On tonight's episode of "Undercover Boss" on
CBS, president and CEO Andy Wirth gets a makeover and goes undercover to
Lake Tahoe, Calif. The Squaw Valley mountain is famous for hosting the
1960 Winter Olympics and the epicenter of big mountain skiing. Alpine
Meadows offers a family-friendly atmosphere with excellent snow sports
for the entire family. The founder of the empire was Conrad Wirth,
Andy's grandfather, who was the Director of the National Parks Services
for eleven years. When Andy took over, he purchased Alpine Meadows to
give the two resorts a more family-friendly atmosphere, where Squaw
Valley mainly catered to the expert skiers.
I learned from him that the Hatch Valley
once had a volcano erruption and the hot lave might be what made the
chile taste so good. One thing was for certain, the best chile is
planted and harvested in southern New Mexico.
The Internet was an invaluable tool, used in our restoration
project. The new engine was found, and ordered online from a company in
Arizona. He found the best buy on "Fatman" suspension by being able to
shop all over the country, with just the click of the mouse.
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Hannah's was just a hole-in-the-wall, long and
narrow with a bar running almost the whole length of the building. The
brick on the face of the building, and the white wooden door outside,
were nearly black from years of soot from the coke plant and steel
mills. Patrons tended to be older folks who spent what was left of their
paychecks on booze, Polish sausages, hard-boiled eggs, and illegal tip
boards. The dark
figure standing, staring by the street, is noticed by the two men in the
front seat of the truck, they stare but keep going, --trees blowing to
his right and left, the waves of the Great Lake of Superior, makes a
humming sound, and everything else, as if you were in the middle of a
hurricane, the stranger stands erect yet, never moving. He sees the eyes
of the passenger in the Ford-truck, a small figure, a man of about
forty, the driver calls him Skip, and he hears that. The taller man at
the wheel, his arms are solid, and frozen to the wheel, is called Amery,
for some reason you know he knows that.
It can seem useless in the winter to wash your
buy a truck. If it's just going to hail iceberg
sized chunks, what is the point? But you'd be surprised what a nice coat
of wax and a regular wash can do for your body. Just like your own
figure, you like to shower, primp, and style on a daily basis. Don't
deprive your F150 the same maintenance. Salt does a number on the frame,
but ice, cinders, and snow can also be hazardous to the body. If you
clean underneath the truck and in the wheel wells frequently, you'll
prevent long term damage. It may be a word, a symbol or a motto but having a message can
do more to keep attorneys on the same page than almost anything else.
Decide what your message and is and stick to it, whether it be stamping
your symbol on letters and emails or boldly displaying your firm mantra
on the company website. Repetition will help attorneys stay on message
and clients recognize your presence. Make sure you're looking at your
website as a marketing tool and not an IT plaything. Video, podcasts and
blogs are great, but nothing can replace a good solid, well-organized
homepage and clearly defined practice areas. Also- look at how the
attorney biographies are categorized. Are they easy to navigate and easy
to read? If not, consider hiring someone to revamp and redesign-it's a
simple and non-expensive way to instantly update your firm image. Remember: be
prepared, have an agenda and keep focused on the discussion at hand.
Involve everyone from partners to associates to staff and keep an open
mind to marketing ideas, plans and needs. But most of all... make it a
true priority to institute those strategies when the retreat
ends.