Speak Up!

This morning in the Star Tribune I read an article on how to build confidence to speak up and share your thoughts in meetings. I thought it was a very interesting article and believe it gives some good advice to professionals who have ideas and opinions they are afraid to share.

In most cases, people are afraid to speak up in public settings because they are still suffering from a bad experience in which they spoke up in the past or do not feel they are qualified to say something in a particular setting.

Ways to Build Confidence in your Voice:

• Notice that ideas are rewarded and set aside dated feelings about what happens to people who speak up
• Think about your company's culture. What responses do people in similar roles receive when they're more outspoken. Is there a hierarchy at play or are your limits self-imposed?
• Set achievable goals. Pick a group you're comfortable with to practice 'speaking up' with. (Giving suggestions to, asking questions, etc.) It may be because they're more familiar, that you have more expertise, or that they're generally gentler.
• Know the agenda. This way you can prepare some possible contributions. Sometimes great ideas come spontaneously, but it can help to have some thoughts ready.
• Prepare yourself. Not your ideas, your body and your attitude. Practice having engaged body language. Sit up and look like a participant in all meetings and conversations. Focus on your voice, learning to project and sound confident. Use your breath to support your voice. Ease your nervousness by visualizing your hoped-for outcome.
• If you feeling your body clenching up in a meeting, take some deep breathes. Remind yourself to believe in your ideas and give them a voice.
• Ask for help. Ask your friends at work or in teams with you for help. Get their feedback and support as you break your habit of timidity.
• Practice outside of work too by joining organizations such as Toastmasters.

Use Twitter to Get Ahead, Not Just Play

A common reason given by those who have yet to try Twitter: "I have nothing to say." The truth is, you don't have to post a message to get the most out of Twitter, you can just join and see what others are saying.

At its best, the social medium is a perpetual, personalized news service about topics of your choosing, whether it be health care reform, tech news or the latest episode of "American Idol," filtered and sent to you by people who care a lot about what you care a lot about.

Even the most prolific users say Twitter has become more useful as a way to tap into the discussions of the day and than can be used to broadcast their own thoughts. They believe that once you get pulled in, you might just find you have something to say after all.

Biz Stone, Twitter's co-founder, suggests that naysayers simply log on to Twitter's home page and search for a topic they are interested in, whether it's their favorite sports team, the name of their company or a topic in the news. Within a minute, they understand the appeal, he said (The New York Times, 3/9/2010).

Twitter users write 50 million messages a day. For those of you who haven't tried Twitter out, here are a few ways to make Twitter work for you:

• If you don't have anything you feel is important enough to say, you can learn a lot from others on Twitter just by following them. Depending on who you follow, after checking Twitter for a bit each morning by lunch you can know most of the top trend topics of the day, just by reading the feed you see on Twitter.
• Search what is being said about a specific person, place or thing at that particular time or recent past.
• You can follow leaders who post about politics, religion, fashion and food. People with shared interests become your editor and Twitter becomes an alternative RSS feed. Find those people by searching Twitter directories, like WeFollow or Just Tweet It, and by following people whom others repeat or mention.
• Stay up to date on news stories A lot of messages include a link and after awhile a popular news story will bubble up after being retweeted enough.
• You can create lists of people you follow to keep your interests separate. For example, you can create a list of celebrities you follow, a list of coworkers you follow, a list of friends you can follow and a list of news people you follow. This way their tweets will not be thrown all together on your homepage.
• Once you're on Twitter, you can post questions when you don't know who to ask. For example, ask about a restaurant you're thinking of trying or how to use an iPhone application and you'll be sure to get answers.
• Find out what is going on in a certain area. Now you can limit your trending topic tweets to certain cities or countries.

Academy Awards Edition

I truly enjoyed the 82nd Academy Awards. I thought they started off on a good note and entertained me the entire time. If you want to check out who won last night, click here.

Neil Patrick Harris started with a song-and-dance number, setting the theme, no on wants to do it alone. Continuing in that theme, the two hosts, Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin descended from the sky and warmed up the audience with little teasers.

They worked their way through the nominees with edgy jokes.

• In 'Inglorious Basterds,' Christoph Waltz is obsessed with finding Jews. Well Christoph," gesture to the audience, "the mother lode."
• 'Precious,' "it really was the only film that lived up to its video game."

There were many Meryl Streep references and shots of a stone-faced George Clooney, but Martin and Baldwin were funny throughout. They were unafraid to appear in a double Snuggie backstage and introduced presenters with flair, "He directed ' A Single Man,' she weighs a single pound, Tom Ford and Sarah Jessica Parker", and did their best to keep things moving.

Other highlights from the night in my book included:

• A John Hughes memorial which displayed a montage of work he had done and monologues from a few people Hughes made famous.
• A very nice, yet simple, memorial to all the actors, actresses, musicians, producers, editors, PR, etc. in the film industry who passed in the last year. However, I was surprised that Farrah Fawcett was left off the list. I wonder how come.
• Teams from the 'So You Think You Can Dance' performed to the scores up for Best Music - Original Score.
• In my opinion, great speeches came from Oprah Winfrey, who praised Gabourey Sidibe for her nomination for best leading actress, Sandra Bullock who gave an emotional and hilarious speech, in which she thanked, among many others, those who supported her when "it was not fashionable," and Mo'Nique who won for Best Support Actress; she always gives a moving an powerful speech.
• I laughed out loud when Ben Stiller presented the award for best makeup in full Na'vi, down to the tail. He was hilarious when commenting that he dressed up like this and 'Avatar' wasn't even nominated in this category.
• The first win for a woman for Best Director - Kathryn Bigelow, Director of 'The Hurt Locker' "I hope I'm the first of many," Bigelow said. "I'd love to just think of myself as a filmmaker, and I long for the day when a modifier can be a moot point. But, I'm ever grateful if I can inspire some young, intrepid, tenacious male or female filmmakers and have them feel that the impossible is possible."

The End of the Dome Dog Era has come: Hormel and Twins Split Ways

Last week an announcement stated that the very famous Dome Dogs are now dead and that the Austin-based Hormel Foods Corp. and the Minnesota Twins no longer have a corporate partnership. This has stirred an outcry from many Twins and Hormel hot dog fans, wondering why this change is happening and what will replace the popular menu item.

When the Metrodome went down, those who love baseball's concessions as much as the game wondered if the Dome Dog would go with it, or if the popular snack would simply be renamed to suit the new outdoor stadium, well the answer is out.

Hormel began a corporate partnership with the Twin in 2001. They supplied Dome Dogs (hot dogs) at the Twins games and other promotional opportunities, but the agreeable split was tied to the real estate change. Hormel spokesperson cited increased costs for sponsorships at the new stadium as one reason the Minnesota meat maker will be "focusing on different marketing initiatives in 2010," Julie Craven, Hormel's vice president of corporate communications wrote. "We wish the Twins the best of luck during the inaugural season at the new stadium."

Hormel hot dogs have played a prominent food role at Twins home games in the Metrodome, including Hormel Dollar-A-Dog Night on Wednesdays and the Hormel Hot Dog Row of Fame, which featured a jingle that proclaimed a "wiener winner." The company also sponsored Minnesota Twins bobblehead doll giveaways at games. Spammy, the Spam can mascot for Hormel, took part in the team's annual Mascot Softball Game at the Metrodome. The announcement of the split stated that there may be other Hormel products offered at Target Field, but the decision is pending. We should find out Hormel's fate sometime before the first preseason exhibition games starting April 2.

Kevin Smith, the Twins' executive director of public affairs, said the team and Hormel "enjoyed a great corporate relationship for nearly a decade" but both entities have "amicably parted company." At the new stadium, the Twins have promised "Minnesota-focused signatures items" being part of their concessions offerings.

I wouldn't say this is a crisis, but it definitely is a public relations issue that the Twins need to address. Of course, no remorse is shown in either company public statement, but Hormel could be upset with the big change and the Twins need to consider this and care about the relationship. Also, the new ballpark better be looking for new great food promotions and creations that could take the place of the Dome Dog in Twins fans hearts.

Caribou Gets a Makeover

The latest phase in a year's worth of rebuilding and rebranding at Caribou Coffee hits the town today. The new look ranges from the subtle brown cup covers to the new-looking Caribou Coffee logo built out of a coffee bean. The company's theme remains unchanged - "Life is short. Stay awake for it."

This change, along with others, are part of a yearlong revitalization of a brand that was languishing a year ago when the company reported a $16.8 million loss. The hope is that all these changes will help the company reconnect with its customers. Caribou is a distant second to Starbucks in the coffeehouse industry, currently having 515 stores, including 112 franchised and licensed. The company also has a commercial wing that sells branded products to grocery stores, airlines, hotels and other merchandisers. Caribou is the official coffee partner of the Minnesota Twins in their new Target Field Ballpark.

The new Caribou includes:

• A deeper blue backdrop for the caribou
• Brown coffee cup lids - These proved to be more popular; they don't show lipstick marks!
• Messages to coffee cups and napkins called "Bou-isms" in reference to the "Bou" nickname. Messages will say "Spend time with your kids, tomorrow they're a day older" and "Dare to adventure" and "Don't wait for New Year's to make a resolution."
• New store decor
• And coming soon, billboards and other outdoor venues that designers hope will resonate with consumers. These should start popping up in April.

Caribou Coffee has new leadership, CEO Mike Tattersfield, the third leader in three years. Under his direction the company has shut some stores, is now focused on its core markets, added new products and is concentrating on upping customer service. Last month Caribou added "handcrafted" oatmeal to its menu following the addition of new chocolate beverages late last year. The company now is testing in-store baked items in 25 of its Minneapolis locations, and five flavors of Tea Latte Fusion are being introduced this week. I think this rebrand is a great idea for Caribou Coffee. Since Caribou Coffee started 18 years ago, their competition has increased greatly, as many more coffee shops have started up. The company has had a rough patch financially and really does need to remind their customers why they're great.