Author: Bethany Chambers

7 Business tips from the championship-winning Cleveland Cavs

 

By Bethany Chambers, Digital Operations Manager

Sunday, June 19, 2016 is a date the people of Cleveland will long remember as The Day the Losing Ended. In 48 hard-fought minutes and one three-point clutch shot by a 24-year-old superstar in the making, it reset the clock on 52 years of misery.

The Cleveland Cavaliers joined the NBA as an expansion team in 1970 and went 46 years without a Walter A. Brown or Larry O’Brien trophy. While it’s true you learn a lot from failure as a business, this time Clevelanders get to learn from a success.

 

1. Play to your strengths, but switch it up every now and then.

LeBron James is arguably one of the best forwards in history. Kyrie Irving is making a run for his mark on point guard. When you have specialists, let them specialize.

That management theory was also on display this week in an episode of ESPN 30 for 30’s “O.J.: Made in America.” As you know if you were a fan of “The Juice,” an ill-advised coach moved O.J. Simpson to receiver in his first two years with the Buffalo Bills, even though he was a Heisman Trophy-winning running back at USC.

A teammate of O.J.’s says in the documentary: “I tell you, if [head coach] Lou Saban hadn’t have come in, we wouldn’t be doing this story right now.”

In O.J.’s case, making an American icon meant knowing what he did best (run) what he couldn’t do at all (catch). You put your players in a position to succeed.

That said, this NBA Finals series was won by switching that worked for the Cavs and lost by switching that felt forced and unnatural for the Warriors, especially on defense.

Of course your company needs strong players — the best marketers, editors and sales team — but looking for unicorns, people who have strengths in more than one core area and can contribute where they are needed, when they are needed is what makes a winning team.

 

2. Make a place for the misfits.

Unicorns are different, and that can make it hard for them to fit in. The Cavs’ unicorn is Kevin Love, and he has been on the receiving end of ongoing invective from Cleveland fans. Everyone from the media to the people of Reddit have tried to figure out why people don’t like Kevin Love, but the answer is simple: He’s aloof and strange and doesn’t fit the mold of the highly paid athlete (either the one of the grateful gentleman or the charming cad). It’s natural selection to find the runt and pick on him.

In Game 7 though, that 6’10” runt showed up big time with nine points and 14 rebounds. In your business, sometimes the ones you least expect to carry your team will step up and shine when it matters most. As a manager, those will be your brightest moments.

 

3. What you say matters more than how you say it – as long as you back it up with actions.

 

Six long years ago when LeBron decided to take his talents to South Beach, team owner Dan Gilbert wrote a letter to fans about the “cowardly betrayal.” It was emotional and embodied how we felt…but it was typed in Comic Sans. The clown car of typography. The preferred font of preschools.

The letter was peppered with ALL-CAPS sentences. You could practically hear Dan shouting at his computer.

But you know what? Dan delivered on his [PERSONAL] GUARANTEE THAT THE CLEVELAND CAVALIERS WILL WIN AN NBA CHAMPIONSHIP.

So, while I don’t advise using Comic Sans ever, go ahead and show your quirkiest, Kevin Love-iest self with your own signature typeface — just so long as you make good on your promises.

4. Delayed gratification has its benefits.

With parents from Pittsburgh, I grew up in a house full of “City of Champions” memorabilia. Then I went to elementary school and learned the story of the long-suffering native Clevelander. I adopted the teams of my parents’ adopted home. Then I went to college in Pittsburgh…and got a front-row seat to Super Bowl and Stanley Cup wins. Pittsburghers love their teams, but it’s a fact: Your first championship feels the best. After that you just don’t get the euphoric high.

At work I liken this to the bottle of champagne I keep at my desk. In your  career, what award is the one that leads you to pop that bottle and go nuts like J.R. Smith in Las Vegas? If you’re not a pro athlete, it’s probably not that clear. Instead view each professional milestone not as a championship but as another game in a long series. If you’re successful, you’ll retire knowing you ended up with a lot of Game 7 victories.

5. Winning is better when you do it as a team.

 

LeBron said something that stuck with me in his postgame press conference when asked about turning around the team’s 3-1 series deficit in the finals: “I’m their leader and they allow me to lead, those guys, every single night, and I was true to that.”

LeBron exemplifies a key attribute of successful teams: The team makes the leader, not vice versa. Leadership is not a role you take, it’s a power that is bestowed by the people around you.

6. Proving people wrong is a strong motivator.

 

A lot of people doubted the Cavs. In the ESPN Game 7 pregame coverage, all but one commentator picked the Warriors to win. And their criticism of the Cavs was mild compared to that of other big-name Cleveland-hating talking heads Skip Bayless and Stephen A. Smith.

Even here in the city, we had to contend with the executive producer of the 2016 Republican Convention wishing for “an early dismissal” from the playoffs for our team, so they could set up a stage. Do you know how many Republican Conventions have taken place since a Cleveland team last won a championship? 12. With four Republicans being elected in that time. And three of them serving two terms. That’s a lot of years.

The Cavs — and I would say Cleveland — turned all that negativity into a positive. Positively Cleveland. Your business can do that too by positioning weaknesses as opportunities.

 

7. When it’s not meant to be, it won’t be. But when it’s meant to be…

 

Entrepreneurs, like Cleveland fans, know a lot about what’s not meant to be. Google “failures that led to success,” though, and you’ll find a treasure trove of #MondayMotivation about “8 successful products that only exist because of failure” and “6 stories of super successes who overcame failure.”

Want something longer on the topic, and you can check out Malcolm Gladwell’s must-read New Yorker piece “Late Bloomers,” which points out that genius and success need not come quickly nor early in life. Gladwell writes something that I think anyone who has been putting in long hours in the office — and many years watching the cursed Cleveland teams — will find heartening.

Late bloomers’ stories are invariably love stories, and this may be why we have such difficulty with them. We’d like to think that mundane matters like loyalty, steadfastness, and the willingness to keep writing checks to support what looks like failure have nothing to do with something as rarefied as genius. But sometimes genius is anything but rarefied; sometimes it’s just the thing that emerges after twenty years of working at your kitchen table.

Or in 52 years of cheering on your teams.

Chambers is a lifelong sports fan and graduate of the sports marketing program at Duquesne University’s A.J. Palumbo School of Business Administration. She wrote this column largely because she wanted to type that headline out to make this Cleveland championship feel real.

Feature photo by Erik Drost/Flickr.

Performance reviews: How to prepare for success

By Diane Sofranec, Managing Editor

If you’re like most employees, your annual performance review doesn’t do much to help your career. You meet face-to-face with your boss, you’re told you are — or are not — doing a great job, and you get the standard company raise — or worse, no raise at all.

Prepare for your annual performance review, however, and you just might score a substantial bump in pay, more challenging job duties and job security.

In part one of this two-part post, I’ll examine how you can use your performance review to launch your career in the right direction. In part two, I’ll explore how you can show you’re an asset to your company.

Here are 4 ways to get the most out of your performance review:

1. Learn the purpose of your performance review.

Ask your boss what he or she hopes to gain from conducting a performance review. Does your yearly raise depend on your job performance? If so, which of your abilities are being measured and how? Ask your boss what it takes to be considered an outstanding employee and then, make it happen.

2. Request an honest assessment.

If your boss doesn’t tell you how you’re doing, ask. Don’t get defensive if your boss gives you constructive criticism. Instead, assure your boss you can learn from your mistakes. Use the feedback to make necessary adjustments in your attitude or work habits.

3. Establish attainable goals for the year.

Look at your job description (if you don’t have one, work with your boss to create one) and add a few tasks you can complete over the course of the year. Take on a project you and your colleagues have been putting off or consider tackling a challenging task that will test your abilities. Set specific and relevant goals that you and your boss can measure. Be sure to ask your boss to update your list of duties in your job description. At next year’s performance review, you can showcase your accomplishments.

4. Ask your boss to track your progress.

Request the opportunity to check in with your boss on a weekly, monthly or quarterly basis because yearly is too long to wait. That way, you and your boss will know you are working toward your goals and are on target to meet them. Before you leave your performance review meeting, set up a time to check in for an update.

Your performance review can be a stepping stone to a successful career if you ask the right questions and heed your boss’ feedback.

Diane Sofranec has more than 25 years of B2B media experience. She joined North Coast Media in 2013 as a digital content producer and is now managing editor of the company’s Pest Management Professional magazine.

Photo: iStock.com/Andrei_F

NCM’s Joelle Harms named top young leader by ASBPE

 

CLEVELAND — North Coast Media (NCM) is proud to announce Senior Digital Media Content Producer Joelle Harms has been awarded a Young Leaders Scholarship from the American Society of Business Publications Editors’ (ASBPE) 2016 Azbee Awards of Excellence.

harms_jRThe Azbee Awards of Excellence program recognizes outstanding work in magazines, newsletters and digital media — websites, e-newsletters, digital magazines and blogs.

With the Young Leaders Scholarship, Harms will attend the ASBPE National Conference in July at The Poynter Institute in Tampa, Florida. The scholarship brings together five of the country’s top business editors under 30 to learn from each other and industry veterans.

“Joelle is a tough editor and a patient mentor who boosts the skills of everyone around her,” said NCM Digital Operations Manager Bethany Chambers. “She exhibits the kind of leadership-by-example that any team would be better for having — and we’re proud to be that team.”

Harms is responsible for developing the content voice and message for all aspects of NCM’s GPS World and Pest Management Professional brands.

In addition to writing and editing stories for web and e-news, shooting photos, producing videos and multimedia and managing social media accounts, she also edits content for digital media producers in the department and works closely with the technical team on development projects.

Under Harms’ direction, GPS World has seen a 13 percent increase in Facebook page likes, a 12 percent increase in Twitter followers, and striking growth on YouTube – a 122 percent increase in subscribers and a 147 percent increase in views over the course of a year. Harms authored the white paper “Social Media Best Practices for the B2B Industry” to share her experiences in social.

Harms regularly travels to national and international trade shows to report on new products and innovations, constantly posting engaging content. As a part of the trade show coverage, she records, edits and produces interviews with industry leaders, manufacturers and product innovators. Her videos from trade shows have appeared on other industry websites.

She has a B.S. in Journalism from Ohio University with a specialization in creative writing, and has been with NCM since November 2013.

Measuring business success: 5 ideas beyond revenue

How do you determine if your company is succeeding if you take the top line out of the equation?

By Bethany Chambers, Digital Operations Manager

The bottom line spells a company’s success or failure, and to generate a profit at a healthy margin, you’ll need to have revenue streams that are robust and growing. Those are the facts. But what if you were asked to look beyond those figures to determine whether your team, division or company are on the right track? Where would you turn?

Let’s look to experts in the publishing industry — and Warren Buffett — for insight into what makes a company successful.

Other financial factors

A public company’s earnings or return on equity are fairly standard assessment tools. That won’t be an option for privately held companies, but book value calculated on comparables is.

In the publishing industry we also look at page yield, market share and growth rates as go-to statistics.

Eric Shanfelt, founder of eMedia Strategist, has 20 years of experience with business-to-business (B2B), consumer and book publishers and is a staunch advocate of focusing on top-line growth.

“You can’t separate success from revenue. Without revenue, you won’t have a company, employees, jobs or customers,” he says.

I would argue, though, that this hypothetical is a rare opportunity to look past the obvious financials to assess microdata and, more importantly, to get to know the people who determine if your company survives and thrives.

KPIs by department

Roberta Muller, senior vice president for product development & digital production for B2B publisher Northstar Travel Media, points out that quantifying digital and print success can be a difficult comparison, so she suggests looking to key performance indicators (KPIs) at a product level.

“Were our projects on time and on budget? There’s a lot beyond revenue,” she says.

That can be a big help in calculating return on investment in one emerging product group: social media. In social, KPIs abound, from the simplest followers or mentions to the more complicated sentiment and conversions.

Finally having a tool to measure any project that takes a lot of time and creativity is a success of its own.

Employee happiness

At North Coast Media, we talk a lot about people-powered publishing. A successful team is only as strong as its weakest link — and that means providing a supportive and engaging environment that has something for everyone, from new hires to industry veterans. Studies (like the Deloitte Millennial Survey 2016) have shown that job satisfaction and work/life balance are particularly important to Millennials — your company’s future leadership team.

Carl Landau calls himself the Grand Poobah of Niche Media, a Sacramento, Calif.-based events marketing company, and brings that playful, irreverent attitude to his team of six.

“If the staff is feeling good, we can conquer anything,” he says.

Considering you’re going to work 90,360 hours in your lifetime, you better have fun.

Loyal customers

One figure I look at each year is the number of advertisers who have utilized our digital services. Good customer service is an exhaustive, brute force project – one where your patience and perseverance pay off. If I have 400 happy digital advertisers, that creates a snowball effect that can make connections we didn’t previously have and introduce our products and services to new markets.

Brain Swell Media CEO Ryan R. Dohrn, Founder/CEO, who has trained more than 3,000 sales professionals in 15 different industries, says your company has been successful “if your advertisers do your sales job for you.”

On my longest days in the office, I keep this in mind.

Strong management

Last month Yahoo Finance hosted the first ever Internet livestream of the Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholders meeting, the first time the public could see Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger in their element.

I’ve been a Buffett fan since childhood when I learned he was the man behind Dairy Queen, or what I consider the real happiest place on earth, so I took notes. One quote (among many) that stood out was regarding the acquisition of aircraft components manufacturer Precision Castparts. It was the largest Berkshire purchase to date, and shareholders were looking for an explanation.

“Mark Donegan is Precision Castparts’ greatest asset,” Buffett said.

In supporting Precision’s longtime CEO, Buffett showed solidarity in leadership and threw his support behind an employee who worked his way up the chain of command over 30 years.

If billionaire magnate Warren Buffett can praise his human assets, so can you.

Chambers has been with NCM since 2012 and leads a team of six in creating and maintaining the company’s digital properties, including websites, enewsletters, webinars, video, social media — and whatever comes next.

Photograph by Stuart Isett/Fortune Most Powerful Women (via Flickr)

8 ways to email like a professional

By Diane Sofranec, Managing Editor

The number of emails I send and receive throughout the workday never ceases to amaze me. It’s a lot. But for that, I am thankful. I would much rather communicate with colleagues via email than telephone.

Mailbox_email_535x518Why? I work in an office of cubicles and sit near a hallway that acts as a megaphone. When I’m on the phone, my coworker on the other side of the office can clearly hear my conversation — and I can hear his.

But keeping the peace is not the only reason I prefer emails. Emails serve as a record of a conversation. There’s no second-guessing what was communicated because it’s right there, in writing. That’s why it’s important to craft succinct messages that convey professionalism. Here’s how:

1. Get to the point.

Keep your message as brief as you possibly can. Stay on topic. Be clear. You are at work, where there’s no time for colleagues to read a 10-paragraph manifesto. Write a subject line that clearly states the purpose of your message.

2. Eliminate private information.

As you write your message, keep in mind that the recipient may forward it to others. Do not include information you would not want others to know. Even if you request confidentiality, you have no control over what the recipient will do with your email. Once you send your email, your message is no longer private. Use the telephone to discuss matters you prefer to keep private.

3. Think before you type.

Say what you mean. Read your message before you send it. Does it make sense? Does it accurately convey your thoughts? Would you be embarrassed if someone other than the recipient read it?

4. Send anytime.

What I love most about email is that it’s available 24/7, so I can send and receive messages after work hours. That doesn’t mean the recipient will read my message at midnight, but it does mean I can cross off a task from my to-do list or handle a pressing issue sooner rather than later. Haven’t we all had a workaholic boss who sent emails in the wee hours of the morning and on weekends?

5. Respond within 24-48 hours.

You shouldn’t have to check your work emails over the weekend. But you should respond to your messages first thing Monday morning. During the workday, set aside time to check your messages and don’t put off sending a response. It’s more efficient to read a message once, respond, and move on.

6. Remember, you’re on the job.

Your emails are a reflection on you and the company for which you work. Keep your messages professional. Do not write like you text, or use exclamation points and emoticons. Do not use profanity or racist comments. Do not write in all caps (“yelling” in an email is unprofessional anyway). Always say please and thank you.

7. Use a signature line.

Don’t assume the recipient of your message knows who you are (unless you correspond on a regular basis). Create a signature line in your email client and use it every time. Be sure to add your full name, current title, company name and phone number.

8. Address the message last.

Have you ever accidentally hit send before your message was ready? I have, and that’s why I write the message first, proofread it, and then add my attachments if I have any, the subject line and the recipient’s email address. Now recipients always receive the completed message I want them to have.

Diane Sofranec has more than 25 years of B2B media experience. She joined North Coast Media in 2013 as a digital content producer and is now managing editor of the company’s Pest Management Professional magazine.

Photo: ©istock.com/leszekglasner

North Coast Media brands Golfdom and Landscape Management net 27 industry awards

CLEVELAND – May 17, 2016 – North Coast Media (NCM) is pleased to announce two of its brands were recognized for outstanding editorial, graphic design and photography, winning 27 awards at the Turf & Ornamental Communicators Association (TOCA) awards ceremony in Omaha, Neb., on May 5.

Both Golfdom and Landscape Management (LM) won more total awards and more first place awards than their competitors.

Golfdom led golf market publications with 17 awards, including 10 first place awards and seven merit awards.

Landscape Management (LM) came home with 10 awards. Included in its accolades are two “best in show” Gardner Awards for new media and special projects, along with seven first place awards and one merit award.

“Once again, we are proud of our haul of TOCA awards,” said NCM President and CEO Kevin Stoltman. “Each year they help strengthen our longstanding leadership positions in the landscape and golf course maintenance industries.”

NCM staff members recognized for their work include VP of Graphic Design & Production Pete Seltzer, Editorial Director Marty Whitford, Editorial Director and LM Editor-in-Chief Marisa Palmieri, Golfdom Editor-in-Chief Seth Jones, Golfdom Associate Editor Grant Gannon, LM Associate Editor Dillon Stewart, LM Digital Media Content Producer Allison Barwacz, and LM Art Director Tracie Martinez.

TOCA annually recognizes members for excellence in writing, design, photography/AV, new media and special projects, and top winners in the marketing and publishing categories are named as Gardner Award winners.

The complete list of winnings for the two publications includes:

Golfdom:

Design – First
Two-plus page design, editorial – printed magazines
“Make yourself at home” | Pete Seltzer

Design – First
Cover page design – printed magazines
“A masterpiece of minimalism” | Pete Seltzer

Photography, Video, Multimedia – First
Best single photo – Use of stock art
“Search. Tap. Sold!” | Pete Seltzer

Photography, Video, Multimedia – First
Best single photo – Use of stock art
“Water, Water, Everywhere” | Pete Seltzer

Photography, Video, Multimedia – First
Best single photo – created by a TOCA member or freelancer commissioned by a TOCA member
“Ready for Play” | Seth Jones, Pete Seltzer

Writing – First
Environmental stewardship article – commercial publications
“Propane to the people” | Seth Jones

Writing – First
Product information article – commercial publications
“The stars of Texas” | Seth Jones, Ed Hiscock, Marty Whitford, Grant Gannon

Writing – First
Business management – commercial publications
“What are online tee times doing for your course?” | Grant Gannon

Writing – First
Series of columns by regular department columnist – commercial publications
“Assistant Living” | Matt Neff

Writing – First
Turf feature article – commercial publications
“To Core or Not to Core?” | Stacie Zinn Roberts

Design – Merit
Overall magazine design – printed magazines
“October 2015 Golfdom” | Pete Seltzer

Photography, Video, Multimedia – Merit
Best single photo – created by a TOCA member or freelancer commissioned by a TOCA member
“A masterpiece of minimalism” | Pete Seltzer

Photography, Video, Multimedia – Merit
Best print magazine cover
“Search. Tap. Sold!” | Pete Seltzer, Seth Jones, Grant Gannon

Special Projects – Merit
Writing for special projects
“The Golfdom Report” | Seth Jones, Grant Gannon, Pete Seltzer

Writing – Merit
General feature article – commercial publications
“Getting by with a little help from friends” | Seth Jones

Writing – Merit
Column – commercial publications
“You might be a turf guy if…” | Matt Neff

Writing – Merit
Ornamental feature article – commercial publications
“The buck stops here” | Hannah Schrum

Landscape Management:

New Media – Gardner Award
“LM Social Media Strategy” | Marisa Palmieri, Dillon Stewart, Allison Barwacz

Special Projects – Gardner Award
“LM October 2015” | Marisa Palmieri, Dillon Stewart, Tracie Martinez

Design – First
Single page design, editorial – printed magazines
“January 2015 Backstory” | Tracie Martinez

New Media – First
Blogs
“LM Blog” | LM Staff + Contributors

New Media – First
Innovative use of social media
“LM Social Media Strategy” | Marisa Palmieri, Dillon Stewart, Allison Barwacz

Photography, Video, Multimedia – First
Portrait/Personality
“March Cover Photo/Bill Dysert” | LM Staff, Laura Watilo Blake

Photography, Video, Multimedia – First
Best print magazine cover
“LM March 2015” | Laura Watilo Blake, LM Staff

Special Projects – First
Best single issue
“LM October 2015” | Marisa Palmieri, Dillon Stewart, Tracie Martinez

Special Projects – First
Writing for special projects
“LM150 2015” | Marisa Palmieri, LM Staff

Writing – Merit
Editorial/Opinion Piece – commercial publications
“Editor’s Note: To the point” | Marisa Palmieri


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