You’ve seen them: the sweaty employee standing on the roadside with a bright orange sign waving you to pull in for a $5 Hot-N-Ready pizza.

I’ll be honest, more times than not, I find myself wanting to speed away – not pull in for a pie. And don’t even get me started on the deterioration of the brand they’re “promoting.”

So, I sat down (okay, I was already sitting … I was in the car) and got to thinking – how many people really slam on the breaks and pull in for dinner because that sad, sad worker is telling them to? Not many, (I would hope). Furthermore, if everything we’re taught in l’école d’advertisement is true, this type of promotion shouldn’t even work, and here’s why:

Five reasons why employee-roadside advertising ruins my appetite

1. There’s no relationship – advertising and branding is built on the belief that consumers buy based on relationships. When you stand on the corner of Rush Hour Blvd. and Everyone and Their Brother St. it’s mass marketing; for small businesses (or privately owned chains) that’s typically a no-no.
2. Desperation is a turn-off – roadside advertising is perceived as a last-ditch attempt to gain business or boost sales for today – there’s no longevity; it exudes a sense chaos and desperation – not hot or ready.
3. It’s probably not that good – Quality products and services speak for themselves; sales increase when you supplement with cohesive, strategic marketing tactics. If you have to go to the corner and turn tricks to sell a pizza, it’s probably worth passing up.
4. Oh my gosh, that poor soul – No one should have to do this job in the first place; times are tough, but are they really that tough?
5. Here today, gone tomorrow – Consumers are less likely to support businesses with the impression they’re going under. Have you seen those same sad workers holding “going out of business” signs? Yeah, the “deal” signs are just a prequel.

When it gets right down to it, if I’m hungry, I know where I’m heading to find food. If we all drove around looking for someone to flag us down for a $5 deal, that hot and ready vendor would see a lot more traffic, and so would local gyms.

Playing sports almost my entire life, I learned teamwork at a pretty young age.  Whether I was playing soccer, softball, volleyball, or ice hockey, teamwork was what we needed in order to win the game.

The workplace isn’t much different.  When coworkers and I work together as a team, we are able to produce incredible results.  It isn’t easy however and it’s not just something that happens overnight.  Effective teamwork takes hard work and lots and lots of compromise.

So, in my opinion what makes for great teamwork?

Good leadership:  I’ve had good team captains and I’ve had bad team captains, and in my opinion good leadership is one of the most important components of teamwork.  The team captain, or leader, needs to be someone who knows how to work with people, who can maintain a positive working environment, and who can motivate and inspire team members.  A good leader also needs to know when to compromise with the team and how to trust his or her team members to get the job done.

Communication: Without communication, teams fall apart.  If you are playing a sport and nobody is calling for the ball, or letting team members know someone is coming up behind them, there isn’t a good chance for success.  The workplace is the same way.  People need to communicate goals and express their ideas in ways other people can understand.  Also, when expressing ideas and viewpoints, it’s important to do so in a positive way.

Establishing Roles: I always find it much easier to work with people if the people you are working with have a clear understanding of what their roles are.  Who is going to be doing the writing?  Who will take on the design?   While roles are set, it’s important to remember that no one person is above others in a team.  Yes, I’m going to say it, there is no “I” in team.  If something happens and the team falls behind schedule, it is not one person’s fault, it’s the team’s.  If a team member is struggling with a task, other members need to help them.  Teams need to stick together through the thick and the thin to be successful.   That means not pointing fingers, staying positive, and sticking up for one another no matter what happens.

Conflict Resolution:  This is so extremely important when working with others.  Team members should be able to voice their concerns and tell others how they feel without fear of offending them.  Members need to be able to take criticism, listen to suggestions, and compromise without getting upset.  I’m going to say it again, there’s no “I” in team.  If other team members tell you how they feel about a certain situation, try not to get upset.  Listen to what they have to say and take into consideration that what they are telling you just might be right.  Is it tough to let others criticize your work or the way you get things done?  Heck yes! But trust me, in the end, it will improve your team’s performance.  And that’s what’s most important right? It might be hard, but in my experience with the many, many teams I’ve worked with, it really does help in the long run.

So, take these questions into consideration.  Do you practice good leadership skills?  Is there clear communication with those you work with?  How’s the conflict resolution?  Do people feel as though they are better than others on your team? If so, share this with them!

Knowing how to successfully work as a team is going to be crucial no matter where you go.  Following these four suggestions will not only ensure your success, but make your life much easier.

There’s no greater frustration then coding a website or a program. One wrong line of code, one wrong keystroke, or one misspelled word can turn into a major problem combined with hours of searching for the solution.

Line by line, word by word, coder’s eyes begin to strain against the brightness of the screen. They have to walk away for a bit or go get a drink of water just to pull themselves away … but when a coder returns, that’s when they spot it: the misspelled word or phrase that caused so much grief.

So, why do we do it? I think it’s partly the challenge of creating something that you never touch with your hands and making all of the pieces fit as best they can. All people in coding know that no matter how well a site is built that, if you look through the code, you could find one or two errors that could always be fixed.

Five tips for working with web designers:

1. Web is a lot more complex then it looks, be patient
2. Stop us if something needs clarification; sometimes we forget to explain things
3. Things should be done well before deadline, troubleshooting is important
4. Understand that one web designer can’t do all the coding at once, it’s a process
5. Know what you want from your website and be sure to let us know your expectations

Most young people are not ready to think about how their legacy would shape up sometime in the way distant future. I can understand that. When you’re a 20-something or even a 30-something, you are invincible and truly believe you have plenty of time to consider your life’s impact when sitting on the front porch 40 or 50 years down the line in a rocking chair. (Of course, that’s after you’ve woken from your nap.)

I am an old soul. When I was younger, I did think about how I wanted to live my life – be a good person, volunteer and make a difference. Now, as I’ve gotten a little older, I’ve thought about how the world would see my contributions and just what could I do to impact the community, people here and in other areas and the greater good in some significant way.

It’s a tough call. Not everyone can be a Nobel Prize winner. Not everyone will cure a disease or come up with the next great invention that will change the way people live. But, I contend, it is truly the little things that happen day in and day out, that make a difference. These are the things that people will remember about you.

It’s not the nicest topic in the world, but most of us will never know when our final days will be. When putting things in perspective, I always remind myself that I could step off a curb and be hit by a bus. Am I proud of my last words, moments and actions? Obviously, procrastination as it relates to making a difference, is not wise. Here are some things to think about when you’re contemplating your legacy as a human being:

1. Legacy of love – Make sure people you care about know it. It isn’t good enough to assume that people are aware of your feelings. Say it! Say it loud, say it proud and most importantly, say it often.
2. Legacy off forgiveness – It’s easy to get caught up in how others have treated you. Someone didn’t tell the truth … forgot your birthday … said things to hurt you or worse. Forgive them. It’s as much for you as it is for them. Forgiveness can be tough. But, it is critical to let it go and then tell them. Fix the relationship as if you knew today was your last day.
3. Legacy of advocacy – You’ve got to believe in something. Be proud and work to make a difference in the area that you believe in. Whether you want to stop world hunger (and who doesn’t?) or you are passionate about recycling. Volunteer, fundraise, blog or just talk about it with people who are interested, too.

Although the list could go on and on, what’s important to understand is that we are leaving a legacy everyday – whether we realize it or not.  We impact – positively or negatively – every person we encounter. What you say, how you said it, what you did or didn’t do will mean something to someone.

1. The client is always right
2. Sometimes the client is wrong, but you can’t say anything
3. Proof paper does not yield a completely accurate example of what a printed piece will look like
4. When you’re 23, people often feel obligated to buy your meal at business lunches — bless them
5. The hardest client you’ll ever have is the company you work for
6. The most rewarding client you’ll ever have is the company you work for
7. A positive attitude goes a long way
8. Choose your battles carefully, it’s not always worth it
9. It’s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission
10. When you’re wrong, it feels good to admit it
11. Two heads are better than one, and 10 heads are better than two
12. iPod ear buds don’t block out sound, unless the volume is up all the way
13. You can jam a lot of things on a memo board before it falls off the wall. A lot.
14. Desk tchotchkes have the ability to multiply overnight, like rabbits
15. Full time work is not the same as full time school
16. I’m sure a majority of M3 staff would have never noticed if I missed a day of work when I was an intern — intern schedules are impossible to memorize
17. Living next door to where you work isn’t as bad as it sounds
18. Health care makes a big difference
19. I finally know what Loverboy was singing about when they sang “everybody’s working for the weekend”
20. When the boss ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy (lucky for us Tiffany is a pretty happy gal)
21. When you skip breakfast, it’s best to take a lunch at 11:30
22. It’s more depressing than it should be when Twitter is over capacity
23. There’s nothing a glass of wine after work can’t fix
24. Thanking those who support you is ultra important
25. The number of hours I can efficiently work is directly related to the number of hours of sleep I get each night (why do you think doctors recommend eight hours?)
26. I don’t really care if it’s going to be sunny unless it’s Saturday or Sunday
27. Homemade office treats should be talked about more — and by “talked about,” I mean brought in
28. One day, you’ll look back on the hardest project you had and realize it wasn’t so hard
29. Keeping meetings on track: not as easy as it looks
30. You may receive ridicule for your desktop backgrounds, but seeing that Christmas nutcracker during summer is worth it
31. You can’t do everything, but you can do anything
32. Keeping things organized on the server isn’t a suggestion, it’s a way of life
33. When sticky notes are scarce, guard your supply diligently
34. Ultra fine point Sharpies are coveted amongst designers, guard those with even greater diligence
35. Keeping your e-mail organized and inbox clean is the key to surviving the day
36. Waiting until Friday at 3:30 p.m. to input all of your time for the week = bad idea
37. Caffeine can be your friend when working 40-hour weeks
38. The notorious 2:30 p.m. server crash is no joke
39. When you’re passionate about something, it’s easy to take your work home every night
40. But everyone needs a break once in a while
41. Competition motivates me to the extreme
42. Taking a walk at lunch can do a lot of good
43. Eliminating words like “can’t” and “won’t” from one’s vocabulary opens up many doors
44. Missing classes at MSU is normal (right?)
45. I finally understand why my dad naps on the couch after work
46. Working from home is often times more work, but so productive
47. Teaching others a tip or trick to make their lives simpler is very rewarding
48. When you have an all-day meeting in a town two hours from your office, forgetting your smart phone is pretty much the worst thing imaginable
49. QD used to sell Big Dips for 73 cents on Wednesdays; our office enjoyed that promotion
50. Free McDonald’s Frappe coupons are worth every calorie
51. Having good plans for dinner helps make the day go faster
52. Signing off on final proofs for major projects will never stop being scary
53. Ghostwriting is one of the most important and unrewarding skills a PR professional can have
54. If the turnout for an event is poor, on the plus side, there’s copious amounts of refreshments for those who do attend
55. If you want to illegally park in M3’s parking lot overnight, it’s not wise to park in Tiffany’s spot — or anywhere near the building for that matter
56. The PC vs. Mac war will never end, though everyone knows the truth
57. A little music can help power through the last hour of any day
58. Water cooler chats happen everywhere, not just at water coolers
59. Windup toys aren’t for everyone
60. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, unless it’s in writing — then it’s just plagiarism
61. Decaf can lower your blood pressure, but you may fall asleep
62. You win some, you lose some, you blow some of ’em out of the water
63. Facebook is work
64. There’s nothing like a pat on the back to turn your day around
65. Coworkers can be like a second family, which is important when your real family is far away
66. There’s never going to be a good time to take a vacation
67. And no vacation goes unpunished
68. The creative community in Lansing is made up of some of the most wonderful people in our city
69. Co-authored blogs typically get a lot more traffic than blogs written by one person (the more authors, the better!)
70. Google analytics is equal parts addictive and fascinating
71. Even the best logophile can make a grammar mistake
72. A great administrator can make all the difference
73. “Legacy is greater than currency” — Gary Vaynerchuk
74. You can plan a golf outing if you’ve never golfed before
75. Just fake it ’til you make it
76. Asking for what you want/need is the best way to get it
77. Even if you’ve disarmed an alarm system for two years, you can blank on the code for absolutely no reason
78. Drawing is a lost art and a valuable talent
79. There’s always enough time
80. Leaving carbonated beverages in glass bottles in the company van during winter = disaster
81. Squirrels hang out in dumpsters and aren’t afraid to let you know it
82. Taxes are terribly unfair
83. Under promise and over deliver. No matter what.
84. You don’t know cacophony until you share an office with three women
85. It’s possible to paint your nails at your desk and have no one know (be discreet and use a fan)
86. Wearing glasses can make you seem more believable
87. There’s a whole world of color libraries I never knew existed
88. You will often have a bad hair day when you need to get your picture taken
89. When planning an event, it comforts me to know that time keeps ticking … it also frightens me
90. Spray adhesive is very unforgiving
91. Bureaucracies are alive and well
92. someecards.com is a great website to browse during mental breaks, (especially the “workplace” category)
93. Eating trends at the office are real
94. Working hard truly pays off
95. Putting a little money into your savings each month can add up quickly
96. Advertising isn’t as glamorous as everyone thinks, but it is a ton of fun
97. Don’t eat red onions at lunch
98. A messy desk give the illusion that you’re working hard
99. A team of eight full-time employees is capable of amazing feats
100. Coming up with a list of 100 things you learned in your first year of employment (that you can publish) is not as easy as it seems

Can we be productive designers while listening to music? At first thought, one might say “Heck no! How can listening to Justin Bieber make anyone more productive?” Alright, they may have a point there, but since Bieber isn’t my cup of tea, I can say that music does in fact make me productive.  More importantly, it helps me get through the day.

Studies show that music plays a vital role in the creative process and interacts with brain centers to stimulate creativity. From my personal experience, I can vouch for this! I find that when I am listening to music, I am able to see the completed design much more quickly than without, resulting in a fast turn-around (which I think we can all agree is a point for productivity). While turning around projects with great speed is awesome, listening to music means a lot more to me than a productivity boost. I think there is something to the mental stimulation that feels medicinal, which is the primary reason I listen while I work.

Some of us listen to music to relax when we are stressed, some listen to music for sheer ambient noise, some listen to get pumped up. I do a bit of all of these. I listen to many different types of music (ah, the classic ‘eclectic’ phrase). My choice will usually depend on what type of mood I am in, or more importantly, what type of mood I need to be in.

If I am gearing up for a long day of programming or layout, I tend to engage in ambient, layered music with upbeat and modern drum samples (such as Aether or Tycho). If I had a rough meeting with a client, I turn to what I call “comfort tunes,” or better known as “anchors”.  These “anchors” bring me back to a great time in my life and can pull me out of a moment of low self-esteem (I almost always go to Nobou Uematsu’s piano-driven masterpiece, “To Zanarkand”). In the case of dragging in the morning, nothing kicks my brain into gear like the powerful lyrics and fortissimo instrumentation of rock band Thrice.

I am fortunate enough to work at a place where I have the freedom to listen to music while I work (in headphones of course, can you imagine the sonic mess from all of our computer speakers? Justin Bieber from one corner, Thrice in another!). This (in my case) helps mitigate the stress of a fast-paced agency. As designers, we create our own systems to mitigate our stress. Some of us go for a walk outside, some of us push the next button on our iPod.

For the past 13 years, I’ve been a fulltime mom and wife and a part-time employee.  For years, I would always wonder how full-time working moms could do it all.  They work over 40 hours per week, cook, drive the kids to their activities, make sure the house is in order, get the laundry done, and do the shopping.  I’d ask myself over and over, how they do it?  How is there enough hours in the day to get that all done?  What am I doing wrong that I can barely get everything done and I only work part-time?  I use my two days off (during the week) to get everything done for my family and our house.  What can I do to maximize my time and be as productive as the full time working moms?

Well, about two months ago, I figured it out.  I became a full-time working mom!  Do you know what I was doing wrong? I was procrastinating! I was putting off my tasks until my next day off or the weekend.  I had enough free time during the week that I would tell myself I could take care of that in two days, or three days, etc.  Procrastination is a horrible thing! It can get you into a lot of trouble.

Nothing ever good comes out of procrastination.  If you let it, procrastination can be a real downer!

When I started my full-time career, I wondered how I was going to do it all.  How do I continue to take care of my kids, my husband, and our house and have time for my volunteer positions?  My answer … procrastination had to be taken out of my life!  There is no place for procrastination in a mom’s world.  If you think you are going to take care of something tomorrow, think again.  There’s going to be three more things in that spot, tomorrow.

Since I started my new job and I am very happy with what I’ve been able to accomplished!  I no longer tell myself, “Oh, I can do that tomorrow.”  I don’t have time tomorrow! If I have time available, I make good use of that time! It’s amazing what you accomplish when you set your mind to it and not let procrastination get in the way. Take it from me, you will be very impressed with what you can accomplish if procrastination doesn’t exist in your world.

There are five reasons why people procrastinate and those reasons are:

• Fear of failure
• Being a perfectionist
• Confusion and self doubt
• Poor motivation
• Lack of priorities

You can work through these several roadblocks if you understand that failure is part of living and you are not afraid of imperfection.  Be confident and strive for ways to start a task.  Another way to help offset procrastination is to make lists of what your priorities are and put a time line on them.

Don’t put off something until tomorrow that you can do right now! Get up and take care of it and you’ll feel a whole lot better!

My favorite color is white. Well, at least when it comes to brainstorming, managing a big project or needing to monitor a big list of to-dos. Then, white is the only color that works for me – my beloved white board.

I first came to love white boards in my early days as a marketer. The conference room we frequented to manage our brand was lined completely with white boards. Even before it was fashionable, we developed our entire branding and marketing campaign on that white board — it circled the room in all its glory. No need to write things down on paper. We saved a lot of trees. Presentations to leadership were made on that white board. Changes were swift and easy, just erase and rewrite. We used different color markers to denote plan details.

Then, alas, as my career progressed, white boards did not come along for the ride. Gone were the days of getting a crack marketing team in the room and brainstorming ideas and concepts with immediate results highlighted on the board. I became stifled. My creativity was limited to the confines of the computer. But how can you show ideas as they flow, how can you make sweeping arrows to show connections in thoughts? It was rough.

When I started my current job and moved into the great office at 614 Seymour, I asked for one thing … a big white board. Now, I have one wall dedicated to my white board, filled with whatever the hot project of the moment is. People actually now come into my office to check out what is on the white board.

So take all your colorful creative thoughts and let them come to life on white … the white board!

A guide to, well, style guides

Though many people cringe at the thought of a style guide (more rules!), us logophiles cherish them — after all, a cohesive language is our strongest connection to our world. What’s more, style guides can be helpful and yes, even user-friendly, if you know where to turn for what. Let’s see if we can break down some barriers and spread the word love.

MLA Style Manual

The Modern Language Association of America’s (MLA) Style Manual is the gold standard for graduate students, scholars and professional writers, according to its own intro. It’s especially prominent in the humanities. I know I’m not alone in my lifelong grudge against MLA for the many long nights spent in college with this guide in front of me making sure every last comma is in place in my Works Cited page. Ugh.

APA Style Manual

The American Psychological Association Style Manual is based on the believe that “the best scientific writing is sparce and straightforward.” Used primarily for scientific scholarly works, APA gives guidelines for the construction of tables, presentation of statistics, selection of headers and other standards that scientists, perhaps, appreciate but that I find stifling.

The manual’s website (www.apastyle.org) is very nice though, and even includes quizzes and tutorials to keep your APA knowledge sharp.

Chicago Style Manual

The Chicago Style Manual has been published by the University of Chicago Press since first started in 1891, when it was just a single sheet. By 1903 it was extensive enough to fill a pamphlet. Today, it’s hundreds of pages long. My edition is one of my most prized possessions. See the complete history — and a PDF of the original guide — on its website.

The Chicago Manual is most prominent in works of fiction, but the latest edition also includes rules acknowledging the “increasing proportion of our users who work with magazines, newsletters, corporate reports, proposals, electronic publications, websites, and other nonbook or nonprint documents.”

AP Style Guide

This is my favorite, although years and years of novel reading has made me quite fond of the Chicago Manual, too. The AP guide is the grammatical Bible for newspapers and other news publications. Until recently, news articles were limited by the amount of space it could be given on the page, and is written for the quick communication of the most important facts of a story. To serve these goals, following AP style makes for sleek, efficient, accessible language. No serial commas. Abbreviations are encouraged when applicable.

On the down side, AP also gets uptight about being politically correct. Look in its alphabetically organize section of appropriate titles and names, and you’ll get the most up-to-date listing of names for every minority, among its many other listings.

What’s your style?

Believe it or not, there are times when a guide isn’t enough, or when the guide’s rule doesn’t make sense for your company or a particular project—M3 has one, sometimes with rules specific to a single client or project. You can create your own personal style guide rules to supplement your manual of choice. Everyone’s entitled to a little freedom of expression, even with grammar.

I’m a huge fan of the show Burn Notice. The show’s premise is that government spy Michael Westen has been black listed, leaving him with no resources, no handlers and no idea who burned him.

I would not call myself as a risk taker, and that’s part of the appeal of the show for me. There are some great life lessons from Burn Notice that even the most conservative chap could apply to his life. Here are five things I’ve learned from the past two seasons.

Lesson 1 — Know your mission

Westen’s mission on Burn Notice is to find out who burned him and why, and then get back to being a spy. Almost everything he does is aimed at reaching that goal. He’s got no time for pity parties and other foolishness that usually comes along when you’ve been “done wrong.”

Lesson 2 — Do your recon

Reconnaissance is done to gather intelligence on an enemy or in an unknown situation. Westen never rushes into a job without having the right intel. Even when time is of the essence, he makes sure he has the details needed before making his next move.

Lesson 3 — Plan of attack (have one)

Part of Westen’s skill set is the ability to read people and control situations well enough to ensure the outcome he wants. Once he’s gathered the necessary data, it’s time to put the plan in motion. Westen plans out every detail from what kind of character he will portray to his entry and exit points when it comes to the showdown.

Even if something doesn’t go as expected, Westen can quickly shift his plan of attack. It usually takes some creativity and very fast thinking on his part, but it is television after all.

Lesson 4 — Help others along the way

Westen’s main focus is finding out how to get his old life back. However, that doesn’t keep him from lending a hand (for a fee, of course) to those who seek his special capabilities to retrieve an item or to take down the perpetual bully, extortionist, etc.

A willingness to be the help someone needs in the midst of your own crisis says a lot about your character.

Lesson 5 — Have a good backup team

Westen couldn’t do the majority of the things he does without Sam Axe and Fiona Glenanne. Axe brings to the table his days as a Navy Seal and Military Intel Operative. Glenanne brings weapons and explosives expertise to the party. She can handle it all and is ready to rock it at a moment’s notice.

They come together and enable Westen to go up against some amazing odds. Each one knows that they have each others’ backs. Nobody is more or less important than anyone else. There is a major trust factor between them that every player is giving their all toward the success of the operation.

As the summer rolls out the third season, I’ll be watching to see what else I may learn from Michael Westen. In the process, maybe he’ll get his old job back.