Oh for a local newspaper again...

Myself and a number of community folks got to hear from Mike McInally, the publisher of the Gazette Times in Corvallis at a recent Leadership Corvallis class. Mike graciously donated his time to come speak to our group and put together a fun activity to show us what his news staff goes through on a daily basis to decide what stories make front page. We all had a good time and left with a better understanding of what goes into the daily paper we often times take for granted.

During his talk, Mike admitted to having a strong bias toward local news. I share that bias, and frankly wonder who exactly goes to the GT as a source for anything but local news. One could assume, that even if someone does look to the GT for national/international info, are they likely the demographic (probably over age 65) that the GT really wants to reach out to long term? Do the majority of their advertisers want to reach out to that crowd? Seems to me that the large majority of readers read the GT for local news and info, and then go to their google reader, yahoo news, the huffington post, salon.com , wsj.com or other online venues for their regional, national or international news.

I read the GT online to scan for people I know and local interesting stories. Unfortunately, despite Mike's bias toward local material, over half the paper appears to be supplied by the Associated Press. In fact, today's local business section didn't contain a single local story? Is there not enough going on in Corvallis to fill 5 or 6 pages? Is there not enough staff to manage the different beats for daily stories?

I'm not sure why local papers like ours continue to fill their pages with AP material, but it seems to me going to an all local model would be hugely profitable and generate a great amount of loyalty. Why not allow local people to contribute stories? Why not source local blogs? How much do the AP fees run, and could that instead be used to fund another local reporter?

A great example of this intense local focus working in a small town newspaper comes from the book "Made to Stick". Here's an excerpt.

Dunn, North Caroline, is a small town about 40 miles south of Raleigh. It has 14,000 residents and its workforce is primarily blue-collar. The local diner is packed in the morning with people eating big breakfasts and drinking coffee. Waitresses call you "hon." All in all, Dunn is a pretty normal place, except for one fact: Almost everyone in Dunn reads the local paper, the Daily Record. As a matter of fact, more than everyone in Dunn reads the paper. The Daily Record's penetration in the Dunn community is 112 percent, which is the highest penetration of any newspaper in the country. What explains this remarkable success?

The Dunn Daily Record was founded in 1950 by Hoover Adams. Throughout his tenure as publisher, Adams has believed newspapers need to be relentlessly local in their coverage. In fact, asked why the Daily Record has been so successful, Adams replies: "It's because of three things: Names, names, and names." In 1978, frustrated by what he felt was an insufficient focus on local issues in the paper, he wrote a memo to his staff, explaining his views. "A local newspaper can never get enough local names. I'd happily hire two more typesetters and add two more pages in every edition if we had the names to fill them up."

Look at how Adams communicates his core message. He says he'd hire more typesetters if the reporters could generate enough names. This is forced prioritization: Local focus is more important than minimizing costs! He also speaks in clear, tangible language. Is there a staffer who won't understand what Adams means by "names"? Adams can't possibly be involved in the vast majority of decisions at the paper. But his employees don't suffer from decision paralysis, because Adams is clear: "names, names, and names." Do we run the inspiring human interest story from the wire service, or the boring city council meeting with public testimony on the roadway bond issue? The boring city council story. It has more names, so it wins.

If the GT would head in this direction, I'd be a hardcopy subscriber, daily reader, and more consistent advertiser. Who wouldn't? Hoover Adams was right- people like to read about people and businesses they know. Names, names, names please.

Money Talks: Understanding Your Health Insurance

Tuesday, June 9th
5:30-6:30pm
Madison Ave Collective

Health insurance can be confusing, but it doesn’t have to be. At Money Talks this month we'll go over the basics of health insurance and how you can be sure you have the right coverage.

Bring your policy paperwork to receive individual consultation during the Q&A session. Post questions beforehand to the Facebook event wall or send them directly to me.

Afterward head over to the Darkside Cinema to catch a 7pm movie. Money Talks attendees will receive FREE admission, courtesy of Chris Nordyke State Farm and the Darkside. Movie listings can be found at www.darksidecinema.com.

Your RSVP (via Facebook or hello@workwithrebecca.com) is appreciated. Attendance is limited to 20 people.

Benton Furniture Share Raffle

Michelle Maddux sent me this about BFS's big fundraiser for the year. I've enjoyed getting to know Michelle as a client and hearing about a lot of great things Benton Furniture Share does for low income families in our community.



For more info on BFS, go here.



The fundraiser this year is a raffle for 2 tickets to the Oregon Jamboree. Whether you're into country music or not, the tickets routinely sell out and go online for $250 plus EACH. So if you're a country finatic or a crafty Ebayer, support a great cause and take your shot at a pair of tickets.



Here's more info about the Raffle.



To get tickets from Michelle or to donate furniture, call 754-9511

Money Talks for Couples- May 12th

Most couples don't have the bandwidth to stay in touch when it comes to financial matters. One person handles this, the other handles that. Maybe you've figured out how to make this work. For most of us, it takes being a bit more intentional to really make financial headway.

I'm putting on "Money Talks for Couples" because most of our marriages need a pause button, an excuse to stop, reflect and maybe change tactics. Even the savviest of couples can benefit from a cooperative financial refresher course. Money Talks for Couples will cover topics ranging from understanding your health insurance at work and investing principles, to online personal finance tools and homeowners insurance. Each month we'll have a different focus.

The sessions will begin with a light buffet style dinner from a local restaurant, followed by a 1 hour learning segment, and lastly a 30 minute Q&A. Babysitting will be provided for the duration. Money Talks will be done by 7ish.

The May 12th session will provide an intro to the series, with an overview of family financial planning principles, and a tutorial on Yodlee.com a free personal finance tool.

Future topics will include:
Teaching our kids about Money
Life Insurance- Planning for What Happens Now?
Saving for College- What educational savings accounts make sense for you?
Investing- Maxing out the Roth and keeping your 401K in Check

This month's session will be held at the community center at Willamette Landing. Space is limited to 10 couples, so pre-registration is strongly encouraged. We need to plan for the right amount of childcare and food as well. Please RSVP to Rebecca Badger. You can reach her via Twitter @rebeccabadger, email rebecca@workwithrebecca.com , or via cell phone @ 231-6428.

ROI on Social Media? Not so fast...

A friend of mine sent me this link. The article is about whether or not social media improves the bottom line. Does it increase sales and productivity or does it ultimately become a time-trap? Having spent most of my career in sales and business development, it immediately piqued my interest. Have a look:

http://snurl.com/fyzzc

The opening of the article is "... companies are struggling to locate enough social-media-generated revenue to justify the time and resources expended on them...". This sort of pragmatic approach doesn't really work when it comes to social media and the business 3.0 paradigm we're moving in to. The whole premise of the article assumes that engaging in social media is an option. I think we're going to see that in coming months and years, it will become a pre-requisite to many, if not most new business relationships.

Here's my take: social media is a by-product of GenX/Yers hungering for more authenticity. The line between our personal lives and professional roles has become permanently blurred. With social media, it's less about the polished image and scripted messaging, and more about the true grit of what someone is bring to the table. Good, bad or ugly, at least you know what you're getting.

Social media personalizes and legitimizes your marketing and branding efforts. Someone has to actually care what you have to say, for your messaging to have impact. Things have changed. There's too much noise for simple TOMA strategies or old skool sales 101 alone. People now want a more personal experience and it begins with social media (and face-time).

Stein makes a great point though, as it relates to sales success. "The challenge is, once a connection has been made through channels such as LinkedIn or Twitter, salespeople still need to have the knowledge and resources to follow through to conversion...If I don't have the skills, the tools, or [the] people...then that sale will never happen," Stein is right, social media doesn't somehow negate the need for good salesmanship or technical ability. Social media is simply the setting in which credibility is established and trust is created.

So there's an insurance guy's take. Social media doesn't sell insurance policies. Social media simply provides a powerful and authentic medium for new relationships, and relationships are where all good sales are made.

School Appreciation Day @ Coffee Culture

Here's a quick press blurb for the event we're doing tomorrow morning:

Free Coffee Tomorrow!

School Appreciation Day- Free Coffee at Coffee Culture Café (By Woodstocks Pizza) Tuesday, March 10th, 7-8am

Chris Nordyke, a local State Farm Agent, and former Jefferson Jaguar would like to provide free coffee for all Jefferson Elementary staff. This is part of a series of coffee events Chris' agency is holding for schools around Corvallis.

"I prefer to spend our marketing budget on creating fun experiences for people",Chris explained. "These coffee events allow us to thank our current clients, connect with future clients, and show our appreciation to schools in the Corvallis community."


If you're a Jefferson Elementary staff member, simply go to Coffee Culture on March 10th (Tomorrow!). All 16oz coffee drinks are free. Order your favorite- every category and flavor is free.

Come one, come all, the coffee’s on me,

Chris

Positive Writings from Grandpa's Journal

My late grandfather was a voracious reader (a love I fortunately inherited) and a wonderful motivator. He loved to read books by authors like Dale Carnegie, Zig Ziglar, Robert Schular, Og Mandino and many others. Any books that highlighted peoples ability to acheive via a positive attitude and determination. He was one of those people who everyone loved, because he always made you feel good. He spent most of his career as a teacher here in town and I still have past students remark about the impact he had on them...

Over the years, he compiled excerpts of these books into a handwritten journal. About a year before he died, I asked him if I could have it and he happily turned it over to me. By that point, his Parkinson's had virtually made it impossible to write or read- two things he loved desperately. You could see throughout the journal the progression of his handwriting. It got worse and worse, until the final entry remained unfinished. This book has become a precious possession that I read through periodically, either for my own inspiration or for an opening thought at one of our team meetings.

Periodically I plan on sharing some of his journal entries. Some from authors you might recognize and some sayings or truisms my grandpa coined or picked up over the years.

This first entry is by writer Og Mandino. Og was a World War II pilot and friend of actor Jimmy Stuart. The two flew together in the war. Og later went on to be a writer of business fables, one of them "The Greatest Salesman in the World". In it, he pens the Ten Scrolls of Success. Here they are in all their glory.


Scroll I - Today I begin a new life.
Scroll II - I will greet this day with love in my heart.
Scroll III - I will persist until I succeed.
Scroll IV - I am nature's greatest miracle.
Scroll V - I will live this day as if it is my last.
Scroll VI - Today I will be master of my emotions.
Scroll VII - I will laugh at the world (Keep perspective)
Scroll VIII - Today I will multiply my value a hundredfold.
Scroll IX - I will act now, I will act now, I will act now.
Scroll X - I will pray for guidance.

I spent the night last night at the men's homeless shelter here in Corvallis. Had a good time chatting with the guys and overall the night was pretty uneventful. Probably 30 plus guys at the shelter on a pretty regular basis. I hate to say it, but last night felt like a bit of a token volunteer effort. I get to go back to my comfortable warm house, and probably won't get time to stay at the shelter again for weeks or maybe even til next winter.

Prior to last night, I rarely paused to think about the homeless or poor people in our community, subconsciously marginalizing them and their situation, judging homelessness as simply a product of bad decisions. Sure, I care and give to causes and organizations in town, but how often do we actually connect with other people's plight and consider them as we consider ourselves? After getting a chance to hang out with them a bit, I realized the real lack of distance between their life and mine. Most of us are only a few bad decisions, an illness, or a job loss away from many of these guys' reality.

A song this morning stirred me, so I googled the lyrics for you to read. It's called Give me Your Eyes, by Brandon Heath. As I'm writing this, I'm sitting in an ergonomic chair with clean clothes, a breve at my right, my blackberry at my left, food in my stomach and a mortgage that is paid on time. At the very least, let's be grateful for what we have today, and have open eyes to others that are in a tough spot. Here's the song.

Look down from a broken sky
Traced out by the city lights
My world from a mile high
Best seat in the house tonight
Touch down on the cold black top
Hold on for the sudden stop
Breath in the familiar shock
Of confusion and chaos
All those people going somewhere
Why have I never cared

Give me your eyes for just one second
Give me your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me your love for humanity
Give me your arms for the broken hearted
The ones that are far beyond my reach
Give me you heart for the ones forgotten
Give me your eyes so I can see

Step out on a busy street
See a girl and our eyes meet
Does her best to smile at me
To hide what's underneath
There's a man just to her right
Black suit and a bright red tie
Too ashamed to tell his wife
He's out of work,
He's buying time

I’ve been here a million times
A couple of million eyes
Just move and pass me by
I swear I never thought that I was wrong
I need a second glance
Give me a second chance
To see the way you’ve seen the people all along

A Passenger van could make the difference

I joined the current Leadership Corvallis class more out of peer pressure than anything. Several good friends of mine were signed up, so I signed up. I'm not going to lie, it began as kind of a "me too" thing.

Leadership Corvallis has turned out to be one of the most enriching programs I've ever participated in. A great concept that has, and I think will continue to develop passionate leaders for Corvallis.

One key element of the class is the service project. At our first or second day-long class, we saw 5 or 6 project presentations from area non-profits. Then, we each picked our top 3 and later were grouped into teams for each project. My number one pick was Parent Enhancement Program. They wanted us to raise money to purchase them a passenger van. I figured this would be a good challenge. It definitely has proved to be. Thankfully, it was the only fundraising project for the 2009 class.

In our initial meeting that day, we learned more about what this van would mean to the community. Parent Enhancement Program overwhelmingly serves young, poverty level mothers and their young children. They provide nutrition and parenting classes, help these young women get their GED's and give them rides to critical destinations such as doctor's appointments, school functions, the library, and the grocery store. I'm of course abbreviating, but we got the gist of the organization and it's mission.

Our group has since connected with the project on a much deeper level. What we realized, is that this passenger van can mean some normalcy for the children in these mostly single-parent homes. Without a special mode of transportation, many of these kids would not go to their school events, get to doctors appointments, or visit the library to check out books. Most of us have never experienced a world where mom simply has no way of getting the kids to the library.

We started the project with a plan of pre-selling advertising on the van. Simply get 12 or 15 businesses to give us $1000 for us to put their logo on the van. Then get a graphics/vinyl company to donate a vehicle wrap. Pretty easy, right. Well, given the economy, we've shifted gears a bit and implemented more of a community plan. We figure, if we can get 300 people in Benton County to give $50 each, there's $15K for a van. Throw in some grant money, and we've got a van with a maintenance fund.

The response has been fantastic thus far. We've had several $100 donations, a $400 donation from New Business Generation in Albany, and dozens of $50 donors. We've got over $2500 raised so far. This project will happen. We just need some more people to partner on it.
Our "money in" date is May 1st. The van will be purchased during the week of May 18th.

Please consider how you can participate. All contributions are tax deductible. Please make checks out to Parent Enhancement Program. Checks can be dropped off at Chris Nordyke State Farm by Albertsons, or Downtown Citizen's Bank.

Ignite Corvallis- Powerpoint doesn't have to be lame.

Last fall, Jason Prothero of Proworks Corp, emailed me and asked if I wanted to be involved in the upcoming Corvallis Ignite. Not knowing much about the whole Ignite concept, I googled it and found a bunch of Youtube videos from the Portland event.

I perused the videos, and frankly was a bit intimidated. Many of the presentations were hilarious and had the audience roaring. I wasn't sure if I could pull something like that together at all, much less with all the other things I was busy with running a new start-up. I already told Jason yes though, so I was committed. I would look pretty lame if I backed out now.

First bit of advice- start mulling over your slide deck as soon as possible. Don't wait until a few days before the event. It is much more challenging than I thought, to put together a compelling/funny/persuasive deck of slides, when you've got exactly 20 to work with and they're auto-advancing every 15 seconds. So take your time, review it with friends or your spouse, and you're guaranteed to change it up at least 10 times before the event.

There were a ton of people at the event, and yet there was a great (dare I say) forgiving tone to the room. Everybody was excited, and in a way, living vicarously through the presenters. They're less spectators, and more participants. But it is a spectacle none the less. I was scheduled right in the middle of the roster. Fortunately, before my turn, there were several funny presentations to loosen up the room and also calm the nerves in the dugout.

I think my presentation went o.k. It was a bit dry, I wandered off script a bit, and got lost in some "uhs, ahs, and umms". Overall I'd give myself a B-. The cool part about it, was it really didn't matter how I did. People remembered the ones they loved, and the other ones just sort of faded into the background. It was a great platform to practice a skill that has enormous value to any artist, entrepreneur or technologist.

For those of you waffling a bit- Just go for it. Ignite is not only a great way to meet new people, but a safe venue to stick your neck out a bit and have fun trying something new.

I plan on presenting again, if the organizing group will have me. Maybe not this next one, but definitely in the future. I think I'll probably title my next presentation "Why Guy Kawasaki Rules", or maybe "How Local Biz Can Twitter their way to a Profit".

See you at the next Corvallis Ignite.

Everyone loves free coffee

Today I'm hosting my third school appreciation day out at Jamocha Joe's cafe in Adair Village. Each month during the school year, we host all the staff of a Corvallis area school. Any 16oz drink is free of charge from 6 to 8am.
I'm surprised this hasn't been done before here. This has been a fun way to spend marketing dollars. Not only is it a great way to thank existing clients, but a nice way to get our name in front of people, and help a locally owned coffee shop in a down economy.
I've already got schools booked for March and April. If you'd like me to host your school of choice, just let me know and we'll get it on the calendar.
If you have any other creative marketing ideas that would not only help us connect with new clients, but serve the community or a local business, please leave a comment. We're always looking for high-touch, connective ways to build our agency.



www.MyCorvallisInsurance.com


This message composed via Blackberry handheld. Please excuse poor formatting and/or spelling errors.

Learning from the Lost Customer

I'm pretty proud of the fact that we rarely lose clients. Sure, we have a percentage of clients who are purely driven by price, and they bounce around from time to time. For the most part though, we intensely care about the relationship we have with clients and we try to be creative and intentional about the service we provide. Recently however, I lost a client because they were disappointed in the experience they had with me. I thought it might be constructive to journal the experience, as it might give pause to other business owners and be an opportunity for us all to reflect. From time to time, all of us will screw up, but how can we gain something from such a downer as losing a client?

In this particular situation, I was really fortunate to get very detailed, candid feedback as to why they were leaving me. I had to beg for it, but they eventually sent me a lengthy email detailing their dissatisfaction. Here's a sanitized excerpt from the email (so as to protect the identities of the innocent:) This makes for a long blog post, but hopefully you can learn with me from the situation.

"Per your request, here is some detailed feedback. Note that I have no real reason to spend the time doing this, other than that I have managed people for the last 14 years and know how hard it is to get (or give) honest feedback. Maybe you will return the favor to someone else someday. Note also that I did not share any of this with [other agent].

We select the people we choose to do business with, not the other way around. We have longstanding relationships (>10 years) with our dentist, eye doctor, doctor, dental hygienist, hair stylist, etc. In contrast, you were picked for us, replacing someone who we knew well and were quite pleased with.

A big negative for me during our meeting was when you volunteered that you started the cartridge refill store in Corvallis. As you knew, my [spouse] and I are long time HP employees. We both work very hard to make HP as successful as possible. Our livelihood depends on HP doing well. HP drives much of the economy in Corvallis. Refilling businesses like this one negatively impact our company and our compensation. I would suggest you not volunteer this to your customers from HP. Note that [other agent's] office was full of HP equipment and [his/her] former employer was [high-end service oriented retailer] - a much better fit for us.

My son appreciated many aspects of his "New Driver" talk, but was quite surprised (as was I) that you volunteered how many bad things you personally did as a teen in Corvallis. He thought it was weird and hypocritical that his insurance agent did things he wouldn't even dream of doing. I would suggest that you tell stories about what your "friends" did, not you. You need to preserve your credibility as an adult and as an insurance agent.

I know you are supposed to try to sell financial products, but you should have assumed based on our professions that we were already well set in this area and didn't need anything from State Farm. You should have either dropped this very quickly, or not even brought it up. You should not have asked me to refer people to you who might be interested in financial products. I had absolutely no reason or motivation to do this.

The above left me with the impression that you weren't very mature and didn't have the best of judgment. These are 2 personality traits we value in our insurance agent. We are more comfortable choosing to do business with [other agent] and hope [he/she] is our agent for many years to come. Nonetheless, I hope you find this feedback helpful towards building a successful business in Corvallis.

Not sure how it reads to the detached third-party reader, but it hit me like a punch in the gut. One of those moments where you're overcome with embarrassment, then a bit of defensiveness, disappointment, and finally clarity. A bit of context for the above comments:

Regarding us being forced on them- this is true. We inherited their business from the outgoing agent. I understand this comment/criticism. Frankly, I feel like every day we interact with our clients, we have to earn their business. At the end of the day, they get to decide where to spend their money.

The angst over me disclosing having started the cartridge refilling store (Rapid Refill Ink) I get as well. I could have been more diplomatic, and completely omitted that business from my personal introduction. On the other hand, having run other businesses in the past, it's part of my story and body of knowledge and experience. I suppose the takeaway from this is, the first impression is a delicate moment. Better to proceed carefully and thoughtfully and over time become more vulnerable and candid.

The "New Driver" talk. This was a good gut-check as well. Helpful to put it in context though. I do a new driver talk with all of my young clients that are just getting their driver's licenses. Generally mom or dad come in with them, but the conversation is between me and the new driver. I present them with important things to consider regarding safety, how tickets or accidents affect their rates, and other critical topics around this new responsibility they're taking on.

I've done a handful of these talks, and I try to at least mention a couple stories of my own driving experiences or failings as a young driver. I am careful not to glorify my past foolishness, but rather present it in a regretful tone, highlighting the consequences I experienced and how the outcomes could have been much more tragic. My intent with including my stories into the new driver talk, was to engage them with real examples and help them make a connection between my actions and the very real consequences that followed.

However, after mulling over the clients feedback, I've come to a couple conclusions. First, my approach could be an effective and powerful one for some teens.(And I believe it has been for many I've talked with) Unfortunately, I think it's possible it might actually may be a stumbling block for some, maybe even making the teen more brazen like "my agent did stupid stuff when he was young, and it eventually worked out alright. Driving isn't really that serious of a deal. I'm not going to kill anyone". This is obviously the last impression, or takeaway I want to give my young clients. Secondly, being a younger agent, there's really not enough separation between myself and my young drivers. If I were a 50 yr old agent, this approach would probably be an okay one, given the expanse of time between my youthful folly and my current behavior and position. So, a good lesson learned. Time to re-tool the new driver talk.

Now, on the sales comment. This comment from the client kind of threw me a bit. I don't even recall the context. One thing that I can't help but zero in on, is this comment [he/she] made:

"you should have assumed based on our professions that we were already well set in this area and didn't need anything from [large national insurance company]"

This to me, is an unfair judgment. I'm of the thinking that as a licensed professional, it's critical I make no assumptions as to my clients level of savvy and planning. Doing so can (and has before) ended badly. The reality is, I've got many clients with PhD's and MBA's that rely on our judgment and expertise to help them make good decisions as it relates to our industry and products.

I do however, have a good takeaway from this feedback, and it centers around expectations. Without unpacking our philosophy a bit, our questions may seem outside the scope of service they expected. Most people are not accustomed to their insurance agency taking the kind of wholistic approach we try to take.

Now however, when we bring on a new client, we let them know how we approach our role as their agent, and what they can expect from us. Hopefully this will help us avoid people getting the wrong impression.

Finally (You can all breath a sigh of relief), the client's summary about my maturity and judgment- I think they assumed a lot from one 45 minute interaction from me. I'll let the verdict sit with those that know me best, and suffice it to say, all of us have room for growth and personal development, no matter where we are at in our career and achievement.

So, a bit long, but hopefully constructive for those who decided to read it. The moral of the story is that greater self-awareness is essential for a successful entrepreneur, and it only comes from reflection and periodic bits of candid feedback.

The Agency Values

Here's what we finished with:
1) We ask good questions, every time.
2) We always follow up.
3) We create great experiences for our clients and fellow team members.
4) We're transparent and candid with our clients and fellow team members.
5) We are consistently growing and maintain strong profitability.

Over Colorado enroute to Portland

IMG_0733
Originally uploaded by chrisnordyke

I shot this from my window seat.

Jack's brunch

IMG_0751
Originally uploaded by chrisnordyke

Working on Agency Values

I'm motivated to re-tool my business plan for 2009 around a set of core values. Much will remain, but I want to make sure our plan is aligned just right with the values we want to espouse moving ahead. Not the easiest task. Here's what I have so far. I'm going to have my team critique, modify and add to.

Our Agency Values

1) People First, Profits Second
2) We always follow up.
3) We always perservere
4) We're transparent with eachother and clients
5) When we screw up, we quickly own it and make it right
6) We don't take ourselves too seriously
7) We ask good questions, every time.
8) We embrace learning and opportunities to share
9) We care for eachother and our clients
10) We have an abundance mentality

2008 Christmas Letter

I have so much trouble with these things every year. Business is always good, the kids are always great, and the marriage is always wonderful, right? Ha. Yet again, here we have the proverbial Christmas letter. I tried to keep it as real as possible. Cheers.

Holiday Greetings from the Nordyke's

It's hard to even begin writing a Christmas letter without succumbing to cliche. I'll give it my best shot though (Ha.)

We're rolling in to this Christmas with the lowest balances in our bank accounts that we've seen in several years. Aren't business owners all supposed to be rich? Or what about the old trueism that "if you're looking for your insurance agent, you can find him on the back nine"? We really can't complain though- we've got a warm house, with a mortgage that gets paid on time each month, cupboards full of food, and we're all pretty healthy despite a 3.5 year old that sometimes acts like an alien.

I had two babies this year, fortunately I only had to give birth to one, and it should be profitable long before age 18. More on the agency later. First let me tell you about Jack.

Jack was born on April 24th like a bat out of hell. The entire labor was 1 hr. Cara's water broke around 8:30pm. By the time we had packed and raced up the hill to the hospital, it was 9. And at 9:26 Jack Xander Nordyke was born. Without an epidural- Cara didn't really like that part. I've got to hand it to her though, she was an absolute champ. One of those moments us guys have where we realize our wives are way tougher than we are.

Jack has turned out to be a wonderful kid. I had pretty much resolved that Jack would be our last. Everyone told us after Lily that our day would come, and the second one would be a nightmare. He's been a fantastic sleeper, a good eater, and altogether has a great personality. He's definitely Dad's boy. Whenever I'm around he can't take his eyes off me. That's kind of fun. He's also a huge smiler. Who knows, maybe we'll have another one after all. Or not.

Lily turned three in June. She's doing everything a typical three year old does- talks until mom and dad are going insane, destroys things just for fun, memorizes everything, even the stuff you wish they hadn't, and has a knack for spilling beverages. In addition to that, she's uber-bright. Many times Cara and I hear her say something, and we just look at eachother in disbelief. She's also super affectionate and kind. It's not uncommon for her to meet one of our friends, and upon them leaving to go home, beg them for a hug and kiss. Nearly every shopping excursion or trip out includes her walking up to random people and asking them for their name. It's possible she'll turn into quite the Cutco-selling machine.

Cara has shifted to kind of a nice schedule. It's taken some getting used to, but it allows us to still make a fair amount of money, but have her at home most of the time with me and the kiddos. She now works every Monday from 7a to 7p, and every other Saturday and Sunday, also from 7 to 7. Every other week, it's quite intense, but at least I'm able to be home most of those weekends to jump in and play Mr. Mom. Okay I'd be lying if I didn't admit to a lot of help from my parents, inlaws and my younger sister Lindsey. They have been absolute life-savers. We still have not had to use any non-family daycare, and we feel really fortunate for that.

Cara's also taken up a big interest in sewing. Recently she's been taking a sewing class at OSU. Every Thursday she carts around her Singer and bag of stuff. She's actually got a real talent for it. Our windows have possibly the coolest curtains in Corvallis, and Lily has a super-cute dress or two that Cara has sewn. She's also made several arts and crafts-style dolls and even given a few as gifts, to a warm reception. Lily also started pre-school this year, which was a nice change of pace for Cara, allowing her to grab some me-time, run errands, or just take a breather with only one munchkin in tow. Often times, you'd find her mid-morning or mid afternoon at the craft/fabric store. Then, later in the evening between 8 and 10ish she's be busy over her sewing machine.

Quick intermission- My parents moved from their house of 25 years. They made the mistake of asking us to store their wine fridge until they've moved into their new house. We've had a lot of great wine to enjoy as part of our "storage fee".

As far as me, it's been a really gratifying year. I spent January through March in Tillamook, Oregon, apprenticing with a insurance agent there. He has a couple homes, one in Oceanside, and one in Rockaway Beach, so for the duration I stayed in his 4 bedroom house across from the beach in Rockaway. It was an awesome two months. I took full advantage of my per diem by eating at the Beach Bite almost nightly. Really good fish and chips. The north coast is a really beautiful stretch of scenery. After work each day, I took my camera out and hunted for a view before sunset. Lots of great pictures.

In April I started my second business, and by July 1st, we were officially Chris Nordyke Insurance. Our first six months have gone well, and I've been really fortunate to get some great team members. I'm excited about 2009, with plans to hire another team member, possibly two. If you know someone awesome, send them my way.

In addition to the agency, I continue to spend a lot of time in the community doing not for profit stuff. Probably 25% of my time. It brings me a lot of pleasure and fortunately works well with the type of business I am in. I've continued working on SpeakerLunch and Young Professionals, and recently rotated off the supervisory committee at OSU Federal. With every meeting and event, It mostly feels like hanging out with friends.

The end of the year is a great time for reflection. For us, we find ourselves wanting to be more content with exactly where we are at. Because it's good just the way it is. We would like to have Cara work less. We'd also love to travel this next year. More than anything, we really want to carve out more time with friends and family.

Thanks for enduring our update. We always love reading everyone else's.

You can find Cara on Facebook as caranordyke and via email as caranordyke@gmail.com and via cell phone as 541.990.0732
You can find me just about anywhere online. It all just sort of accumulates. chrisnordyke on Facebook, chrisnordyke on Twitter, chris.nordyke@gmail.com for email, my cell at 541.990.8050, and if you'd like me to help on the insurance side, call me at 541.452.5200 or email me at chris.nordyke.mrrx@statefarm.com

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,

The Nordykes

out of order- how not to kill the sale or delay a friendship

Every once in a while, we all do something that runs counter to our normal mod us operand i. Something that afterward, we end up feeling really embarrassed about. Thursday at Downward Dog was one such night for me.

A group of us decided to get together for happy hour, and 8 or 10 showed up. Good times. I met a few new people, and had a great time hanging with friends, mostly talking business.

One of the newcomers was a new business owner in town. I'd heard about him through some other contacts and had wanted to get in touch with him to find out what he was doing for his business insurance, a specialty of mine.

We got a chance to meet and chat for a minute or two and I popped the question, " by the way, who do you have taking care of your insurance for the office?" I hoped he would say that he'd not taken care of it- a chance for me to help. Unfortunately, he had already set it up as a requirement of the bank he got his loan through.

Normally, this is the point at which I would gracefully offer myself as a resource if he ever had questions, tell him it's great to meet him, and then transition to talking about some community groups he might be interested in getting involved with, talk with him about his family, and maybe introduce him to others at the event. I'd then make a note in my blackberry later, to follow up on the insurance thing a few months from now- hopefully after I've hung out with him at other events between now and then.

Unfortunately, I was stirred by my sales training of old, and went into a little bit of objection-handling, part of sales 101. I explained to him that even though he already has obtained coverage through someone else, that he still has the freedom to look at other quotes. If our coverage makes more sense, we can easily satisfy the banks requirement- we help people with that all the time. I then went in for an easy close and asked if I could follow up with him to take a look at his current coverage. He declined nicely, but the body language was clear- I'd been one of those annoying sales guys. Yikes.

I'm not sure what got into me. I am often guilty about being passionate about what I do. Rarely though do I regress back to my early days of sales 101. I prefer relationship, and then business. Sometimes it can be easy to cross that line from an elevator intro into a sales conversation when you know there is a need.

This whole interaction reminded me of a business trueism- people rarely can be persuaded to your point of view, until they feel like they know you. It would have been impossible for me to handle the guy's objections, because he didn't know yet if he could trust my answers. We still didn't really know eachother.

In retrospect, nothing wrong with getting into business conversations with new people you meet, but it's important to not progress farther than the relationship will allow.

In Between Meetings- A Brainstorming Tool

Saturday morning, I laid in bed, one hand holding the blankets tight up to my neck and the other holding my blackberry. As I was reviewing my task items, I had a brainstorm related to the Leadership Corvallis project I'm in on.

My knee jerk instinct was to email it or twitter it. Unfortunately, not everyone in my project group is following me on twitter, and contextually, most of my twitter followers wouldn't get it, and even if they did, it wouldn't seem twitter-worthy. As far as email, people could reply to all and comment, but that ultimately leads to a mess of email replies from different senders and in the end it will get deleted from the inbox.

It got me thinking about what kind of collaboration tools are available for corporate workgroups or non-profit boards/committees to contribute content via mobile phone.

Imagine this- at our first group meeting, our group leader collects a list of everyone's mobile phone, along with the obligatory email list. Then, the leader registers a unique domain such as pep.ideate.com Once that is set up, as group members think of ideas, comments, talking points, etc, they can simply text (SMS) them to this group domain.

The domain would have similar functionality to Twitter, but instead aggregate all submissions into a group feed. You could even program a feature to the site whereby people can receive SMS updates when someone posts something, and then reply directly to that post. It would look something like this on the feed:

@chris "I think we ought to consider not buying a van- maybe we can develop a pass with the local cab company."
--->Jim " The problem with that is, after the cards are gone, the non-profit will have to fundraise again for more cards.
--->Lauren " True, but the van will have fixed costs that will require additional funds as well- it will be tough to raise enough up front to cover all future costs"
@Lauren "What if we sold advertising to local companies prior to purchasing the van, and then wrap the van with their logos"
--->Carrie " that could work, but we'd have to charge a lot to cover the purchase
and it may be tough with the economy like it is."

Rough example, but you get the idea. When the next board/group meeting rolls around, it's very easy for the chair to summarize the ideas and discussion that happened since the previous meeting, and put together a meaningful agenda for the meeting. All ideas and comments are captured in a timeline- conversational flow. Part twitter, part gmail.

As a standalone solution, I don't think this has legs, but as a bolt on feature for enterprise intranets(Think Jive's Clearspace or MS Sharepoint), I think it could add a lot of value, especially with the proliferation of SMS amongst the 20 and 30 somethings.

Maybe this is mental gymnastics, but I think Twitter is on to something, it just doesn't have the right functionality for group and/or business application.

Cheers

Parent Enhancement Program- an LC Project

Beaver Cab, Community Partners and PEP - The Beaver PEP Pass

I recently attended a chamber of commerce meeting where the two owners of Beaver Cab spoke and talked about their business. I was impressed by their professionalism and passion for safe and clean transportation in Corvallis. They are even in the process of purchasing a hybrid suv to add to their taxi fleet.

Here's the vision and then I'll elaborate.

The Beaver PEP Pass

A card that would be distributed through PEP to young mothers and families in the most need of a transportation resource.
The card would be limited in it's use and provide transportation to certain destination categories such as:

Schools
Hospitals/Doctor's Offices
Grocery Stores
PEP office
Church or Places of Worship
Place of employment

Other restrictions or caveats can be placed on the card, but you get the idea.

The card would provide for 50 one-way trips regardless of the number of passengers or destination and would be punched after each use . Per PEP's discretion, new cards could be handed out based on need.

The Leadership Corvallis Team and PEP would negotiate a fair per trip price with Beaver Cab that would be good for a period of 1 year and then renegotiated each year after. This promotion or fundraising initiative could be easily managed by PEP for future years or as the need arises.

Businesses could sponsor a certain number of cards and can be publicly acknowledged for providing 150(or 500, you fill in the blank) critical rides to young single mothers and low income families in Benton County. Whatever the number, it is a direct way for businesses to impact the community in a positive way.

I think it is a great "cause concept" that businesses might respond well to. It's also a more sustainable option, considering there would be no ongoing insurance, fuel and maintenance costs into perpetuity. It would also allow PEP to focus more on programs/services and less on transportation logistics.

Once this program is set up, it's also an easy fundraiser. As PEP runs out of cards, they simply go to local businesses, perhaps many of the same ones that originally sponsored and communicate the need for more.

No insurance, no gas, no maintenance - (Admittedly a big concern for Nancy)

I spoke to Nancy, the Exec. Director of PEP. She is supportive of it. What do all of you think?

How to peel an egg...without peeling it

I like eating eggs- a great source of lean protein and good cholesterol, but they can be terribly hard to peel without putting 10% in the trash along with the shell. Here's a great vid that shows a whole new approach. Courtesy of Tim Ferriss.

In the Box

I got an email from a buddy a couple days ago that I thought was worth sharing. On one hand I shared his indignation, on the other hand, I found myself reflecting on moments where I've participated in similar conversations- at least in my head.

"The problem with some organizations is so clear if they would only step back and listen. This morning I had the dis-pleasure of sitting next to a sales meeting in a local coffee shop. The four people were all dressed in their white shirt/tie and deep in spread sheets. They were sorting through their territory, making plans, and discussing their various kingdoms. What struck me was the language being used which included "can 'em", "she should be gone", and "I didn't even know he was still there." This is a sad commentary on whatever the organization is. These are the people compensated to grow the business AND sustain the business. I would be willing to take a bet not one of their nameless/faceless reps would be caught saying "this a great place to work" or "I am committed to the organization." On the flip side, one of the criteria for me to move up one level where I toil reads "Makes personal sacrifices to achieve milestones and goals." No comment necessary! I look at these cultures and ask, just like one of the well tailored crew asked about an employee in their database, "i can just hit delete, right?"

I read a great book several months ago that has plagued my thoughts since- Leadership and Self-Deception, by the Arbinger Institute. It talks about "being in the box" and the box is why I can relate to the comments and attitudes of the sales exec's my buddy listened in on. Being " in the box", as described in the book, is being so driven by personal goals, outside expectations, ego, and acheivement, that you fail to see people in your organization as other people with the same hang-ups, ambitions, expectations and pressure as you, but instead as objects...or perhaps more as obstacles.

I consider myself a bit of a culture junkie, having read dozens of books by Blanchard, Collins, Peters, Lencioni and the like. I've also often fantasized with other entrepreneurs about creating a company with an idyllic dual-centric focus on customer and employee satisfaction. Unfortunately, I find myself " in the box" more often than I'd like to admit. It's all too easy to succomb to the demands of running a profitable business or meeting corporate objectives and reduce the people around us to resources or liabilities...

After reading Leadership... it's apparent to me that half the battle is recognizing when we're out of the box, and evangelizing that same awareness throughout our teams and/or organizations. Over time, a culture develops of people seeing eachother as peers with the same dreams, ambitions, and ultimately fears, and something new begins to immerge. Instead of turf wars, grandstanding, gossip and backstabbing, a sense of commeraderie, commitment and passion for common purpose takes over.

I highly recommend the book. Here's the link : Leadership and Self-Deception

Bootstrapping it- Tales of a Small Business Start-Up

I'm a pretty transparent guy- don't have any hangups about talking with people about money and expenses, etc. I've been in the throes of a start up for the last several months, and all my friends know it- it's pretty much all I talk about. Recently a buddy (Paul Shih) said "why don't you blog on this, it'd probably be helpful to others considering a new business."

So here it is, if it's helpful, thank Paul; if it's not, blame Paul.

Let me first begin with some recent surprises. I purchased some signage from a similar business owner in an effort to save money. The signs I bought were L.E.D. lit channel lettered signs- about 2 ft by 13 ft. Retail I'd be looking at around $2800 installed.

So I figure a great offer for a used sign would be $1000. She accepts without much thought, and I hang up thinking I just scored a great deal. I felt great until I called Foress Signs to get a bid to move the signage and re-install at the new office.

Turns out they bill at $115 per hour and they suspect it will take around 7 1/2 hours. Well there's another $862.50. Unfortunately the costs continue to mount. Rules for the shopping center my new office is located at stipulate that the "raceway" (the backing of the sign) matches the color of the building. Too bad, as now the raceway has to be painted- another $270. But unfortunately it still doesn't end there. Above and beyond all of this, I've got to get permits from the City, totalling another $125 or so dollars.

So how much are those signs actually going to cost me? Let's see:

$1000 - great deal for used sign
$862.50- installing great deal
$270- painting the great deal
$125- buying off the City
Total cost:$2257.50

Okay, so still a good deal, maybe not a screamer like I'd planned though. $1200 is a lot of dough when you're starting a small business. Actually it's payroll for one of my part time employees for a month. Ouch.

Stay tuned for another installment.

Cheers

Lily at Wildcat

I like this picture a lot. I did a bit of editing on it- upped the contrast and saturation a bit and sharpened the image. I like the lines that the rubberized ropes add. A fun picture and a cute girl.

Spontaneous Community...a Twitter experience

I'm becoming enamored with Twitter. And yet, now a hundred tweets into it, it leaves me wanting more. Or maybe I just wonder what it could really be good for.

A little over a year ago Rebecca Badger, along with myself and 4 or 5 others started Young Professionals of Corvallis. We're now up to almost 300 "members" and regularly have 50-70 people come to our monthly Happy Hour events. It's been great to see young pros from all over the valley connect- people from a lot of different circles of friends. Unfortunately, it feels like now, all of us have a " young pro's circle of friends" now. Meaning, apart from our monthly events, we largely remain disconnected.

This afternoon, I was heading to the Downward Dog to meet some other young pros and to interview a potential board member. With the steering wheel in one hand, and my LG voyager in the other, I hastily tweeted my destination. Why? I had this utopian vision of one of my followers having some free time and hopping in the car to join us at the pub. Wouldn't it have been an interruption? Of course not, or I wouldn't have tweeted it in the first place. Now no one showed up(besides the ones I'd planned on). But I still dream.

One of the trends I've seen, and it's a result of social media's rise, is people blending their personal and professional lives into just, life. This is new for our generation. (the current 20 somethings) We've gotten tired of the inauthentic rhythm of putting on our work hat and then going home and putting on our family hat. At some level, we like the thought of just being and letting things fall where they may.

I like this trend- I think it leads to more genuine business relationships. In fact, I think we need more of it. In this internet era, we can't stop at simply watching the digital ticker tape of what people are up to and what they're blogging. There's a new opportunity in all this to connect, more often, and in a more unscripted, spontaneous way.

Imagine this, I'm at a young pro's or chamber event. I meet another cool business person and later I start following them on Twitter. A few days later I see them tweet that they're going to see Reefer Madness playing at the Majestic on Friday. Great idea. I get a sitter and take my wife. We run into said business person, I meet his/her spouse and we end up enjoying a nightcap at Magenta after the show. Now all of a sudden, instead of a "business" contact, I have just a contact, or... maybe even a friend.

This could actually play out in Corvallis- we're the perfect community to lead in this new medium. How rich would that be to have that kind of interconnectedness in our community?