The High School Exam

You must have a minimum of four correct answers to pass this test…

1. How long did the Hundred Years’ War last?
2. Which country makes Panama hats?
3. From which animal do we get cat gut?
4. In which month do Russians celebrate the October Revolution?
5. What is a camel’s hair brush made of?
6. The Canary Islands in the Pacific are named after what animal?
7. What was King George VI’s first name?
8. What color is a purple finch?
9. Where are Chinese gooseberries from?
10. What is the color of the black box in a commercial airplane?

ANSWERS: Remember, you must have at least 4 correct in order to pass!

1. How long did the Hundred Years War last? 116 years
2. Which country makes Panama hats? Ecuador
3. From which animal do we get cat gut? Sheep and Horses
4. In which month do Russians celebrate the October Revolution? November
5. What is a camel’s hair brush made of? Squirrel fur
6. The Canary Islands in the Pacific are named after what animal? Dogs
7. What was King George VI’s first name? Albert
8. What color is a purple finch ? Crimson
9. Where are Chinese gooseberries from? New Zealand
10. What is the color of the black box in a commercial airplane? Orange (of course)

Thanks to my friend Chuck Boltwood, Paint World of Rochester  http://www.paintworldofrochester.com/ for sending the test to me.

I flunked, by the way.  How about you?

Make Your Day Magnificent!

Your Words Are Your Reputation

It used to be that reputations were ruined by pencil scrawls on public bathroom walls, or derogatory notes passed in class. A single word or phrase could destroy your life – but that is ancient history, right?

Not so.

Every post you make on your websites, blogs, or social networking sites impacts your personal and business reputation.

Now, I am a writer, so maybe I go a bit overboard. But from my perspective, messages containing spelling or uncommon usage errors cause me to question whether that person pays attention to quality in other aspects of their business — particularly when I see similar errors across multiple messages.

Here are three examples I’ve seen in the last week. The improperly used/spelled words are in blue:

More homeowners choose us to market there properties then any other agency.

… those of you that have been apart of the community…

… few our harnessing the true power…

Maybe the people who wrote these posts were in a hurry. Or, maybe they don’t care if their message is misconstrued or they look foolish. But the world is watching, and judging.

Double check your emails – even your Tweets – before you hit “send.” Have someone else proofread your web content and articles before they go live.

Your reputation is at stake.

Frozen Leaders

Head over to http://tinyurl.com/eosduane for a compelling article by Gino Wickman of the Entrepreneurial Operating System, and thaw yourself out.

It’s spring outside – how long will you cling to an internal winter?

And Thank you, Duane Marshall (EOS) for posting the article link on Motor City Connect.

The Camping Trip

Thanks to my friend Rick Weaver, President of Max Impact in Rochester Hills, MI for this delightful story:

Here is an old story that is still appropriate for today’s management leaders.

It tells of a camping trip taken by Sherlock Holmes and his faithful sidekick, Dr. Watson.  The two had spent a rigorous day of fresh air and activity before laying down for a welcomed night’s rest.

Sometime in the early morning Holmes awoke and tapped Watson on the shoulder.

“Watson, look up and tell me what you see.”

The sun had not yet begun to rise and the sky was clear with natural beauty. Watson replied, “I see millions and millions of stars.”

“What does that tell you?”

Watson thought momentarily before replying. “Astronomically, it tells me that there are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets. Astrologically, I observe that Saturn is in Leo. Horologically, I deduce that the time is approximately a quarter past three. Theologically, I can see that God is all powerful and that we are small and insignificant. Meteorologically, I suspect that we will have a beautiful day. Why, what does it tell you?”

(for Sherlock’s answer, click the link below, and enjoy!)

http://www.getmaximpact.com/IT09-04-08-Camping.html

Voices of Detroit Airs the Good News

Pay no attention to the naysayers – the doom-and-gloomers – the mainstream  media.

There are great things happening in metro Detroit… and great people who know that the innovation, creativity, and unstoppable spirit that made Detroit an entrepreneurial center a century ago has not withered or died.

Thanks to Larry Henry (Two Floors Down Productions) and David Benjamin (The Sales Matrix), people across the planet are hearing the good news about Detroit -  from those that are making it happen – in their Voices of Detroit podcasts.

My friend and colleague, Theresa Thompson (Tea Time Events) and I were guests on issue #17 of Voices of Detroit – recorded March 26 at Goldfish Tea in Royal Oak. If you haven’t been there yet, now’s the time!  Great hot and cold teas from around the world with a casual, hip atmosphere. Try the Wild Berry Black Tea Smoothie – major yummy!

Listen to the podcast right here, through the link below, or go directly to the Voices of Detroit podcast site for the RSS feed.

voices_of_detroit_17-teatimeevents_and_the_write_concept

Make your day magnificent!

Linda Angér, The Write Concept, Inc.

Involved in Non-Profit work?  Visit www.TWCGrantwriting.com

Stand By Me

One of my favorite songs, and one of the best “around the world” videos I’ve seen in years -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Us-TVg40ExM

Pretty as a Picture – or Maybe Not

Mary had a slick new company website built by an independent developer. She loved the colors, the typeface, and especially the half-dozen photos placed throughout the site. She loved the kudos the site received from clients and friends. She loved everything about it, until her bubble was burst by a single phone call.

She was being sued for photo copyright infringement.

The developer had used stock images from a popular photo distributor. That in itself was not the problem, as stock photo usage is common on the web and in print. The problem was that Mary didn’t know there was such a thing as photo licensing, didn’t know the developer had not secured legal rights to the photos, and didn’t know that as owner of the site, she was liable for every bit of the content, including the images. She had the developer remove the images immediately, but was still charged a hefty fee for the months the photos had been illegally used on her site.

Many of you compliment me on the images I use in the marketing pieces I write and design. They are all stock art. I pay a subscription fee to the distributor for their use, but I do not “own” the images. When a friend told me of Mary’s plight, I called my subscription service to make sure I understood the fine points of the legal agreement tied to my subscription.

I have “rights” to use the images I download, within a long list of very specific guidelines and parameters. I can use them in your brochure or other pieces I’ve designed—but I cannot “give” you the image to forward to your web developer. I cannot “give” you the image to use independently from your desktop. To avoid the potential of copyright infringement charges for pieces designed by anyone other than me, you would have to purchase a license to the images in your own name.

The moral of the story: Don’t leave the legal aspects of photos, excerpts, or other elements in your marketing materials strictly up to your developer or graphic designer. Whenever stock art is used in your marketing, make sure you understand where and how images were secured, the limits of the license, and your responsibility in allowing their use on your site and in your materials.

Prisoners in Disguise

We are all prisoners of something…be it our economy, our culture, our beliefs, or our thoughts… but John Francis found freedom from it all in an unlikely, unusual way.

This 20-minute video blew me away – because of John’s commitment to the environment (he walked everywhere he went for 22 years, including a trek across the U.S. and much of South America), his choice to not speak at all for 17 years, and the wisdom he shares on what we can learn about ourselves when we make the choice to change.

Listen to the environmental pilgrim, John Francis, retell the story in his own words at:

http://www.karmatube.org/videos.php?id=1381

The Seed – Deep Thoughts

This story came to me from my friend Drew Sygit of the Lending Edge. http://www.thelendingedge.com/.  I haven’t been able to discern its origins.

A successful business man was growing old and knew it was time to choose a successor to take over the business. Instead of choosing one of his Directors or his children, he decided to do something different. He called all the young executives in his company together.

He said, “It is time for me to step down and choose the next CEO. I have decided to choose one of you.”

The young executives were shocked, but the boss continued. “I am going to give each one of you a SEED today – one very special SEED. I want you to plant the seed, water it, and come back here one year from today with what you have grown from the seed I have given you. I will then judge the plants that you bring, and the one I choose will be the next CEO.”

One man, named Jim, was there that day and he, like the others, received a seed. He went home and excitedly told his wife the story. She helped him get a pot, soil and compost and he planted the seed. Every day, he would water it and watch to see if it had grown. After about three weeks, some of the other executives began to talk about their seeds and the plants that were beginning to grow.

Jim kept checking his seed, but nothing ever grew. Three weeks, four weeks, five weeks went by, still nothing. By now, others were talking about their plants, but Jim didn’t have a plant and he felt like a failure.

Six months went by — still nothing in Jim’s pot. He just knew he had killed his seed. Everyone else had trees and tall plants, but he had nothing… Jim didn’t say anything to his colleagues, however. He just kept watering and fertilizing the soil – He so wanted the seed to grow.

A year finally went by and all the young executives of the company brought their plants to the CEO for inspection.

Jim told his wife that he wasn’t going to take an empty pot. But she asked him to be honest about what happened. Jim felt sick to his stomach, it was going to be the most embarrassing moment of his life, but he knew his wife was right.

He took his empty pot to the board room. When Jim arrived, he was amazed at the variety of plants grown by the other executives. They were beautiful –in all shapes and sizes. Jim put his empty pot on the floor and many of his colleagues laughed, a few felt sorry for him!

When the CEO arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted his young executives.

Jim just tried to hide in the back. “My, what great plants, trees, and flowers you have grown,” said the CEO. “Today one of you will be appointed the next CEO!”

All of a sudden, the CEO spotted Jim at the back of the room with his empty pot. He ordered the Financial Director to bring him to the front. Jim was terrified. He thought, “The CEO knows I’m a failure! Maybe he will have me fired!”

When Jim got to the front, the CEO asked him what had happened to his seed – Jim told him the story.

The CEO asked everyone to sit down except Jim. He looked at Jim, and then announced to the young executives, “Behold your next Chief Executive Officer!His name is Jim!”  Jim couldn’t believe it.

“Jim couldn’t even grow his seed. How could he be the new CEO?” the others said.

Then the CEO said, “One year ago today, I gave everyone in this room a seed. I told you to take the seed, plant it, water it, and bring it back to me today. But I gave you all boiled seeds. They were dead – it was not possible for them to grow.

All of you, except Jim, have brought me trees and plants and flowers. When you found that the seed would not grow, you substituted another seed for the one I gave you. Jim was the only one with the courage and honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in it. Therefore, he is the one who will be the new Chief Executive Officer!”

If you plant honesty, you will reap trust

If you plant goodness, you will reap friends

If you plant humility, you will reap greatness

If you plant perseverance, you will reap contentment

If you plant consideration, you will reap perspective

If you plant hard work, you will reap success

If you plant forgiveness, you will reap reconciliation

ConnecTech’s 2008 “Web Copywriting” Award Winner

(10/29/2008) -Troy, Michigan – Top honors in ConnecTech’s 2008 Web Awards “Web Copywriting” category went to the website www.MyGutsyDream.com, a joint project between Linda Angér (The Write Concept, Inc.) and Faris Alami (Integration Systems Management, Inc.).

Content for the winning site was developed and written by Ms. Angér, who functions as Creative Services Director of Integration Systems Management in addition to her work as president of The Write Concept. “My Gutsy Dream” is a book-in-progress collaboration between Ms. Angér and Faris Alami, president of ISM. The book is slated for publication in early 2009.

Ken Theis, director of the Michigan Department of Information Technology and the State of Michigan’s chief information officer, and Danielle DeLonge, ConnecTech Manager at Automation Alley, presented the award to ISMs president, Faris Alami, at the Troy Chamber of Commerce Helen eWards event on October 22nd. More than 200 websites were submitted in 10 categories.

“ISM thrives by bringing the most talented people together to provide innovative solutions in today’s market,” Alami states. “I am honored that Linda’s gift as a copy writer has been recognized by this award, and very proud to have her on our team.”

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The Write Concept, Inc. provides copy writing, graphic design and PR support services for entrepreneurs, small business, non-profits, and multi-national companies. Ms. Angér is a member of the Troy Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Women Business Owners, The Association for Women in Communications, and Motor City Connect. Visit www.TheWriteConcept.com, www.TWCgrantwriting.com, or call 248-276-2429.

Integrated Systems Management brings “best practice” marketing and cultural diversity training and services to small and mid-sized companies nationwide. ISM is a member of Automation Alley and the Troy Chamber of Commerce. Visit www.myISMinc.com, www.2486885353.com  or call 248-688-5353.