It's the little things that matter

Posted by Christopher S Penn on Jul 15, 2008 in Customer Service | 11 comments

At the recent NASFAA conference, I was wandering around Epcot after sessions one day, and noticed this in the International Gateway:

This is on the side of a bridge at the France pavilion facing the boat dock. Maybe 1 in 100 visitors to Epcot will actually see the side of the bridge from this angle, yet Disney saw fit to put a small easel with a half finished boat dock painting and a bicycle on this little ledge.

This is exactly what I’d expect to see on the banks of the Seine.

This is why Disney is the master of the experience. We all strive to deliver an experience of some kind to our customers. Sometimes we even deliver a remarkable experience. Disney takes it to the next level by providing layered experiences so that, for those looking for breaks in the illusion, they find instead reinforcements of the experience.

What would your sales and marketing look like if at every turn, your customers’ experiences were reinforced, rather than diminished?

This is something that came up in a roundabout way at the MITX panel discussion today that I had the pleasure of being a part of, along with Aaron Strout, Chris Brogan, and Brian Halligan, in a discussion of what makes great design.

Great design is more than just sales and marketing. Great design is emotion. When you pick up an iPod, when you look at a beautiful car, it inspires an emotional, visceral response. Your rational mind catches up later, but with great design, you feel it first.

Disney’s touches – which could have been omitted – demonstrate great design, because their attention to detail creates that emotional response. You FEEL like you’re in Paris, or what you’d imagine Paris is like.

I strive in my own work to eventually achieve Imagineer-like skills. Not there yet, but working harder at it.

How do you perceive design? How important are the little things to you?

FDIC Insurance Covers $100K. Who has more than that in cash? You do.

Posted by Christopher S Penn on Jul 15, 2008 in Money | 6 comments

An important note for you.

If your employer has a payroll account at a bank that exceeds $100,000 in cash, anything over the $100,000 is at risk if the bank that manages your payroll pulls an IndyMac and goes broke.

Ask your employer today if there’s a backup plan to ensure that payroll funds are covered by FDIC insurance (kept in accounts less than $100K in cash) – because if your bank goes belly up and your payroll account is over the insurance limit, your paycheck goes with it.

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What if the FDIC fails?

Posted by Christopher S Penn on Jul 13, 2008 in Money | 33 comments

Here’s a scary thought. According to the Wall Street Journal and CNN, the failure of IndyMac, the second largest federally insured financial institution ever to fail, will cost FDIC approximately 10% of its insurance fund.

FDIC is the backstop, the guarantee to depositors at banks that there will not be a repeat of the Great Depression, when bank runs wiped out banks and depositors alike.

Here’s the unthinkable. IndyMac isn’t going to be the last of the major financial institutions to fail. (Fannie and Freddie, anyone?) There are a LOT of them on shaky ground. Bear Stearns, IndyMac so far – Lehman isn’t looking so good lately, and Bank of America just assumed control of the festering carcass of Countrywide.

How many failures of depositor-funded institutions can the FDIC handle before it’s in serious trouble?

I advised on my work blog that as long as your money is FDIC insured, you don’t have anything to worry about.

I’m not so sure of that now.

Keep an eye on the amount of damage the FDIC takes per bank loss. Keep a tally.

Right now, the FDIC is out somewhere between $4 billion and $8 billion due to IndyMac. This is out of its insurance fund of $53 billion.

If the FDIC’s insurance fund drops below $10 billion, it would probably be a really good idea to start looking at someplace to store your money other than in a financial institution of the United States of America. One big bank or several medium banks could wipe that insurance fund out at the $10 billion mark, and then it’s time to get your cash out of the bank, because there’s no safety net and a single run means if you get to the bank later than its other customers, no money for you.

Today is not the day to hit the big red panic button. Not yet. But don’t lose sight of it, and have a plan B ready to go.

Other blogs have more coverage.

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How podcasting is changing the world

Posted by Christopher S Penn on Jul 11, 2008 in Video | 4 comments

A Jolt at Podcasters Across Borders 2008:

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Five Step Method of Protecting Yourself From Negative Influences : Fridays

Posted by Christopher S Penn on Jul 11, 2008 in Awakening, Buddhism, Jedi mind tricks | 3 comments

Five Step Method of Protecting Yourself From Negative Influences : Fridays

Friday is about protection. Protection, in the traditional sense, is the mental state of actively burning away all of the negative influences you’re aware of in your life. Clear your mind if your schedule permits, and grab your media library. Indulge in a short movie clip, song, or personal saying that emphasizes shielding and protecting against harm. Perhaps it’s a science fiction movie or a medieval setting in which an armored knight repels arrows, or the theme song of a superhero for whom bullets bounce off harmlessly.

On Friday, as the week winds down, square away all your work for the week, tying up as many loose ends as you can. Reply to emails that need a reply, then archive them out of sight. If your messaging systems permit, turn on an out of office notification the moment you’re prepared to leave the office, informing those that would contact you during your weekend that you’re simply unavailable. If you work as an independent contractor, establish the expectation that if a client has needs during off hours, they should be prepared to pay a king’s ransom for your time, until your office reopens on Monday.

Set and enforce boundaries rigorously. If you have an office phone or PDA, power it down entirely once you depart the office. Control which media you choose to allow in your life, which ways that news can arrive, as news is rarely good these days. Choose to replace mundane forms of media (thoughtless television, rambling radio, etc.) with the media that continues to inspire you, that builds inside of you a burning passion for accomplishment and meaning.

Review your past week in your mind as you prepare to end your work week. You’ve focused on a fresh start, correct actions, communications, and thoughts, and expressed a willingness to blockade negativity from your life. Now you’re prepared to head into the weekend, into your private time, fresh and energized, knowing that your private time is truly yours and you’re protected from yourself and others who would influence you to outcomes that are not in your best interests.

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