In marketing, and in life in general, I believe it’s critical to surround yourself with people who know things that you don’t know. It’s what I call my “Room Full of Smart People” rule. Let me illustrate. You’re sitting in a room full of folks who have come together for a meeting and it soon becomes completely obvious that you’re the only one there who knows anything about the subject matter. Oh boy. So, instead of a conversation, it soon becomes a question and answer period, a picking of your brain, a monologue. No fun, right? You might as well have sat at home and wrote a manifesto on the topic because nothing you don’t already know is going to come about from this meeting.
Now, consider another scenario. You’re in a room full of experts, each one with their own informed professional perspective. The conversation is lively. Perhaps there’s a debate. Someone grabs a Sharpie and attacks a white board with enthusiasm.
Which meeting would you rather attend?
The second one, right? The Room Full of Smart People.
I bring this up because, well, I’m gonna brag now. In pulling together the Executive Team for What’s Your Avocado?, I’ve had the very good fortune of bringing together some of the smartest people I know. Each has his or her own expertise. And I’ll tell you that I’m not afraid to say that each one knows something that I don’t know. That’s right, it may be my company but I have absolutely no intention of surrounding myself with Mini-Me’s. Otherwise, why bother?
Jama Dock has been my friend and colleague for more than a decade. She can talk PR strategy all day long. And she is darn good at it. Throw in some Chinese food, and it’s on.
Cynthia Levesque has the ability to take my abstract ideas and convert them to visual gold. Just take a look at the What’s Your Avocado? logo for a preview of her graphics prowess.
Adam Warner knows websites inside and out. He’s a total WordPress Geek. That’s a complement, by the way.
I’ve also got a few more Smart People in my back pocket, folks I’ll call upon as the need arises.
In creating What’s Your Avocado?, I’ve created my very own Room Full of Smart People. If you’d like to join the conversation, give us a call or shoot us an email. And in your daily life, keep the rule alive. Surround yourself with people who know what you don’t know. Believe me, it’s the quickest path to success. Plus, it makes the journey a whole lot more interesting.
Stacie Zinn Roberts is a nationally recognized, award-winning writer and marketing expert with more than 25 years of experience. She has won more than 40 national awards for her work including the United Nations Environmental Program for retail environmental marketing, as well as from organizations such at the Public Relations Society of America and the Turf & Ornamental Communicators Association. She’s written for industry publications such as Golf Course Management, Sports Turf, Golfdom and PR Daily. She spent eight years as the president and director of marketing for Environmental Turf, where she developed the branding for SeaDwarf Seashore Paspalum, the grass that eventually became the greens grass for the Rio Olympic Golf Course. Stacie served for six years on the Board of Directors of the Florida Turfgrass Association as Chair of the Research & Scholarship Committee where she worked closely with the scientists from the University of Florida’s turfgrass breeding program. Stacie founded What’s Your Avocado? Marketing & Public Relations in 2012.
Stacie
Brilliant! So miss you. More than pleased to see how well you are doing & how happy you are.
Love&Hugs
R