This narrow-angle color image of the Earth, dubbed ‘Pale Blue Dot’, is a part of the first ever ‘portrait’ of the solar system taken by Voyager.

A reflection by Carl Sagan:

From this distant vantage point, the Earth might not seem of particular interest. But for us, it’s different. Consider again that dot. That’s here, that’s home, that’s us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every “superstar,” every “supreme leader,” every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there – on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.

It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we’ve ever known.

We came to the conclusion that a great leader, is many things, but one very important one is a disseminator. A great leader is someone who spreads their ideas and vision to other people. Either through publications, speaking, coaching, mentoring, a leader is apt at “planting seeds” in as many places as possible not only to give greater life to his ideals, but also to help others grow with them.

Wait a minute, I thought! That sounds strangely like men’s biological function. As participants of life, men are programmed to spread their seeds as much as possible. From the sheer amount of sperm they’re able to produce, to the oft quoted idea that men are meant to be with many women, men are trained by nature to spread and create as many of themselves as they can. It’s part of the formula that allowed the human race to succeed.

It hit me that that is exactly why men have traditionally been “the leaders” in our society. It’s never been about men being better than women, its simply that their biological preparation has trained them to do what leadership has traditionally demanded. Replicate as much as possible!

Today however, we are in a world where the greatest imperial powers have crumbled. The largest companies that we have built have collapsed and to top it off, the economy has forced the greatest builder of the biggest stuff on earth, Dubai, to stop building. What does that tell us? Spreading your seed is not enough. It is good to expand, but what’s the point of doing so if everything you plant goes bust? What’s the point of having thousands of employees if you can’t properly nurture them? What’s the point of invading other countries, if you can’t handle them? What’s the point of having tons of children if you can’t love them all?

Women however are the nurturers. They are predisposed to take nascent beings, ideas and concepts and patiently nurture them to bring life. They are also more emotional thinkers, a value that has long been missing from strategic decision making. Women are also less impulsive. They are adept at thinking through a decision without diving in head first. Case in point, women investors perform much better than men. They lose a lot less money in tough times and earn more in the long haul.

The point is this. Today is the day for female leadership. Not because I’m a feminist (because anyone who knows me knows that that is the furthest thing from the truth), but because our economy and our society are in need of nurture and cultivation. This also doesn’t mean women leaders. What it means is thinking critically, investing in projects and seeing them all the way through, not just growing for growing sake. Employees are more dissatisfied than ever in big companies, people are tired of the demands and consequences of the bigger, faster lifestyle, our children need our attention. It’s time we invest in that that we’ve built and begun before going on to the next big thing. This will not only give us purpose, but further create sustainable ideas and businesses that are fundamental to growing and giving new life.

Creativity is all about re-arranging, re-inventing and re-thinking. Changing your perspective or seeing something new can help revitalize you and help you to work it out. At my fingertips, I have a fabulous city that is filled with films, bookstores, theaters, museums and music. I flex my design muscles by reading design blogs and magazines, following designers on twitter, and continually looking at sites to see what others are up to and talking about. There are also design groups and events to go to. Meeting and getting to know other designers is beneficial for many reasons, if not only to share nerdy design references.

I count myself lucky to be a creative professional. I love nothing more then having a great brainstorm session or coming up with a solid design solution. You get a runners high off of it, the creative endorphins kick in and you marvel at how fortunate you are to design for a living.

Dear Recession,

The two years that you have been in my life have been the most unstable and yet transformative that our business/organization/department has ever seen (our balance sheet was particularly shocked by your arrival).

When I first heard of you in 2007, I figured that after years of banks and mortgage brokers gorging themselves on unqualified homebuyers, you were just paying them a visit to make amends. Next, when I heard the talking heads on television warning me to stop shopping, I thought it was a scare tactic. It took the near collapse of the auto industry to convince me I was mistaken. I quickly realized you were not particularly selective and further how much the world economy was interdependent.

As soon as 2008, my funding/customers/clients began to fall away. When a grant that was cut off/account who couldn’t afford us anymore/partner going out of business, we began to feel your wrath. First we had to make amends by cutting expenses, pretty soon we were cutting jobs. The swiftness of it all caught me so off guard that I think I failed to lead where I should have, bringing my business/organization/department further into the hole.

With cash flow at a minimum and a dozen or so of my staff members gone, you got me thinking. I mean really reflecting. I started to ask myself questions I hadn’t thought about since I took the helm of this operation. What is it that we do best? What value do we provide our customers and distributors/partners? Why do we do business? How are we going to sell/operate?

This thinking quickly propelled me into a week-long period of sleepless nights, research and maddening note taking… It took my husband/wife/partner pointing out to me that I hadn’t been this excited in years. That’s when it hit me…I was actually planning for the future! I had been so taken up in my success over the last 10+ years that I forgot to do what got our business/organization/department here to begin with… plan for the future!

There is a Spanish song called “Me Asustas, Pero Me Gustas.” (This translates to “You Scare Me, But I Like You.”) I never thought I’d say this about such a difficult time for our business/organization/department, but this has been a hidden blessing. I have realized that no matter how successful I become, I less not forget the importance of setting goals, adapting to change and strategizing for our future.

Communications works much like the brain. With it, we recreate a person’s (or a group of people’s) projection of reality in words, images, and scenarios. Its when people see themselves in something, that they create the emotional connections that drive action. (It’s what we here lovingly call information consumption.)

What we know today about the brain, only proves that everything in life is a matter of perception. If we perceive a problem; we act like there is one. If we perceive love; we respond to it. If we perceive happiness; we become it. The quicker human beings recognize this as reality, the sooner they can begin to make the most of it.

Until then, we communicators will just have to make the best of the situation…

That doesn’t sound right, does it? How can I win, when I lost or stayed the same?

The answer is that in all three situations you’ve measured your performance, which gives you a better chance to set proper expectations the next time around. See, we’re not trying to be the best at predicting outcomes; we’re merely trying to do the best we can to beat unexpected obstacles and make progress. Software development teams who don’t hit their deadlines have done nothing wrong. In fact, they’ve done a more honest job than teams that claim to predict the future. In the end they have software to show off; it’s just being built at a slower pace than some people may have anticipated.

What we have here is a problem setting proper expectations, not a problem delivering software. Ultimately building software is not a predictive endeavor, it’s an adaptive and creative one.

The special exhibit that was up was called “The Psychedelic Experience,” which showcased rock posters from the San Francisco Bay Area from 1965-71.  There were over 300 posters that were done by artists who lacked any formal training but had an abundance of creativity and experimented with type, illustration (and potentially other things) in unorthodox ways. Some of the posters and images are now iconic of that decade, which was pretty amazing to see up close and personal.

Quote by Jacaeber Kastor:
“And that is why posters became beautiful and blossomed and flourished: because they had to say everything. They couldn’t just tell you the information about the show. They had to tell you what kind of people you might meet, what kind of far out trip you might have or perhaps even reveal the mysteries of the universe. Wow. Quantum mechanics, visual mud wrestling, Acid Test pop quiz on a phone pole!”

Something that I found interesting was that some of the artists purposefully used hard to decipher typography.  It required the viewer to examine it a little bit longer and figure out who was playing which venue and when. This type of messaging was very purposeful to the target audience, the younger crowd of San Francisco, who were actively part of the up and coming music scene.  To its credit this is exactly what good marketing does; targets a specific audience with a customized message and drives them to do something with a call to action. Figuring out how to connect with your target audience is still a key marketing principal today. Without it, the messaging could be lost; if it is too generic, people will most likely not read it or follow up with it.

The message that these posters conveyed was so concentrated and direct, that people heeded the call to action and went out and supported their community of artists and musicians. These poster designers were wildly successful in their marketing efforts and were able to communicate in inventive and clever ways.  In doing so, they made a culture iconic.

 The old field of dreams “If you build it they will come” approach does not apply here.

As I stressed in my last blog this new type of media is all about connecting with others.  Just like at a real networking event you must work the crowd.   Another major point to take into account is that unlike some more traditional marketing tools these social media sites need to be updated quite frequently.  I know that might sound scary but it really isn’t a just about a simple sentence a day…  Social media can be an opportunity to redirect traffic to your company website, let people know about upcoming events, or even keeping followers updated on your interoffice hi-jinx.

By keeping your message simple, strategic and updating often you can be successful in social networking.

It isn’t enough just setting up an account, but like RuPaul said it best “You better WORK”

Change can be good. 
The industrial and technological revolutions respectively improved and transformed societies and industries.

Change can be bad. 
Conversely, such revolutions cause people to lose jobs, markets to fluctuate and economies to deflate.

Change can be frightening.
  Having to do something differently as a result of evolving circumstances can be daunting for anyone. 

But one thing remains.  Change is.  Change is because it is the basic principle behind everything that exists.  From computers, to cellular behavior, to relationships, to life and death, everything we know exists because it constantly changes¹.  Change in essence is the balance of life.

That is why after seven (7) years, our logo is no longer just a graphic identifier.  It has not only changed to better represent Blue Daring, but it also represents the inherent balance that we bring to our customers; two apparent opposites coming together perfectly –
practicality + creativity, intelligence + hard work, experience + adaptability…

blue + daring = bd

Like our logo, we have refined our lines of service to reflect this dichotomy…

Through our strategy division we strengthen companies from within.  We help executives launch ideas, capitalize on people and information and improve workflows through strategic recommendations, systems, documentation and process improvement.  

Conversely through our communications division we improve organizations externally.  We help organizations be more relevant, engaging and visible to their target audiences using marketing planning, branding, printed materials, messaging, the web and strategic outreach.  

No other company can provide a leader, a business, or an organization the comprehensive and balanced value that Blue Daring can.

Today our economy is in a state of change; changing industries, changing people, and changing dynamics between the latter…. Re-acting to change forces us to view it as a threat; where as using it to transform your business (and your bottom line) makes it an undeniable asset.

Today we invite you to embrace change as an opportunity to reflect, revive and recharge: your business, your brand, your workflow. We have and want to help you do the same.

Thank you as always for your business and attention. Stay tuned this month as we unveil the new website and share more information about what Blue Daring can do for you. In the interim, please visit our blog and let us know what you think about the new face of Blue.

Melissa M. Ballate
Blue Daring
www.bluedaring.com

1.  In computers it is binary code; the 1s and 0s at the base of all electrical function.  In cellular behavior it is the positive nucleus surrounded by the negative electrons.  Relationships ebb and flow through their lifetime; with one party having more/less position at any given point in time (i.e. listening vs. talking, giving vs. taking).

I wanted to share some thoughts on the benefits of working with a ‘small’ strategy partner with specialized services. One that has chosen not to expand like the Fortune 100s or the Big 5.

What You See is What You Get – In small organizations, there is no room to hide around big ideas and operations. Intellect & expertise of a consultant’s team is what drives outcomes & success. Ingenuity abounds and takes projects to the next level!

Quick & Responsive – Clients are the pulse of the small business and it essential to be on top of their expectations and needs. No time to fall behind.

Creativity Rules – Group think is not a hazard. Due to the diversity of our clients and business opportunities – small creativity is always on the go and listening to the best practices to unite form and function across industries.

Challenges & Opportunities Become Real – Since your investment in specialized services may be a bit on the high end – there is no time or resources to waste on ‘canned’ solutions. A specialized approach that accounts for best practices and ultimately challenges your business model and culture can create transformative opportunities into the future.

SMALL is not only big, it’s SMART.