Is It Safe to Tell The Truth in Your Office? The Most Important Element for Leadership to Be Taken Seriously

On page 9 of Liquid Leadership I point out the Credo of a Liquid Leader. Most importantly, the 2nd law stands out the most for leadership to be affective...

Ever work for a company that micromanages everything to death? In these environments a paper trail becomes more important than getting the work done. Our current enthusiasm for technology has created even more potential for micromanagement, via massive amounts of emails and documentation and endless meetings to sort through it all. Yet when this temptation is given in to, the result isn’t better communication or higher productivity, but the opposite.

Management becomes the last to know
what is actually happening.

Conversely, in companies that have moved to flatten their hierarchies and create environments where it is safer to point out the truth, you begin to notice that each person takes their role seriously. When responsibility is shifted to the individual—when people are given the freedom and power to manage their time and solve problems—the result is that no one wants to let down even a single member of their team.

Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.com

An organization like this runs more smoothly and with more trust. The best and the brightest naturally gravitate toward the chance to work with one another. They know courage will be rewarded, not penalized, and innovation will see the light of day. Such environments operate like entrepreneurial start-ups, with each individual engaged in the success of the company. People are encouraged to challenge one another. They operate with confidence and a sense of personal ambition because they have skin in the game.

This approach may fly in the face of every business manual you have ever read, but those manuals are out of date. We are not in easy times. Consider that betting on one direction or a single type of technology can send a company into bankruptcy overnight. All the more reason to put aside your ego, to listen, and to encourage the sharing of knowledge in every area of an organization’s operations. Environments such as these do not centralize creativity; they make it a systemic part of what drives their entire organization.

It is your job as a leader to support the development and creation of big ideas, integrating them into your company’s mix of products..."

The truth has become fuzzy these days as people are more interested in the almighty dollar instead of doing great things. We know fluoride is not safe to put in our water and drink on a daily basis. We know our food supply is filled with carcinogenic chemicals. We know our politicians are...well you get my drift.

But when drug company whistle-blower Cheryl Eckard tried to fix problems at a GlaxoSmithKline pharmaceutical factory in Puerto Rico she was fired.

The 60 Minutes story is here:
--------------------------------------

Bad Medicine: The Glaxo Case  

January 2, 2011 7:00 PM

Yet when Cheryl brought well documented problems to her boss, she was dismissed, told that it would be taken care of and eventually, when she pressed harder, fired. Admitting the truth can destroy entire companies and bring about unwanted changes. Yet the truth is where progress begins.

It is hard to tell the truth when doing so could bring a wave of lawsuits

By the way, how hard is it to act like a human being?

Some believe that Cheryl Eckard did what she did for the money - (she was awarded $96 million from a $750 million suit against GSK)...really? Did she know she would be a multimillionaire when she discovered drug mix-ups and unsanitary conditions at Glaxo's plant? It was her job to oversee quality control and if she had not followed through she would have been fired. But what is unforgivable is the reaction of the executives; they simply tried to make it seem as if conditions weren't that bad.

Shame does not seem to exist in some boardrooms

Want to make changes in your organization? How about your life or your community? Start by facing the truth...not your opinion. Like maybe my wife is right – I don't look good in that sweat suit anymore, (not that that has ever happened to me. LOL).

What is important to you? Paper trails, micromanagement, telling people what to do? Truth telling is not pretty...but it is transformational.

And as always, a special thank you to everyone who reads my blog. THANK YOU for your support my friends,

Brad Szollose 
Bridging The Generational Divide: Multigenerational management expert, award-winning author, business consultant and keynote speaker


PS: If you are interested in one of our white papers entitled... 

What Every Business Needs
to Know About Millennials:

Understanding How Technology Transforms Corporate Culture, Generational Behavior, and Impacts Management, Interaction and Expectations 

Email us with your name, title and email address.
Your information is confidential.

Ask me how I can help your company evolve into the 21st Century.

Brad Szollose is the foremost expert on Cross-Generational Issues and Workforce Culture, management consultant and keynote speaker who helps smart companies understand just how much technology has transformed corporate culture, behavior, management interaction, expectations and sales in The Digital Age.



But this is not based on management theory: With a 30 year career as an entrepreneur he knows firsthand what it’s like to grow a company from a simple idea in a coffee shop to an internationally recognized brand.


Brad is a former C-Level Internet Executive who went from entrepreneur to IPO in 3 yrs—co-founding K2 Design, the very first Dot Com Agency to go public on NASDAQ. His company experienced 425% hyper-growth for 5 straight years, expanded from 2 business partners to 4 with 60+ employees and offices worldwide. At its height, K2 was valuated at over $26 million. 

His results only management model (ROWE) was applied to the first wave of young Generation Y workers producing great results—winning K2 the Arthur Andersen NY Enterprise Award for Best Practices in Fostering Innovation.

Brad Szollose is also the *award-winning author of Liquid Leadership: From Woodstock to Wikipedia which explores the subject of new leadership styles – mainly how to get the tech-savvy Generation Y and analog driven Baby Boomers working together. ISBN-13: 978-1608320554

Known for his humorous and thought-provoking presentations, Szollose received the highest testimonial of his career from a C-Level audience member: "I just had my mind blown." Brad’s keynotes and workshops are highly interactive, heart-warming, humorous, and filled with high-content information that challenge assumptions and help leaders and managers create a better work environment for innovation to thrive.

Today, Brad helps businesses close the Digital Divide by understanding it as a Cultural Divide – created by the new tech-savvy worker...and customer. 



* 2011 Axiom Business Book silver medal winner in the leadership

* #1 Amazon Best-Selling Author

"I just had my mind blown..." - A.S., Vistage, New York

Liquid Leadership by Brad Szollose is available at all major bookstores and for Kindle, Nook, iPad and Sony ereaders. Internationally published in India and S. Korea.

Why You Need Gen Y Involved in Your Marketing NOW!

As a keynote speaker it is my job to bring some amazing content to every audience. Content that makes people go "REALLY? I did not know that..."

Recently I showed a list of companies that have failed miserably through the years. Companies along with their brands that failed to keep pace with 21st Century changes. Brands that Baby Boomers grew up with that were relevant, strong and household names. Brands like Spiegel, Blockbuster, Columbia House, S&H Greenstamps, Polaroid and Smith Corona. Usually I get a few gasps in the crowd as it becomes clear just how many of these companies are gone, struggling or devolved into a website. A shadow of their greatness. The glory days gone by.

As a Baby Boomer — the first generation raised by television commercials — we were taught to identify with our brands

From Twinkie's to Star Wars, Coca Cola to Tang, Led Zeppelin to The Police, Corvette to Cadillac, Baby Boomers have a love affair with the past...a nostalgic memory of a time when we could count on a delicious bowl of soup from the Campbell Soup Company. "Mmm, Mmm, Good."

To prove my point: take one of the brands or companies mentioned above and I guarantee you have one of their commercials stuck in your head.

"My bologna has a first name it's O...S...C..." Well you know the rest.

Some businesses survived while others did not. Take a look at some of the established companies we grew up with that reinvented themselves for the new Digital Customer: John Deere, Domino's Pizza and of course Cadillac. Someone in my last audience went "Cadillac???" Yes...and here is why...

What did Cadillac represent to a Baby Boomer? If was the car you bought when you were ready to retire. A boat with all the fancy gadgets money could buy. My grandfather wanted a Cadillac so bad when he hit his 60s it wasn't funny.

Cadillac was the car you bought when you reached retirement age

To reinvent their brand, Cadillac hired Minneapolis-based Fallon — the ad agency tasked with completing a decade-long makeover.

How did they decide to take the Cadillac image to another level? They put their trust in a 28-year-old Veda Partalo. Time to show the world this isn't your grandfather's Caddy. Instead of telling us, she showed us. The roar of the engine. The sleek designs. Powerful and hip. It is ENCHANTING.

Read the full article here:

Cadillac Turns To A 28-Year-Old To Reinvent The "Standard Of The World"

Now that doesn't mean traditional advertising or branding is dead. What it means is if you want to survive in the 21st Century, you have to add a brand campaign for the next generation. They've got money this group...And the best way to do that is put a Millennial in charge of your Next Generation Brand Roll Out.

Your like "Brad! You want me to put a 28 year old in charge of a multimillion dollar ad campaign?" Cadillac's sales are up 37% since Ms. Partalo took over. So, what do you think? Hell yea!

Thanks for stopping by,




Brad Szollose
21st Century Change Agent: Generational expert, award-winning author, business consultant and keynote speaker

Brad Szollose is a much sought-after generational expert, management consultant and keynote speaker who helps smart companies understand just how much technology has transformed corporate culture and behavior… and how that impacts management interaction, expectations and sales in The Digital Age.



But this is not based on management theory: With a 30 year career as an entrepreneur he knows firsthand what it’s like to grow a company from a simple idea in a coffee shop to an internationally recognized brand.


Brad is a former C-Level Internet Executive who went from entrepreneur to IPO in 3 yrs—co-founding K2 Design, the very first Dot Com Agency to go public on NASDAQ. His company experienced 425% hyper-growth for 5 straight years, expanded from 2 business partners to 4 with 60+ employees and offices worldwide. At its height, K2 was valuated at over $26 million. 

His results only management model (ROWE) was applied to the first wave of young Generation Y workers producing great results—winning K2 the Arthur Andersen NY Enterprise Award for Best Practices in Fostering Innovation.

Brad Szollose is also the *award-winning author of Liquid Leadership: From Woodstock to Wikipedia which explores the subject of new leadership styles – mainly how to get the tech-savvy Generation Y and analogue driven Baby Boomers working together. ISBN-13: 978-1608320554

Known for his humorous and thought-provoking presentations, Szollose received the highest testimonial of his career from a C-Level audience member: "I just had my mind blown." Brad’s keynotes and workshops are highly interactive, heart-warming, humorous, and filled with high-content information that challenge assumptions and help leaders and managers create a better work environment for innovation to thrive.


Liquid Leadership has been called "THE guidebook for the 21st Century" and has won the 2011 Axiom Business Book Award silver medal for leadership, The Indie Business Book runner up silver medal as well as becoming a #1 Best-Selling Business Book on Amazon for Organizational Learning. Published in the United States by Greenleaf Book Group, in India by Prolibris and in South Korea by UI Books/Iljinsa Publishing.

Mr. Szollose also writes a monthly column on business and marketing techniques that reach Generation Y for A Captured Mind newsletter and is part of The Mind Capture Group faculty.

Today, Brad helps businesses close the Digital Divide by understanding it as a Cultural Divide – created by the new tech-savvy worker...and customer. 



* 2011 Axiom Business Book silver medal winner in the leadership

* #1 Amazon Best-Selling Author

"I just had my mind blown..." - A.S., Vistage, New York

Liquid Leadership by Brad Szollose is available at all major bookstores and for Kindle, Nook, iPad and Sony ereaders. Internationally published in India and S. Korea.

People Don’t Leave Bad Companies; They Leave Bad Management

Excerpt from Liquid Leadership: From Woodstock to Wikipedia,
Micromanaging Into The Ground, page 42.

© Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net


"To manage a company is one thing. To integrate into and influence its culture is another. Respecting the group dynamic goes a long way toward motivating and inspiring a workforce.

I worked for many years in various areas of the design business, from advertising to branding, from corporate events to slide production.

It is labor intensive, and to accomplish anything requires designers and creative types with a commando style of getting the work done on each project. 

But over the years I noticed that the styles of management that worked best seemed to respect the culture, their workforce, the talent, and the environment.
Those that did not went out of business.

 

No one needs to be pushed or prodded to get their work done; college educated self-starters work just fine without someone standing over their shoulder. Yet I noticed something interesting: When the distance between upper management and the rest of the company was greatest, management took longer to discover internal and external problems. This gap has to shrink for leadership to be successful in the twenty-first century. How can you see the internal workings of your company if you don’t get closer?

Here’s a case in point: One of the first jobs I had in New York City was at a slide production house. The main product was slides for small corporate presentations (this was way before PowerPoint). The new owner, Mr. G (not his real name), had bought the business lock, stock, and barrel. As a former executive with Otis Elevator, he felt it was high time some corporate structure was brought to the design field.

Somehow he assumed that the world of production artists and designers was not as structured as the corporate world he came from. (Perhaps the plastic Mr. Potato Head on the twenty-inch monitor convinced him of this.)

Mr. G would walk around the office twice a day like the commander of a ship, wearing his Otis Elevator tie clip to remind us all where he came from and how powerful he used to be. Nevertheless, his twice-daily jaunts were always at the slowest times of production but at the peak time for sales calls. Work would slow down as his Australian accent pierced the office and he forced everyone to listen to his tales from the “real” corporate world. His opinion was forged by what he saw from us when on these walks. To him, we weren’t working very hard. And we weren’t; we were forced to stop what we were doing and listen to him!

Since he never integrated himself into the company culture, he never found out that every 8:00 am shift change was filled with mounds of paper work, double tracking, and a check list that only the CIA could have invented, all for the sole purpose of keeping track of billings. Between 8:00 am and 9:00 am chaos reigned as messengers arrived to whisk the slides to their destinations. This was before the Macintosh become a household name and desktop publishing became the hot buzzword of the eighties. Back then slides were produced on a Genigraphics computer; run through a programmed slide camera; and processed through an E6 slideprocessing machine, a twenty-five-foot-long roller transport automated developing machine, filled and maintained with vat after vat of chemicals.

Exposed film was fed manually to a feeder in a separate, attached darkroom. Once processing was finished, the film was cut and mounted into glass and plastic Wess Mounts during the night shift, then rushed to most clients’ desks by 9:30 am.

Where was Mr. G during all this chaos? In his office with the door closed, only fifty feet away from the production station. I guess he was strategizing his big walk. His reality was out of touch with what was really going on. We were busy—busy making corporate America look good. The second time everything heated up was at around 4:00 pm, when production prepared to pass the day-shift work to the night-shift personnel.

Paperwork was meticulously checked and discussed with each designer. Each color had a number that was checked, each typeface was checked, and, of course, we all pored over a set of full-color comps. It was all designed, programmed, photographed, and processed for the following day. Detail was what made this chaos run as smoothly as a well-oiled machine. Nothing could be left to chance. It was intense, high-pressure, deadline-driven work. How someone could see this as playing around is beyond me.

As the year went on, Mr. G added a policy requiring many, many daily memos. But with twelve day-shift employees in a 3,000-square-foot loft space, it was really not necessary to pass a memo to the person sitting next to you. It was like having to pass a note from the commander of a submarine to his navigator before he could actually say the words—a complete waste of time. But that’s what Mr. G wanted, and to keep our jobs, we complied.

What Mr. G never understood was that we were making slides for one small meeting after another, when the business of meetings was in fact a multibillion-dollar industry. Companies like Caribiner, MJM, and Weiss Watson were building full-scale meetings, with staging and lighting and giant sets as well as training, breakout rooms, and keynote speakers. The average cost for one of these large-scale annual meetings was around $2 million. In comparison, slide production, the physical designing and production of slide film, was a tiny component of the industry.

Mr. G began to wonder why his company was not profitable, and how it was that all these other companies were making so much money. But because he did not respect his staff, no one was willing to help him make the leap from single-slide production to full-scale meetings. And people did try to help him for a time . . . but he was always treating his staff like peons—exercising his passive-aggressive behavior whenever the mood struck him. There were plenty on staff who had worked for the big production companies and knew how to handle large-scale meetings. His top salespeople and producers attempted to bring bigger clients through the door, but even when these bigger opportunities came Mr. G’s way, he would lose them. Unable to trust his key people and incapable of knowing how to talk with potential clients about a larger engagement, he drove his company into the ground.

People began to show signs of insubordination, simply out of frustration. Many decided to moonlight at bigger production houses.

Why bother working with someone when you know they don’t appreciate your contribution?

In response, Mr. G began to micromanage his company into the ground even more. In a last-ditch effort to shake things up, he fired his top salespeople. Instead of paying for innovation, he became obsessed with cutting costs and instituting more bureaucracy and fear. To him, the design field was exactly like the elevator business—black and white, up and down, obey my commands or else. He treated creative production like a factory. Tightening costs seemed logical. But in an industry where the best creative people can command higher fees, cutting your most talented designers becomes a formula for disaster. Furthermore, by demanding memo after memo, Mr. G was actually putting up walls between departments that needed their communication to flow.

Imagine that: He was enforcing bottlenecks.

The company went under less than a year after I left. The employees were happy about it. If only Mr. G had integrated his management style into the organization instead of dictating it! He could have easily let his key people take the lead and win the larger pieces of business, but he couldn’t see the forest for the trees. He just couldn’t let go enough or trust anyone. Everything in his world required that all eyes, accolades, and rewards go to Mr. G.

I moved on and started working for some of the biggest companies in the world, producing their multimillion-dollar meetings while Mr. G couldn’t figure out how to get his clients to order more than fifty slides at a time. It didn’t take people very long to figure out that Mr. G was not an effective leader, and for leadership to work in any organization, it has to be admired. Since Mr. G was not listening to the marketplace or his key people, he sabotaged himself.

People don’t leave bad companies;
they leave bad management."

We could have helped him, but hubris makes one blind.

Thanks again for your interest in my work,



Brad Szollose
Award-winning author, business consultant and keynote speaker

Will You Be Joining Me April 25-27th in California?

Click Here: Tickets are selling out FAST!
Join me, Jeffrey Gitomer, Sharon Lechter, Les Brown and John Assaraf for 3 days of intense MasterMind Workshops, inspirational keynotes and hands on business advice! Join us as a VIP!

Brad Szollose is a much sought-after management consultant and keynote speaker who helps smart companies understand just how much technology has transformed corporate culture and behavior…and how that impacts management, interaction and expectations in The Information Age.



But this is not based on management theory: With a 30 year career as an entrepreneur he knows firsthand what it’s like to grow a company from a simple idea in a coffee shop to an internationally recognized brand.


Brad is a former C-Level Internet Executive who went from entrepreneur to IPO in 3 yrs—co-founding K2 Design, the very first Dot Com Agency to go public on NASDAQ. His company experienced 425% hyper-growth for 5 straight years, expanded from 2 business partners to 4 with 60+ employees and offices worldwide. At its height, K2 was valuated at over $26 million. 

His results only management model (ROWE) was applied to the first wave of young Generation Y workers producing great results—winning K2 the Arthur Andersen NY Enterprise Award for Best Practices in Fostering Innovation.

Brad Szollose is the *award-winning author of Liquid Leadership: From Woodstock to Wikipedia which explores the subject of new leadership styles – mainly how to get the tech-savvy Generation Y and analogue driven Baby Boomers working together. ISBN-13: 978-1608320554

Known for his humorous and thought-provoking presentations, Szollose received the highest testimonial of his career from a C-Level audience member: "I just had my mind blown." Brad’s keynotes and workshops are highly interactive, heart-warming, humorous, and filled with high-content information that challenge assumptions and help leaders and managers create a better work environment for innovation to thrive.


Liquid Leadership has been called "THE guidebook for the 21st Century" and has won the 2011 Axiom Business Book Award silver medal for leadership, The Indie Business Book runner up silver medal as well as becoming a #1 Best-Selling Business Book on Amazon for Organizational Learning. Published in the United States by Greenleaf Book Group, in India by Prolibris and in South Korea by UI Books/Iljinsa Publishing.

Mr. Szollose also writes a monthly column on business and marketing techniques that reach Generation Y for A Captured Mind newsletter and is part of The Mind Capture Group faculty.

Today, Brad helps businesses close the Digital Divide by understanding it as a Cultural Divide – created by the new tech-savvy worker...and customer. 



* 2011 Axiom Business Book silver medal winner in the leadership

* #1 Amazon Best-Selling Author

"I just had my mind blown..." - A.S., Vistage, New York

Liquid Leadership by Brad Szollose is available at all major bookstores and for Kindle, Nook, iPad and Sony ereaders. Internationally published in India and S. Korea.

Liquid Leadership is Released in South Korea!!!

리퀴드 리더십 by Brad Szollose

On February 10th, 2013 my book Liquid Leadership: From Woodstock to Wikipedia was released in South Korea. Exciting to me that I have new friends in the Far East who are interested in my work.

But even more amazing to me is the year long effort to translate Liquid Leadership into another language. This is not an easy task. I made this edition special for the people of South Korea by adding stories of such noteworthy Korean Companies as Hyundai, Kia, and Samsung.

These are the Korean based companies that are giving American Brands like GMC, Ford and Apple a run for their money.

A special THANK YOU goes out to UI Books for reaching out to me and my publisher at Greenleaf Books in Texas, USA over a YEAR and a HALF ago.

UI Books/Iljinsa Publishing in South Korea
 has done an EXTRAORDINARY job making Liquid Leadership look beautiful both inside and out. 


Here, take a look:

리퀴드 리더십 interior. 2 Color...beautiful.

리퀴드 리더십 exterior design...also beautiful.

To order 리퀴드 리더십 by Brad Szollose, click here.

I hope I have honored The Korean people with the very best of my work...

Thank you for reading...


Brad Szollose
Award-winning author, business consultant and keynote speaker

PS: If you are interested in one of our white papers entitled... 

What Every Business Needs
to Know About Generation Y:
Understanding How Technology Transforms Culture and Behavior, and Impacts Management, Interaction and Expectations 

email us with your name, title and email address.
Your information is confidential.

Ask me how I can help your company evolve into the 21st Century of Management.

Brad Szollose is a management consultant and keynote speaker who helps smart companies understand just how much technology has transformed corporate culture and behavior…and how that impacts management, interaction and expectations in The Information Age.



But this is not based on management theory: With a 30 year career as an entrepreneur he knows firsthand what it’s like to grow a company from a simple idea in a coffee shop to an internationally recognized brand.


Brad is a former C-Level Internet Executive who went from entrepreneur to IPO in 3 yrs—co-founding K2 Design, the very first Dot Com Agency to go public on NASDAQ. His company experienced 425% hyper-growth for 5 straight years, expanded from 2 business partners to 4 with 60+ employees and offices worldwide. At its height, K2 was valuated at over $26 million. 

His results only management model (ROWE) was applied to the first wave of young Generation Y workers producing great results—winning K2 the Arthur Andersen NY Enterprise Award for Best Practices in Fostering Innovation.

Brad Szollose is the *award-winning author of Liquid Leadership: From Woodstock to Wikipedia which explores the subject of new leadership styles – mainly how to get the tech-savvy Generation Y and analogue driven Baby Boomers working together. ISBN-13: 978-1608320554

Known for his humorous and thought-provoking presentations, Szollose received the highest testimonial of his career from a C-Level audience member: "I just had my mind blown." Brad’s keynotes and workshops are highly interactive, heart-warming, humorous, and filled with high-content information that challenge assumptions and help leaders and managers create a better work environment for innovation to thrive.


Liquid Leadership has been called "THE guidebook for the 21st Century" and has won the 2011 Axiom Business Book Award silver medal for leadership, The Indie Business Book runner up silver medal as well as becoming a #1 Best-Selling Business Book on Amazon for Organizational Learning. Published in the United States by Greenleaf Book Group, in India by Prolibris and in South Korea by UI Books/Iljinsa Publishing.

Mr. Szollose also writes a monthly column on business and marketing techniques that reach Generation Y for A Captured Mind newsletter and is part of The Mind Capture Group faculty.

Today, Brad helps businesses close the Digital Divide by understanding it as a Cultural Divide – created by the new tech-savvy worker...and customer. 



* 2011 Axiom Business Book silver medal winner in the leadership

* #1 Amazon Best-Selling Author

"I just had my mind blown..." - A.S., Vistage, New York

Liquid Leadership by Brad Szollose is available at all major bookstores and for Kindle, Nook, iPad and Sony ereaders. Internationally published in India and S. Korea.

Chasing Mister Softee

Nothing stands out more from my childhood than the first time I saw a Mister Softee ice cream truck. Let me rephrase that...heard an ice cream truck. It was magical. But you may be surprised in the fact that my first time was when I was 12 yrs old!

You're probably thinking "Huh?"

Let me explain. While visiting one of my Boy Scout buddies on the edge of town, I heard the music FIRST– that Pavlovian trigger that drives all children to drop what they are doing and just react. At first I was like, "what's that?" And my buddy Paul said "It's Mr. Softee." My puzzled look said it all and he followed up with "...the ice cream truck is coming."

We ran back inside Paul's house to get some money then, like the wind, we sprinted up the block. Like a hoard of sugar craving Zombies with dollars in hand the children of the neighborhood rushed towards the music with one singular mercurial purpose...hoping they weren't late to the party. Out of breath, we came to an abrupt stop. There in front of us were at least 25 kids ranging in age from 5 on up to adults. Since I had never seen a Mr. Softee truck  –  or Good Humor depending on where you live – I had no idea what to expect.

Now some of you are like,  
"Brad, how could you not know about Mister Softee?"

Well, you see, I lived in the heart of town on Cumberland Street. That was main street in downtown Lebanon, PA. USA. So whenever we wanted ice cream, Dieter, Frank and any other friends, brothers and sisters would just walk to one of three corner stores in the area – Big Bertha on Walnut Street, or the store at 3rd and Chestnut, or if we really wanted to walk, Hoffman's News Stand on the corner of 6th and Cumberland Streets.

Each store had the same wonderful smell. A combination of old wood and sweet custard. To a child it was intoxicating. There, near the cash register, were several waste high freezers. Looking back now, I realize these were brilliant marketing devices, capable of luring even a 5 year old. There, just behind high impact glass, were stacks of Good Humor ice cream bars, and since we lived near Hershey, there was plenty of Hershey ice cream products in the freezer. Every possible tasty treat was spread out before us. 

Now if we wanted a Coke® Slushy we walked to the Turkey Hill Market on 8th and Chestnut. All of these stores were a ten minute walk and on a hot day...well worth the trip. So for us, there was no need for an ice cream truck...ice cream was within walking distance. But, in the suburbs, the corner store didn't exist, and if it did, you had to drive there.

Of course back then a candy bar was 50¢ and you could get 100 pieces of candy for ONE DOLLAR! Whatever Happened To Penny Candy? by Richard Maybury can answer what happened to prices over the past 40 years. But I digress.

So when I tell you I never saw a Mister Softee truck 'til I was 12, you now know why. But more importantly, the question that should be on your mind is...

What happened to the Mister Softee and Good Humor trucks? I mean, they are still around, but you can go broke trying to make money from an ice cream truck franchise. So I ask you: did Ben & Jerry's and Häagen-Dazs ruin Mister Softee? Or was it ice cream stores like Baskin Robbins and Dairy Queen?

Or Did Customer Habits Change?

The correct answer is customer habits changed. Families changed. Neighborhoods changed. When was the last time you saw children playing outside in neighborhoods like they did twenty or thirty years ago? Children stopped playing outside, and started playing video games indoors. Parents got their children involved in organized sports like soccer, lacrosse, karate and dance lessons. So if the customer has changed and moved on...

WHY do so many companies ignore the facts
and continue to sell and market as if it is 1977? 



When your customer changes, change your tactics. If they move, you move. I know this can be exhausting because it requires constant diligence. But remember, children used to chase those ice cream trucks…now, those ice cream trucks are looking for customers.

 The children DID NOT MOVE! Their habits changed!

Take a lesson from Mister Softee. Reinvent your sales, marketing and branding tactics at all times. Look for markets that are secondary such as those corner store freezers. Social media may be hot today, but pretty soon it will be replaced by something else. Your customers love for ice cream is still there, it is only their habits that changed. Your job as a business owner, marketing pro, or executive is to adapt and change according to your customer. You’ll be glad you did.


And BTW: We have Mister Softee trucks all over the place in New York City...here they get a crowd. Pretty cool when you can drive to where your customer needs you most.

Thanks for reading,

Brad Szollose

PS: The Good Humor story can be found in Navigating The Growth Curve by James Fischer. Check out James Fischer’s Growth Curve Institute.

Web Pioneer Brad Szollose is the *award-winning author of Liquid Leadership: From Woodstock to Wikipedia which explores the subject of new leadership styles – mainly how to get the tech-savvy Generation Y and analogue driven Baby Boomers working together. ISBN-13: 978-1608320554

But this is not based on management theory: Brad is a former C-Level Internet executive who went from entrepreneur to IPO in 3 yrs– co-founding K2 Design, the very first Dot Com Agency to go public on NASDAQ. His Results Only management model was applied to the first wave of Gen Y workers producing great results– 425% profitable growth for 5 straight years and winning K2 the Arthur Andersen NY Enterprise Award for Best Practices in Fostering Innovation among his employees!

Today, through his workshops and keynotes, Brad helps Fortune 500 Companies close the Digital Divide by understanding it as a cultural divide—created by a new tech-savvy worker...and customer.

Mr. Szollose also writes a monthly column on business and marketing techniques that reach Generation Y for A Captured Mind newsletter and is part of The Mind Capture Group faculty.

* 2011 Axiom Business Book silver medal winner in the leadership

* #1 Amazon Best-Selling Author

"I just had my mind blown..." - A.S., Vistage, New York

Liquid Leadership by Brad Szollose is available at all major bookstores and for Kindle, Nook, iPad and Sony ereaders. Internationally published in India and S. Korea.

Join Me LIVE at the NYXPO on May 3rd!!!

Dear Friends,

Please Join me for the 7th Annual New York XPO for Business coming to New York City on May 2-3. All day education and networking! Because I’m speaking at the event I’m able to offer my network FREE ADMISSION ($25 Value) for one of the 2 days!!! This offer is NOT AVAILABLE ANYWHERE ELSE!!! – Use this special promo code to register for a complimentary 1-DAY XPO Pass, which includes my workshop on Thursday May 3rd— Cracking The Gen Y Code: How to Sell and Market to a Generation That Refuses to Be Sold To.

Hurry, space is limited and seating will sell out. Enter the discount code SPEAKER15 to get your personal discount.

Dear Friends: Join me for the 7th Annual New York XPO for Business coming to New York City on May 2-3. All day education and networking! Because I’m speaking at the event I’m able to offer my network FREE ADMISSION ($25 Value). This offer is NOT AVAILABLE ANYWHERE ELSE – Use this special promo code to register for a complimentary 1-DAY XPO Pass, which includes my seminar. Hurry, space is limited and seating will sell out. I’d love to see you at XPO.

DATE May 3, 2012 LOCATION Javits Center Room #2 Sales Strategies II TIME 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM More Information www.EventManagement.org Call (866) 443-8368 Cracking the Gen Y Code: Selling & Marketing to a Generation That Refuses to be Sold to Speakers Tim Davis CEO CMIT Solutions, Midtown, NY Brad Szollose CEO Brad Szollose Worldwide How do you sell to a tech savvy customer who was raised on Video Games, The Internet and understands Cloud Technology INTUITIVELY? Or better yet, how do you craft a sales pitch to a generation that is impatient with linear sales presentations? Behavioral Communications Coach Tim Davis, and Web Pioneer Brad Szollose will show your audience: How to spot the Digital Divide and Manage It How to analyze a potential client’s Behavioral Communications Style...and customize a sales pitch that initiates conversion How Tech People can use these skills to develop better customer service...leaving your clients begging for more. Learn the keys that keep your brand relevant to Generation Y Elevate your message beyond Social Media Certified DISC Behavioral Communications Coach and humorist, Tim Davis is the CEO of CMIT Solutions Manhattan and Brad Szollose, Web Pioneer and award winning author of Liquid Leadership: From Woodstock to Wikipedia will make your afternoon fun, informative and memorable. Attendees will be given a chance to role-play, ask questions and disagree. So, bring a friend or enemy, have a good laugh and learn the skills to close deals with a 21st Century customer. Details

60 Educational Seminars 200 B2B Exhibits National Keynotes UNLIMITED Networking Over 20k in Prizes ... And much more! This is the MUST-ATTEND event of the year for small business owners & CEOs who want to gain a competitive advantage, network with peers, purchase discounted products, engage with vendors and deepen their business education. Only New York XPO provides valuable strategies that YOU can implement immediately to grow your business and bottom line.

*Terms & Conditions: Promotional offer applies only to NEW registrants. Cannot be combined with any previous registration or other offers. Promotional offer only applies to a 1-Day XPO Pass and not valid for a 2-Day XPO Pass. This offer does not include the After-Hours Networking Event or Keynote Programs – Must be purchased separately.

Don't forget your FREE bonuses for attending: 1) FREE Audio CD entitled Understanding The Digital Divide: How to Spot It, Manage It and Reinvent Yourself for the 21st Century! 2) Limited amount of signed copies of Liquid Leadership: From Woodstock to Wikipedia (my award winning book) and 3) a SECRET bonus for attendees to be revealed onsite...a limited supply of scheduled bonuses will be available. First come, first serve.

I look forward to seeing you there...

Brad Szollose

Brad is the award winning, international bestselling author of Liquid Leadership: From Woodstock to Wikipedia: Multigenerational Management Ideas That Are Changing The Way We Run Things ISBN-13: 978-1608320554

As a Baby Boomer, Brad grew up watching the original Star Trek series, secretly wishing he would be commanding a Constitution Class Starship in the not too distant future. Since that would take a while, Brad became a technology driven, creative director who co-founded one of the very first Internet Development Agencies during the Dot Com Boom—K2 Design. As a Web Pioneer, Brad was forced to invent a new management model that engaged the first wave of Digital Workers. Today,Brad helps Fortune 500 Companies close the Digital Divide by understanding it as a cultural divide—created by a new tech-savvy worker...and customer.

Mr. Szollose also writes a monthly column on business and marketing techniques that reach Generation Y for A Captured Mind Newsletter and is part of The Mind Capture Group faculty.

"I just had my mind blown..." - A.S., Vistage, New York