When I work with entrepreneurs, I often find that they are unclear between what a marketer does (understand markets, customer needs, competitive dynamics, value propositions, feature/functions, pricing…..I could go on and on) and the classic work of a copywriter (puts marketing messages into consumer language, has the artful turn of phrase, delivers memorability etc).

I tried for a Madison Avenue job the summer between my first and second years in graduate school…..no luck.  Finally some kindly Mad Man actually told me that I was too analytical for them.  Hmm, I’m not sure he meant that in a good way?

But is this idea even relevant in the era of social media?  I could run a client’s Twitter feed or monitor a Facebook site as long as I was clear on the tone we want to set and what the ground rules are on what can be shared.  Isn’t that copywriting at some level?  And if we are blasting emails out, I can write or, at a minimum, edit those emails?

In the giant collapse of marketing staff, I bet more and more of my types are doing copywriting….because there is no staff, no budget and no time.  But is that a good thing?

As you may know, I’m just back from a wonderful trip to Tunisia and thought I would take a turn at “copywriting” why travelers should consider Tunisia.  Let me know how I’m doing!

Maybe this career option could come back around?  Maybe a client would trust me with their 140 word Twitter feed?

*****

Classic reasons, new reasons, and fun reasons for visiting Tunisia

For me, the classic reason to visit Tunisia is to see the Roman ruins.

The Roman ruins are stunning in Tunisia!

I love the chance to immerse myself in the ancient world, especially that of the Romans since we know so much about the Romans and their times. Seeing the pyramids in Egypt is tremendous, but the time of the Egyptians, for me, is in the ancient and mysterious past. With the Romans, I read Julius Caesar’s diaries and I read Virgil’s Aeneid. Aeneas flees Troy and makes a fateful stop in Carthage on his journey to Rome.

So, a chance to come to Tunisia is a chance to see Carthage, a great capital of ancient times and the land of Dido, Aeneas’ great love. I should digress here and say that this is according to Virgil, the great Roman poet. History may differ slightly (or significantly), but we remember Dido from Virgil as a great leader of her people in Carthage and the “woman Aeneas left behind” to fulfill his destiny to found Rome. One of the most important women of the ancient world.

And in Tunisia, you can visit Carthage, where, like Rome, there are layers upon layers of history. The Romans destroyed Carthage at the end of the Punic Wars but you can still see their Carthage via the great baths, the harbor and the water tanks.

The Roman baths in Carthage are fascinating to see!

You also see the large cathedral built by the French and the American Cemetery in honor of World War II. Pivotal World War II battles were fought in Tunisia by the most important generals of the North African campaign: Patton, Rommel, Montgomery.

If Carthage is today the glamorous suburb of Tunis and not really a major archeological site, you will not be disappointed with the fantastic archeological sites in Tunisia where you can walk down the streets of Roman cities, see temples, baths and brothels. I thought Dougga was fantastic – a wonderful Roman city out on a hillside. And Sbeitla – a Roman city out at the edge of the Roman empire. And even beyond that, a Roman outpost in the Sahara. Can you imagine what it would have been like to be assigned that duty as a Roman legion?

Tunisians were Rome’s exquisite mosaic artists whose work is seen many places in the Roman world but is completely fantastic in Tunisia. The Bardo museum is the world’s greatest collection of mosaics of this era. The day trip to El Jem is fantastic not only to see the largest amphitheatre in North Africa but also the lovely museum there of mosaics both indoors and also in outdoor settings. There is a wonderful recreation of a Roman villa.

Surrounded by mosaics at the Bardo

But the new reason to go to Tunisia now is to see democracy as it has a chance to break out in the Middle East. Tunisia has a more secular orientation than many of its neighbors and was the original starting point of the 2011 democracy movements still rumbling across a good swath of the Middle East. These events will be seen for years to come as one of the definitive events that shaped the Middle East in the early 21st century. Being with Overseas Adventure Tours  (OAT) means that your guide will give you an excellent window into how events are unfolding at this crucial time and other OAT activities such as meeting with the Iman in Kairouan and the family lunch will let you hear it from the horse’s mouth on how people are feeling.

Tunisians have a lot to say on Libya and Gaddafi. And, while the war between the Gaddafi and rebel forces was well underway when we visited, I felt entirely safe. Tunisia had only thrown out its own leader less than 90 days before I went to there, but Tunisians were basically back to the regular events of daily life. I truly believe that OAT has its ear to the ground and will make the right choices to make sure you avoid any unwelcomed events along your itinerary. I found Tunisians open and friendly, often asking me in French how I was doing, smiling and waving when I did the same.

A day will come again when tourist numbers are once again very large because Tunisia is lovely and the people are friendly. To make it even easier, French is widely spoken with signage around cities in both French and Arabic. Road signs are excellent – a very travel friendly place. But go now because it is always special to be at the front of the wave. Go and see the ruins and the mosaics before everyone else comes back.  And take comfort,  I was able to be in touch with the States via wi-fi in hotels we stayed in – allowing me to assure the less seasoned travelers that I left back home! (In fact, our guide set up Internet calling even for those who were less tech savvy.)

You’ll never be sorry that you went early and saw Tunisia at its fork in the road. Where will current events take Tunisia? I can’t say. But over the next year or so, you have a window to see Tunisia through a fascinating current events lens and out ahead of the typical tourist onslaught. I think they call it O-Adventure-T for a reason. Take advantage of that reason if you really are an Adventure traveler – which OAT makes easy. When I tell people I went to China in 1985, they are pretty jealous because China makes a great trip today, but it’s not that China – the China just emerging from the Cultural Revolution.

Thirdly, we had a great deal of fun. Two of our group dressed up in traditional Berber wedding costumes and we “celebrated” their wedding. We belly-danced with a gorgeous belly dancer.

Our whole group got up and danced!

We rode on camels and in caleches. We watched a guy climb up a date palm tree in bare feet to pollinate that tree. We slept a night in the Sahara and saw a night sky full of stars. The evening before we sat around the campfire with a Bedouin and talked with him about his life. We saw the latrines at Dougga (and they did look like it). We learned some amazing things about sheep breeding and happened on a live demonstration with young shepherds. Oh my! We went to some Star Wars filming sites and then really understood as we drove in the remote countryside what struck Lucas about Tunisia. Heck, we were in Tataouine, home of Luke Skywalker!

On Jimmy, my camel

Don’t miss the chance to see a country that has been an incredible crossroads of history for 2,500 years. Don’t miss the chance to see a country that is at a profound crossroads in its history right now. If you really are an Adventure traveler, this is the place to see in the fall of 2011.

…..is working, might work or has worked should be on Linkedin.

If you’ve heard from me recently about connecting on LinkedIn, you’ve been part of my challenge to build up my connections.

I’ve decided to be connected with everyone I ever worked for, with or who worked for me.  A few observations from the LinkedIn push:

• Given the tenure of my professional career, I should have 500+ contacts. Anything less than that is crazy.  Check my profile.  I’m not even close.  At a minimum, Linkedin is better at keeping records than I am.  Infinitely superior to any paper or electronic system I could use because other people are keeping their records up-to-date.
• Young professionals who aren’t using Linkedin are nuts – this is an excellent time to build life long links to a huge range of contacts who will go off and do a myriad of different things.   Pursuing areas that could turn out to be ones you’d like to Link with down the road.
• Middle managers who are ignoring Linkedin or are just completely swamped and can’t find time are taking a risk.  Is your job secure?  I hope so, but odds are the situation is riskier than it was before the economic downturn. Everything is going to be done more efficiently with new technologies which is going to eliminate jobs – oops, that’s a subject for a different blog.
• Finding very senior people on Linkedin is a mixed bag.  Those heading to retirement or shunning more visibility just don’t seem to be there or they have one connection – their wife?  This will clearly change with time.  But remember, senior people, that civic groups, not-for-profits, new neighbors, your alum groups – they are all looking at profiles on Linkedin.  My senior folks, who are still “active on Linkedin”, seem younger.  Hmmm.  (Go ahead – use it to keep connected with your current circle!)

A few learnings to share with others on this journey:

1. You need a picture.  People without pictures today seem like “business ghosts”.  Do they really exist?  And I don’t think you have to have a professionally shot picture, just a solid picture where it’s obvious it’s you. However, I don’t think a glamor shot is the way to go.  This is not the setting to look like a “babe”.
2. One profile only. I see many instances of people with two profiles – very smart people.  This must be an area where users make mistakes in editing or updating profiles….and the Linkedin system doesn’t catch it.  I know they say that they have 100 million users but based on my experience, the number is 90 million.  There are many duplicates.
3. A full profile.  This seems obvious but an additional reason to do this is you just can’t believe how many people have your name….I’ve had some doubts on whether I was getting the right person.  No pix….not enough profile cues…..control your own version of your name…..with an excellent profile.
4. Check out the weekly email.  Linkedin does a good job pulling the most noteworthy changes in your network.  It’s how I’ve seen job changes that I didn’t realize were happening.
5. Make Linkedin your home page.   Scan your eyes down who is doing what.  I know, I know what you are saying, “There is no time in the day”. You owe it to yourself to keep some visibility in your network.  See bullets two and three above:  this is a painless way to pull your head up from the corporate grind.
6. And it’s not just for corporate types.  Anyone who wants a professional presence or has to market themselves in some manner should be on Linkedin.  Remember – who knows where your working life may take you. Personal services, professional services, teaching, not-for-profits, corporate life – they could all be part of the journey.

I wouldn’t worry terribly much about joining tons of speciality groups.  I’ve found that to be only modestly interesting but I would join any alumni groups as it makes it easier to find lost colleagues.

I recently used Linkedin to find a specialist for a client and found the resource very useful.  But a big network helps.  Don’t ask me to look for manufacturing experts.  I don’t have any manufacturing types in my network.  (Darn!)

Now back to looking for the guy I sat next to at Booz & Co back in 19xx…..And the guy I worked for in the fall of 19xx – am I spelling your name wrong?  Where are you?

PS:  If you read this blog and thought that Linkedin is just for job hunters….guess what, you’re behind the times.

Personal growth jammed into the reunion weekend

Just at my Columbia 30th MBA reunion.  As I blogged earlier, it’s amazing to think of graduate school with no email, no Google, no Internet, no cell phone etc.  But we managed.

Still, remaining sharp continues to be an imperative for all of us.  As Covey once described it – “sharpening the saw”, remains as much of an imperative as ever.

I think.

Many of my fellow alums admitted to limited exposure to FaceBook, Twitter, even LinkedIn.  Hmmm.  That’s not the end of the world.

But don’t we remember senior execs in the late 80s and early 90s who never touched the PC in their office.  Their assistants pressed the buttons.  Now, that is completely out-of-style, though you occasionally hear of a senior exec today with no computer skills.

On the other hand, Gartner has recently been urging senior execs to get hands on skills with the iPad as they view it as such a game-changer.

I’ll use this viewpoint to highlight Columbia reunion sessions that struck home with me on keeping tools fresh and modern and the ongoing imperative to pursue that challenge.  (But how, with what time?)

Entrepreneurial Session

I enjoyed this session where four mini-cases were reviewed very much.  Had to power read the cases before we broke into small groups to determine whether we liked the opportunity to invest in various businesses or not. Power reading was an imperative since they emailed me the case before I arrived home from Tunisia and I never saw the email in the avalanche that came.  (See my recent Ups and Downs article about Unsubscribing to Email.)

I presented the positives for one of the investments to the class and did a reasonably decent job.  It turns out that this investment looks like it will pan out for the investors – disposable but biodegradable plates and such – so I got a little boost of encouragement that all was not lost in my noggin.  One of the other members of our small team came up with our case name – Green Plate Special.  This points to the benefits of strong team work!

Another alum talked about the strengths of an online business which did not seem solid to me.  However, what struck me was her highlighting of opportunities to use traditional media such as broadcast television to grow awareness for this service.  Never in 1,000 years would I have thought of that point – it seemed very old-fashioned to me.  But is it me or her?  Her comments felt dated…..but everyone is really experimenting with new tools to see what works.  Am I out on a limb in my views on the power of various social media tools?

The Science of Personal Leadership with Professor Wadhwa

This was a standout.  Professor Wadhwa’s research into leadership was excellent. His basic idea is to understand personal leadership centered around leading first yourself.  And his work is driven by a fact-based view on what you can do vs. a faith-based view of personal growth (or what we might have called a “woo-woo” kind of course years ago).  Sign up at his Institute for Personal Leadership for updates.   I did.

If only I could stumble across more client work this year, I’d love to go to his December session.  He’s a compelling speaker and his examples are excellent.  Everyone was buzzing about this.

Is the lesson to be learned here that every so often you must invest in yourself?  I’ve been lucky.  I did the Stephen Covey work years ago, then the Center for Creative Leadership,  and then the very excellent TimeOut sessions  from the Professional Thinking Partners.

Interestingly, these sessions have stuck with me.  Is that the idea….rather than a session on wireless technologies or how to use social media, but rather something that centers on personal development and reflection.  Hmmm

In these tough economic times and with the cost of higher education, everyone talks more and more about “trade school-like education” as having the right payback.  But does learning technical skills go right out of date vs. more conceptual problem-solving skills?

University Endowment Update

Excellent discussion on the imperatives to generate income that universities face given the costs of higher education.  Hence, their need to invest aggressively.  Hedge funds, private equity etc.

I understood all of it….but I’m not a finance-type.  I don’t care where alpha and beta are going.  And will delta follow where they lead?

I’m a marketer, strategist and new product developer.  There will always be money for great ideas that meet consumer needs.

I’m more Apple than Goldman Sachs.  More Comcast than Morgan Stanley.  More Bloomberg than Citibank.

That has remained true over 30 years.

The New Campus

Very interesting session about building the new campus up in Manhattanville.  For those of you who are geographically-challenged like myself, that’s one more train stop on the #1 line from 116th.  But you go down the hill into…..I never went there, although apparently I missed the chance for excellent BBQ down there.  Who knew?

A recent interim exec position at Bright Beacon brought me close to the terrifying dynamics of building a new campus:  the costs, the design issues, the constituencies, the no-win situations.  Eeks.

But I would also say that I like interim exec positions as it’s a chance to flex my personal leadership skills (see above).  Another piece of the puzzle that I might not have valued as highly  so many years ago.

If you’ve got an interim exec position, call me.  I can do a good job and not leave lasting damage.

The Saturday Sessions

Attended a number of sessions on Saturday which were panel discussions with alums from the reunioning classes, including the CEO of Kikkoman, class of 1961.

It didn’t hurt me at all to stretch my brain (branding, social enterprise) and REALLY stretch my brain (the health care panel).  So, growth comes in many forms….personal growth, using modern tools, understanding current industry dynamics…

What are you doing for growth?

Blogging, blogging, blogging at my 30th MBA reunion at Columbia.  On my Droid and on my iPad. Sometimes blogging directly and sometimes tweeting.  The message is that whatever you do as a business person to communicate with your constituencies, you have to know that someone is sharing with the wider world virtually immediately.  With photos.

Minute-by-minute tweeting!

And devices are “sort of” coordinated across services, though pix did not seem to come through to the Bright Beacon FaceBook page very well off the Droid.  And some tweets showed up on LinkedIn and some did not.

So, there’s more to this than meets the eye…..for example, the interesting blog I wrote last Saturday about the social enterprise space simply never got posted at all. (Reposted below!)

Social media must be part of a coordinated marketing game plan, but I definitely do not agree with a fellow alum that you have to pick FaceBook or Twitter or….as you can’t do it all.  You Can (even in a mobile mode if you can get all the interactions between services and devices worked out!).

The pix above from the Saturday morning first session (April 16)…..as noted by the prof, very few younger alums….tired out from the reception the previous eve?

Here was my blog post that got stuck on a dead end road on the information super highway:

“At the session this am.  I think tons of serious types went to the Finance session.

Comment made that micro-funding has fallen out of vogue.  Hmmm.

Beware green washing.  Customers are smart.  Customers are looking for honesty, not perfection.

Health care a Very promising area for social enterprise.

****

Darn….there is a power plug right at my seat.  We didn’t have that.  What would we have plugged in?  An iron?”