Always Avoid Seagulls
If you were a bird, would you want to be a seagull or an eagle? Besides being our national symbol, the majestic eagle is an incredibly smart bird of prey. A seagull, on the other hand, is an annoying scavenger. They’ll eat anything they find. If an eagle finds a seagull, he’ll have it for lunch.
You find Eagles and Seagulls in the business world too. Regular readers of the Weekly Report know that I’m a long-time fan of author Ken Blanchard. In his 1985 book The One Minute Manager, he describes the seagull style of management. “Seagull managers fly in, make a lot of noise, and then fly out.”
I’ve had to deal with several seagulls in my life and they’re pretty easy to spot. The loudest guy in the room isn’t always the smartest, or nicest. Like the guy who talks down to a server at a restaurant….probably a seagull. So is the lady who berates the Barista at Starbucks by talking about the server to everyone else within ear shot, “It seems to me, if I paid for two pumps of hazelnut, I shouldn’t have to beg for it. I mean, c’mon people!”
Seagulls have an inflated sense of cognitive ability. They feel they have to belittle people in order to make themselves feel more important.
And eagle, on the other hand, has great vision. They can view things from a mile high, literally. They’re fearless and patient. They’re not afraid to wait for the right time to make a move. They also take the time to nurture younger eagles. They don’t squawk a lot, but when you hear them, watch out — it’s best to get out of their way.
My advice to young professionals is to be more like an eagle and avoid seagulls at all costs. If you feed a seagull, it’ll keep coming back, and then you’ll have real “mess” on your hands. In this respect, if you encounter a seagull at work, they best thing to do is shoo them away.
Thanks to Ken Blanchard for the inspiration. If you know a seagull and want to change that behavior, call my friend JJ White at Dale Carnegie Training. I’ve seen them turn a seagull manager into soaring eagle in six short weeks.
Monday, June 24 – A Doggone Good Time
This past weekend we were thrilled to attend our client, Toby Town RVA’s Grand Opening Pawty. It was a terrific turnout with food trucks, games, giveaways, and of course — plenty of pet parents excited to tour their brand new facility. If you’re looking for exceptional doggy daycare and staycare, you’ll want to check the place out for yourself. Owners, Gloria and Kath would love to show you around their new place.
If you need info or directions, check out the brand new website we created for them. We think it’s doggone good.
Tuesday, June 25 – You Learn Something New Every Day
In addition to a rich and rewarding experience working at RVA’s greatest ad agency, we strive to give our interns a hands-on learning experience. For example, they learn skills they’ll take with them for life, like how to make a perfect pot of coffee. Last week, I taught one how to use a fax machine. #AncientMysterySolved
We continued with our longtime tradition of intern nickname presentations Tuesday, with Account Manager intern, Shayla “Sheila” Johnson and Graphic Design intern Daniel “Not Danny” Golden presenting. Both did a great job stepping up and “pitching” the entire team. And Kate “Katertot” Molchany was there to support her fellow interns.
Wednesday, June 26 – An Afternoon Of Anniversaries
On Wednesday we celebrated Graphic Designer Erin Rebmann’s second “official” anniversary with the company. She did spend six months prior to that as intern while she got her second degree at VCU. But we don’t count those months, because her primary intern responsibilities were making coffee. I haven’t had a good cup of joe since (just kidding).
Wednesday afternoon, a few of the Madison+Main-iacs attended the PRSA Luncheon. They learned all about the integrated marketing that has done over the years for their Virginia Is For Lovers campaign. Fun fact: Virginia was one of the first states to create a tourism slogan — beating “I Heart NY” to the chase by eight years. Keep an eye out for their upcoming “50 Years of Love” campaign rollout.
Thursday, June 27 – Divide & Conquer
On Thursday Senior Director of Marketing and Sales Lisa Bates drove up from Williamsburg to meet with the creative team. We are working on designing new sales and marketing collateral pieces for our client, Williamsburg Landing and Lisa brought us a beautiful present, a silver engraved Jefferson Cup. We love our clients and our clients love us. #Awww
Friday, June 28 – TGIF
TGIF people. I would be remiss if I didn’t give a shoutout to our good friend and AFLAC rep Bobby “KickAss” Kelland, who will be riding his bike 75 miles on Saturday for charity. (I hope he doesn’t ride in a straight line, because I’ll have to go and pick him up when he’s finished.) All kidding aside, Bobby will raise funds for West End Presbyterian Church’s preschool scholarship fund. He hopes to raise $5,000 and I’m sure you can throw Bobby a few bucks, can’t you? Here’s the link: http://www.wepc.org/event/1345399-2019-06-29-4th-annual-bobby-kelland-ride-for-charity/
This morning we shut down the office for a few hours in support of our dear friend Kent Brockwell and his family. Kent lost his mom Linda last week and her memorial service was held at Covenant Woods this morning. It was a celebration of life and Kent delivered a heartfelt and humorous eulogy for his Mom. He also penned this poignant obituary in the Richmond Times-Dispatch. It was a gentle, yet somber reminder that we need to cherish family and friends. This weekend, you should call your mom. I’ll see mine next week, as we celebrate ‘Murica.
A Few of Our Favorite Events
We’re looking a little light on events this week! Got an upcoming event you want to share? Can we come? Send us the deets!
“People who produce good results feel good about themselves.”
— Ken Blanchard