous, and it won’t make a smashing power point (even with the assistance of Canva); but what it will do is prime you for your highest sales to date.

Take in all those online reviews. Do the ethnographic study. Follow consumers around a store. Do a survey. And, evaluate your current portfolio of offerings, sales rankings, placements by store and channel, and even your reputation internally at your company.

Then, use this information to ensure you’re attacking the problem, and not just glossing along the effect. Where are you losing sales? Is it within your core offering? Is it an outside innovation? Find out WHY your reputation is suffering, don’t just add to the noise with a new splashy campaign.

When your brand is walking in the wrong direction or slowing down, chances are that the answer to why is not the fault of the path you’re walking, it’s in the decisions you made that brought you away from the heart of your brand and its consumer target.

Sometimes, getting on track to grow is a simple as taking a breath and smelling the crease of your own elbow.