Category — 1 of Many

Just got back from Cherry Log where we attended the funeral of our amazing Aunt, Rettie Thompson Hice, age 99.

Rock Creek Baptist was packed and two of the three ministers preaching were family members.  There were literally, hundreds of relatives.  Rettie was raised in the day when you had kids, lots of them. Four daughters and two sons are still with us. And from them, dozens of nieces and nephews for us, grand children and great grandchildren for her.  Might have even been a great great or two (more like six) running around.

Most, but not all, still live in Georgia.

When things like this happen you tend to notice how things have changed.  The old house that sat on the side of Ga. 5, is still there, but moved back from the highway (two lane then, four lane divided now.)  The new Hice residence is set into the side of the mountain, almost invisible from the road.

The old barn stands but there is a road (Hice Lane) through the pasture.  Grand Pa and Grand Ma’s house down the way is falling down and overgrown.  Photogenic to be sure, but you wouldn’t want to walk there.  The old barn is gone beneath the trees and shrubs.  The chicken coop, outhouse, root cellar, long gone.

Yep, things have changed during Rettie’s lifetime, especially in Cherry Log, GA. Can you imagine what life must have been like in 1914 up in those mountains?

1 of Many

Passion Rules!

http://tinyurl.com/mf5w43r

It’s kind of surreal around here this morning.  Saw Garrison Keillor last night in Tampa and he talked about life and death; old age and turning 70.  Spent time with the Baby Gator in Gainesville  the day before noting how time moves on as she nears the birth of our first grandchild.  And just learned that Marty Rosenblum died unexpectedly in Milwaukee.

I was a motor geek growing up — bikes, cars, boats, airplanes, if it burned oil, I loved it — and I knew who Marty was before I joined Harley-Davidson; The Holy Ranger.  A figure larger than life who played music, rode Harley’s and wrote and sang about his passions.   A guy who lived to ride, rode to live.

But the Marty Rosenblum I got to know was no bad ass biker or crazy rock star.  He’d no more do something to hurt anyone’s feelings than to drop one of his beloved motorcycles or acoustic guitars.  He was a big man in a diminutive frame and he accepted you as you were.  Here was I, a “boat guy” representing Harley-Davidson to the media and the world.  His brand.  One of his loves.

Marty took me under his wing and we spent hours in the Motor Company archives.  We talked old bikes, new bikes, boats and music.  He loved sidecars.  I loved the cafe racer.  He must have been tickled to learn that I was in a junior high band named The People of Time.  I played bass and sang a little.  I was quick to admit that I had no talent, but that didn’t matter to Marty.  He was there to impart his wisdom on this youngster from Florida who had found himself in Milwaukee.

While I haven’t seen you in years, I’m going to miss you.  Thanks for being a friend.  So long Holy Ranger.

http://www.jsonline.com/news/obituaries/martin-jack-rosenblum-uwm-rock-expert-and-harley-historian-dies-b99182555z1-239837001.html

1 of Many

Passion Rules!

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I’m doing a presentation about the importance of establishing your own personal brand  to a group of pharmacy students from UF and other schools in Florida in a week or two.  Last century when I was in college we never talked about a brand, let alone our personal brand.

I realized when putting together the slides that my own personal brand has been built over the past 40 plus years.  It really started in college and progressed along with my journalism career, into the boating industry and Sea-Doo, then to Harley-Davidson, Segway and UF.  Then to NC State and finally to Moffitt.

When was my personal brand completed?  Never.  It grows every day as my experience and interaction with others continues.

But that doesn’t mean the foundations of the Joe Hice Brand hasn’t been set for many years. After all, you’ve got to have a strong foundation from which to build…right.

I’ll post more about this after I talk to the kids (don’t want to spoil the presentation in case any of them check out Hice School) but I will admit that my Joe Hice Brand positioning line has remained the same for a long time now.  PASSION RULES!

And thanks Luis for getting me back online.  It has been so long since I posted that I’d forgotten my password.  The Word Press guru saved the day.

1 of Many

Passion Rules!

Just days after violating the Primal Code, public opinion of Men’s Warehouse is sinking following the ouster of founder George Zimmer.  So, as I noted in a recent blog, this is not going to be good for Men’s Warehouse, “I guarantee it.”

See that posting here or below: http://www.hiceschool.com/1-of-many/in-firing-george-zimmer-mens-warehouse-violates-the-primal-code/

42 percent of people responding to a Houston Business Journal poll say Zimmer’s ouster has left them feeling worse about the chain.  That’s definitely not going to put them out of business, but if anything near that level of animous remains, it could be a rocky year for the Warehouse.

The fact that 52 percent “don’t care” is another warning sign.  When 94 percent of your audience is POd or doesn’t care about the scion of your brand, that can’t be good.  Moral of the story, don’t mess with The Primal Code!

1 of Many

Passion Rules!

This is gonna be bad, “I guarantee it.”  Men’s Warehouse has gone and violated several major tenants of The Primal Code of branding.

Over the years I’ve become a fan of Patrick Hanlon’s approach to branding, Primal Branding.  I’ve blogged about Hanlon before, but the impact his Primal Code can have on a product or institutional brand is hard to deny.

At just about every place I’ve worked, (Harley-Davidson, Sea-Doo, Wellcraft, Donzi, The University of Florida, Moffitt Cancer Center) the primal code abounds and because of that, success has followed.

Hanlon’s premise is pretty simple.  “When people believe, they belong. When they belong to the group that surrounds your product or service, they are willing to advocate their belief to others.”  The elements that lead people to believe can be found in the Primal Code:

• The Creation Story: Where are you from?
• The Creed: What do you stand for?
• The Icons: Logos, sounds, smells, tastes.
• The Rituals: Repeated interactions with your enterprise.
• The Pagans: Who are the believers? Who are the outcasts?
• The Sacred Words: Specialized words from your belief system.
• The Leader: The risk taker, catalyst, iconoclast, visionary.

So where has Men’s Warehouse gone wrong?  Duh.

The Creation Story — now history

The Creed — “I guarantee it.” now history

The Icons — A bearded George Zimmer, now history

The Sacred Words — You’re gonna like the way you look. I guarantee it, now history

The Leader — Now history

Give it a while and we’ll see how Men’s Warehouse reinvents itself to reflect The Code.  Good public relations may help, but unless Zimmer is willing to play ball with the new team, Men’s Warehouse is in a heap of trouble…”I guarantee it.”

1 of Many

Passion Rules!

Tallahassee – The Coalition to Heal Healthcare in Florida, Inc., has introduced a new television commercial shining a light on the impact of proposed Medicaid cuts on the state’s most vulnerable citizens: its children.

The spot notes that seven in 10 Floridians enrolled in the Medicaid program are pregnant women and children, therefore cuts would affect these two groups the most. The Coalition, a statewide bipartisan organization, is working at the grassroots level to stop unprecedented cuts to Florida’s Medicaid program.

“It’s bad enough that Medicaid cuts would harm those Floridians who are least able to find other ways to obtain health care. But the harm that cuts will cause to children is inexcusable and cannot be ignored,” said Bruce Rueben, president of the Florida Hospital Association.

The commercial will debut on February 17.   It is part of a broader Coalition effort against Medicaid cuts that includes a website, social media engagement platforms and an earlier TV commercial. The Coalition’s overall message to legislators is No More Cuts.

The video, “The Children’s Wing,” can be viewed at www.healflhealthcare.com. [Read more →]

That’s the question PR Daily publisher Mark Ragan asked his Twitter followers last week, using the hashtag #3WordsPRProsHate.  The suggestions poured in.

Here are five of the most commonly mentioned words and 3-word phrases:

1. Spin
2. Unique
3. Guru
4. Synergy
5. Innovate

1. Off the record
2. Return on investment
3. Let’s circle back
4. Low hanging fruit
5. Competitor was mentioned

I ABSOLUTELY agree with Mark’s list, but wonder how many MEDIA IMPRESSIONS his column received.

IRREGARDLESS of the results, don’t you think its time we all GOT BACK TO BASICS and stayed FOCUSED ON THE FUTURE!

Oh, WHATEVER. LIKE, YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN.

1 of Many

Passion Rules! [Read more →]

As a Floridian, I am deeply concerned about recent proposals
to balance the state budget by once again considering cuts to Medicaid. I
urge the Florida Legislature to oppose any further reductions to this program.

Medicaid provides hospital care to our most vulnerable neighbors. Eight out of ten
people who receive care through this program are children, elderly or
disabled. It is a vital service that has already been cut dramatically in
previous legislative sessions.   

In fact, I learned that the program has been cut $966 million since 2005,
including $500 million just last spring. Cuts of this magnitude will
undoubtedly hurt the hospital care available to us all. 

The loss of staffing and services cannot be isolated to just the patients covered
through Medicaid. I know that many of my friends and neighbors share my concerns,
 as it will affect them too.  [Read more →]

Moffitt Cancer Center, Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute and Florida Hospital have announced they will collaborate on the creation of a Personalized Medicine Partnership of Florida (PMP Florida). The partnership will conduct collaborative research to accelerate discovery and develop new treatments in the areas of cancer and metabolic diseases, including obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

PMP Florida will revolutionize health care by creating partnerships among Florida-based centers of excellence in medical research and clinical care. Together, the organizations will develop and utilize new molecular and genomic technologies to discover, translate and personalize interventions for preventing and treating debilitating diseases more efficiently to improve health care outcomes while reducing costs.

PMP Florida will leverage Moffitt’s Total Cancer Care™ to develop similar research and clinical protocols in other disease areas including metabolic diseases. The partnership will hasten the discovery and development of new treatments by bringing together the complementary strengths of Florida Hospital’s large patient population and clinical research expertise; Sanford-Burnham’s fundamental research expertise and technology platforms; and Moffitt’s biospecimen bank, data warehouse and personalized medicine capabilities.

“As a statewide resource for cancer research and treatment, Moffitt seeks to foster relationships such as these to maximize the state’s investment in the overall health and well-being of patients,” said William S. Dalton, Ph.D., M.D., CEO and center director of Moffitt. “We feel this partnership will enhance Florida’s national and international reputation in the discovery, translation, delivery and dissemination of personalized care.”
[Read more →]