Publisher's Letter
	Sept/Oct 2006, By Candy Campbell

I am sure I am not alone on this when I say “Your people make your company”. No matter what, during business hours and after, the people we hire are a reflection of our company. Driving our mission 24/7. At least we hope so! Sometimes that statement is a difficult lesson when our staff is less than stellar in presenting our brand. On other occasions, we are given a unique opportunity to see branding efforts that could not be purchased for any price.

Our current issue is case in point for amazing individuals that catapult companies. My experience with Dan Foster at The Palm is one of those experiences where consistently no matter where I see him, I am given the same courtesy and VIP treatment – whether it be through introductions at a black tie function or ensuring I am taken care of when I stop in for lunch.

That may seem like a simple task or even a standard “comes with the job” concept. However, it is a rare individual that takes it upon themselves to make a direct introduction at a social function where they themselves are attending at their leisure.

There are a slew of books that attempt to educate marketing directors and CEO’s on the importance of company brand extension. However, I am a firm believer that you cannot change people or make them do your bidding. It is an inherent trait that exists among a select temperament that simply does so without thinking so much about it.
The same rules apply for bad behaving staff members – management level and across the board. Damage control has become quite popular with the public relations personnel assigned to fix any problems that occur during and after business hours.

How do you teach and reinforce good judgment? Doc Blakely, a humorist once said, “Good judgment is based 80 percent on knowledge and experience and 20 percent on intuition.”

I recently had the pleasure of a one on one with a fabulous business coach out of Broomfield, Melanie Mulhall, who encouraged me to ask a few very simple questions to get a the root of a person’s behavior patterns (before hiring of course) in an effort to squelch any damaging traits in the future. These days I guess we simply expect our staff to be on good behavior if not just for the company, but for their own personal benefit. That is a silly assumption if I ever thought it (and have about a hundred times).

Donald Siebert, Chairman of J.C. Penny said, “You want people who can be honest with themselves in analyzing a situation, making judgments and evaluating projects.”

I think our difficulty is that process on the front end – where we properly screen the right individuals who have the propensity to make great decisions, and go above and beyond – because its their nature.
Our magazines are very entrepreneurial. From our office environment to the events we host. Everything we do embodies risk taking and jumping head first into the center of new ideas and projects. Finding balance and attracting those key players to our company that thrive on exciting new opportunities and can independently solve problems and be a stellar extension of the brand is a challenge – which makes it a thrill when you see those individuals that execute it so well.
The people you hire determine your company’s future.

David Ogilvy, the legendary adman and founder of Ogilvy & Mather, placed a Russian doll in front of each director’s chair. He told them, “That’s you. Open it.”

When they opened the doll, they found another one inside and another one inside of it. Inside the smallest doll was a note.
“If you always hire people who are smaller than you are, we shall become a company of dwarfs. If, on the other hand, you always hire people who are bigger than you are, we shall be come a company of giants.”

As we get into our 5th year, I continually hope we challenge ourselves to feature and highlight so many of the companies we see as successful long before they are recognized, and the many talented individuals whose skill and motivation help companies thrive.

Candy Campbell
candy@siegelmedia.com