That was my New Year's resolution for 2010. I wanted to spend more time being creative — thinking about and solving problems, both personally and professionally — and less time figuring out how I was going to find more time to be more creative. Finding more hours in the day is impossible. You have 24. That's it. Wishing for more won't do any good at all. Once I sleep, eat, spend time with my family and friends, bathe, brush my teeth and exercise (not necessarily in that order) and drive my daily commute, I'm left with 8 hours. Eight hours a day to accomplish everything I need and want to accomplish. That should be plenty of time. Except there's email, meetings, answering employee questions and the job of putting out any fires that flare up over the course the day. Waiting in line. Driving to and from meetings. Looking for things that I've lost or misplaced. Racking my brain to remember what all I needed from the grocery store. Driving back to the grocery store because I forgot something. After all that, I'm looking at roughly 3-4 hours that I can actually focus on accomplishing a specific task. My project list, like most people, needs a lot more of my time and attention than I have to give it. This leads to stress, sacrificing family time, sleepless nights and a deteriorating ability to actually focus on projects when I do have the time because I'm constantly worrying about something else I need to be doing or a lingering project that hasn't been finished. Frankly, living like this sucks. And I don't want my life to suck. I need a way to do the impossible — to add more hours to my day.

A few months ago I was introduced to David Allen's book Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity, via Todd Henry at the Accidental Creative. I'm not real big on self-help books but I decided I'd give it a read and see what all the hype was about. To say that the book has changed how I approach my days wouldn't be fair. I've completely rearranged my organizational structure, meaning I now actually have an organizational structure, not a random collection of notepads and post-its with half legible scribblings and random thoughts floating in fifteen different locations. I won't get into the details of what the book teaches but I will say that having a structure — a real, repeatable, I-know-exactly-where-that-is-and-can-have-it-in-front-of-me-in-seconds organizational structure — has been an incredible boost to my daily creativity. As someone who thrives on being creative, my happiness, and in conjunction my effectiveness, has skyrocketed. I've created a central collection system for everything my brain tries to store. Shopping lists, gift ideas for my brother's birthday, beers I want to try, random creative inspirations, next steps on every project I'm currently working on. Everything goes into the system and gets stored in a proper place (outside of my head) where it's available immediately when I need it. No more worrying about what I need to be working on next or if someone is waiting on me to finish a project. It's all right there in front of me, constantly being updated and adjusted. I can now make good decisions about how I'm using my time and feel good about those decisions. I've found that approaching projects with a clear, guilt-free mind produces better results in a shorter amount of time. Better results in less time? Who wouldn't want that. It took me awhile to get comfortable with this system, but now that it's up and running and I trust it, I don't know how I lived without it.

I'm a creative. I don't like structure. I don't like rules in regards to how I spend my time creating. When inspiration strikes me, I want to be able to embrace it when I choose to, not when I have time to. By utilizing organization to clear my mind and taking advantage of those "weird" moments during the day to move projects forward, I've effectively added more hours to my day. Through structure I've found freedom. ]]> http://www.whygopure.com/pure-underground.php Not long ago, market researchers could confidently build and execute near-flawless quantitative research studies by interviewing respondents in their homes via a landline telephone. Most American adults would reliably answer their telephone at home, usually between the hours of 5 and 9 o'clock, and willingly offer their thoughts and opinions on a variety of consumer-related issues. Although phone surveys are still a recommended research methodology today in many cases, the landline-only household is dying a slow death, and the implications for market researchers are profound.

Early last year the number of cell phone-only households surpassed the total of landline-only homes in the United States. Even more stunning, roughly a third of the country relies almost entirely on cell phones. The reality is that in 2010 most of us live in a wireless world in which we communicate through a variety of mobile devices and on a wide array of social networking sites online. What does this mean for market researchers and organizations like Pure? The answer depends on who you ask but this much is clear: it's never been more difficult for market researchers to reach their targets through traditional research methods. Many believe the industry has reached a tipping point where new and radical information gathering techniques will define the industry for years to come.

However, a silver lining can be found for market researchers in the abatement of landline phones in contemporary America. Consumers from every corner of the globe have found an outlet for their opinions in the digital world, and voluntarily offer their thoughts on blogs, news sites and popular social media sites like Twitter and Facebook. There's little doubt the amount of information from such sources can be intimidating. But the Internet Age has given market researchers an enormous opportunity to connect with consumers in an incredibly efficient way. The invisible hand of the information market has already begun to shape research organizations and define new rules for the industry. Where market research once used to be the practice of solving puzzles, now, I believe, it's the art of solving mysteries.

Moreover, today's market research leaders need to innovate and develop better tools to capture thoughts and opinions from an increasingly distracted consumer. Think about it — Generation Y will soon occupy the nation's most powerful consumer group and will therefore become market researchers' prime targets. Members of this generation were raised on computers, are largely fluent in Internet slang, and think a landline telephone is something that is better reserved for the history books, not households. For those of us seeking opinions from the masses, this means that if you're not willing to invent and internalize new research methods then you simply won't succeed.

Finally, for those of us who are routinely interrupted by a market researcher's phone call at home (typically while you're eating dinner) there is good reason to believe the calls will someday cease. There will be a day where your home phone is no longer the prime vehicle for the delivery of society's most important questions. However, there will always be questions to ask and the inventive, relentless researchers will find new ways to capture and record your thoughts and opinions. ]]> http://www.whygopure.com/pure-underground.php Several of my colleagues will likely shun me for this comment, but I've never understood why brands pour thousands of dollars into radio ad placement. Of course I'm biased as VP of New Media, but radio is a constricting vehicle without much room for message variance. In my lifetime, I've only heard two radio ads that I can still recall. The first was an off-tune older male singing a parody to some children's song. I have no idea the brand or purpose of the ad. The other was a safety plea from a young child. Again, I could not tell you the brand or specific message.

Brand recall is vital to marketing success these days. And, I would argue, recall is best achieved through successfully surprising your audience. Although radio ads should and will still be bought, in my opinion new media better offers that surprise.

What's an example of a "new" medium that can offer surprise? A door. Specifically, director/producer Jon Turteltaub's door at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California. I had the pleasure of meeting the creative mind behind National Treasure, 3 Ninjas, Phenomenon and other films while working on the west coast. He's passionate about the unconventional element, and, in his office, that element is the door.

In the hallway of the Animation building, Turteltaub's suite entrance looks like all the rest. An opaque door opens into a small waiting room resembling a doctor's office. Directly across the room is an ornate elevator entrance, frighteningly similar to those at the Tower of Terror.

Turteltaub's guests press the button again and again, often growing impatient with the machine. As it turns out, it's simply a door. Turteltaub apparently entertains himself by watching people's interactions and reactions to the disguised office entrance.

Regardless of the personal benefits, his door sends a message about his personality — the Turteltaub brand, which is fascinated by disguise, mystery and the unknown. In one office visit, visitors will remember who he is and why he's different — even in Hollywood. That's the value of unconventional new media: Stand apart and prosper. ]]> http://www.whygopure.com/pure-underground.php Integrating your brand into the fabric of your organization is paramount for success. Nevertheless, I'm frequently amazed at the number of CEOs who relegate their brand to "fluff" or something they'll pay attention to only when the budget allows. Gone unchallenged, this mindset can lead a company down the dangerous path of "branding malpractice" and possibly bankruptcy.

It's this shortsighted view of branding that can place a good company at great risk. Their market and mind share erodes so badly that they must spend twice as much to regain a competitive advantage. But it doesn't have to reach this point.

What can be done to eliminate the risk of branding malpractice? The following action items should be carefully considered by every CEO with the responsibility to protect one of the most important assets of their organization: their company's brand.

Understand brand anatomy. Branding is more than logos and business cards. It's the very heart and soul of your business. It's a powerful, compelling blend of the emotional and rational engagements that win and build loyal customers committed to acquiring your products and services. Do a deep dive on your brand by conducting a brand exploration with key members of your management team.

Know the present value of your brand. Your brand's value and overall performance can be and should be measured routinely. Investing in research to benchmark your brand's position and power within the marketplace pays dividends. Consider the use of both qualitative and quantitative research to assess your brand's position. This valuable research data will help you align the strengths of your brand and shore up any credibility gaps that may exist in the minds of your consumers. Armed with this data, you will be ready to establish ongoing indicators to measure and monitor brand equity.

Create brand alignment. Every successful organization clearly articulates its mission, vision and value statements, and many have "culture" statements that personify the organization's core purpose and direction. The hierarchy of the brand must be directly tied to the organizational platform and must properly align with the mission, vision, values and culture of the organization.

As CEO, be the Chief Branding Cheerleader. Brand managers play a critical role in stewarding the brand, but CEOs who embrace and elevate their company's brand to an essential executive metric will jettison the brand forward both internally and externally.

Elevate the brand to the C-Suite. When was the last time you spent more than 3 minutes discussing your brand during an executive team or board of directors meeting? Executive team members can be some of the best promoters of the brand. Without their complete support and active participation, delivering brand promises across every aspect of the organization may become fragmented and impotent.

Create a brand platform. Compose a written brand platform specifically outlining brand promises and goals to best differentiate your company from its competitors. Integrate the brand platform into the marketing communications plan, and share the highlights of the brand platform with every employee. Seriously consider hiring an expert (like Pure) to walk you through the entire brand development process from exploration to execution.

Equip employees. Provide appropriate levels of brand training to all employees early and frequently in order to equip and engage them to deliver on every brand promise. Give employees the tools and motivation to actively live out the brand. Empower employees to become your best brand advocates.

Hire for brand fit. Recruit and retain employees who are passionate about the organization's brand. Seek out individuals who love what they do and are highly engaged to fulfill the company's brand promises.

Celebrate your brand. Harvest customer success stories that demonstrate the company's ability to deliver on its brand promises. Recognize and reward employees for embracing the company's brand.

It's never too late to enhance your brand. Share this list of action items with your management team and devise a plan of action. Your team will be energized, and your company will reap the rewards of building a courageous brand.

And don't hesitate to contact Pure if we can be of any assistance. We'd be happy to schedule a branding exploration session! ]]>