A long awaited two-day outing, away from the computer, finally arrived. I had the opportunity to observe life in New York in its many forms.
1. Your personal brand remains with you for the long-term
All of your unique traits including how you serve others defines you and your personal brand. The question is how do you wish people to speak of you today and remember you tomorrow? As we walked toward Times Square, we were entertained on the street. Elmo, Mickey Mouse and Mr. Peanut greeted those walking by. But admittedly, the most intriguing, given the cold weather, was seeing the “Naked Cowboy” with guitar. He was wearing briefs and boots but that was it. A few yards away were women painted to represent the American Flag – directly onto their skin; you get where I’m going with this… The conclusion being there is entertainment for every age, and a personal brand of many types, on the streets of New York.
2. Strategically Plan Your Day
Drawn in by friends along with overhearing strangers talk about the play, Kinky Boots, had us prepared to purchase tickets. The very long wait for discounted tickets at the Time Square box office had us research online for a similar outlet in another part of town. To our delight, here was only one person ahead of us. We quickly purchased tickets allowing for the remainder of the day to be enjoyed. An historic neighborhood was in the vicinity. The exteriors of the buildings are preserved while the interiors are being updated to become a very trendy neighborhood, and near to Wall Street. Some of the placards on the buildings date back to over 250 years. For a former Californian, that’s history!
3. Plan B Is Often A Blessing In Disguise
Upon researching how to obtain tickets to visit the Statue of Liberty museum we learned that reservations are needed a month ahead. Time was instead spent walking over to see the new World Trade Center Tower, and the memorial built to remember those we lost in 9/11. It was a moving experience. The Tower itself is exquisite and an architectural masterpiece. Later that night, the news revealed there was a bomb scare at the Statue of Liberty earlier that day.
4. The Joy of Kinky Boots
To my surprise, not knowing much about it, the theme was centered on a business that has gone out of favor. Not wanting to ruin the surprise of seeing it, I’ll just add that there are so many wonderful business questions and answers presented in the script in addition to the joy-filled singing and dancing. The last number brought not one, but two standing ovations.
Further Lessons for Business
1. Planning your day to maximize efficiencies is key for obtaining your goals.
2. Having a Plan B is always a good idea.
3. Business is built about delivering excellence. Establishing good word of mouth based upon a thoughtful branding effort will bring larger followings and many types of audiences per the referrals for Kinky Boots.
Correlating all we observe with business enables us to find the Smooth Sale!
