This Column Is Brought to You by the Letter 'P'

“P” is one of my favorite alphanumeric characters. Perhaps because I am a notorious procrastinator or maybe because I’ve always been told I have such a wacky personality. But the reason I’m writing about the letter “P” is because I’ve discovered some “P”-related tools that are helping me work toward my business development goals (and can help you work toward yours).

Just last week, some of MagMall’s interns (we like free labor, too) arranged for me to speak to 70 of their classmates at “Career Day” at Beverly Hills High School. While thinking about my topic, I realized that the letter “P” could be used to frame a discussion around the one goal I wanted to highlight — being prepared. Because no matter what career one goes into, preparation is the key to success (as well as a bit of luck and divine providence).

To aid me in my discussion, I brought a pen, a piece of paper, a phone, and a Palm Pilot. My premise was simple: No matter how technology-laden our society becomes, we must always be ready to write things down. We need tools by our side to jot down those rare, brief moments of inspiration. To break it down into two words — make lists.

So, this covers the pen and paper, and perhaps even the Palm Pilot.

What about the phone (and the Palm, too, now that Palms are “connected”)? This is the second part of being “P” conscious. Having lists of things to do or ideas to follow up on is one thing, but doing something about them is another. The phone is representative of the notion that you need to share your ideas — either to obtain advice on improving them or just to get them out there in the public domain.

If the Internet and email have taught us anything, it is that the world is connected and people want to share ideas. As an e-marketer, your success is very much connected to your ability to communicate.

We are all bombarded by countless marketing messages all day long. A person might wake to a Timex alarm clock, use a Crest toothbrush, then drink Folgers coffee in a Mickey Mouse cup. With all of this input, it gets harder each day to focus and remember. Then, at work, we have so many plates spinning in the air — from various marketing deals to hundreds of daily emails — that our ability to work efficiently has deteriorated.

So, if you haven’t guessed by now, I’m on this crazy organization kick that I thought I would share with you. I know I haven’t provided you with a direct marketing gimmick or weighed in on a controversy in this particular article, but sometimes we need to step back from the daily grind and ask ourselves if we are on the right path and whether we should be walking or running down that path (or taking another path entirely). In the spirit of reflection, I invite you to share with me your requests for future articles. Let me know if my path coincides with yours.

Happy holidays.