Help Cliff win a contest and he'll make up a song for you

Hey friends. If you help me win a social media contest at work, I will write a customized song just for you, record it, and post it to Youtube, making you famous beyond your wildest dreams.

Here's the dealio. 

Step 1:  Visit my Twitter page or my Facebook page and look for a post that says something like, "Interact with this post in any way & Cliff will make you a customized Youtube song."

Step 2: Interact! You can retweet, repost, "like", make comment--whatever. I get a point for every interaction.

Step 3: Sit back and wait for your song.


Here's the backstory:

The Garrigan Lyman Group (where I work) is producing a webcast on our success with a social media campaign we did for Babolat when international tennis superstar Li Na retired. FYI, I worked on this campaign and even came up with the little hand sign! I know! Pretty fancy, right?

Anyway, we're having a contest at work--Whoever can get the most social media interactions (shares, retweets, comments, reposts, etc.) involving this webcast will win a prize. Do I know what the prize is? Nope. But I sure like winning contests.

And, if you have a little time and interest, check out the webcast Tuesday, November 18, 2014, 10:30am PST / 1:30pm EST. http://glg.xyz/1GQqsBr

Here's the first video I made, for my lovely bride, Jill:

Episode 4: Dr. Thaddeus T. Punmeister goes head to head with Watson

Less than 80 minutes away to the party...let's keep the good times rolling.

To which I replied:

Scott Hurst had this to say:

Dr. Punmeister responds:

Deb Hoffman chimed in:

Dr. Punmeister had a quick response:

Finally, we've been working with IBM Watson so much, he wanted to help me out with the video. Way to go, Watson!

Here's the text, in case you can't understand him.

You have to see Sneh’s’s costume…it’s a UXer’s dream come true. But be careful…she might be an Axure murderer. Axure? Get it? You know.. that program UXers use? Ha. Ha. Ha.

Scott Scheff is Plaid Man. I couldn’t figure it out at first and I was TARTAN to get worried. TARTAN to get worried. Tartan. Ha ha ha ha ha.

Hope to see you all at 3pm. And If I don’t see you in person, I know you will be here in spirit. Spirit! Halloween! Ha ha ha ha ha.

Episode 3: Dr. Thaddeus T. Punmeister checks out some more costumes

More Costumes at the Garrigan Lyman Group

Halloween at GLG is going great this year. I've seen a lot of great costumes. But first, I'm going to answer some mail. And then, I'm going to answer some FEmails. Ha!

Here's the first half of an email I received from Carmela:

But it was the second part of her NOTE that really settled the SCORE:

Good times.

Freelance designer Jillian Poppe had this to say:

It helps to know that Jillian is sporting a sweet "Wayne Cambell from 'Wayne's World'" costume.

Jillian, I just want you to know that your message filled my heart with rhapsody...BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY, that is. HA!

Here's some more GLG costume updates:

Episode 2: Dr. Thaddeus T. Punmeister answers some mail

Wow! The response to the first episode of the blog has been amazing. Almost three people have written in. Let's go to the mail bag...or (since it's Halloween), the mail HAG. Get it? Because hag is another word for witch. HA! Hilarious!

Here's a note from Richard Merz.

To which I responded:

Get it? MERZY. HA! Hilarious!

Deb Hoffman wrote in from Colorado (Let me tell you...when I got her letter, I was feeling MILE HIGH! Because of Denver...HA!) This is what she had to say after watching my first video:

To which I responded:

Anyhoo, here's another costume update:

Dr. Thaddeus T. Punmeister: Episode 1

Happy Halloween, GLG

Dr. Thaddeus T. Punmeister can't wait to party with all you heroes and villains today. See you on the third floor...or if you're a pig, I'll see you on the third BOAR.

Get it? Boar rhymes with floor.

HILARIOUS!

Don't worry. There's a LOT more where that came from.

Life happens around the corners

Richard Sherman: Life coach or Life wizard?

Even when I'm in charge, I sometimes feel like my life isn't going like I planned it. When this happens, I'm reminded of the words of one spirited athlete, Dick Sherman:

"I'm the best corner in the game. When you try me with a sorry receiver like Crabtree, that's the result you gonna get. Don't you ever talk about me."

But what if Sherman wasn't really talking about Crabtree? What if this whole Sherman-Crabtree Scenario™ was just a metaphor for a brand new way to look at life? Think I'm nuts? Let's break down that quote and then we'll see who's nuts.

"I'm..."
Solid start. Declarative. Way to put yourself out there.

"...the best corner..."
Which is the best corner? It's gotta be a right angle, right? And what's the best thing about right angles? They have two sides. Like every story (You can already tell that your mind's about to get blown, can't you/?)

"...in the game."
Sure, Sherman could have been talking about NFL football. But some philosophers have suggested that football might actually be a metaphor for life. Sound crazy? Think about it: in a football game, the players walk on grass; in life, you sometimes walk on grass. In a football game, there are four quarters; in life, you sometimes might find four quarters in your pocket. In a football game, the players play football; in life, you sometimes watch football. I literally could go on forever.

"When you try me with a sorry receiver like Crabtree, that's the result you're going to get."
Classic Sherman! Slipping in that word 'try'! That rascal! I think we all remember the sage advice from an elderly green actor by the name of Tom Hanks shouting: "Do or do not! There is no trying in baseball." Or something like that. What was Crabtree's biggest mistake? He tried Richard Sherman. If he had only done or done not, maybe the game (and by game I mean life) may have come out different.

"Don't you ever talk about me."
Richard took it to the next level with this one. In the few moments that followed Sherman's comments, pundits took his advice. "If Richard Sherman doesn't want people to talk about him, then maybe we ought to honor that request," they collectively thought. But this is just another enigma wrapped in a riddle wrapped inside four other enigmas. Sherman knew that no matter how hard we tried to not talk about him, we would fail.

Once again, though, the key word is try. And, as we've learned before, if you try, you're going to fail. Do or do not--that's the key, right? So, instead, the world did not didn't ever talk about him. And I think, in the process, we all learned a valuable lesson. About football. Which, if you try, you'll see is a great metaphor for life. And yes, that was a test.

An unforeseen departure

It is with much sadness that I must report that Google Chrome quit unexpectedly. Please refer to Saph Aree or Firef Haux for your Internet needs during this transition. Thank you.

Well, they came back.

Well, the leadership team returned after all. I'll be returning to my regular role. And to all of you, I say thanks.

Thanks to everyone who kowtowed to my every wish. Thanks to everyone who made their own dreams come true. Thanks to Katie Miller, who finally achieved her goal of becoming GLG's Supreme Dark Overlord and Magnate Over Every Cutie-Patootie-Iddy-Biddy Kitty Cat at the final hour. Thanks (and congratulations) to everyone who earned their new title.

It's weird how your whole life can fit in one box.

Sing us out, Frank.

Here's what initiative will get you

Sometimes, you have to will something into completion. That's what Levi Koi did.

Levi's dream was to have the sitting area between Kelli and Elektra's desk named after him. No need to get into the unbridled vanity behind it--that's not what's important here. Levi wanted something and he came to me to make it happen.

Well, guess what?

Welcome the LK Lounge

A dream is a wish your heart makes.

And our new Dipping Sauce Person is..

...Stuart Weitzman!

Way to go the extra three blocks to the Cracktown McDonald's, Stu.

Thanks to Grand High Puba of Snackington Bill Holmes for organizing those sauces. You've got a future in UX, kid.

Mid-morning update

Congratulations are in order for a few positions:

Debora Hoffman: Director of Charter Membership

Nina Hickey: Director of Insight

Drew Branstetter and Ed Oullette: Personal Executive Administrative Assistant (Esquire)….I accidentally gave the position to both of them. Work it out amongst yourselves, boys (I’m thinking some sort of Hunger Games situation.)

Greg Oberst: VP of Initiative

Norene Sandifer: 7^th level Magic User

Jeremy McKenzie: 7th level Assistant to the Senior Production Manager / Magic User

Niki Lavoy: VP of Strateginal Scaling Optimization

Carmela Fortin: Dirhector of Elizondo

Doctor I: Mayor of Funkytown

Bill Holmes: Grand High Puba of Snackington (Overseer of all things snack related.)

Jean Zartman: Chairman of Keeping All Things Good (we really needed  experience in the CoKATG position)

Couple of other pieces of business:

Good on Bill  and Jean for coming up with your own job titles. That’s real Grand High Puba behavior, right there. What’s going on, the rest of you? You want the  gold ring, you've got pull it out of the bull's nose. Am I right or am I right?

Be sure to check out the newly named LK Lounge, situated at the corner of Kelli and Elektra. Just waiting on that sign, Levi. Way to GO FOR IT!

Thanks to Rory, Torsten, Cynthia, Kurt, Joe, and Doctor I for the great pics.

Darren, Norene, and some others are working on a leadership exercise as we speak. What are YOU doing to impress me?

Also, remember everybody: CUSTOMER SATISFACTION IS JOB 1!
Join the conversation!

Being a manager is wicked easy.

Il Douché

Time-travelin' like a BOSS!

Throwback Thursday

Yup. This exists.

Feel like an idiot that I didn't bring my suspenders. Live and learn

Doing what I do best.

Pic courtesy of Doctor I (this was his entry for the Mayor of FunkyTown position)

Whatever the heck this is. (Thanks, Doctor I, for keeping it weird.)

McLolean

Everybody just calm down

Ever since Lisa sent out this email yesterday, a lot of you have asked some serious questions. Questions like, "How will we ever get any work done without our managers?" and "Is 'off-site GLG strategy session' code for something else?" and "What happens if I dial that number and it's not an emergency? Is it some sort of leadership test?" and "Did someone throw out my lunch on Friday?"

Whoa. As E.Z. Brooks from A Different World famously quipped: "Take it down a thousand." Take a deep breath. Now another. Ok, one more. Now let them all out. And relax. Because everything just got solved by one little sentence: "Until then, Cliff is in-charge."

It's hard on a team when there's a leadership vacuum. But if there's one thing I know about vacuums, it's that they suck. Great things to the top, that is. And that's where you come in.

See, even I can't do this alone. I'm going to need some help. I'm looking for people who can think outside of the fox (like that!) People who can fill some key positions, such as:

• Personal Executive Administrative Assistant (Esquire)
• 7th-Level Magic User (No Illusionists, please)
• Dirhector of Elizondo
• VP of Strateginal Scaling Optimization
• Someone who can get me some great dipping sauces
• Mayor of Funkytown

Think you got what it takes? Choose a job that suits you. Then, in the comments section, tell me what you would bring to the role. Oh, and did I mention? You have to do it in 50 words or less. Gauntlet. Dropped.

Got suggestions? My door is open and the comments section awaits. I'll be sitting at Tim's old desk for most of the day doing some high-level managing stuff (I'd go into it but it's pretty complicated.) Stop by if you've completely run out of work to do.

I leave you with this quote, "Take a deep breath. Now another. Ok, one more. Now let them all out." I don't know who said it but it's pretty obvious the guy was a some kind of unsung genius.

All the best,

CLIFF MCCLOE

the decider/what…if…wow

The McGarrigan Cloeman Group
tel/206.223.5548

mobile/206.226.9312

web/glg.com

Join the conversation at twitter.com/Cliffisincharge

Thanks to Darren for finally getting on that copy assignment. It helps if you read the thread:

It probably also helps if you read the article.

So Darren made the words pop:

In the end, the client was pleased as awesome sauce.