MH3 Blog, Business, Life Lessons, Marketing, Opinion, Properties, Sponsors, Sponsorship, TrojanOne, Work

TrojanOne is For Sale

No, just kidding. But who can blame any of my agency-owning peers for some wishful thinking of selling our businesses this week after witnessing the IMG sale?

In less than 10 years after being sold for $ 750 million to Forstmann Little by the estate of the late great Mark McCormack, IMG is now being sold for more than three times that…$2.4 billion to William Morris Endeavour. These two transactions reflect the brilliance of two men. Mark McCormack, who founded IMG in 1960, effectively invented the agency business model for sports and sponsorship marketing. The second genius in our saga is Ted Forstmann, who, according to the script written by industry pundits, went from a reviled investment banker criticized for gutting IMG…to a man who clearly knew what he was doing!!!

IMG has incredible assets in the properties they own and the rights they broker. Now we know they aren’t just incredible; they are pretty valuable. Worth billions.

So how much would you give me for TrojanOne? What assets do I have? You probably don’t see media rights to international properties or ownership of fashion shows or marketing relationships with star athletes on my balance sheet. But look a little further.

What I do have is the most dedicated and talented team of people you would ever want to be associated with, who proved to me once again in 2013 that they will do whatever it takes to get our clients promoted. They push the boundaries of creativity with Twitter-activated vending machines, keeping a relentless focus on clients’ business objectives, generating thousands of leads for a Grey Cup sponsor, or ensuring our field staff are motivated and equipped to travel the country and endure the demands of a grueling experiential tour schedule.

I have witnessed my team spend all night rebuilding bike racks at an international sports event; held my breath while they created from scratch, in less than 24 hours, a mobile payment system for an event registration venue that threw us a curve; and tried to support them relentlessly during six emergency conference calls on a weekend when a music property went astray.

Most people in life never get to work in area they love. The passion my people have for their work is amazing and I love them for it. That’s why TrojanOne will be accepting bids today starting at Infinity!

MH3 Blog, Cause/Fundraising, TrojanOne, Work

Mo Confession

I have a confession to make.

I forgot about Movember.

Despite the weekly announcements at our all-company Monday meeting that have been alerting me since early September. Despite my company launching an engaging internal program featuring our female associates as “Mo Mentors” for our posse of male “Mo Growers.” Despite me signing up to attend and later bailing on a Movember launch event. Despite that my beloved father is five years strong since being diagnosed with prostate cancer. Despite all this, I forgot.

It gets worse.

Cue up Sunday, November 3rd, sometime around 7:00 or 8:00 a.m., depending on whether you believe in Daylight Savings Time or not. I entered the shower after an enjoyable 6k run, which was capped with my daily (check my app…it’s daily) Starbucks breakfast routine of a Venti Soy Cappuccino and Strawberry Soy Smoothie in a venti cup, followed by a quick cool-down six-minute walk home from Yonge Street to my house, to an enthusiastic canine greeting featuring a few licks on the cheek and one sneaky salty dog tongue fully inside my mouth from Prince, our Cavapoo. So after disinfecting my gums, into the shower I paraded. Cue the video….

No, I won’t make you suffer that visual, especially since I sport back hair that would make Sasquatch jealous. But picture me showering away happily about to head off to a work event, despite it being a Sunday. The weather was cooperating, my team was already on site getting set up, and my Steelers were waking up in Boston ready to crush the Patriots. Wish I could rewind that video. Clearly my daydreaming got the better of me, because before I knew it I was shaving. Not just my beard, but my nascent three-day-old Movember ’stache. To make matters worse, I didn’t even realize it for two hours. Then the horror set in.

So now you have my confession! I’m three days behind on Movember. My facial hair needs fertilizing. My fundraising does too.

So now that you’ve read this entire hairy episode, I have a simple request. Support my Movember efforts pretty please!

Here is my mo space…http://mobro.co/MoHerschel

Here is my pitch!

If you donate to me, I may donate back.
If you donate to me, I may take you to lunch.
If you donate to me, I may buy you a present.
If you donate to me, I will say thank-you!
If you donate to me, you will change the face of men’s health!!!!!

MH3 Business, Business Lessons, Marketing, TrojanOne, Work

Summer School

Seems to me that the weather must be getting nicer, based on the flurry of summer job inquiries I received this week.

Friends, clients, ex-clients, suppliers, neighbours, net-workers are all sending me the same email. This email details the ambitions, talents, and virtues of their son/daughter/niece/nephew/neighbour who are looking for that perfect summer opportunity. This email tells me they NEVER hit people up to arrange summer jobs. This email forgot they said the same thing last spring!

Bring ’em on I say. It’s candidly the best channel for recruitment.

But I would like to offer some unsolicited advice to the young nominees who are approaching us for work, to help ensure they get the best shot at the best opportunities this summer.

1. My name isn’t “Mike”. Yep, happened today in fact. A second year student emailed “Dear Mr. Mike Harrison” for a summer job. Guess they teach name recognition in third year. (I politely, for me, emailed them back and said Mike wasn’t hiring, but Mark might be if they wish to try again.)

2. Our company name is TrojanOne. No space. Capital O. Not T1.

3. Enough of the petty stuff… here is an important one. Brevity! Don’t send me your cover letter, resume, and three references all expertly compressed and PDF compatible. Sorry I don’t have time! I am going to flip your email to one of my hiring gurus along with a quick comment: “Mandatory Hire”, “Please Interview”, “Up to You”, and “This kid puked on my lawn last summer…”. So don’t bother filling up my in-box young stars, send me something short, and…

4. Sweet! Hey if you want to work for us, don’t just send me a form email. Customize. Personalize. Humanize. Here is a real life quote from an applicant yesterday:

Dear Mr. Harrison,
Thank you so much for considering me for a potential summer position.

I saw my mother’s email to you … maybe she should be the one going into marketing and promotion. To be described as tall by her is unreliable, at best, and “busty”… maybe relative to my twelve year old brother.

I look forward to hearing from your “hiring dude”.

Hilarious! I hope we have hired her already.

5. This is the most important tip. Figure out what you want to do, how you want to learn, and whom you want to meet. Then be disciplined and diligent at getting it. Summer jobs can be great experiences. They can be great fun. They can be hard work. They can be a great party. They can be a great foundation. There is no right answer. However you need to figure out how you want these four months to impact your future, because whether you realize it or not… you’re not headed to a job, you’re headed to Summer School.

MH3 Life Lessons, TrojanOne, Work

Stolen Kisses

Some lucky gal received a Panasonic flat screen for Valentines yesterday.

Hopefully she likes it, because it won’t be wrapped with a gift receipt. In fact I’m not sure it will be wrapped at all, given it was ripped off the reception wall in my office. Ripped off is correct, this TV was stolen from TrojanOne. We wuz robbed!!!!

The thief was proficient. Our surveillance camera has four minutes of video to prove it. In two hundred and forty seconds he pried the door open, unhinged the TV from its bracket, disconnected the mess of cables, pulled it from the wall, and fled. Wham bam, thank-you Ma’am.

I wonder what makes a man turn to taking another’s possessions for a living? Do they consider it a professional vocation? Was there an aptitude test along the way?

Seems to me this thief has a lot of transferable skills he could put to use in a more legit fashion. He is a planner, as he knew the timing of our building security, entering our lobby shortly after the main door became unlocked. Clearly he has manual dexterity as he jimmied our lock with minimal damage to the door. Focus is no problem as he had marked his prize allowing no distractions, like the much more valuable computer sitting on the desk, get in his way. I appreciate his orderly ways, as there was nary a mess left behind. He also possesses a pint or two of luck as the four or five people who are usually in at that early hour, were all coincidentally somewhat late that day.

Hopefully it was worth the trouble. It doesn’t add up to me. What value is a flat screen in this day and age? Did he want it for his condo? Did he sell it for bus fare? Did he give it to his sweetie?

Bet if he did, he stole a few kisses as well.

 

 

MH3 Cause/Fundraising, TrojanOne

Mid Movember

4. BlogYou saw this coming didn’t you?

My annual Movember appeal.

Here is where I lay out all the reasons you should participate in Movember, support someone who is participating in Movember, or more selfishly, support MH3’s participation in Movember! I mean you know the reasons right? The causes and charities the movement supports? The measures they suggest you take for your own health benefits?

Then I add a dash of personal appeal, telling you about people close to me who have prostate cancer or perhaps sharing a story of a friend whose father has it. Or even more dramatically, I point you to the Movember web site to read the plethora of inspiring stories and messages they collect.

Continue reading “Mid Movember” →

MH3 Business Lessons, Life Lessons, TrojanOne, Work

Thanks Given

There is no person more frustrating to deal with… than your mirror image. At least for me that’s the case.

You see your flaws in them. You can predict their reaction to your conversations. You get annoyed when they slip, not because of their actions, because you assume responsibility for their misstep.

Everything you wish you wouldn’t do, draws twice the emotional reaction when they do it. It’s almost as if you want to say, “I can sway off course, but you shouldn’t!!!!”

Usually these people are someone that you admire or enjoy collaborating with. The good news of a mirror is they understand you. They share some or all of your value set. They have similar aspirations. You rarely have to persuade them in joining your pursuit of some ambitious goal. Without being told, they know when to jump in and clean up a mess. Without being told, they know when a task needs fulfillment, despite the extraordinary personal commitment. Without begrudging you, they often will sacrifice themselves for the good of the whole. Their allegiance is unwavering. Your trust is oceans deep. Their output is top notch. Your expectations are exceeded. Their satisfaction is satisfying you. Your satisfaction is in being satisfied.

Continue reading “Thanks Given” →

MH3 Business, Living Life, TrojanOne, Work

Executive Education

Summer is over.

At this point my kids would shout, “Well, THANK-YOU Captain Obvious!”

But it is.

I know cause I froze my arse off last night at football practice for my youngest. I am talking at 7:00 PM I was freezing.

Of course maybe my arse was cold due to the fact that I had a colonoscopy yesterday. It certainly was empty! Okay too much information, but if you doubt me just Google Dulcolax and Picolax….
I also know that summer is over because nothing got done this week. Or at least it felt that way. Something about the Labour Day long weekend. Amazing how one final Monday off (with due apologies to Thanksgiving) can create a psychological wall in people’s minds. Somehow this is a slack week. Of course the people working this week won’t agree with me. But trust me, September is tomorrow… not in a week.

Continue reading “Executive Education” →

MH3 Canadian Sponsorship Forum, Events, Marketing, Properties, Sponsors, Sponsorship, TrojanOne

An Open Letter to All 2012 Canadian Sponsorship Forum Delegates

I want to thank you for joining us in Montréal last week.

It was fun.
Thank you for honouring Marc Kielburger with the five-minute standing ovation that he so richly deserved. I know many of you were moved to tears by his presentation about the work that Me to We and Free The Children perform.

Your enthusiasm for all of the speakers was remarkable. Whether it be learning how to reach youth in
Québec through the wisdom of Danick Archambault of Astral TVPlus or how to touch the hearts of consumers through the passion of Nancy Marcus of Kruger Products or understanding how to do more with less via Michelle (sister of Olympian hoopster Kim Smith) and her teammate Louise Della Fortuna of Energizer.

Continue reading “An Open Letter to All 2012 Canadian Sponsorship Forum Delegates” →

MH3 Events, Living Life, TrojanOne

The Crazy 8: Triumph and Tears at Oxfam Trailwalker

Ever heard the expression “Vegas Mile”?

In simple terms, it means the distance between you and an object that appears close but is really far away. Such as a mountain. Or retirement. Or your vacation. Or losing 20 pounds.

Okay the last three were not the right examples. “Vegas Mile” does refer to the trick your mind plays on you when you eyeball a destination and think it’s much closer than it really is. Try it someday. On the Prairies. On Water. On the Vegas Strip.

I think if there was a contagious disease of having “Vegas Mile,” or “VM” for short, it certainly infected dozens of participants at the Oxfam Trailwalker event last weekend in cottage country Ontario. If you don’t know Trailwalker, it’s a 100-km hike that must be completed in 48 hours by all four members of your team.

To call it a hike is unfair. It’s like calling the Olympics a game of tag.

It’s a mental, physical, spiritual and anthropological challenge.

Continue reading “The Crazy 8: Triumph and Tears at Oxfam Trailwalker” →

MH3 Business, Canadian Sponsorship Forum, Marketing, Opinion, Sponsorship, TrojanOne, Work

Passion Juice

I love you.

It’s true.

I may not even know you, but I love you. Oh not all of you. Especially those I don’t know.

And not in a physical or otherwise unallowable manner. But certainly in a passionate manner, I do love you, I truly do. Because you read my blog. It’s the highest honour that you can bestow upon me. You take the time to share in what’s on my mind or happening in my life.

I’m pretty passionate about writing. I’m in a constant struggle with myself to move beyond these weekly unedited, unrehearsed, unscripted, underground submissions. Okay not so underground, but it did sound pretty romantic. Underground blogs. The struggle is to get my act together and write something longer, meatier, more worthy of your attention and effort. Continue reading “Passion Juice” →