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More Fun With Frank

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mcdonalds McRed Army - Frank Palmer

Yesterday, Frank Palmer was featured in a Strategy Daily article, with the headline ‘Fun with Frank’.

I adore Frank Palmer … I am not sure I have ever told him that, but Frank is my mentor, my hero … my superman in the ad business.

After reading the ‘Fun with Frank’ article a couple of times … my memories of gut wrenching, side splitting, cheek aching laughter came flooding back to me, and you can guess who was at the centre of it all … Frank Palmer!

I was a young kid starting my first big, real, intimidating advertising agency job in August of 1989 at Vickers and Benson. I had been hired as an Account Manager on the McDonald’s Restaurants of Canada business.

Back then, the McDonald’s business was divided up regionally. Vickers and Benson had the assignment for both Ontario and National. Cossette had Quebec, and Frank Palmer (Palmer Jarvis) had the west.

I had been with V&B for 1 week when the word came down from above that all of us were invited to the mothership (McDonald’s head office in Chicago), to receive our 10 year anniversary award. As much as this was an award for V&B, all of the heads of the other regional agencies were also invited … and yes of course this included Frank Palmer.

When we all arrived at the hotel in Chicago, a message for each us had been left from Frank to meet him in his suite at 4:00pm that afternoon. We figured it was all about acceptance speeches and seating arrangements for the big, formal, gala dinner that evening (when were to receive our award).

When we entered Frank’s suite we were shocked to see 50 sets of red long johns laid out on the bed … each pair featuring the yellow McDonald’s arches next to the hammer and sickle. There were also 50 matching grey ‘Russian’ fur hats with the McDonald’s logo on them.

We were all asked to select our size, take them to our rooms and put them on for the dinner.

As I mentioned, that was the big, formal, black tie, huge Chicago hotel ballroom affair. Of course, that was exactly why Frank did it. Plus the fact that George Cohen had just opened the first McDonald’s in Red Square, and as the Canadians, Frank wanted us to show the world how proud we were!

After picking up our long johns, we had about an hour before dinner. Some of the more creative and inventive Canadians headed to the dollar store to buy gold brocade and sequins … anything they could lay their hands on to ‘glam up’ the underwear they were about to wear to dinner.

McRed ArmyOne incredibly creative Canadian somehow managed to find a location where they could have stickers produced in under an hour. In the picture  you can see some of the guests donning the white circular stickers with black writing. Each sticker read – ‘Thanks Frank Palmer … no one asked me to dance!’

Take a look at the 3rd row from the floor, on the far right hand side … there he is … Frank Palmer sporting the devilish grin that defines him.

Thanks Frank Palmer, you were right … no one asked me to dance, but you taught me everything I know about the business … including the most important part … how to have fun!

We would love to hear from you! Leave us a comment down below.
For brainstorming tips and creative thinking hacks, be sure to follow Barefoot Brainstorming on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

365 Days Of What Matters The Most

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356adaysofwhatmattersthemost

Take Notice of What Matters Most to YOU!

With the New Year now underway, there is a lot of chatter about resolutions! We have also been hearing a lot about ‘Happiness Jars’ … jotting down happy moments on small slips of paper and placing them in a jar for 365 days.

We love this idea, but not in a jar … we prefer a notebook/journal with dates on the pages or a personal size “pocket” scrapbook. The issue we have with the ‘Happiness Jar’ is what to do with all of the little scraps of paper when the year’s over. You don’t want to throw them away, but if you’re like us, a big fan of eliminating clutter … nothing says clutter more than hundreds of scraps of paper!

A personalized journal will perfectly contain all of the notes from the year, along with (if you choose) any items or photo’s you want to stick inside for extra memories along the way.

In our December Newsletter we focused on ‘Celebrating the Small Things’. This is a perfect way to do just that … creating a ‘Celebration’ journal for the year ahead. Here are a few of the benefits …

You Notice What Matters Most To You! 

When you look back on your scribbles and notes … it can be incredibly revealing in terms of what matters most to you. Take note of these themes and try to focus more on them in the days and weeks ahead.

You Will Feel Incredibly Grateful!

You will be surprised by how grateful you feel for all of the happy moments you experience. When you think back on a year without the benefit of a ‘Celebration’ journal, you likely won’t remember all of the small things. The ‘Celebration’ journal will become record of every small moment that may have been lost between the cracks otherwise.

You Focus on Life’s Positive Moments!

One of the best things about creating a journal is the push it will give you to focus on the positive moments in your life. It’s really hard not to dwell on the things that go wrong. It’s human nature to ruminate on the tough stuff, maybe as a way to protect ourselves from future pain. However, with the creation of a ‘Celebration’  journal you will find yourself looking for the little positive moments, and searching for things to write down.

The more you look for those moments, the more you will find them. Writing these moments down will bring back a feeling of joy similar to what you experienced in the moment. It’s like getting a two-for-one deal on positive feelings.

You Create A Simple, Positive Habit!

Creating habits isn’t all that hard. Creating positive habits, on the other hand, can be a bit of a challenge.

Having a journal will help you to create a habit that is both positive and simple. Anything that’s simple but offers lots of benefits is a great sort of habit to start, don’t you think?

You Celebrate The Small Things!

When it comes to life’s happy moments, we often spend a lot of time celebrating the big events … birthdays, graduations, new babies, new puppies, big wins at work etc. and sometimes the little moments get overlooked, or forgotten.

When you create a journal, you will be constantly reminded to look for things to celebrate, causing you to look past the big events and seek the little moments of joy that happen almost every single day. All of the little moments will be recorded, providing you with a much more robust view of the joy you experienced when you look back on the year.

We would love to hear from you! What plans do you have for the New year? Leave us a comment down below.
For brainstorming tips and creative thinking hacks, be sure to follow Barefoot Brainstorming on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Alike – A Short Film

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Alike headline image

Alike, a Pixar-like film by Madrid-based animators Daniel Martínez Lara and Rafa Cano Méndez, is a 7-minute lesson on what happens to your life when creativity is destroyed by the daily grind.

Society tells us to excel in school, work as hard as we can, and eventually teach our kids to do the same. It’s an endless cycle that leaves virtually no room for creativity.

This short film encourages people to look at things differently … which is truly amazing! It is also about being a parent, and the importance of letting kids create their own journeys.

The critically-acclaimed short film was made entirely with Blender, an open-source 3D rendering program, and is dedicated “to our families, for helping us not to lose our colour.”

Please enjoy, we hope you like it as much as we do!

We would love to hear from you! Let us know what you think of ‘Alike’ by leaving us a comment down below.
For brainstorming tips and creative thinking hacks, be sure to follow Barefoot Brainstorming on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Celebrate The Small Things

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Celebrate the small things

Like most of us, if you have spent this year plowing through your immense to-do list, orchestrating the various demands of life, it’s likely that you have overlooked what could have been a major source of daily happiness.

Your wins and accomplishments … the things that were on (or off) your to-do list, that you have actually managed to get checked off. The daily tasks you achieved throughout the year, are all huge reasons to celebrate. In fact, the smaller the ‘thing’, the more reason to celebrate!

According to research, there is incredible power in small wins. It’s the fulfillment that comes from making progress!

Each day you experience wins, both big and small, but you could be moving too fast (or you are too hard on yourself) to notice.

To always be focused on “what’s next?” can, and will deplete you. Once you make an effort to start noting and celebrating the small things, it can increase your sense of self-worth, and your happiness.

Ask yourself if during the course of 2017, you regularly glossed over some of these things:

1. You ate a healthy breakfast

2. You exercised

3. You spent time playing with a child, with your phone on mute in another room

4. You said NO to something you really didn’t want to do

5. You sat down and read something that made you think

6. You took a short walk and really appreciated your surroundings, without your phone in your pocket

One way to celebrate the small things is to keep track of them, and give yourself some rewards.

Documenting your small wins will give you visible proof of what you’ve accomplished, so that you are more likely to keep at it. It will also help shut down that inner critic who tells you that you are never doing enough.

As 2017 comes to a close, please think about the small things that made you happy this year. Write them down in a fresh journal, with your favourite pen (if you don’t have a favourite pen, buy yourself one … believe me it matters).

Then use that journal as a road map for 2018. Do more of what made you happy, and continue to celebrate the small things. Remember to honour the meaningful things in your life … the smaller the better!

We would love to hear from you! What little victories do you celebrate? Leave us a comment down below.
For brainstorming tips and creative thinking hacks, be sure to follow Barefoot Brainstorming on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Taking The WORK Out Of NetWORKING

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Networking - Yawn

Great networking means creating relationships that will last your entire career. But how do you make it more fun and less WORK?

Here are five tips that will help take the edge off.

  1. Get to know Two to Three people well:

At industry events instead of merely fattening your stack of business cards by talking to everybody. Find shared personal interests to create a stronger bond. It’s not a game of how many people in the room you speak to, it’s about creating meaningful relationships. In this case … less is definitely more!

  1. Fly solo at events:

Chat with people you haven’t met. Make a point of sitting with strangers at meals, always choose the table away from where your friends or co-workers are sitting. Tip: Walk up to someone you know, who’s speaking to people you do not know, and become part of their conversation.

  1. Run a group:

Help run a trade association or networking group. You’ll get to know the stakeholders well, and they’ll introduce you to others.

  1. Speak on a panel:

Work on becoming a thought leader or a subject matter expert. Offer to speak at trade association events (some are “pay to play” but might still be wise investments). Put yourself in front of a crowd, those who connect with your passion, and presentation will seek you out!

  1. Use social media:

If you produce quality content about your expertise via a blog, LinkedIn, Facebook, an e-newsletter or video, the content can serve as an icebreaker with others. Ask questions, start conversations, and take interest in what your peers are posting.

We would love to hear from you! Do you have any go to tips or tricks that help you Network with the best of them? Leave us a comment down below.
For more brainstorming tips and creative thinking hacks, be sure to follow Barefoot Brainstorming on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

10 Tips To Deliver An Epic Keynote

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Keynote speaking microphone

Delivering an epic keynote is not as easy as it looks. If you want to get to Ted or TEDx quality here are the must haves.

  1. Know Your Purpose:

If you’re going to hold an audience’s attention you MUST fully understand your purpose… your calling… what gets YOU out of bed in the morning. If you don’t, then you will be delivering a speech. People don’t want to hear a speech. If you know your purpose, you can speak from the heart with no notes.

  1. Be Passionate:

Your energy, and your passion are contagious! People are sitting in the audience because they want an experience, not just a talking head. They want to feel something. If they just wanted to hear something then they could have downloaded a podcast.

  1. Connect With Your Audience:

You may know a lot, but if you don’t form an emotional connection with your audience, it just doesn’t matter! They will tune out. It’s all about respecting your audience, and understanding that you are there to serve them.

  1. Tell Stories:

Storytelling is the most effective way to connect with your audience and take them on a journey in a memorable way.

“The world is not made of atoms,” said poet, Muriel Rukyser. “It’s made of stories.”

  1. Have a Sense of Humor:

Your audience wants to be entertained, and they want to have fun. Don’t be so serious that you can’t find the humour in life!

  1. Be Visual:

A picture really is worth a thousand words. If you want to spark people’s imagination, use images more than words. The root of the word imagination is image!

  1. Have Confidence:

The word “confidence” comes from the Latin “con-fide” — meaning “to have faith.” Have faith in yourself! Get in touch with the passionate person inside of you, and let that person speak.

  1. Less is More:

Keep it simple. Or, as one wise person put it, “Minimize your jargon footprint.”

  1. Celebrate the Positive:

Feature the “bright spots”. Share victories, best practices, and lessons learned. Save the bitching, and moaning for your therapist.

  1. Walk the Talk:

Good presenters move around the stage — as in, walking the talk. Don’t hide behind the podium and read from your notes, the teleprompter or the screen! People want to be inspired by you. Reading to them will not cut it!

We would love to hear from you! Do you have any go to tips or tricks that help you deliver an EPIC keynote? Leave us a comment down below.
For more brainstorming tips and creative thinking hacks, be sure to follow Barefoot Brainstorming on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

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