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I’ve tried all week to not blog about the worst play call in Super Bowl history, but my resistance has been defeated.

Over a week may have gone by since the Seahawks Pete Carroll and his braintrust oddly decided to pass their way to a repeat Super Bowl Championship.

We all know the outcome. My opinion? Well it’s really a two-part discussion.

The first and the easy part is that it was a very bad call. There are so many arguments to run the ball that I couldn’t take inventory of them in one breath.

The second and much more complex part is trying to understand the why. It’s always easier to analyze a situation when you hypothesize putting yourself in the other person’s shoes. To do so, I would ask you to assess moments in time when presented with a choice that has to be made quickly, which will end up having a significant consequence on the rest of your life. The latter component being so crucial to this simulation because despite what Coach Carroll and his QB Russell Wilson have proclaimed, that decision will define them forever.

To begin the exercise I want you to think of a similar situation in your life. While I don’t expect any flashbacks to rival the stage of a Super Bowl, I do expect your examples to have been in circumstances that were similar. Circumstances that included the endurance challenge of being againizingly close to the end of a very long journey; circumstances that included the guard lowering challenge of you expecting a positive outcome; circumstances that included you believing you were fully prepared; and circumstances that that included facing an adversary that had nothing to lose.

Let’s continue.

Hold up the decision you’re reflecting upon and review it from the four angles identified above and compare it to the circumstances of the Super Bowl.

1. Both teams were tired. There was no question. It had been a disturbingly violent affair. Often we have to deal with tough decisions, or even not so apparently tough decisions, at the 11th hour. You have to wonder how much fatigue factored in to one Seahawk receiver not executing his “rub” route very well, to the Seahakws QB being late with the throw, to the Seahawks intended receiver not making a strong effort on the ball. Lesson 1 – At the end of a long journey, stick with what got you there as it will require less energy to execute. (Translation – Run the Ball!)

2. Twice the Seahwaks thought they had the game won. First was midway through the 4th Quarter when they held a 10 point lead and secondly when they had the fateful 2nd and goal. They let their guard down. Twice. The first time was their passive play in the 4th, which saw them fall behind, the second was after their receiver made a miraculous juggling catch while prone on the turf. They somehow felt unstoppable. They were already celebrating. They felt invincible. Lesson 2 – Make all decisions like your back is against the wall. (Translation – Celeberate AFTER the game!)

3. The Seahawks felt like this play was a shrewd call. They felt their opponent was expecting a run and this pass play would catch them unprepared. In fact, it had worked before for the Seahawks. That’s the bad news. The Patriots also knew it had worked earlier in the season for the Seahawks. So much so they substituted in the player who would make the game clinching INT based on the Seahawks substitutions. Butler, the interceptor, had practiced against that play during Super Bowl week and was crictized by his coaches when beaten on it in practice. He knew what was coming, he wasn’t going to let it happen again. Lesson 3 – If you think you’re better prepared than your opponent, you’re not. (Translation – That’s BILL Belichik over there!)

4. The aforementioned Butler, the interceptor, wasn’t just a hero, but he was the potential goat and victim of the miraculous Seahawks catch just a couple of plays earlier. He understood the satiation, it was second and goal. He took a risk jumping the route to try to get a pick. The reward? A Super Bowl victory. The risk? Pass interference? Which would have resulted in half yard penalty and an extra down. Yes that may have sealed the Pats defeat, but if he doesn’t play aggressively they lose anyway. Lesson 4 – Take calculated risks where the reward outweighs the potential downside. (Translation – BOUNCE back quickly!)

Recreating this four-sided picture of your situation, provides new tools to attack the next decision. If the Hawks had done so, they may have won. Instead the Patriots beat them on all four parameters and emerged triumphant.

We are fortunate that in our lives we don’t have hundreds of millions of people watching, and thousands of experts analyzing, every decision we make. However when do screw up, it can feel equally as devasting as the Seahawks botched play call. This sequence of events provided more than a lifetime of spirited debate. It provided a playbook to prepare for the biggest and smallest calls we will be facing in whatever stadium you toil in.

Last week during the Sponsorship Marketing Council of Canada’s breakfast event, Sponsorship Resolutions, I spoke of the need to “Get Real” in 2015 with our marketing campaigns.

I don’t intend to be dour, but with unending conflict in Iraq and Syria, massacres rampant across Africa, terrorism in Europe, planes mysteriously dropping from the sky in Asia, civil war in the Ukraine, an accelerated return to the U.S.-Russia Cold War, and oil prices plunging daily; consumer confidence is going to take a hit. When times are difficult….witness 9/11 and the 2008 recession, consumers respond to marketing in new ways. They seek more inspiration and less aspiration. They want more community and less celebrity. They expect more thoughtfulness in communication and less senseless humour.

Understanding the pulse of consumers requires more than just online polling and social listening. It requires marketers to connect the dots between what’s being said, what’s happening in-store and online, and what’s attracting attention.

The marketing event also known as Super Bowl advertising has lept well beyond the crafting of a brilliant sixty second spot. It’s become a multi-channel contest of innovation and creativity. The stakes have never been higher. The potential return also soaring to new peaks.

Not surprisingly this year’s Super Bowl advertisers scored with a smarter, more realistic tone in their messages.

– P&G reprised their #likeagirl spot from 2014 proving that tackling a significant seemingly never-ending issue is timeless.

– The Canadian Armed Forces shocked me with their recruitment spot, striking a chord of confidence and inspiring patriotism, with a dose of pragmatic reality, at a time when our military has never been more needed since 1945.

– Bud Light’s Living ads tap into great insights about twenty-something’s ranging from the boss who thinks you’re Mr. Responsible at work, to the dad providing napping advice to his daughter who just completed her first triathlon, to the friend who doesn’t want to sleep on the floor at a cabin party. Beer ads will always be aspirational, but when they are also relatable they really sing.

– Nationwide’s Make Safe Happen doesn’t promote a product or an offer, but sells something much more valuable. The safety of your family.

– While I cringe every time I hear an ad agency suggest “random acts of kindness” as their big idea, McDonald’s has created a potential ground breaker with their Pay With Lovin’ campaign. It’s brilliance, is that the random acts must happen in store thereby driving tons of traffic, and the genius is in its simplicity. But what makes this program even more perfect are the hilarious rules this corporate behemoth has signed off on. Kudos to their lawyers and senior executives for realizing that most contest rules do nothing but piss off valued consumers.

– I had never heard of Michael Hill until I saw their Super Bowl spot which trumpeted all sorts of society challenging love (across gender, race, etc.). The campaign was crafted from live on the street conversations with over 1,200 people. When was the last time a marketer talked – not surveyed, not creeped on their social feeds, not had them interviewed while they hid behind glass! – with 1,200 people!!!

The Super Bowl ad slate presents a roadmap for marketing in 2015.

The roadmap XXIL provides is one that shows we must work harder as marketeers to connect with our consumers. Family. Faith. Community. They have never been more important. I think the plethora of marketing channels and noise makes this even more a challenge.

Heroism can’t be manufactured. Yet it exists all around us on a daily basis. Good deeds aren’t random acts, for many they are routine. Commitment isn’t sexy, yet it’s the most powerful sales driver since the original sin was committed.

Take time to unravel your key messages for the year and ensure the threads that connect you to your stakeholders is as thick as rope.

Going to watch Super Bowl XLIX next week?

Thinking about joining the office pool? Maybe placing some money down on some squares? Have a not-so friendly bet lined up with your brother-in-law?

It seems the Super Bowl is less and less about the game and more and more about the advertisements, half-time show, and the betting. Vegas will let you bet on just about anything: who will win MVP, whether a certain player will score. Plus there are a few potential bets that they just won’t authorize: what will Katy Perry wear, will the Patriots coach smile.

Now at the risk that mine won’t be unique, I do have a few ideas that might make for some interesting odds:

1. Will the word “DeflateGate” be the subject of Viagara’s Super Bowl TV ad?

2. How many minutes in will we get sick of watching the same three ads on the Canadian TV feed?

3. How many minutes into the game before delusional Cowboys fans realize their team didn’t make it… again!

4. How much longer after that will your delusional brother-in-law who loves the Cowboys start telling you that Tony Romo is the best QB in the game?

5. How many more minutes still before you cut your brother-in-law off?

6. How many minutes late will your pizza delivery be?

7. Will Katy Perry take her much talked about swipe at Taylor Swift during her performance?

8. How long after the game will it be before a winning player shouts at a reporter ” Nobody believed in us… but us!”

9. How many minutes after the game will the Cowboys be installed as 3:1 favourites to win Super Bowl 50?

10. How many minutes after the game will I be telling people the Steelers are going to win SB50?

11. How many people will argue with me that it’s supposed to be Super Bowl L?

I don’t know the answers to 1-10, but I can assure I am right on 11… it’s officially Super Bowl 50 next year folks!

So I turned fifty last week and have to admit it was like my own personal Y2K.

I wanted to stay up till midnight to see if my systems shut off. They didn’t, but the next few days were a whirlwind of physiological and psychological developments. So much so, that even though I said I wouldn’t blog about my birthday for another fifty years, there are some vital things learned about turning fifty last week I feel compelled to share with you.

So if you haven’t turned fifty yet…here are some things to get prepared to deal with:

1. People now know you’re 50.

2. You can’t buy a car with seat heat anymore because apparently activating lower end warmth causes people my age to spontaneously orgasm.

3. Your business class meal on all flights is now three courses of green jelly

4. You can’t convince your kids that you were actually alive the last time the Leafs won the Stanley Cup.

5. All of your great work stories that include the two words “fax machine” are lost on your co-workers.

6. Kids you coached in sports are now asking you to coach their kids.

7. When you ask the barber to trim your nose hairs he will ask if you prefer them in dreadlocks.

8. For the first time ever you notice the retirement homes along the route of your morning commute.

9. Cab drivers automatically pop their trunks to store your mobility device.

10. You’re shocked you’re the exact same age as the Canadian flag.

11. Nipple erections aren’t treatable.

12. Body parts designed to emit liquids are now emitting solids.

13. Body parts designed to emit solids are now emitting liquids.

14. Body parts designed to emit nothing have sprung savage leaks.

15. You fall asleep at family events.

16. You fall asleep in meetings.

17. People are ecstatic you fall asleep in meetings.

18. Your middle of the night pee will become hourly.

19. Your window to enjoy your morning pee will be less than sixty seconds after you wake up.

20. You’ve lost the words “those people look like they are in their fifties” from your vocabulary.

21. Gossiping is more dangerous because you’ve probably used up every target you’ve met.

22. The Prime Minister sends you a birthday card that reads Happy 50th on the outside and a reminder to vote sticker for your Daytimer.

23. You get carpel tunnel in your wrist from holding your iPhone at a 14 degree angle, four feet away from your face, so you can read your email.

24. People stand ten feet away from you when they wish you Happy Birthday due to a Mayan myth that age is a contagious disease.

25. Acne plastered McDonald’s cashiers direct your attention to a menu board with extra large type.

26. You’re assessed a $189 fine for not getting a fireworks permit for your birthday cake.

27. The only jury duty you’re qualified to perform is for The People’s Court.

28. No one told you The People’s Court went off the air in ’97.

29. Harshly the expression “Drink’em pretty” now applies to you.

30. The Freshmen 15 is a period of life you now envy.

31. It’s worrisome that your shrink may finally convince you that Happy Days wasn’t Reality TV.

32. Being replaced in your job by a class of ’05 Grad.

33. Finding out that the every person endorsing you on LinkedIn are also unemployed.

34. Realizing that your Facebook posts to impress you niece and nephew don’t beget much attention given they aren’t on Facebook, because you are.

35. You thought Labatt 50 was named in your honour.

36. You find out Luba isn’t performing at the Ontario Place Forum this summer.

37. You’re even more surprised to find out the Forum doesn’t exist.

38. Remarkably you’re even surprised that Ontario Place has closed.

39. Your high school has been torn down due to old age.

40. The Top 40 Under 40 committee has, for the 10th consecutive year, sent back your application with a stern request to reread the eligibility criteria.

41. You’re astonished to hear there never was a “New Economy”

42. Tragically you have been forced to deal with the fact your website called www.snailmail.com isn’t going to be successful.

43. Being told that your use of the expression “Back in the Day” when you begin a story isn’t actually necessary.

44. You used to love smelling your own farts, but one of those functions isn’t working anymore.

45. When you giggle after farting, people scurry to find a mop and pail.

46. Convincing people that Tim Horton was a real person, and Ronald McDonald wasn’t, will take up a lot of your time.

47. People think they’re being complimentary when asking, with a fake smile, “You’re 50?” with a newly adopted hillbilly twang.

48. GQ will pay you to terminate your subscription in order to maintain their brand image.

49. For some strange reason the drug store advised you aren’t old enough yet to purchase Depends, despite the daytime leftovers you uncover every night when you change into your pyjamas.

50. The way people call you Sir or Madam suspiciously doesn’t sound like it’s out of respect…..

I suppose it’s incredibly self-serving to blog about one’s own birthday.

Usually I’m dead set against much celebratory activity. It’s not that I’m attempting some elaborate form of reverse psychology. Secretly desiring a marching band or fireworks in my honour. Hopefully I’m not coming across like one of those people who say “I’m not as smart as the people who work for me”, when you know they believe they are the greatest. Nope, usually I like my birthday to be low key, personal, and intimate.

But in clear violation of these assertions, I am disclosing to you here that it’s my birthday this week. This one seems a little different than the other forty-nine that preceded it. Here is why:

1. I don’t feel 50.
2. I really don’t think I look 50.
3. I am shocked that I am 50.
4. Most people tell me I don’t act 50.
5. What does it mean to act 50?
6. Somehow I still think I’m the punk who started his own business in his 20’s.
7. My wife beat me to 50 and it doesn’t look as bad as I thought it might.
8. Fifty years ago I was born as Richard Lane Zemans. It’s true.
9. I’m eternally grateful for being adopted by Ron & Ann Harrison nearly fifty years ago.
10. Not just because it would be awkward if my name was Dick and I ran a company called TrojanOne.
11.For fifty years they have unconditionally loved me more than any parents ever could.
12. I need to do a better job for the next fifty years telling them how much I appreciate them.
13. Turning 50 has surprisingly triggered an abundance of meaning of life thinking.
14. I have finished those thoughts in an incredibly happy place.
15. I have experienced way more than fifty years of blessings.
16. But I have also made more than fifty years of mistakes.
17. I have no regrets about any of them.
18. I’ve come to realize that my first fifty years on earth have been paving the way for first fifty years of our children’s path.
19. I’m happily steaming towards fifty years of being with Karen….actually it’s only twenty, but it feels like fifty…in a good way….I am now digging myself a fifty foot hole….I owe her fifty kisses!
20. Did I mention my wife is over fifty?
21. Can you still hear me from down in this fifty foot hole?
22. But I really have had fifty years of blessings.
23. Every year I make a personal list of the 10 Greatest Happenings Last Year… this year I intend to make a 50th special edition of 50 Greatest Happenings in My Life.
24. I can still remember when I started making more than $ 50,000 a year!
25. Which is amazing given I’ve only got fifty strands of hair left on my head.
26. I can also remember the pride when my agency exceeded 50 staff.
27. I look forward to the day when my agency turns 50.
28. I look forward to the day when my kids turn 50.
29. I didn’t write this blog to shamelessly plea for presents or platitudes.
30. Although my dog Prince has promised me a birthday kiss.
31. My cat Apollo will just ignore me like he does any other day.
32. Disappointed on my 50th that I will weigh in at around 206.
33. I have been on a 50 month tear to get under 200 pounds.
34. I can still do 50 push-ups.
35. I can’t do 50 chin-ups, but I never could.
36. I should do 50 situps.
37. I can run for fifty minutes.
38. I read more than fifty minutes a day.
39. I workout more than fifty minutes a day….every day!
40. I love to give fifty minute presentations at conferences.
41. My staff will tell you I can babble for more than fifty minutes In a meeting.
42. My staff will also tell you I’ve been known to order shooters in trays of fifty.
43. I plan to still do so if you’re coming to a TrojanOne event.
44. I have a feeling 2015 is going to be the best year ever for TrojanOne!
45. I have a feeling 2015 is going to be my best year ever.
46. I love what I do and wish everyday was 50 hours long!
47. Don’t ask me when I’m going to retire, the answer is never.
48. Don’t ask if I plan to sell my agency, the answer is never.
49. I plan on living at least another 50 years.
50. Promise not to blog about my birthday again until the second fifty arrives! (Will there be such a thing as a blog on January 16, 2065?)

Welcome to the Year of Sport in Canada.

In case you missed the announcement last Fall, our Governor General made this proclamation for 2015. It’s an announcement you should not have missed, as it could be the foundation for unrealized opportunity. Inspired by an unprecedented schedule of international sporting events to grace our land, this recognition is wildly appreciated by the sport community.

Opportunity often knocks in threes and you can maximize Year of Sport through a troika of approaches.

1. Engage Sport for a Healthier Country.
The statistics don’t lie. We are a fatter, rounder, softer, nation than we have ever been. Sport can help change that. Not just organized sport, but pickup and free play. Reducing barriers, accessibility issues, facility shortages, participation costs, parental pressures, municipal bylaws is essential. Push your politicians for a healthier Canada. Push your educators for a healthier curriculum. Push your organization to offer a healthier workplace.

2. Utilize Sport to Build Community.
For every story you hear of crazed hockey/soccer/figure skating parents, there are dozens of positive untold stories. We like to dwell on the negative, but few things build community like sport. Children build relationships beyond the brick walls of their own classroom or schoolhouse. Parents meet new friends that transcend culture, economics, or neighbourhoods. Coworkers engage in teamwork with colleagues they often only see in the lunchroom. Sport’s community building powers are ageless, boundless, and limitless. Tapping into them has to be on your 2015 resolutions list.

3. Leverage Sport to Create Opportunity.
Leading marketers recognize the power of sport to build their brands. Sponsorships, activations, special events all have been empirically proven to motivate customer channels and consumer purchase. Sport engages Canadians, connects with their passions, and builds corporate credibility. Leading municipalities recognize the power of sport to build their economies. Sport Tourism does more than fill hotel rooms. It also fills taxis, restaurants, shops, buses, trains, and planes. Leading charities recognize the power of sport to fill their coffers. Challenging events and competitions engage donors, participants, and sponsors. The gala dinner has been replaced by the epic contest. Organizations are constantly seeking unique strategies to create opportunity. Sport is a ubiquitous and powerful strategy you need to uniquely incorporate in your planning today.

The theme of the Governor General’s proclamation “Canada: A Leading Sport Nation” clearly provides the motivation for you to leverage Year of Sport in Canada.

Years ago, the titans of commerce established the tradition of the Holiday Bonus. Over time it took many forms. An envelope of cash, a Christmas turkey, a bonus cheque, bottles of wine, or a gift basket. Unfortunately the practice wasn’t always conducted altruistically, as often it was used to prevent staff defections or as a way to circumvent paying earned overtime. But it’s origins were pure and indeed many companies well understood the benefits of rewarding employees for a year’s solid performance.

When I was a young titan of newspaper delivery, the Christmas bonus was eagerly awaited. As an eleven year old paperboy I made about five or six dollars, a week, delivering to forty households. But come the week before Christmas, it was my chance to rack up some riches. Most of my client households slipped me a card which I couldn’t wait to open, though I rarely read them. The notes I was looking for were of the currency type. Namely the one and two dollar bills that flowed out of them. Sometimes the odd fiver showed up, to which I said a silent prayer of thanks. By the time I was done with my Holiday Haul, I easily had scored over a month’s extra pay. For me the Christmas Bonus was alive and well.

I still relish the gifts I get from clients.

Not that they are sending me cash bonuses!

No, my clients give me something much more valuable than money. They give me feedback, candour, collaboration, and opportunity. Those are things that money can’t buy. This of course is in addition to the financial renumeration they provide all year. Which allows me to employ a team of highly deserving, capable, and inspiring colleagues. This funding allows them to pursue their professional dreams and aspirations, while establishing their own personal ability to support the families they will someday create. Or in many cases have already started.

This week we are celebrating with our clients and industry friends. Together we will raise a glass to celebrate the season, to remember a year’s worth of business triumphs and challenges, and to give thanks for the support of one another. If you don’t (didn’t) make it to our Holiday Blast, I want to still thank you personally for all you mean to us.

I often tell my young interns that without clients, we wouldn’t have a business. In case I haven’t told you lately, that’s why I’m writing to you today.

Gracious, humble thanks to all our clients and patrons.

Happy Holidays.

I workout to lose weight.

I run to brainstorm.

I rehearse to do better presentations.

I read to stimulate creativity.

I draft plans to run better practices.

I take lessons to learn how to ski.

I don’t know how to train my sixth sense. I wonder if it’s possible to train something that there is no tangible evidence I have. What is a sixth sense? Paranoia? Anticipation? ESP?

Do you have a sixth sense? What do you call it? Spidy Sense? Little Voice? Inner Voice? Golden Angel? Personal Compass? Third Eye?

I usually refer to mine by my nickname. Herschel. As in Walker. As in a nickname I got a long time ago.

Seems to me recently my sixth sense is slipping. I’ve been caught off guard in a few situations. I don’t like when that happens. In fact, I hate it. It usually results in me creating a conversation with myself. Well actually with Herschel. You can probably imagine the dialogue. MH3, which is my professional nickname, giving grief to Herschel, my personal nickname. Wonder how Mark gets involved in all this. Not sure, third man in is usually a game misconduct penalty.

Having an active sixth sense is a good thing. In politics it can be anticipating what is bothering your consitutuents. In sport it can be anticipating where your opponents are headed. In life it can be feeling a loved one’s feelings before they are expressed.

Too much of a sixth sense can be a bad thing. You can end up second guessing yourself. Too much doubt creates inertia. A one man stalemate that will always stop you from succeeding. So a balance is needed.

That said, a sharp sixth sense is a saw that can be put to good use. Mine needs a bit of sharpening. I’m looking for ideas on how to fine tune it. Saying it out loud is the first step.

There was far too much chatter in Vancouver about the Grey Cup game not being a sellout.

No the game didn’t max out. But anytime you can put 50,000 people in a neutral site stadium, I think it’s pretty amazing.

But the best talk about tickets came to me from a friend of mine.

She works for a very large CFL sponsor and has access to VIP seats at almost any event you might want to attend. On her way to the stadium Sunday she was advised that her company had tickets that were going unused. She acted swiftly as she knew some VIP’s that could use them.

Randomly she started her search on the Vancouver streets around BC Place. It wasn’t long before she found exactly who she was looking for. Great CFL fans who were ready to celebrate but didn’t have tickets to the game. An innocent question to find out if they were attending often produced a real life answer such as the one she received from one young boy.

“There is no way my Mom could afford it.”

To his astonishment out came two free tickets. An eruption of disbelief, tears and hugs got them in the spirit of the big game.

Several more times she went into action. Most recipients didn’t believe her. One guy, in his mid 20’s, thought she was hitting on him. Maybe in his dreams! Almost all thought there was a catch, hidden camera, or a mischievous friend at work. But no, just a quick thinking marketing executive who couldn’t bear the thought of those ducats being wasted.

These random acts of kindness created the truest VIP’s at this year’s Grey Cup. The holders of those tickets will never know who their guardian angle was for the day. But they will never forget her.

Last night we held our second Canadian Football Hall of Fame Induction Party. Hall of Fame ED Mark DeNobile shared the seven names comprising the 2015 class. I was excited to hear the name Bob Obillovich called. Obie represents a special period in Argo history guiding the team to a 1983 Grey Cup victory that marked the Boatmem’s first crown in thirty years. Coach Obillovich, a Montana native, spent fifty years in the Canadian league as a player, coach, and executive. He came North for a job and would up with a career, a wife, a family, and a new country.

To me he represented all round class. He was famous but never acted it. He was tough but never mean. He was long winded, but with a purpose. Last night was no different. Obie told stories that humanized what Canadian football is all about. Really what all team sports are about. He’s about to be enshrined in 2015 in a special place. He will now be famous forever.