Remember When...

I grew up in the Midwest, the son of a Staten Island native who was heavily influenced by the very personal social network of New Yorkers. When I watched old Cary Grant and Rock Hudson movies with strong "country club good ole boy" aura's I was watching the world "according to my father."

What I remember the business world represented in those movies of the late fifties and early sixties was how closely business relationships (clients, peers, bosses, etc) were intermingled with personal life; That's how my father lived.

We would have "friends" over all the time; big social gatherings at country clubs or simply visiting the local Officers Club (my father was retired from the Air Force) for a summer swim and dinner. In all there seemed to be no line between the people he knew from work and those he knew outside of work.

These days there is a lot of chatter about keeping our "work and home" separated. I think I like the old ways of my father. The very social nature in which he approached relationships feels so much healthier and happier than stratifying the when, how, and what for everyone I meet.

The same ideal feels right in creating marketing programs. I don't want to attract people I can't like, so I focus creating messages directed at the people I would like.

So... the next time you come up with a "great idea" for finding new clients, ask some people you like, and ask some people that you do not like how they feel about your great new idea. If the idea is more attractive to those you like less, then get back to the drawing board.