Is it just me, or what?  Counting six of the last ten, it seems every book I read these days (and I average about two a week) is wrapped around a wussy character . . . the kind of protagonist who makes me want to throw lamps and TV clickers!  

     Instead I punch the cover and yell into the binding:

Will you P U L L E S E speak up, stand up, be assertive, cock your hat, make a fist, stick out your tongue, puff out your chest, pull your shoulders back, put something of substance out on the table for all of us tortured readers to see and hear and imagine and think about! 

     You’re the lead character, for crying out loud!  Stop leaving us frustrated and anxious and angry at you.  Why can’t you speak your mind and tell it like it is?  Stop with the dumb, mamby-pamby, mealy-mouthed excuses.  Stop crawling away from confrontations.  How can you expect us readers to support your wimpy approach to other less-capable characters who run roughshod over you?  We’re not all social workers out here. 

     It’s not true—dear author-creators of leading-role, candy-ass characters—that everybody loves an underdog.  Well, maybe in sports, but you know what?  When you act like an underdog in real life or as a main character in some author’s story, people won’t side with you; they won’t like you; they will stop reading! 

     And this happens because?  Because there’s enough anger, anxiety, negativity and frustration in real life.   We read books to learn, be informed and entertained, to escape . . . not to see more of the same that we deal with every day. 

     I just finished an absolutely wonderful story about a racecar driver who took it on the chin so many times from his evil, mean-spirited in-laws that when he lowered his head, there was probably nothing left between his bottom teeth and his chest!  The only reason I took it to the end was that this magnificant story was told by a classy, assertive part-Laborador retriever (but of course who could only bark!).  The hero car driver was such a wuss, he made me want to throw myself off a bridge! 

     Okay, you say, but you did read it, and so what else is new?  Well, I also just gave up on a book that revolves entirely around the weakest personality to ever grace the human race.  This cross-country trekker who only God knows how this fragile, feeble character managed to survive by bicycle from Rhode Island to Colorado before I threw it down.  This guy would have made Ghandi and Saint Theresa look like terrorists! 

     Character flaws are important attributes; they make the person credible.  But give me a heroine or hero with clout, chutzpah, hubris, nerve, balls, whatever you want to call it! 

     I want to read about winners who stand up for themselves, and who get back up when they’re knocked down . . . because nothing compares to meeting and getting to know someone who inspires!      halalpiar  

CHANGE is hardly ever a good thing 

when somebody else does it TO you.  

     In business, industry, education, government, real estate, food and gas pricing, or otherwise, “CHANGE” is hardly ever a good thing when somebody else does it TO you.  Change is only meaningful and rewarding when YOU can make it happen for yourSELF. 

     When change is done TO you, it prompts inaction, resistance and excuses.  When you create and deliver change for your SELF, you are more likely to take ownership of the steps involved, and follow the process through more determinedly to make it happen.  

     “Okay, Joe, from now on, you’re going to have to print out, copy, and collate three copies of the daily 75 pages of inventory activity that you were just submitting by email before.  The two new bosses want hard copies, and of course I’ll need one too.  Oh, and you may want to run a fourth as a sort of cover-your-butt set that you can check with if questions arise.”    

     How does that feel compared with: “Joe, the new bosses are interested in seeing your inventory spreadsheets without having to jump around on their computer screens; could you come up with a method that you think might work better for them, something that doesn’t require a lot of your time?” 

     Do you think one of these approaches might serve to motivate more than the other?

     “Gwyneth, I want you to clean up your room right this minute, or you’ll not get dessert after dinner!” OR “Gwyneth, I’m getting concerned about the condition of your room; would you please take some time right now to come up with a way to get it shaped up by dinnertime every night, starting tonight, and let me know your plan when I stop back in ten minutes?”

     Notice the focus is on HOW can a task get done.  NONproductive emphasis is on WHY did you screw up, or on what threats might prompt action, or on implying some level of personal incompetence. 

     When you ask someone WHY? you will only ever get a reason or excuse for an answer.  When you ask HOW? you’re prompting the other person to evaluate, assess, and recommend process steps, without suggesting any personal shortcomings.

     HOW to get others to make changes happen for themselves?  Remember that behavior is always a choice.  You can choose to not react.  If you don’t react, you will never overreact!  You will be more effective in controlling and helping yourself and others to more effectively control behavior and accomplish tasks.  Remember if you need to criticise, criticise behavior, not the person.  And do it in private.  Save audiences for giving praise!        halalpiar

What do ABC, CBS, NBC, TNT, CNN, MSNBC, and newspapers (if you can call them that) like The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, and USA Today have in common?  

     If your business is running local, regional, or mass media advertising without the support of a major public relations program, odds are you’re wasting your money, and whatever results you may be getting are just a fraction of what you could be generating. 

     Businesses get stuck running “maximum impact” schedules of TV and radio commercials, and newspaper ads because they’ve been sold a bill of goods, or because the competitors are doing it, or because that’s just the way it’s always been, or because they enjoy the ego-gratification that accompanies flashy, “big-time” exposure of their business, and perhaps themselves, or because of friendships, or whatever feeble excuse comes to the surface.

     Reality, though, is that the only thing these businesses are accomplishing–at their own expense–is that they’re making the media moguls rich.  Yup, probability is that the media people we’re talking about are the very same ones who consistently deliver insane, insulting, opinionated, negative garbage to our living rooms: Flagship and affiliate radio and TV stations of networks like ABC, CBS, NBC, TNT, CNN, MSNBC, and newspapers (if you can call them that) like The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, USA Today, and the smutty scores of other trash opinion messengers (a much truer categorization than their self-appointed “news” misnomer) . . . and your time or space advertising purchase puts your business smack in the middle of all this crap!  You think your customers don’t care or notice the environment you present your messages in?   

     So you run a small or medium sized business that is presently stuffing these destestable fantasyland coffers with your hard-earned dollars?  What can you do?  STOP!  Stop accepting the rape cards (pun intended!) that their salespeople thrust in your face!  Stop accepting the packaged program scheduling that’s pushed in front of your checkbook!  Go back to those media you consider truly essential to getting your message out, and bring your own package with you . . . to sell them!  If they truly honor and respect you as a customer, they’ll be thrilled at the innovative prompting.

     Surely you are more of an expert at your business than any of the media, so (on your own, or with professional help) develop your own content (e.g., a radio or TV feature show, a daily or weekly news column, a blog site, a series of feature magazine articles), package it, and sell it to receptive media programmers or editors (they’re not all bad!) along with your company’s sponsorship.

     Start a PR program to support, back up or even replace your advertising program.  BUT make it good; make it consistent; make it benefit others; make it NEWSWORTHY!  And be tenacious in your follow-up to give the program teeth!                    halalpiar

If you’re interested in how to make what’s suggested here actually work for your firm, or you have questions about any of the comments in this post, contact Hal Alpiar at 302.933.0116 or visit www.TheWriterWorks.com