A few years ago I undertook the task to certify as an EMT-Basic. This involved taking a semester long class at our local college, many hours of clinicals working in the Emergency Department at a local hospital and riding on ambulances, demonstration of skills and the final National Registry certification test. It was a most fascinating and fun six months.

As I got ready for the class, all my EMS friends clued me in on the instructor, Captain V. “Watch out,” one would warn, “he’s a tough one.” “He’s a great guy, but don’t cross him,” another said. “He knows his stuff and teaches well,” said another. I had a feeling, after hearing all the comments, that he was going to be one of those “tough but fair” leaders I had met in my various careers. I was right.

The class required several weekend class sessions, including the very first weekend. This was right when my wife and I were supposed to go out of town for our anniversary, a trip we’d been planning long before I got the class schedule. Capt. V told us we could email him any time we had questions, so I sent him a quick message after the class schedule was posted asking what we were going to cover that weekend and if it would be OK if I missed it. I was a bit nervous about it, given I wasn’t quite sure how he’d react. Thankfully, that first weekend was devoted to getting CPR certification; something I had. He was very nice about my request, but let me know under no circumstances would he let go any class requirements when it came to test time.

Tough but fair – very good.

Over the next several months I got to know this man a little, talking during class breaks and corresponding via email. Over that time I got to know a little bit about a man who was a dedicated public servant (a Firefighter and Paramedic) and one who taught countless people the skills needed to certify as an EMT. It was his dedication to education which had the biggest impact on the communities in our area.

One person can only do so much alone. Sharing skills and teaching others multiplies the effort many times over. If Capt. V saved the life of one person every day of his career, he could never touch the number of lives he may have indirectly saved through his teaching to tough standards and making sure each of his students clearly understood what was at stake each time they cared for a patient.

I remember one person asked why the class was so tough. His answer was quite simple: “You are going to be caring for patients one day. I will not be responsible for having an unqualified person taking care of people in their time of need.”

He was tough and exacting, but he also exemplified servant leadership in the way he made sure everyone got the help they needed to succeed. He brought in other skilled EMTs and Paramedics to help teach classes and offer insights from their experience. Some of those he brought in were interested in teaching themselves. This was another great opportunity to multiply his lifesaving efforts.

Yes, Capt. V is a great example of a leader – out front and blazing the trail for others to follow.

Last week I saw he posted on Facebook he will be retiring from teaching after 25 years. We owe a great debt of gratitude to this man. If you live in Central Texas, chances are someone in whose life he invested may come to your assistance one day. You’ll be glad he was such a fantastic leader if that happens.

Are the prices too high or is the customer service just too bad?

Best Buy (and many other brick and mortars) often blame online stores like Amazon for their problems. The chief complaint centers on how online stores compete unfairly because they don’t have to collect sales tax.

But is that the real reason? I don’t think so, and neither do many of those I’ve spoken with on the topic this past week. Those conversations were prompted by an article on Forbes.com by Larry Downes, “Why Best Buy is Going out of Business…Gradually.” He puts some numbers with his poor experiences at Best Buy and comes to the conclusion that it’s customer service which really makes the difference – not price.

At the risk of “piling on,” I present two experiences I had with Best Buy this past year which I think prove Mr. Downes’ point quite well:

Experience The First – Buying Mom a New Computer
Whenever I head up to Michigan to visit Mom, I usually get hooked into doing pro forma tech support. I don’t mind, though, because her being online and tech savvy helps us to communicate better. When we were there this Summer, she said it was time replace her outdated desktop. So, we headed over to the local Best Buy to see what we could find.

Mom had a specific budget and certain things she needed her new machine to do. I wanted to get her a powerful enough computer to last a few years from a brand with decent tech support – in case I wasn’t available to help her over the phone.

We walked into the store and straight back to the computer section. Of course, we were immediately approached by a sales person. I explained that I would let him know when we’d made a selection, but that we really didn’t need any help. He hovered around (way too close, I might add) for several minutes.

In the meantime, I pulled out my iPhone and started looking at the models they had on display, checking details, specs and user ratings from various sites. Much the opposite of Best Buy’s complaint that people use them as a showroom then later go purchase from Amazon, I often go to Amazon for ratings because they usually have good ones. I also check NewEgg and search Google and Bing on the model numbers to catch any ratings I might miss. That was when the sales person disappeared.

Once we narrowed down our choices to two, I had a specific question about one of them. Once we hunted down the sales person, he had no idea what I was even asking. More googling came up with the answer and we had our choice. Then we had to hunt the guy down again to get the item so we could pay for it. Of course, we were asked a half-dozen times if we wanted to purchase the extended warranty. After declining the first time, I wished they’d quit asking.

This experience wasn’t too terrible, of course. Pretty typical for Best Buy and many other stores.

Experience The Second – The Missed Pickup
My wife and I recently decided to replace our malfunctioning home theatre unit.  She did most of the research, narrowing the myriad of selections down to two. We decided on one and checked prices online. We found that Best Buy had the best price, beating Amazon – even including the sales tax and $10 in-store pickup delivery charge. (Why is there a delivery charge to pick up an item already at the store? That really puzzled me.)

I ordered the item from Best Buy’s web site and opted for the in-store pickup.

The next day, we went to our local Best Buy to pick up the item and purchase a new HDMI cable. The pick up line is situated next to the returns line, with a shared POC terminal between them. The people working didn’t have my item immediately ready even though I got an email indicating it would be so. No big deal, though, since someone very quickly went to the shelf and grabbed one for us. But, I had to get into the returns line to pay for the HDMI cable. Again, no big deal since they put me ahead of others already in line (which probably didn’t make them happy).

We went home and set up our new sound system. It is very nice. My wife is playing Skyrim right now and the sound is excellent. We are quite happy with the purchase.

The day after I picked up our item, I got an email from Best Buy reminding me to pick up my purchase. I was a little puzzled, but just deleted the email. My initial thought was, “The in-store system hasn’t synced with the main system, yet.”

I got another email the next day, and the next. For ten days, each morning, I received an email reminding me that my purchase was ready for pickup. I remember even tweeting once something like, “@BestBuy, why are you spamming me to pick up an item I already picked up?” I though it rather humorous. The last email warned that if I didn’t pick my item up, they would cancel my order. Cancel? On an order for an item I already picked up? Nonsense!

Oh, but they were serious. The next day I received an email letting me know that my order had been cancelled and my card credited the amount of the purchase. A quick check of my bank account verified that they had, indeed, refunded my money. Now I laughed out loud.

I wanted to let Best Buy know about this so they could get their money; that was only fair. I called the number on my email receipt and hit zero until I got a real person. I explained to the lady I spoke with what happened in detail. She was surprised and said she’d transfer me to the correct department immediately.

I sat on hold for half an hour. After wasting enough of my monthly allotted cell minutes on this, I decided to try to email. After all, this was their error – why should I waste my minutes.

I pulled up my email receipt again and hit reply. I wrote a very detailed message describing what happened and asked them to respond so we could work out how to make this right. After all, I wanted to get them the money they were legitimately due for my purchase.

My message received an auto response:

This is an automated response. Please do not reply to this email.

If you need assistance, please contact our Customer Care, http://www.bestbuy.com/ or call 1-800-BESTBUY.

I hate auto responses like that.

Companies Note: Never bounce an email from a customer telling them you don’t monitor a specific email address. MONITOR ALL EMAIL ADDRESSES you send email from. Don’t waste your customers’ time.

I clicked on the link in the response, which lead to Best Buy’s customer service contact form. I copied the text from my bounced email and pasted into the message box on the form and made sure to enter my order number in the appropriate place. At this point, I was starting to get a little perturbed, having wasted almost an hour trying to give them their money. In the message box I wrote that this was the third and final time I was going to try to contact them regarding this matter. If they wanted their money, they should email or call.

Another auto response was the last message I heard from them:

Best Buy Customer,
This message was automatically generated in an attempt to answer your question as quickly as possible. If you are contacting us to cancel, or modify your BestBuy.com order, please call us at 1-888-BEST BUY. (1-888-237-8289)
Thank You.
Best Buy Customer Care

I didn’t want to cancel or modify my order, and I certainly didn’t want to spend another 30-plus minutes on hold.

It’s been nearly a month since this transpired and I still haven’t heard anything. Those I have related this story to feel I did more than most people would have to get them their money and that I should consider the home theatre unit a Christmas gift. Perhaps they are right.

The Bottom Line
There have been many surveys done in the past several years where consumers have indicated they’d be willing to pay extra for better customer service (examples here, here and here), and many people willingly pay a little extra for more service than standard offerings. I’ve experienced exceptional customer service for which I probably payed a little more on several occasions. I didn’t mind a bit.

I’m really very surprised Best Buy didn’t beat a path to my door to collect their money. If they had at least acknowledged my efforts to contact them I would be telling quite a different story here. Instead, I’m commenting on an article which offers up what I think is an apt analysis of Best Buy’s self-inflicted woes based on my own experience with them.

I wonder if their leadership will take notice and try to change course. If they don’t I suspect it won’t be too long before they meet a similar fate as so many of their former competitors.

What say you? What do you think about Mr. Downes’ take on Best Buy’s situation? What do you think about my experiences with them? Do you think I did enough due diligence in trying to right their error? Please feel free to tell us what you think in the comments.

Oh, and Best Buy: If you do decide you want your money please give me a call or email me. You have my contact information.

Lastly: Just as I was finishing this up, I caught a response to the Forbes.com story by Best Buy CEO Brian Dunn on their blog. Check out the comments, too.

First Picture: photo credit: pat00139

Second Picture: photo credit: tsaarni

Lieutenant General Claudia J. Kennedy

I learned of this book, Generally Speaking published in 2001, from a veterans group on Facebook. The banter going back and forth centered more on General Kennedy’s comments about her commander and others in a unit in Augsburg, Germany during the 80s. I was there at the same time and knew of (then) Lieutenant Colonel Kennedy, so I decided to get the Kindle edition and read it for myself.

What I found was the story of a woman who started a military career in the Women’s Army Corps during the Vietnam Conflict and went on to retire 32 years later as a Lieutenant General – the first woman to achieve that rank in the Army. It is a very interesting book about how her life in many ways matched the societal changes going on both in military and civilian life. If you’re interested in history centered on women in the military and in business, you will certainly want to read this one.

Interspersed throughout the book, too, are some great leadership nuggets which I want to highlight here. They apply just as much to business leadership as to military leadership. For instance:

Regarding Mentoring

The most fortunate path for any aspiring leader to follow is to be consistently mentored by the junior and senior leaders in her or his organization … . For the process to work, of course, the person being mentored has to set aside arrogance, be willing to learn, and be receptive, especially when it involves people who are junior in rank. It is essential for leaders to realize that they are always works in progress … even as they reach senior positions. Once a person decides she is complete, she is announcing her growth is ended and her potential is fulfilled. This signals to everyone the end of her progress in that field.

The need to learn is constant and continuous. The need to mentor and be mentored really never ends because so long as one is active in the world (or in business or whatever) the need to learn never ceases.

Mentoring, however, should never be used as a crutch or to get by through the “Old Boy Network,” rather it is a teaching and training tool. Each person needs to be responsible for his or her own career:

No one should depend on [anyone else] to reach down and pull them up the career ladder. Army officers or civilian executives must achieve power on their own merit, seeking the requisite professional training that entails, and undertaking the assignments that provide the best experience to accumulate leadership skills.

You need to take responsibility for yourself

Regarding Learning From Those “Lower” in Position

When faced with tough problems, young executives in the civilian workplace with degrees from prestigious business schools might do well to forget about their MBAs and seek advice among their organization’s equivalents of Betty Benson, whom they can find on the shop floor or among the anonymous line engineers’ cubicles.

You can always learn something from people with more experience. It does well for leaders to remember they don’t learn everything in school – some knowledge just comes with experience. In other words: don’t be like Lieutenant Jones and take too long to learn this lesson, there are some very experienced people you can learn from and you might be surprised who they are.

When faced with coming into a new situation, one thing I was taught which served me well was never to change anything for the first several weeks of taking on a new leadership position. A wiser move was to observe and learn how things are done, and them make changes as necessary. The old saying “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” applies. Many times, though, people feel a need to make their mark early and make sweeping changes right away. This often turns out to be a disservice to themselves and the people they are leading.

Meeting with my company commanders and their first sergeants, and the battalion staff, [note: and later with the people doing the actual work] I posed three basic questions: What were we doing well? What were we doing badly? What did they want me, the new commander, to not screw up by changing?

There’s a great lesson here.

Regarding Servant Leadership

From this and other effective units the panel visited, four characteristics necessary for the exercise of good leadership emerged:

• Good leaders set standards for the members of their organizations.
• Good leaders exemplified through their personal conduct adherence to those standards.
• Good leaders enforced and maintained those standards for the other members of the organization.
• Good leaders demonstrated genuine care for the concerns of their solders, no matter their rank, race or gender.

These four elements pretty much comprise the idea of the Servant Leader, something which I’ve written about numerous times in this space.

You might find it surprising that military leaders learn from many different places, not just from other military sources. For example, under Army Chief of Staff General Dennis Reimer:

… he told us to study the leadership ideas of … Coach Lou Holtz, who believed there are three critical questions any two people ask in a relationship … :

Can I trust you?
Do you care about me?
Are you committed to excellence?

With an effective leader or coach, the answer was demonstrably “yes.”

I recently wrote about leaders who felt they were “entitled” to special privileges (also linked above). The servant leader does not go this route:

Maintaining the trust and respect of those who serve with you is a dynamic and often difficult process. Some people actually believe becoming a leader entitles you to work less and instead draw upon the energy and production of the people assigned to your organization. In fact, the reverse is true.

Leaders need to understand this quote or their efforts will be mediocre leaders at best.

Again, students of military history, especially that which relates to women in the service or Military Intelligence will find this book very interesting. Those looking for good leadership lessons should also read it.

Finally, I think Lieutenant General Kennedy would agree with me that military intelligence vets would make excellent web marketers – or excellent team members in general.

Generally Speaking: A Memoir by the First Woman Promoted to Three-Star General in the United States Army by Claudia J. Kennedy

All links to the book are Amazon Affiliate Links

Cover Shot of "Read This Before Our Next Meeting"

I hate meetings. Or, rather, I hate what meetings do to productivity. Most meetings are set up to gather facts and data in order to analyze a problem ad nauseum. The worst meetings are those which are held “just because.” When I was in the Army, we had those meetings all the time. Meetings were often used to postpone decisions, as a tool to let the boss show he or she was “boss,” or create an atmosphere which makes everyone look busy when there’s no real work going on.

But it doesn’t have to be that way.

Boss: Hello, Kevin, are you coming to the meeting I scheduled today?

Kevin: No. I’m trying to wrap up a project I’m working on.

Boss: But I have some information to share with the group.

Kevin: Is John there?

Boss: Yes, he is.

Kevin: Good. If you have anything important to say, he’ll let me know.

In one unit I was part of early in my career, the First Sergeant would have each platoon sergeant and their subordinate squad leaders in his office every morning in order to go over the schedule and tell them what to do. Every day, except Monday which was always Motor Pool day, we would sit in our office and wait for the meeting to finish and someone to come tell us what to do. It was a ridiculous waste of time.

Then, in came the new First Sergeant. On his first day at work, all the usual suspects started filing into his office for the morning meeting. He yelled at them: “Get out of here! If you want to know what to do, read the schedule! It’s posted out in the hallway where it’s always been! If you can’t figure that out, let me know and I’ll find someone who can!” A new era had begun.

Meetings are so ingrained in our culture that some of us may have trouble accepting what Al Pittampalli calls “The Modern Meeting Standard” in Read This Before Our Next Meeting. In his reasoning, a meeting is called only when a decision has already been made in order to either resolve a conflict or to foster complex coordination (which means beyond that which can be done via memo). In this new paradigm, what can be communicated via memo will be – and everyone is required to read memos.

According to Pittampalli, the Modern Meeting …

• … starts on time, moves fast and ends on schedule
• … limits the number of attendees
• … rejects the unprepared
• … produces committed action plans
• … refuses to be informational. Reading memos is mandatory
• … works only alongside a culture of brainstorming.

Brainstorming is different than a “meeting.”

The main goal in changing how we do meetings is to quit wasting time and get to doing more productive work. Can you abandon the old ways of meeting and try a new thing? Check out Read This Before Our Next Meeting by Al Pittampalli and see if you agree The Modern Meeting Standard is the way to go. Like many other Domino Project works, it’s a quick read, goes straight to the point and doesn’t waste any time – just like the Modern Meeting it describes.

I received a copy of this book free from GoToMeeting by Citrix, however it is my honest opinion of the work.

All links to the book are Amazon Affiliate links.

I recently wrote a piece directed at marketers reminding them that it is important to keep their IT folks in the loop all the time. This is important so they can get the best advice, counsel and work the IT folks can offer. It’s a topic I talk and write about quite often.

As is usually the case, there is another side to the coin. The IT folks have to be willing to communicate as well.

As in any relationship, the one between Marketing and IT is a two-way street. Each side has to be willing to work with the other and offer the best they have to the relationship. Each side has abilities and strengths the other lacks. By combining skills, knowledge and efforts, the entire organization benefits.

It goes without saying that Marketing and IT have different missions within an organization. But, where those missions overlap, it is in each groups’ best interest to cooperate for the good of everyone. Sometimes this involves compromise and sacrifice. Isn’t that true in any relationship?

Here’s my challenge to my IT counterparts in 2012: Reach out to your Marketing colleagues and try to find meaningful ways you can help them succeed. Look at their business objectives and see if you can find ways to help meet them. Not only will you learn more and expand your horizons, you will help the whole business do better. And that, my friends, is what it’s all about.

What say you? Are you in a corporate IT group and have a good relationship with your Marketing counterparts? What kinds of things help the relationship? Please feel free to share any tips in the comments.

photo credit: mikecogh

I’ve rarely been one to merely go along with the crowd. I’ve always been one to prefer staying on the fringe and going to the beat of my own drummer. When I was in high school, I was part of a very close-knit group of ten or so people who really didn’t fit into any other group. We weren’t “jocks” (although the captain of the cross country team hung out with us), we weren’t “brainiacs” (although several of us were honor students). We weren’t “burn-outs,” “punks,” “freaks” nor “straights.” We called ourselves “The Group That Doesn’t Fit Into Other Groups.” Ron’s dad called us the “Motley Crew” even before the band with the similar name became popular. According to Seth Godin, we were weird.

We didn’t mind that we didn’t quite fit in to the main groups. We were all quite content being ourselves and doing what we thought was right. Though this sometimes brought us into conflict with the “normal” kids, we didn’t really bother trying to fit in because we didn’t find it important.

In We Are All Weird, Godin lays out the case that in our current society, we can and should celebrate our differences. He contends that for everyone to be “normal” we all need to bend to some form of structural “middle.” While this is certainly advantageous to mass marketers and those who like things to scale into large numbers, it really doesn’t fit with who and what most of us are.

We Are All Weird focuses on four words and how life in these times is redefining what they mean to us:

• Mass – easy to reach and what some people look to be to conform and survive
• Normal – what we call people in the “middle.” What is “normal” can change from one people group to another
• Weird – people who aren’t normal, whether by nature or by choice
• Rich – someone who can afford to make choices. This doesn’t necessarily mean “wealthy” in a property sense, rather it means that someone has the flexibility and courage to choose how to live.

I didn’t come by my present career position in the “normal” way; I’m a “hybrid” or a “zig-zagger.” After a career in the Army, I started doing web marketing by starting a web site. I learned by doing it, making success and mistakes along the way and learning from them. I sought out those smarter than me, those who had more experience and learned from them. Eventually, I got to the point where people started seeking me out for knowledge.

Have you ever felt like you didn’t fit in? Have you ever felt “weird?” You’re not alone. Celebrate your different-ness. Be who you were made to be. Don’t conform for conformity’s sake. To me, this is what diversity is really all about. Live and let live. Without people having different ideas, thought processes and perspectives we become stagnant. We need fresh ideas and new approaches to solving old problems. This is where being weird can really help.

The Internet has revolutionized how we communicate. It shrinks time and distance so that someone who is weird in one place can find community by connecting with like-minded people anywhere on Earth. Some find that very idea too weird to even comprehend. It’s OK, because I think that’s weird – but perfectly valid.

At my last high school reunion, my friend Roxanne came up to me and asked, “You were always such a nonconformist in school. How did you manage to last as long as you did in the Army? That’s like like the most conformist place I can think of.” My answer: “It’s because I was in the part of the Army where nonconformists fit in.” As strange as that may sound, it’s true.

Seth Godin (c) Bodoni Design

The big lesson for marketers? Don’t always look to go for “mass” in your message. Find out how your product or service can help those smaller groups. Figure out how you can help those smaller groups solve problems. Not only will you be able to work with them, they will help evangelize your product to their tribes.

If anything I wrote here resonates with you, I think you will enjoy We Are All Weird. While the book does encapsulate a lot of ideas Seth has presented on his blog and in other books, it’s put together in such a way that it provokes deep thought. It certainly got me thinking. Like his other books, this one is put together in an easy-to-read format with ideas set in nice, bite-sized chunks.

We Are All Weird by Seth Godin.

Disclaimers: I received a pre-release gallery version of the book provided to me at no charge. This is, still, my honest opinion of the work. All title links are Amazon Affiliate links.

I recently had a great chat with a younger person who was looking for advice about opportunities which had presented themselves. It was great to talk to someone with great passion about what they do and where they want their career to go. I was also quite flattered I was asked for wise counsel.

It also reminded me of the importance of the Mentor/Peer/Mentor relationship and how that can fit into our professional (and personal) life.

You Need A Mentor
Let’s face it: none of us are perfect. As much as we’d like to think we know everything and are wise beyond our years, the truth is we don’t and we should constantly be looking for opportunities to learn. This is where a mentor comes in. Find someone who knows more about your business and business in general and ask them to be your mentor. If they are a servant leader, all the better. This person should be someone who’s willing to ask you tough questions and challenge you in various areas. Schedule a time once a month or so to buy them lunch and chat about what’s going on.

You Need Peers
Friends are very important. Spending time with those whom we have things in common is not only enjoyable, it’s necessary. We need people we can laugh with, cry with, and blow off steam to. Find friends who challenge you intellectually and otherwise. This group should also include those who are willing to hurt your feelings for your own good.

You Need To Mentor Someone Else
A true servant leader is one who makes sure those he or she leads are equipped to succeed at the job they’re in now, and also the job they will move to next. While it’s true you don’t know everything, you know more than some. Be willing to mentor others and pay it forward. There are many young, hungry minds out there who need to learn what you already know. Also, one of the biggest challenges in any business is succession. Spend time developing the leaders who will be in charge when you retire. Don’t wait – start doing this now!

You may already have these three groups in your life. If you do, that’s great! If you don’t, however, start making plans to get these people into your life soon. Everyone benefits when we have mentors, peers and “mentees” in our lives.

I had Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” (Amazon affiliate link) as my ear worm today – the title of this post is inspired by it.

This past Thursday’s PubCon keynote was a panel discussion between Topher Konan (CNN.com’s SEO Coordinator), Jeff Preston (SEO Manager for Disney) and Alex Bennert (In-House SEO for the Wall Street Journal). It was quite a lively talk about different issues facing in-house SEOs in large organizations.

One stand out comment was Jeff’s mention that everyone involved in the web efforts need to be at every meeting. His comment was very well received by the people in attendance. I was certainly glad to hear him say it, as that idea is something very important to me. It’s something which I stressed during my In-House SEO presentation on Tuesday. In the context of my talk, it was about the importance of marketers being constantly in touch with their IT counterparts.

What I said was something  like …

“If you treat your IT folks as an afterthought, guess what? They’ll treat you as an afterthought.”

Constant and consistent communication is important for several reasons:

• It helps maintain lines of communication which can otherwise get lost
• It helps build those relationships needed for smooth cooperation
• Both sides of the team learn from each other
• Both sides of the team learn each other’s abilities, strengths and weaknesses
• It makes working life just that much more pleasant

Remember that web marketing success means success for the entire organization. Although you may not see the need to communicate across departments on a consistent basis, that need is there. Keep in contact, even when you don’t feel like it. Make time to talk to those who have a hand in all pieces of your web marketing strategy, no matter how small their role may be. In the long run, everyone wins when you do.

Oh, and this applies to outside contractors, too!

Today I had the privilege of standing with current and former members of the 3rd Cavalry Regiment as they rededicated the memorial to fallen Troopers who gave their lives during the Regiment’s four deployments to Iraq over the past several years. As a former member of this storied unit, I was honored to stand among them and pay my respects.

The 16 men remembered today are not famous. They are not household names. They may never have streets or buildings named after them. Nevertheless they are heroes, each of them.

Standing there today brought to me a stark reminder that the freedom and liberty we enjoy in the United States are not free. They have been bought, and continue to be paid for, with the lives of those who volunteer to stand in defense of our great nation. Regardless of your political leanings or how you stand in regards to the wars we are currently fighting, those men and women who serve in our Armed Forces are out there so you can have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

A week from today is Veterans Day. I hope you will take time to remember those who gave of themselves and stood in the gap for you and I.

Once again, PubCon is upon us. This time next week I and two of my colleague will be winging our way to Las Vegas for this excellent web marketing event. It’s going to be a busy time of learning and exchanging ideas.

If you’re a Crossing reader and will be at PubCon, I would love to meet you. If you see me wandering the hallways or in a session, please stop and introduce yourself. Here’s my partial tentative agenda:

Monday

• I’ll be at the kickoff event at 5:30pm. This is a great time to meet new people in a social setting.

Tuesday

• I will be presenting as part of the In-House Team Building and Training session at 2:55 in Salon D. This will be a great panel with some luminaries in this area: Tony Adam, Peter Leshaw and Josh Gampel.
• In the evening I’ll be playing in the Raven Tools poker tournament. Thankfully this is just for “funsies” because I am not that great of a poker player

Wednesday

• After all the day’s festivities, I’ll be participating in the Epic Dinner organized by Alan Bleiweiss.

Thursday

• From 2pm until 3pm I’ll be sitting in on PubCon Labs. This is a new feature of PubCon which I think will be a huge hit. Session speakers will be at a table and will sit down with you and answer your questions. Reservations are going fast. I’m scheduled to cover Beginning SEO, but I don’t think anyone would mind if you wanted to talk about In-House issues or anything else web marketing.
• From my Labs session, I’ll be rushing over to Salon G to moderate a session entitled Engaging Your Community and Audience Through Contests with Matt Craine and Lisa Buyer
• Fest Call! At 7pm we’ll be having an informal and unofficial meetup at the Hofbrauhaus. Anyone is welcome to attend, but I’d especially like to invite Veterans of the Armed Services to come out and tell lies and talk web marketing.

Instead of posting a long summary of the sessions I attend at the end of the day, I’m going to try posting summaries of each session individually. I think this will be more efficient for me and easier to read for you.

What say you? Are you headed to PubCon next week? What do you hope to learn? Please feel free to share in the comments.