Adrian Gostick

In our speaking engagements, we hand out stuffed carrot toys to those who participate by answering questions, making a comment, or occasionally saying something flattering to us. People have sent us pictures of these Garrett the Carrots in many historic places around the world such as the Coliseum…

the Leaning Tower of Pisa …

but rarely on Larry King’s CNN stage.

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Anna Nicole’s young daughter appeared on King’s show the other night, and brought with her a favorite toy—Garrett. How did it end up in the toddler’s hands? No idea. But our Carrot trainers have handed enough out around the world and someone must have passed it on.
Send us pictures of Carrots in fun places (family friendly please) and we’ll post some of the best.

 

Having grown up in the British Isles, I understand a little of the prim thinking behind this recent AP story: A no-kissing rule has just been enacted at Quay railway station in Warrington, England. Apparently departing passengers were taking too much time giving their loved ones a peck goodbye before they headed off into London each morning. The station managers stated that passengers who want a kiss should pay to park.

Yikes. Am I the only one who thinks “efficiency” has gone too far? As a society, are we so intolerant of affection that we can’t allow the person ahead another three seconds in the car to have a smooch?
Tomorrow, please remember to give those your love a kiss goodbye before heading to work. Heck, linger over it if you’d like. Those of us who show affection at home are happier and more productive in all aspects of our lives. As are those who are accepting of people’s need to connect with their loved ones.

A full-page letter from Wells Fargo President and CEO John Stumpf appeared in the Sunday editions of the New York Times and the Washington Post and today’s editions of the Wall Street Journal and USA Today. In the letter, Stumpf explains why team member recognition is so important to the company’s success, thanks team members for their work and tells all stakeholders how much the company values all its team members. The letter says:

“Okay, time out,” says Stumpf. “Something doesn’t feel right. “

“Everyone agrees that in this economic environment, all employers should re-examine how much they spend on recognition events for their employees. Especially publicly-traded companies owned by their shareholders. Especially institutions that received investments from U.S. taxpayers through the U.S. Treasury’s Capital Purchase Program.

“The problem is many media stories on this subject have been deliberately misleading. These one-sided stories lead you to believe every employee recognition event is a junket, a boondoggle, a waste or that it’s for highly-paid executives. Nonsense! Because of the misperceptions these stories have created, Wells Fargo has decided to cancel all its major annual recognition events for its team members for the rest of this year.

“So who gets hurt when this happens? The Wells Fargo team members across America who are most deserving of recognition and our gratitude. Tellers. Personal bankers. Phone bankers. Financial advisors. Mortgage salespeople and processors. Operations clerks. Technology specialists. Credit analysts. All of those who make it possible for our customers to save, invest, own homes, and build businesses that create jobs—team members who enabled us to make more than a half trillion dollars in new loan commitments and mortgage originations in the last year and a half. These team members work long hours to support their families and to make sure we give our customers the very best service we can possibly give.

“Annually for the past 20 years we’ve recognized our top team members from various businesses at several special four-day events, like the one we had planned for our terrific mortgage team who helped us originate $230 billion in mortgages the last year. For many, it’s the only time in their lives that they’re publicly recognized and thanked for a job well done. This recognition energizes them. It inspires them and their team members to want to create an even better experience for our customers. Another annual event—which our top performers in community banking all had looked forward to—was to have been held in May. But not this year. Who loses besides our team members? The workers who depend on our business. The hospitality industry. Hotel housekeepers. Restaurant servers. The airlines.

“The funds to pay for recognition events such as these do not come from the government. They come from our profits. We believe our profits actually increase by rewarding and recognizing our best performers in sales and in service. Competition to be recognized inspires everyone to work harder and smarter. We’re as frugal as any company in spending our shareholders’ money thoughtfully and responsibly. Events such as this are the heart of our culture because our product is service, delivered by caring, energized, talented, loyal team members who earn competitive, fair wages and benefits.

“We just hope the hard-working people of America understand, appreciate and support employers who try to do the right thing for their team members, customers, communities, and shareholders.

“Since we aren’t thanking our award-winners in person this year we’ll have to do it this way. Thank you all our 281,000 team members.

“You are the best!“

A powerful reminder of the impact of a great work place. Culture is more important than cash. Watch this story from CNN.

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A great Super Bowl on Sunday. Congrats to the Steelers. And yet once again, around the water cooler on Monday, it was the commercials that were generating the buzz (actually, does anyone still have a water cooler?).

While statistics, sales and sex are still used to great effect in certain ads, the proliferation of humor in media over the last few decades can’t be ignored. Beer companies, ironically, whose traditional aim is to glamorize and romance their products, have shifted their objective from titillation to tickling funny bones. Think of all the millions of dollars spent on Super Bowl ads in just 2009 alone and those you’re likely to remember made you guffaw.

In fact, according to yesterday’s USA Today, all 10 of the top 10 ads tested for memorability used humor. Number one was Doritos Crystal Ball (below), number two and three featured Budweiser’s Clydesdales and number four was Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head taking a ride with Bridgestone. Nothing serious in that bunch, is there?

Some leaders worry that humor dilutes a message, makes it less urgent and torpedoes credibility. As you can see from these results, nothing could be further than the truth. Sending a message with levity demonstrates a clear understanding of the principles of effective communication. It also shows the audience you value their time enough to want to entertain and connect with them and make it worth their while.

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