Class Reunions

Every ten years everyone who graduated from high school owes it to themselves to go to their class reunion.

We just returned from my spouses, and we had a great time. Now being the spouse of the person who is attending the reunion can be a drag, but in our case we went to the same high school, I was a sophomore when these guys were seniors, so I had no trouble at all having conversations with dozens of people I had known as a kid.

Since my husband and I are from the same town, we grew up doing the same things, from different elementary and junior high schools, and we didn't know each other until he was in college, really, but we do share that same home town experience. So did 100 other people in the room with us at his class reunion.

I have to tell you, there is something SO COMFORTABLE about conversing with people who are the same age and are from the same town and who experienced the same high school experiences as you did. It's always interesting to hear the different perspectives that they have from that time, and to hear about where they are now.

Reunion events have changed through our experiences going back. The earlist reunion - 10 years - was well-organized, well attended, included a tour of the high school, a golf tournament, a casual mixer, and a formal banquet with lots of dancing. We stayed up all night with friends, had breakfast at Perkins together and caught a 7 a.m. flight back to Denver. That was fun.

We weren't even sure we had been to Mark's 20th reunion, but he was in the picture they had displayed this year, so I guess we were there. That reunion was probably the most elegant, fairly expensive, and not as well attended. There was a formal banquet, slide show from the past, and dancing to music from the 70s. Everyone had kids and people were slightly more pretentious than they'd been in their 20s. We don't remember it very well, and I don't remember it as being really fun.

So when the time came to go to the 30th reunion, Mark decided he didn't want to go. He decided early. And he didn't undecide and decide to go until the weekend before the party. But we went. And I'm so glad we did.

This was the most casual of the reunions. We're all old. Some look just like they did in high school (my husband included) and they look good. You know those girls had been dieting for six months and it showed. They looked great. I don't think guys do that. But I think some get new clothes and did take an interest in putting their best foot forward. No pretentiousness. It was literally come as you are. Maybe 25% of the class was there. The ones there had fun. Lots of beer flowed, apple wine made at a classmate's winery flowed, food from a classmates Italian restaurant, including pies (what they apparently call pizza in Iowa now) enmasse. Very casual, very nice, very fun.

But where was everyone else? If 75% of the class doesn't show up...

Sadly, 5% are no longer living. That's a staggering number to me. 21 people. All under 50. The pictures were all there on the wall at both parties. Participants in the festivities who were missed and honored. Cancer, accidents, drugs, booze. Gone. There are more every decade. Several of those pictured surprised us. It is very sad.

But still, 70% didn't come. Why not?

It could be that the high cost of travel kept the 116 out of staters from attending. Whenever we asked "Where's So-So" the answer was "Florida," or "Buffalo," or "Austin." There had been three foreign exchange students in the class, and they weren't there, but there was a really nice photo from the yearbook and a poster with an e-mail from a girl from Japan. She wrote that she hoped people from the class would e-mail her. I hope they took pictures of her picture with them and sent them to her. She was a part of the festivities. Not a lot of people knew her, but she was missed.

Organizers told us there are 190 classmates still in the town, another 110 somewhere in the state (and Iowa is a small state). That accounts for most of the people there, but even if that's 60 people, where were the other 240 that live within easy driving distance in the town or state? Why didn't they come? I'm sure a certain percent, let's say 10% are "missing" with bad addresses or some reason why they can't be found. There are still lots more people who aren't there.

Could it be the ones who got picked on in high school didn't come? Could it be the ones that really wanted to come but had weddings or family event or vacations planned at the same time? Were there people who couldn't afford to come? The whole weekend cost something like $35. When coupled with a tank of gas is that asking too much? Maybe.

I don't know why the people didn't come. Maybe the ones who don't party and don't condone drinking don't come because they expect people to be loud and obnoxious. It was loud, but I didn't see anyone being obnoxious. And there's no smoking in Iowa, so that wasn't an issue. I don't think that anyone who didn't drink should have been offended by the environment. It was very pleasant and congenial. So why didn't they come?

Well, whatever the reason, they missed a good party, and had they come, they would have been welcomed and would have talked to people they possibly didn't even know 30 years ago. I know I did. And my husband did. Everyone was nice. Everyone was proud of their kids and had great stories to share. Some were divorced. None spoke of that with glee. But everyone laughed., or at least smiled. A lot. We ate well. We learned a lot about each other. A table full of us spouses even solved the world's energy crisis with our discussions while the classmates were out having their photos taken. It was interesting. A reunion of like souls, a concentrated demographic all in one place. It was a fascinating focus group.

Funny thing, it wasn't even my class. It was just a lot of nice people who went with a great attitude to see who would show up. If you didn't show up, you were missed. I wish people thought about that before they chose to not attend.

So go to your class reunion. If you don't show up, you will be missed. It's not that scary. Sure, we were nervous, but there wasn't any real reason to be. Go to your class reunion. You don't have to stay long if it's a bust, but I can practically guarantee it will be good for at least a few laughs. It's a fellowship that only comes around half a dozen times in your life. Take advantage of it. That's my advice for the day.

One Good Summer

I passed by a mirror the other day and noticed I was smiling. It was a bit of a shock, because I suddenly realized I was having a good time.

When you're an adult with a family and a mortgage and a small business, it's sometimes not that easy to remember to have fun. This summer I think we've been doing a pretty good job of it around our house, and in my business too. It's making a difference with me.

Although we normally vacation in the summer and take a couple road trips (me and the boys), we've been home all summer thus far. I usually don't like to work as much in the summer, but now that the kids are older and want nothing to do with me, not to mention with costs going up like they are, I need to work more. I guess everyone does.

I don't mind. There seems to be plenty of work to choose from, and this summer I've resolved to take on only the work I really want. I have some partners I'm working with and that's been fun. Yes, so far my summer has been one of the best I can remember.

In addition to working with some really great people this summer and getting involved in some fun projects around things like the Olympics and film festivals and corporate giving, I've also been writing a lot. And I have a lot of ideas right now. Some are pretty good. Some make me tired. But overall, I'm a bit restless. It's the state I like to be in. The state where you get up early, and stay up late. Summer time.

If you're not having fun yet this summer you need a change of attitude. Remind yourself that it is summer. Sure we have to work hard. But play hard too. I've been to baseball games and water parks. I had a "girls day on the lake" and a few afternoons by the pool. I've played tennis, and I've been boating...it's been a good summer. I even heard my youngest say to my oldest as I headed out for a lunch with friends the other day, "Man, Mom has a lot of friends." Life in the summer can be good. Everybody wants to have fun.

Yes, indeed. Summer is definitely here. Enjoy it. When you catch yourself smiling, it feels good.

A Seismic Shift in Need of a Name

Things are happening in the world today that indicate to me that we're at a point in history that will be remembered forever. At some point soon someone not unlike me is going to be involved in "naming" the current time period. I'm thinking of applying for the job. I'm just not sure who I need to contact about the work. Who owns this problem? Who is working to fix this?

Could it be our elected officials in Washington? Are they responsible? If you ask them, they are not. That's probably not the right place to send my application, even though I know a few people there. And with that "Kevin Bacon Six Degrees" thing I'm to a cell phone of a Texas Senator who probably would talk to me in two calls. None the less, Texas senators are not worried about the recession. The economy is pretty good here.

So, if the government doesn't want to own the project, perhaps the major television networks will name the recession. They have internal people and are themselves creative companies, so if the networks are going to do it, they'll do it themselves, and there won't be any work from them. In fact some 25 year old graphic designer will make a graphic to go with the name that will be used in 17 newscasts daily, as well as on the web site and during sure to happen "special reports."

Everyone is pointing fingers at the oil executives and oil industry, but let me tell you they are not concerned with the recession because they don't have a clue it is going on. I live in Texas, and I saw the fireworks displays, and I see the cars their kids get at 16, and I've heard about the homes. They are not sitting around thinking about the recession. Since they don't know it's going on, they don't own the problem and certainly are not about to take it on. They have their own PR nightmares ahead over the next 20 years as demand for supply increases, the bottom falls out for U.S. based oil companies, expenses increase, and the resource is somehow militarized. (China will have more cars on the road in 20 years than the U.S.)

Mortgage companies and banks and financial institutions are thinking about the recession. They helped cause a piece of it with lax lending practices and contributions to the "Sure you can afford it!" push for borrowing. But in my history, bankers don't like to spend money on "creative things." A name, attached to a campaign, is pretty creative.

The credit card companies might be a place to start. Hmmmm. Now if anyone knows about marketing ("What's in your wallet?" "Priceless" "The card that pays you back."....) it's the big credit card companies. At the helm are the big, big, big banks that don't like to spend money, but they have so much and are basically printing it, so they do fund big marketing campaigns. The Dr. Evil of them all is Bank of America. They own Citi or Chase or one of the other biggies. The credit card companies are masters supreme at creating businesses that own businesses that own businesses, and everyone pays the other one -- with interest. And somewhere in the bowels of the corporate megatheopolis is an accountant or an economics expert who has all of a sudden realized that as an industry, they just might be responsible for the recession.

Now the people who started it all are long retired and possibly even are burning in hell at this very moment. That's a scary thought. There were people a few decades back who took the innocence of an era and shifted it by making sure everyone had a Master Charge (remember that?) or Bank Americard (I think there were only two), which evolved into MasterCard and VISA, and there was Diners Club, and always American Express, and the gas companies got in on it with their charge cards. Competition in the card industry began, advertising got involved. Ads made people think they needed and DESERVED things they couldn't afford, and so began the half generation of spending that made America not only the greatest place to live, but also the nation with the most debt. And that consumer debt followed into the government sector, and our nation went into debt.

A lot of the debt has gone to fund tremendously expensive, dangerous and destructive military executions and wars in other parts of the world. I guess because as we became the most indebted nation, we became the most aggressive. So now that we're talking military, THERE is an industry that is well aware of the need for slogans and marketing. Today they are working it hard. High school parking lots are hang-outs for recruiters. There are thinly disguised "military" channels on DISH network that are 24 hour a day commercials for the Army, Navy, and Marines. The military is marketing to a generation of pacifist parents about the great opportunities in the military, the college educations that come from it, and how to accept that their kid wants to join. It scares me where this is all going. Especially as my oldest son looks at two years before he's 18. 18-year old boys do have to register with the Selective Service. If we're marketing to parents now, where is this headed?

So as I apologize for digressing all over the place, let me get back to the topic: the name for the current time period. Based on the above I believe that no one entity is going to take responsibility for the current recession or name it or take ownership of it. So basically I don't think there is anyone to send my proposal to offering my services in naming it. Except perhaps...it is a political year...perhaps this is what John McCain and Mr. Obama will do. Name the problem, and figure out the solution.

Just like when Mrs. Clinton figured out the health care crisis, took ownership of it, and promised to fix it -- during her husband's first term. Someone is going to take ownership of this problem. The sad thing is, tying yourself to the recession is risky. Even if you try to do it by naming the problem and focusing on the solutions, advisors will tell our candidates that's a "touchy" subject. The safe topics like "religion" and "abortion" and "race" will be the issues of this campaign.

I'm sure there are other clients who might be potential targets for my proposal to name the current time period: think tanks (is Avery Lovins still doing his?), perhaps colleges or universities, Consumer Reports? If I could put my confidence in one person to know what I was talking about, take it on, name it, own it, promote it, popularize it, and change society because of it, it would be Al Gore. He did it with the internet, he did it with global warming. He is the only one who can do it with the recession.

Al Gore, where are you? Does anyone have his cell number?

Waiting for Results

In my business we sell creative services and our time focused on media relations. We do a good job with these things, but I've decided there is a definite problem with what I'm doing on a daily basis.

When someone hires me they are hiring me to do something that they can't do themselves. They are buying copywriting or media relations services, but what they really want to be buying is new business. They are investing (we tell them) in results.

Unfortunately, it is often the case that by the time someone comes to me, they have done so only after having tried everything themselves. They've read books they bought off of Amazon. They have listened in at lunch meetings to colleagues talk about branding or sales processes. They have attended the meetings their professional societies host on the topic of marketing or public relations. Sometimes they've even heard me speak at such a gathering.

So by the time they get to me, and to my colleagues who do what we do, they do have a basic understanding of what they want to do, as well as a clear understanding of why they need it. They are focused on that end result: the new business, the phone calls, the web hits, the money. And because we're such a society of immediacy, they want it now.

Getting into the public consciousness within your target market does not happen overnight. Unless you have a scandal or you develop a cure for cancer, you're not going to make the nightly news overnight. Even if you do get a front page business story or a business journal piece about your business, you may not see success as in new business or sales overnight.

I tell potential clients, "This stuff takes time." That's not a marketing ploy or a way to stretch out your payments to me or a sales tactic, that's the truth. It's a process and it takes time. If no one has heard of you in ten or twenty years, what makes you think you're front page news in three months? If you've never used a professional marketing person in your 15 year business history, why do you expect one campaign to make a huge difference in your business development and growth? Can it? Sure. Does it? Every day. Can you guarantee it? No.

Therein lies another obstacle to success doing what I do. Not only do people think they can have results in days, they want a guarantee. "If you want to make sure you're in the paper, buy an ad," I often tell them. And I do recommend advertising. There is a minimum amount of it you have to do as a business for so many reasons. Once you're doing that, and once you're supporting your own industry and promoting your own business, you have enough business to make the claims you want to make with PR. So many people have read a book telling them that PR is the answer. They don't have budgets for ads or design or printing. They want PR. PR takes time.

As much as I'd like to think otherwise, media people are not sitting around waiting to hear from me or you. I have connections in certain industries and I know a lot of people who will read my e-mails or take my calls, but most of these people are successful because they have their own minds and a strong work ethic, and they are working on a lot of different projects and following a number of different leads (and directives). I know there are not journalists left in American jobs just sitting there staring at their computer waiting for a story idea from me.

That's where the challenge and the fun comes in. I approach media relations like any marketing campaign. To start with I need a good product. I handpick my clients and usually know what I'm getting into before I get into it. Even with the troublemakers: I know up front. Then we work on the "marketing materials" -- the story angles, the key messages, the client education and media training, the "personality adjustments," -- helping them to understand how the media works, what they want, and how to give it to them if given the chance.

When I contact media professionals and when I write a press release for distribution or a wire service, I make it interesting, my pitches are well thought out, my stories are tied to key events, I look for news to use. I write it like they'd write it. I work with clients who really have something cool to "sell." I believe in their product or service and am not reading a script when I make a call. I'm speaking from the heart.

My clients want "results," and I head into every assignment hell bent on giving them to them. I am always confident I can do what I say I will do. And with most of my client relationships, we will get the results they want -- with time.

But because a lot of clients chewed up their time before they got to me by NOT doing the right sorts of good work, or advertising, or marketing, the one thing they feel a little tight on when they get to me is time. They need results now. I'm sometimes their last resort. No one ever tells me that until we're three months into it and they start screaming about the money spent and their concern over return on investment, i.e. results achieved.

Sometimes there is a mismatch at an early date. Lots of WORK has been done: press releases written and sent, media calls made, research done, opportunities found, pitches made, marketing materials created, web sites updated, a significant amount of money spent, but nothing perceived as "results" have been achieved.

Since what I'm selling are my time and my team's time for creative services and media relations assistance, why do clients take it out on me when they have no results right away? Because early on we mistakenly tied our services to results. This works in certain industries, but it usually does not work in PR. Marketing can be tied to results, and sales efforts can be tied to results, but PR not so much.

I can get you an interview with the New York Times, yet there's no guarantee that what the guy writes is going to benefit you from a "sales" perspective.

Using the mass media to benefit your business is a high level strategy. Every business thinks they want it. Not every business is ready for it or truly deserves it. It is true that any business can have it if they are willing to put in the time, spend the money, invest in the integrated aspects of marketing and business development, and actively participate as we "wait" for the results.

All I know is that it became clear to me today while working through a few new proposals that I need to do a better job up front really explaining to my clients what they are paying for when they decide to work with OutreachPR. I want them to really want the service they are buying. I want them to know I'm going to be in it for the long haul and I'm going to deliver what I say to them, and they are going to appreciate it, maybe not every day as we move along through the process, and maybe not early on, but absolutely, positively, in the future, if they just give it enough time, they'll see the results.

I have clients I've worked with four, six, ten years. It's not because I'm "still working on results." We have proven results. They get the process. It is all about effort, persistence, frequency, and time. Without exception, these clients fidgeted early on, and worried about expenditures versus results. But they learned to actively participate in the process, trust in the effort, and wait for the results. Like everything in life, the things worth having are worth the wait.

A Red Letter Day

Yesterday was a red letter day for me. It was the first day of my life that one of my children spoke these words: "Mom, I'm going to work."

After I heard those words I could not quit smiling. I called my husband and told him, "Your son just went to work." "What?!" he exclaimed. "Where?" "Up at the club. He went up to clean the pool. He's starting as a Pool Club Assistant." "Wow. Great!" I think Mark was in as much disbelief as I was myself. After all, this is a kid who has never made his bed without prompting, does not yet know how to do his own laundry, and still asks me to make him a sandwich. But he hopped in the car and drove himself to work. Turning 16 has brought him many opportunities for freedom, including the opportunity to make his own money. I'm pretty excited about this leap in maturity.

I will admit, I pretty much expected Tanner to come back within an hour and say, "No, that wasn't for me," but he stayed up at the club for more than three hours, apparently scrubbing the sides of the pool with a long handled brush. It was a little boring, he said, but it was easy. I guess he did a good job, because he came back last evening with the paperwork he needs to fill out in order to receive paychecks -- twice a month. He's pretty psyched. Although I notice by the clock on the wall that his mommy may have to wake him up soon to get him to work on time today, at least last night he was excited to go back.

It probably helps that the lifeguards at the pool are girls. Older girls, in fact. College girls home for the summer. I'm sure they probably think Tanner is pretty cute. He is. And at 6 feet, 200 pounds he's a big boy. He looks a little older than he is, but it's an illusion that will quickly be shattered when those girls try to talk to him. He's very shy, especially with girls. This will be good for him in that regard. I know he'll be getting a few looks. He's in shape. Hockey has made his legs strong. Weight lifting has given his upper body definition. Yes, I'm sure the girls at the club are going to be happy he's joined the staff. Of course that gives me cause for pause.

Since I'm scheduled for a pool-side pedicure this afternoon, and little brother plans to spend his afternoon up at the club, I guess we'll both get to witness him on the job in person later today. That will probably embarass him that I'm there, but as long as I don't talk to him, it will be okay. Little brother will think it's pretty cool that Tanner is getting paid. I'm sure that in between dunking pre-teen girls and playing keep away with an errant tennis ball, Dylan will be watching his brother, hopefully a little envious, dreaming of the day when he too can be a Pool Club Assistant.

I'm one proud momma today. My baby has a job.

Insanity in Numbers

I heard on the news this morning that between Barrack Obama and Hillary Clinton they've spent more on television ads than in any campaign in history. The number was staggering -- in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Since most Americans tuned out of this election months ago, I'm sitting here wondering why this makes sense and how insane it is that the candidates themselves would allow this sort of ridiculous spending to take place.

Do these candidates know that people are running out of gas on the roadways as they try to stretch their last third of a gallon to the next station? TV executives are fat and happy, but has the spending by the candidates really benefitted anyone? With the whole super delegate and electoral college thing, does it really matter what we think anyway? Who does this benefit?

John McCain, on the other hand, has spent about $11 million on televison advertising. That doesn't sound insane. I'm sure his ad agency has instead spent its money on some really "Wow" creative that we'll see after the conventions. That, after all, is when the real spending begins.

I've just been hearing some crazy numbers lately. It happens when I watch the news, which by and large I don't. But when I do, I hear things like this advertising thing, and also, "It's going to cost the State of Texas $21 million to take care of these 400 children from the compound in Eldorado this year." This year? What are we doing for these kids? Building them homes?Funding their college accounts? Feeding them fresh seafood flown in daily? I'm blown away. Not to mention why the heck does the state have these kids anyway? We can't take care of the ones that really need state intervention. It's insanity.

So I'm trying to not become insensed by these numbers and by the news you hear on TV in general. I really don't pay attention, and it's for good reason. I tend to get emotional about this stuff. And when I get emotional I don't focus on my work. And to pay for things these days I have to work. So I'm going back to my billing and will forget that Hillary and Barrack are spending more on some stupid ad to reach one super delegate than I will make in the next five years, and I'm paying $5 for a gallon of milk, $4 for a gallon of gas, my clients are doing the same, no one is too happy about it, spending is slowing...and yet I'm in the midst of these Texas oil people (who are everywhere here, God Love 'Em), and they can't stop smiling.

I just need to get back to work because, by the way Hillary, by the way Barrack, and you too Mr. McCain, I have to work more every month just to stay even. I'm lucky I have that option. Most Americans do not.

Time to Party

I've decided I'm going to have a party and invite everyone who has ever been mad at me. I figure that there will be more people at that sort of party than at a party of people who I haven't rubbed wrong at least once.

And here's my theory about that: I'm a passionate person. I typically try to do my best for people and am always focused on results. As a result, when people get in my way of results or question my methods or my timing or my ability to perform basic tasks, I react in ways that by some are considered to be "over reactions" and by others to be "unprofessional." I am good at pissing people off. Fortunately it doesn't happen too often, but still, I probably should not be allowed to talk to clients...sadly there's no one to stop me or to do it instead of me, so it's a bit of problem.

One client told me yesterday that I was unprofessional because I suggested that perhaps I wasn't the best person to work on his account. I thought that was very nice of me. I have his best interests in mind. This same client reminds me weekly of what I'm not doing right and pretty much ignores the things I am doing. Another client got upset with me last week because his "no hurry" project became a "rush" without my knowledge, and when I said his project would be "forthcoming asap" (meaning as soon as I can get to it), he called that sort of deadline "silly and ridiculous." Being called unprofessional or silly or ridicuolous doesn't motivate me to do a good job for someone. Perhaps it used to, but at my age, I tend to be a little less willing to bend than the service business I am in probably requires. I'm usually working as hard as I can and trying my best for people. I typically go above and beyond and at least try things, although they don't always work. And if someone doesn't appreciate the effort or my style of doing it, I quickly lose my interest in their project and definitely lose my motivation. Because this is a commercial venture, I try to continue to plug away, but the less focused I get on results and the more focused I get on keeping people happy, the more uninteresting the work becomes to me. And if I lose interest, professional or not, I can't be as effective doing what I do.

It's funny, usually the happier my clients are, the less I'm probably doing for them. If I'm making them uncomfortable or causing them to be concerned about being able to accomplish something we've set out to do, or if they are spending money on something that makes them a little nervous, that typically means we have some good ideas that we're pursuing that are not easy to accomplish and that, if allowed to work, will work great. But lately, doing my job without making people uncomfortable or even mad is becoming harder and harder to do.

I don't know if it's the economy, or pressure people are under to make more money or make their paychecks stretch farther, but the people I deal with seem to be getting agitated much easier than I'm used to. I think I may be getting agitated easier too.

Even my kids are mad at me lately for things like not letting them drive my car to school or making them pick up their rooms. I know everyone isn't mad at me, but having even a few people mad at you can be a very demotivating factor.

But as I said, if I really think about the best client relationships I've had, they have been at times adversarial. Why? Because I've fought for the things I wanted to do or for the ability to try it my way. Clients have complained about things I haven't done and wished I'd done something else. I've worried about budgets, clients have worried about budgets. We've "fought" about money, about strategy, and about effort. Usually it works out and everyone understands the other's position. Sometimes it just can't be fixed. Sometimes when they don't treat me right, I just don't care. Because it is not all about the money.

Some weeks it feels like everyone is piling it on and I can't do anything right. So I've decided to have this little party and invite everyone who has been mad at me for something at least once in my life. I'll have to rent a big hall and hire a great caterer. I'll need several weeks head start to get ahold of everyone I've ever disappointed, but I think that when they all come together, it's going to be an impressive group. If I could bring the people both living and dead who I had disappointed, that would be even better. My dad could be there: he didn't like the way I did lots of things, and pleasing him was always a goal. My old boss from Syntex could be there if he were still alive. He was disappointed in how I didn't keep my nice car spotless and how I refused to side with management rather than "the masses" when developing messages that were supposed to bail him out of something he'd agreed to that corporate wanted us to support.

My mom would be there because of that time I forgot to reschedule the court date for probating my dad's will, and I forgot. My husband could be there for all the thousands of times I've pissed him off through the years. And my kids...they'd be there, along with sales people whose calls I didn't return, and ad reps whose ads I didn't buy.

Clients: I've got eleven years of them, and most have probably been upset with me at one time or another. I don't ever remember being fired, per say, but I've probably come close many times, usually when I didn't care, and I've certainly not sought contract renewals with clients that were hard to please or usually mad at someone or something. Old bosses who trained me only to leave and co-workers who thought I should have stayed on at jobs with a future would be at this party. My neighbors would be there for that fireworks incident. Some teachers would be there and school administrators. When I think about it, I've mad a lot of people mad in my life. There was the cousin whose wedding I cancelled out on and the reunion I didn't go to and the friend I didn't call while in Florida. Yes, if I invited everyone whose been mad at me I would have a huge crowd at a party.

Now why would anyone want to be in a room full of people who they have angered? I guess because if I didn't care about these people or their causes I would not have bothered to express my opinion to them or assert my dissent. If I didn't care if an event was successful or if a publication picked up a story...if I didn't care if my son's hair was cut so that he stayed out of trouble or that a room was clean for "health reasons" these people wouldn't be mad at me. But because I care about the success of clients and their events, I tell them what I think and inform them of my concerns. I don't react well to being micro-managed and I need to work on that. I don't like being told, "Because I'm paying you to do it that way." But I need to accept that as a good excuse for why someone is mad.

The party is forthcoming. If I've made you mad, you're invited. And if I haven't made you mad yet, give me a call. I'm sure that with a few months of getting to know me, I could find a way to get under your skin too. And when everyone is in the same room, I'm going to flick the lights off and on, ask for a drum roll, and then say, "I'm sorry." It's going to be a great party.