Interconnectivity

When I arrived in Hong Kong in December 1989, I had no idea I would end up living there for 10-years let alone know what different turns and twists my life would take professionally and personally.  Looking back, I see that everything fell into place.  Maybe it wasn't always on my timing, but sometimes it fit more perfectly than I could ever imagine.  My very first job in Asia was for an editorial and PR consultancy.  I was hired because I knew a bit about computers from my most recent job at Andersen Consulting in Minneapolis, MN.  The editorial job would lead me to Ogilvy & Mather writing press releases for the launch of Asia's first broadcast satellite, AsiaSat I. A year later, I was hired at STAR TV as its first marketer for a 24-hour cable and satellite delivered sports channel - and from what satellite did we broadcast?  AsiaSat I!  The ten years in Asia were spent marketing sports, hollywood movies from MGM, classic movies on TCM and animated programs from Cartoon Network.  Things just seemed to flow into each other once I was established in television marketing in Asia.  My move back to the US had a technology theme as I went from agency work to Yahoo! and Mediazone in international marketing.  Every single job or project I obtained was based on a relationship.  Even the one VP position was through a recruiter I knew personally.  Two years ago, I established my own business, Immerse International.  I wanted more continuity and control over my career and it was important that I add value and do things the right way on behalf of my clients, but also for my own pride and integrity.  I started with a part time marketing consulting role through a friend from my outrigger canoe team.  It was with a corporate furnished apartment building, Nob Hill Tower, that previously had a full time marketer.  Through this engagement, I added value by putting in place systems and using technology along with my marketing experience.   By being flexible and versatile, I was offered the opportunity to assist with other residential properties which have now grown from four to 25 properties.  Then, as I worked with property management software, I was invited to participate in a user group which led to a client engagement at On-Site.com as a product manager for the On-Site marketing suite, something I was passionate about and immersed in with the Prado Group.  My need to get things right worked on my behalf because I could use my insights from day to day operations and performance to help further develop products.  But On-Site needed help with CRM implementation, something I was very familiar with.  By the way, did I tell you about my friend Sheila at White Space, who does some design work for me at Prado and now works for the Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation? Recently, she told me they could use some help with their non-profit version of Salesforce.com.  I am now doing some Salesforce.com consulting work for them.  Get how the connections work?

My point is, treasure every relationship and build integrity into all that you do.  If you say you are going to do something, then do it.  Try not to over commit because that does no one any good.  It's more important to get it right and perform to a high standard.  I learned to be strategic about what I do but most importantly, take time to build relationships along the way.  It's not about technology or systems or products, it's about people and how they deal with change and each other.  Life is a whole series of interconnectivities largely based upon the people that come into our lives and how we react to these situations.  Cherish each one and live in the moment!

From Wikipedia:

Interconnectivity is a concept that is used in numerous fields such as cybernetics, biology, ecology, network theory, and non-linear dynamics. The concept can be summarized as that all parts of a system interact with and rely on one another simply by the fact that they occupy the same system, and that a system is difficult or sometimes impossible to analyze through its individual parts considered alone. The concept is closely linked to the Observer effect and the butterfly effect.^[1] It is often linked to the concepts of interconnectedness which is used to refer to the spiritual, and interdependence which refers to the moral, rather than physical or scientific.

Salesforce.com Implementation & Administration

The past few months have been very exciting as I immersed myself in some strategic initiatives at a cloud-based lead to lease company based in Mountainview, California.  With 100 employees, the company was at an interesting juncture wherein they decided to put in a place a CRM system, phone system and new contact center. I led the review process for CRM systems and the company chose Salesforce.com for both Sales & Service Clouds. We are currently in the midst of the Sales implementation including the new "Chatter" feature.  Developing process flow charts and organizational charts have been critical in defining operations prior to configuring the Salesforce.com platform.  The team is very motivated and engaged so adoption has not been an issue.  The Service Cloud will be the next and more complex phase of the project as it also involves a contact center, phone system and integration with Salesforce.com.  The company leadership clearly understands that in order to scale the business and grow, more sophisticated systems need to be implemented across the organization.

Website Project Complete

Just completed a large project, launching eight new websites for a property management company called Prado Group Properties.  It was a large-scale project and started with domain name selection and registration, then setting up all email accounts for eight resident managers.  I used an on-line application called "Rental Address" to build custom sites for each community which included automated marketing activities and leasing operations for residents.  Throughout the process, I documented areas for improvement and future product development on behalf of my client.  Particular attention was paid to using images and write-ups about the neighborhoods to give some brand personality to the sites and community.  The functionality included not only lead generation and sophisticated reporting of contact forms and phone calls, but also on line applications and maintenance requests.  There is also a tool called "On-Site" which enables renters to get credit and background checks as part of their screening, greatly streamlining the process and using on line capabilities.  Click here to check out the sites!

Data Driven Decision Making

I've recently been engaged with a number of property management companies managing a wide range of marketing activities.  One of the skill sets I bring to the table is the ability to put in place a marketing infrastructure that streamlines operations while offering consolidated reporting of website and lead generation statistics.  Armed with this data, decisions can be made with regard to advertising spend and placement, the targeting of various customer segments and modification of website content.  When multiple parties are involved in managing properties, everyone brings a different perspective to the table which can be positive and many times, sparks lively discussion.  However, without data, sometimes discussions are controlled more by personalities or seniority and are not necessarily a good analysis of lead generation statistics, on-line advertising efficiencies and the behavior of users on your website.  With the advent of social media, monitoring what consumers are saying about your building as well as distributing your vacancies or messages which differentiate your property are becoming more commonplace.  The number of Facebook users now outnumbers those using email.  This alone is a reason to get up to speed and perhaps become engaged in this tremendous phenomenon.  It's important to have an overall strategy that includes social media which means establishing success metrics and allocating resources, the same discipline used for more conventional media.

Story Telling & Marketing

I recently submitted an article to the Sierra Club about the sport of outrigger canoeing.  Stories are a great way to engage your customers, clients or members.  When you tell your story, you become passionate in the delivery of the topic and this compels the reader or viewer to connect with you and in some cases to want to know more.  Here is my story about my involvement with outrigger canoeing.

In Kona Hawaii with loaned OC1 - my Hurricane in San Francisco is green!

Outrigger Canoeing - My Story

There was a chill in the air as I hoisted my outrigger canoe over my shoulder to begin the short trek across Crissy Field.  Today was different as the muddy puddles that  usually oozed between my toes, now crunched under my feet.  It was ice!  I chuckled to myself out loud and reminded myself I was in San Francisco, not Minnesota but somehow I knew, this morning, this moment, I was in the right place.

San Francisco Bay was calm as I carefully slid onto the seat of my newly waxed emerald green Hurricane outrigger canoe.  The sun was just creeping up over the horizon as I squeezed the pedal to direct my boat toward Golden Gate Bridge.  The Sea lions were very active and gave me a comforting feeling as they greeted me.  My team mate and friend, Dary, once told me that all of them are named “Bobo”.  Keeps things simple.  And it feels like there’s a personal connection every time I meet “Bobo” in the water.  A pelican, let’s call him Edgar, in his gangly and awkward style, made a spectacular dive for his morning breakfast.  While above, high in clouds, the graceful Jonathan Livingston Seagull hovered as he prepared to break the Seagull world speed record.

My body started to warm up and my mind went into auto pilot as I had programmed myself to repeat the many training tips from my well-meaning coaches and colleagues.  They echoed in my head, appeared in my dreams, and sometimes the occasional nightmare if my Filipino coach, Omar, was in an overly enthusiastic mood that week.  “Reach forward with your right arm, make sure your hand touches the water, get closer to the blade, drop your shoulder, catch at the top of the stroke, release early, keep it up front, slow down the pace, accelerate in the water and... breath.  Always breath. 

Well, this particular morning knew I was breathing because I could see my breath, as well as that of Edgar, Bobo and Jonathan!  We weren’t alone.  There were other humans on the water this crisp morning.  The familiar 1-person rower cruised by on the flat water.  A stand up board paddler seemed to be struggling to get back to the beach.  No, I wasn’t the only crazy one out here in 31 degree temperature.

I got hooked on this sport after paddling recreationally in Kona, Hawaii with the early morning paddlers at the Keauhou Canoe Club.  When I relocated back to San Francisco in December of 2007, I was searching for something but not sure what it was. Perhaps I missed the competition and the camaraderie that I experienced participating in sports in high school and college or those encounters with nature on those family camping and ski trips.  One day I was browsing through Sports Basement and happened to ask one of the staff if he knew if there was an outrigger canoe club in San Francisco.  His name was Jon Sadama and turns out he was the assistant coach.  I joined a week later and was swept up by the weekly races, competing in the Novice category.  A season progressed and our six-man team continued to win every race.  We finished the season as the undefeated Novice Men’s team from the San Francisco Outrigger Canoe Club.  I was hooked.  As Uncle Phil, the team manager and president, became more confident that a novice like me wasn’t going to smash up an OC1 (1-man) canoe during practice, I started to take a liking to to a particular Hurricane canoe.  One day, we took a trip around Angel Island and as I clung closely to the shore while following a boat in front of me, I heard a scrape and a thump.  Only when I had returned to Crissy Field did I realize I couldn’t lift my boat.  It was filled with water.  I had punctured a hole in the Hurricane.

Through what I can only describe as a miracle, Uncle Phil called me one day and asked if I wanted to “take over” the green Hurricane.  Basically, purchase the boat that I had damaged.  Since I had already gotten to work on the fiberglass repair, my project expanded to painting, adding a new water bottle holder, purchasing a new seat and gluing in rubber foot pads.  I made the foot pads from an old inner tube after a day-long quest to various tire companies throughout the city.  I learned that no one makes inner tubes anymore!  I bonded with my green Hurricane and we have been inseparable ever since.

Lately, I’ve been training with my friend Sue.  She recently tried out and made the Canadian National Team for the World Sprint Championships which will be in Tahiti in 2010.  Unlike Sue, I don’t show up with a computer print out of my workout or any kind of agenda.   One day, I started referring to her as “Team Canada” as if there were an entire team showing up for our two person practice.  I soon named myself “Team Icelandia”.   I need to explain that the Icelandia team workouts are a little less formal than Team Canada.  A common workout is “heading out to da iceberg and making a few laps around dat der iceberg”.  I’ve never heard an Icelandic accent, but I figured it was something like what I’ve heard in Northern Minnesota when one hears Norwegian Sven and Olie jokes.  

All joking aside, this sport has become my outlet to stay fit and healthy while challenging myself mentally and physically.  It’s also been a means to connect with nature.  Out on the Bay or in the midst of the ocean on a small fiberglass plank with only a paddle to transport with, one realizes how insignificant humankind is compared to our planet and its forces of nature.  What if we lost the opportunity to experience this? 

My outrigger story continues to evolve and somehow, it remains entangled with other aspects of my life.  Relationships, ambition, contemplation and spirit all are somehow engaged.  Everyone I come across who is involved with this sport has their own story to tell.   Most have some connection to Hawaiian or Polynesian culture.  A love of nature, particularly water, is also a given. Some paddlers have an innate competitive spirit while others enjoy the exploration or contemplative aspect of the sport.  Unlike kayaking or lake canoeing, these outrigger vessels are easy to capsize (we call it a Huli) and take a certain amount of skill to navigate waves and currents.  It’s not for everyone.  Outrigger paddlers thrive on challenging themselves, on facing extreme conditions like paddling after dark in the Bay with the wind howling and waves crashing or stroking for hours and hours in the hot sun to test one’s endurance and limits.  I call it passion.  It gets us through the tough times and offers a place to celebrate the good times.  It transcends us to a higher place.

Written by:

Michael Richter

Michael is a digital media/marketing specialist with Immerse International.  He is a member of the San Francisco Outrigger Canoe Club.