And today, we're applauding our own Suzanna Phelps-Fredette on being invited to join the American Forest Foundation Women's Group. (See my earlier post.) Congratulations, Suzanna. We applaud you!

Who do you applaud today? Comment below and let us know.

I am excited to report that Suzanna has been invited to join the newly formed Women’s Group of the American Forest Foundation.

Formed earlier this year, this group has pledged to help bring awareness to the AFF’s mission: to ensure the future of America’s forests for current and future generations. The U.S. is losing 1.5 million acres of forestland each year, and we need to save these forests by helping the public understand, value and support the social, economic and environmental benefits they bring to our communities, our nation and our world.

Suzanna, who makes her home in Holly Springs National Forest, has long been a proponent of our forests and has become increasingly concerned as fragmentation, development, insects, invasive plants, wildfires and other dangers encroach upon these keepers of our delicate ecology that provide us all with clean air, water, shade, beauty and retreat.

“I am thrilled to be invited into this arena,” she says. “It will give me an opportunity to help spread the word to women across America, who hold the key to education, influence and action.”

"As a forest dweller myself, I see firsthand the threats to our precious woodlands. I am surrounded by both publicly and privately owned forests, and the rate of fragmentation is alarming. It’s time for me to contribute to the cause in a more direct way, and I am truly honored to be a part of this effort.”

"...What separates (entrepreneurs) from others is their abject lack of cynicism. Their willingness to be vulnerable. Their love."

Great blog post by Dan Pallotta on Harvard Business Review.

It's so exciting to see thoughts like this "coming into the mainstream consciousness" as one commenter put it.

Read it and let me know what you think.

“Marketing executives need to generate cash to fuel growth-oriented programs … and they can do this by boosting the efficiency of their marketing people, processes and technologies—the things that are foundational to “running the business” of marketing … Inefficient business processes have been cited as one of the main impediments to better marketing performance.” Accenture, Onward and Up: How Marketers Are Refocusing the Front Office for Growth

I’ve noticed a trend since the economy tanked that is born from good intentions of making ever-shrinking marketing dollars go farther, and that trend is “let’s just git er done and not over analyze this or run it past too many people internally.” Oops. The law of diminishing returns just kicked into action. 

That “analyzing” part you may be tempted to skip is a key component of any successful – and cost-effective – project. Would you tell your builder to just start hammering boards together and we’ll see where we end up? No. And you sure wouldn’t start building without your significant other’s input. (They might not really want a man cave.)

The value of “analysis” is that you start with a comprehensive, results-oriented strategy / project scope / statement of intent – whatever you want to call it – that’s based on input by the appropriate internal stakeholders and on what your customers really want in the new economy. “We need a marketing brochure” is not a strategy, objective or intent. It’s a tactical “building” decision you’ve already made without the aid of an architect, contractor, set of blueprints or even something scribbled on a napkin in a bar.

You need a brochure. Okay. Why a brochure? For whom? With what takeaway? What call to action? What type of distribution? Any supporting materials? Who’s supposed to use this? How will they use it? WILL they use it? How will it benefit your customers? How will it increase sales, attract new business or help retain current customers? All pertinent questions nobody “has the budget” to ask any more.

As for not getting internal input – well, trust me, you’ll get their input when you’ve got the first draft done, and since you didn’t ask them in the first place, you’re going to get design and copywriting by committee from that point forward. Result? A mess of a marketing piece with no voice, no message, no branding, no objective and ultimately, no value to you or your customers. Your boss is going to complain that you spent a whole lot of money on nothing. You’re going to blame the agency. Nobody learns anything that can be applied to the next project. What’s the lesson? Garbage in. Garbage out.

Haste truly does make waste. Sustainable business practices include streamlining marketing processes so that they are more efficient. Start with a plan that is strategy driven, results oriented and organizationally integrated. Tactics should follow strategy, not drive it. “Git er done” marketing projects end up costing more money than those with a buttoned-up strategy. It’s better to do your homework. Then the professionals – the “architects and builders” – can responsibly advise you on the best way to go about achieving a tangible, quantifiable return on your marketing investment. The extra effort on your part up front will save time, money, frustration, and quite possibly, your job.