It’s in the Numbers.

Anyone who knows me knows that I’m not much of a numbers person. I think they’re kind of scary. But when I stumbled across these, I thought, hmmm, kind of interesting. (And scary, too!)

That’s the amount of landfill waste (in tons) that could be avoided if half the kids in America traded Halloween costumes instead of buying new ones. There’s even a day dedicated to costume-swapping – National Costume Swap Day (this year it was October 8th). And as expected in this wonderful world of online technology, there’s a website to visit if you want to join the efforts: Greenhalloween.org

This is how many more calories American workers burned in one day on the job in 1960 than they do today. (And imagine, that was before Grande Iced Caramel Lattes!) Granted, back then more than half of all jobs required physical labor compared to today when less than 1/5th do. But hey, why not get up and take a lap around the office every hour? And head out for a stroll at lunch. You’ll burn a few calories, and (gasp!), have the chance to say hello to co-workers… in person!

(This is my favorite – finally, an excuse!) 9% is the average amount a person’s pelvis expands between the ages of 20 and 80, even without weight gain. So if you can’t fit into those jeans from high school, give yourself a break. You’re normal, and you’ve earned it! It’s ‘hip’ to age gracefully.

The Age of Persuasion.

Last summer I took a 6-week class at the Chicago Botanic Garden. It started at 7:30am, which meant that I was in the car at 6:30 to accommodate a stop for coffee. This may have been the only time in recent memory that I was regularly up-and-at-'em so early on a weekend. It turned out to be one of my favorite things about the class, and the whole summer, really. And what made it so great, besides no traffic on the Edens, was a show on WBEZ called "The Age of Persuasion."

I had taken the gardening class as I diversion from work, but I found the show so entertaining, informative and thought-provoking, that it ending up sticking with me for the whole day. "The Age of Persuasion" is from CBC Radio in Canada and is hosted by Terry O'Reilly and produced by Mike Tennant. The show "explores the countless ways marketers permeate your life, from media, art, and language, to politics, religion, and fashion." The show has a lot dry, even self-depreciating humor along with the history of the advertising industry. The commentary always promotes smart, creative marketing and seems to prove over and over how successful this kind of advertising can be.

At the end of the class I realized that I wouldn't be catching the radio broadcast of the show anymore and, knowing myself, knew I wouldn't wake up early on a Saturday morning to listen to it. Fortunately, there is a podcast to subscribe to on iTunes. And this has worked out even better for me. I can now listen to episodes on the El or on my drive to Michigan on Fridays.

The episodes are an easily digestible half-hour and with a good range of topics so that they don't get boring if listened to back-to-back. Some great episodes include: ""Mad Women: The Great Women of Advertising," "It's Not Easy Being Green: Green Marketing" and" Caution: Speed Bumps. The Magical Ingredient in Marketing." Also, the website has a lot of YouTube videos and pics of the ads discussed.

Here are some links if you're interested in checking out "The Age of Persuasion" for yourself.

http://www.cbc.ca/ageofpersuasion/

(There is a link to subscribe to the podcast through iTunes)

http://www.wbez.org/programs

(The show airs Saturdays at 6:30am and Thursdays at 11:30am on WBEZ 91.5)

Inspirational Energy!

Recently, I attended two conferences that inspired me and got me thinking differently about the work I do every day here at Eire.

The first was ComEd’s Energy Efficiency Expo in early September. The purpose of the Expo was to educate businesses in the ComEd service territory about energy efficiency and incentive programs available for businesses that implement energy efficiency measures. This year the Expo was also sponsored by Nicor Gas, People’s Gas and North Shore Gas. It was inspiring to get a chance to talk to some of the businesses that are taking advantage of the incentive programs available – overwhelmingly, they seem excited about the programs and interested in learning how to better take advantage of the incentives available. The keynote speaker was fascinating. David Goldstein with the Natural Resources Defense Council spoke about how energy efficiency can be used to address the current economic troubles. He gave several examples of how the current recession could have been avoided or could be resolved by implementing energy efficiency measures. It was hopeful, and provided suggestions of things that could be done today to improve the economy. His ideas were a ray of sunlight in what seems to be daily gloomy economic news.

The second conference I attended was the Entrepreneurial Women’s Conference, sponsored by the Women’s Business Development Center. It’s the 25th anniversary of the center’s founding, and several of the speakers told stories about challenges they experienced when they first started their women-owned business, including being told they were working in a “man’s world” and they should go back to where they belong, taking notes and making coffee. The keynote speaker was new Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel. He talked about his three big initiatives for the City of Chicago: better schools, safer streets, and an environment where businesses can thrive. He applauded all the women in the audience who were working on growing their businesses in Chicago.

What do these two events have in common? At both events, I was surrounded by people who are enthusiastic about their work and motivated to succeed. They chose to spend their day at an event to help them improve their business, or just provide encouragement to continue on the path they are going. I left both events feeling rejuvenated and excited to continue working with clients, developing strategies, and building on successes in my daily work.