Jane Genova: Speechwriter - Ghostwriter

Language Of Disruption - Leverage Terminology Of "Story" And "Narrative," Not "Baggage"

Staples is disrupting itself. To survive, its "story" or "narrative" has to shift from pens and mailing envelopes to high tech. No one in the Staples loop is talking about tossing aside "baggage."

Likewise in the language of disruption, Ello never refers to networking through Facebook as the baggage you no longer have to lug. Instead, it has brilliantly figured out how to tell its no-advertising story so that media can't get enough. 

Sharing-economy Airbnb plants its story framed as being friend to the little guy and budget-challenged traveler. Baggage the establishment lodging industry carries? Irrelevant.  And a distraction. Communication is about now, not the past.

So universal is this language of disruption that it has seeped into neuroplasticity, that is the ability to rewire the brain. In the book "Discovering Your Soul Signature," thought leader Panache Desai observes:

"Stop believing your old stories. Those narratives likely no longer apply. And even if they do, judging yourself creates vibrational density and stops the energy that wants to do what energy wants to do: expand and flow."

It's funny. Even in informal conversations, the professional who uses the term "baggage" triggers glazed-over looks. That's so 20th century. Obviously we have nothing to learn from that person who becomes increasingly isolated.

Writing Tutors - Surging Demand

Some of the best insights about emerging trends comes from compulsively following the help-wanted ads.

The ads show that the demand for writing tutors is surging. Interestingly, the ads are being placed by both enterprises hiring contract instructors and by individuals wanting to be able to do more of their own writing assignments, especially for college.

Previously, the demand was for "ghostwriters" of term papers, personal essays for admission to academic programs, and that first resume during senior year in college. That's still there. But the ones seeking up writing tutors keep growing.

What is surprisingly about that is this: People really do want to or sense they have to know how to write. After all, many Millennials can get by without it. They can text, post very short form on social networks, and have graphics take the place of a 1,000 word.

The driver for seeking out formal instruction could be the high cost of having material ghostwritten. Firms pay ghostwriters of academic papers about $10 a page, more if it involves STEM subjects. Their markup could add another $5 or more. That means students have to pony up at least $150 for that 10-page paper on the symbolism in "The Great Gatsby."

In addition, Millennials might have realized that Baby Boomers, the word generation, isn't retiring. To communicate with them demands knowing how rhetoric is leveraged in the professional world.

 

"The Good Wife" - Alicia Gets Ready For Her First Speech

Would we have given Alicia the same advice her campaign manager Elfman did tonight for her first speech in her campaign for the job of state attorney?

Alicia is an atheist. No way, Elfman says. He mandates that she get a religion. And she makes that journey, at least doing an intellectual search of the issues. Her daughter Grace, transfixed by religion, helps her out there, truly believing that she has softened her mother's heart. 

Likely we would also have advised Alicia to re-frame her atheism. However, we might not have mandated she select a religion. To be authentic, she could share with audiences what her sense of spirituality is. But, if we were astute in tone and wording, she wouldn't have had to tap dance near religion per se. 

Ambitious, smart, attractive, and a sympathetic figure because of Peter's sexual transgressions, Alicia is the ideal client for a speechwriter. We could also bring Grace into the speaking loop. Her earnestness would be appealing to adult women. Son Zach, who seems to be enjoying his youth a bit too much, should be kept low-profile, only appearing next to Peter for non-speaking parts. 

Pitch Difference - Yet, You Persist In Hiding In Middle

Differentiate.

That branding meme is so old. Over and over you have been hammered with the reality that if you don't identify your point or points of difference and promote it or them you are going to seep into the middle, competing on price.

Yet, you persist in highlighting your points of sameness. Then at the end of your pitch, you might put a tag line, "our edge is ....." 

Wrong.

The reality of the 2014 marketplace is that you should be total edge. That's your essence. Where GE couldn't be total edge in a market segment, under Jack Welch, it got out. When I no longer represented the leadership position in social media content, I did a deep dive to identify a new point of differentiation. P&G is doing the same thing with 100s of product lines.

It may be that you "need permission" to quit keeping up "family resemblances" with your competition. Well, you get just that via the 2014 book "How The World Sees You: Discover Your Highest Value Through The Science of Fascination." It's by Sally Hogshead. She is total edge in coaching companies and individuals to dare not bore with sameness. Here you can order the book from Amazon.com.

Sure, Hogshead presents documentation on how the differentiated win. But just as useful she explains why you might hesitate to be the stand-out among those who pitch for the account. Deep in the American ethos is the Puritan value of not seeking any attention. Remember having a Scarlet Letter slapped on you got you plenty of attention. And that was a bad thing.

In my new round of marketing, I am no longer saying, "I am like _____." Instead, I'm putting out there, "I am ________." That _______ designates me aa the force field onto myself, in terms of what I can accomplish for clients.

 

Dog Leash - Multi-Purpose Networking Tool

The secret to leveraging walking your dog as a multi-purpose networking tool is the same as in real estate: Location, location, location. 

But that doesn't necessarily mean an ultra upscale location where you meet the movers and shakers. It means where you can present yourself easily as a relaxed, confident, and successful professional.

For example, on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, I didn't gain any insight into business or get any referrals. When I walked my two animal companions Molly Mittens and Nicole around the neighborhood and the East River, we were ignored. There was no field of force created seducing others to buddy-up with us. It was obvious I didn't belong. 

On the other hand, here on the North Side of Tucson, Arizona, rescue dog Lee and I keep getting stopped.

Snowbirds from the Northeast and I talk about the bike niche which is exploding in growth.

Millennials who used to drive pizza trucks and pick up Uber fares elsewhere have gotten solid middle-class jobs in corrections. That's how I found out inmates are being transported here from as far away as Hawaii.

A real estate developer needed some marketing materials. He tried me out. Now he is sort of my brand ambassador. 

In order for the leash to be the way to opportunity we have to be open. No, we can't meander the roads (no sidewalks in this part of Tucson) preoccupied with a work assignment. We make eye contact. We initiate conversations about the breed of others' dogs. We compliment the color scheme of their houses.

Another amazing networking venue is the store for our four-footers' supplies. Yesterday at PetSmart it took Lee and I about 90 minutes to get from the dog-food aisle to check-out. Lee met new friends. I picked up business cards.

Ashoka Mukpo, RI Ebola Survivor/Freelance Journalist, Pitching His Story To Editors

For us in writing - all branches - life is essentially a source of copy. That's exactly what the mother of Nora Ephron told her on her deathbed. Yes, she wanted her daughter to recognize any story potential in the experience of a mother's death.

So, it's no surprise that Providence, Rhode Island freelance journalist and Ebola surivor Ashoka Mukpo is pitching his story to editors. That's what Felice J. Freyer reports in The Boston Globe.  

Mukpo was in Liberia doing an assignment for NBC News. He had only been on the job 48 hours when he developed the Ebola symptoms. He was flown back to the U.S. and treated at a medical facility in Nebraska. He regrets that those in Liberia don't have that option. Instead, they can't even get admitted to a hospital there because there is no room.

The sweet spot in the saga is that NBC picked up all Mukpo's medical costs, even though he was with them such a short time. 

Hype, Including About Ebola, In High Consumer Demand - Educating Clients To Be Hype-Literate."

Hype sells. Like watching the SuperBowl at the sports bar eating wings it's a wonderful group experience. 

"Did you see what CNN did with Craig Spencer."

"I like it that Abovethelaw.com's classy journalists like Joe Patrice aren't exploiting the pickle the Big Apple is in."

"The Wall Street Journal covered all bases about the 'cost" of Ebola to West Africa."

"Politico did a deep dive on how Ebola is raising the price of chocolate."

A good time is being had by all. Those on the East Coast I contacted about their Ebola fears shrugged my call off, "Aren't getting caught in the hype." That was the initial response. Then they deconstruct how various media outlets are covering the story. They might not be influenced by the hype but they are consuming it.

The lesson here for ghostwriters and speechwriters is to help our clients become "Hype Literate." Like contrarian thinking and controversy, this tool has to be managed carefully.  When it is, it's a game-changer in putting out there a point of view and generating action. 

Elizabeth Warren - Weary Nation Turns Away From Clinton Royalty

Elizabeth Warren is a fresh face in Presidential space. And a nation weary of the Clinton Royalty (Mama, Papa, Baby, Grandbaby Bears) is willing to get energized about a possible Warren run. 

The forces behind let's-think-beyond-Hillary are effective in planting the seeds of this developing story. Or at least we can credit them with that, whether they are reponsible or not for the return of Monica Lewinsky. This time she seems more credible. In addition, there is the meme that Hillary is too bullish on Wall Street. One big bit of fatigue is the unacceptability of large income inequality.

If we don't embrace Warren, then we will another non-royal politico. That's why on the conservative side, Jeb Bush likely won't make it too far. Chris Christie, a self-made man, could have a shot. Ebola's arrival on the East Coast has raised his national profile. If he makes smart moves in that crisis, he might well be the next president with a distinct regional accent. Remember when Jimmy Carter's Southern drawl fascinated us?

Competitive Intelligence - Analyze Help-Wanted Ads

It's ironic. Companies which are totally protective of assets like their intellectual property will disclose much too much about themselves in their help-wanted ads.

Given the new frugality, they will recruit on their own rather than contract with an executive search firm for many of the positions and assignments under-$100,000. So, there is plenty out there to analyze in terms of competitive intelligence. 

To begin with, the writer of the ad might gush about the strategic direction and strengths of the company. Read between the lines and you can learn quite a bit.

If the gush is too intense, for example, the company may already be in trouble or headed there. The ad is a come-on to attract talent to a distressed enterprise. On the other hand, if things are sweet, then to ensure receiving applications from top folks in the field they will give some details about where they are strategically and operationally. Since you are in that industry, you know what to drill down to.

Then there is the matter of tone. If they are addressing applicants like dirt you can be nicer and poach incumbents.  Should they be too much into being a fun bunch, then you can put out there the ethos of being all-business and earning a ton of money.

A tip-off that the company has internal problems is the ad being posted too often. A book publicity agency in Fairfield County, Connecticut has the same ad on Mediabistro.com every six months. You can put in a sly comment to a client or prospect about the unfortunate high turnover at the competitor. 

No, companies don't have to identify themselves. You just know. 

Genius Performance Art - NY Gov. Cuomo To Ride Subway (on his way to the White House)

Just like then NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani took charge after 9/11, NY State Governor Andrew Cuomo has become the man in command during the Eboba panic in Manhattan. He is leveraging genius performance art. Theatre of the master politico.

The Wall Street Journal reports (sub. req.):

"The governor [Andrew Cuomo] said he planned to ride the A, L or 1 Lines, all of which were used by Craig Spencer, a 33-year-old physician, after his return to New York from Guinea, where he had been working with Doctors Without Borders."

Anyone who has ridden the subway in Manhattan knows that you can be so scrunched up that you are unaware of that might have befallen you. Maybe someone cut the strings of your purse or you. Maybe a guy with a skin disease brushed up against you and four days later you are in the ER with a galloping rash. Or some athletic looking Millennial, just back from West Africa, might have sweated a bit and a drop fell on you.

Yeah, the reality that Spencer rode the subway is the most terrifying part of Ebola's penetration of the Big Apple. From his subway initiative, Cuomo could find himself the hero pushed to run to be the U.S. President in 2016.