Duathlon – Just “Du” it!

I recently participated in my first Duathlon in Central Park, New York City. What is a Duathlon? It is a competition that is composed of running and biking. The usual format for a duathlon is run-bike-run, meaning you start with a run, then transition to the bike, then transition back to running again. My race was: 2 mile run - 12 mile bike - 2 mile run. Duathlon ‘s are suited to anyone who enjoys biking and running and, much like a triathlon, caters for all age groups. It is the perfect endurance sport for those who are less inclined to swim, as a form of cross training. I decided to challenge myself to this task in hopes of “getting in shape” but I took away much more than just fitness. It was both a physical and mental challenge. I'm sharing my experience in hopes of encouraging you to set your own challenges!

When starting to train, consider your strengths and weaknesses in running and biking. Then focus on your needs. For me, I was not a runner so I spend most of my training time focused on the run. Just a few short month's ago I could not run 1 mile without taking a break, now I am able to run 2 miles without issue. Remember to not train at a high intensity all the time; it's equally important to have adequate recovery time build into your schedule. Your body will tell you how much you should train and how much you must rest. Listen to it. There are many duathlons in our area, check out the Trifind website for more info! 

24-hour countdown to race day (If your race begins at noon, this is what the preceding 24 hours should look like):
24 hours to go
If you can, travel to the race venue the day before to avoid any surprises. Make sure your bike is in good working order.
18 hours to go
Dinner the night before the race. There's no need to try to eat your body weight in carbohydrates. 
If you already eat a healthy, well-balanced diet, stick to what you are comfortable with. Try to avoid food that may take a long time to digest, such as large portions of red meat or too much fiber. Be sure you drink plenty of fluids (not beer) to stay hydrated.
3 hours to go
Time for breakfast, a nutritious carbohydrate breakfast is a prerequisite, (i.e. bagel, granola bar, muesli, toast and peanut butter, bananas.) Avoid fatty foods or lots of fiber.
1 hour to go
Arrive at transition, find your spot and sort out your kit. Check your bike is in an appropriate gear for leaving transition and starting the ride. Check that the tires are properly inflated and make sure you stay hydrated. You can also have an energy bar or similar to take in those last few preferred calories. Now is also a good time to go for a 10-min jog to warm up.
20 mins to go
Avoid further carbohydrates, as you will not be able to digest them prior to the run start.
1 min to go
Get ready, get steady... and you're off! This is the moment you've trained for. Enjoy it! I certainly did. 


(excerpts from recent post on www.apartmentrentalnews.com)

Is Customer Service Reserved For Only A Few?

"I didn't realize what an important account Princeton was to the Company, I assure you that I will now prioritize fixing your problem."  This statement was said to me yesterday by an employee of a vendor that I've worked with and have been a staunch advocate of since 2007.  What does this say about their organization?  Is quality customer service really reserved for a select few? 

For the past 3+ months we've been experiencing a technical problem between Princeton and a long standing partner vendor.  This technical problem has prohibited us from successfully marketing a newly acquired property.  This problem is costing us money.  Now 100's of emails and telephone calls later between my team and theirs, still no fix, still no resolution.  Given the severity of the problem and the impact on our ability to successfully market and manage our apartment community, I reached out to a senior member of this partner company.  Immediately after this contact, my team was urgently inundated with communications from this vendor.  Where was this urgency 3 months ago?  Prior to my correspondence, my team had to nearly beg for status update on a daily or weekly basis.  My team was being ignored. 

I am hugely disappointed that it took a threatening communication from me to light a fire under this organization.  Why wouldn't they provide the necessary customer service to my team members from the start?  Why wouldn't they provide this necessary customer service to ALL of their accounts, not just the "important" ones.  This situation has left such a poor taste in my mouth, making me question my decision to remain so loyal to this partner.  I should never have to beg, barter or threaten to receive expected and deserved customer service.  None the less, for a product (that I pay for) to work!

This situation also reminded me that training employees to provide consistent and exceptional customer care is a never ending commitment.  You can never assume that your teams are "doing the right thing", you need to constantly monitor, encourage and train.  If you don't, one of your employees might actual say a damaging statement such as: "I didn't realize what an important account Princeton was to the Company..."  

Buddha - the Social Media Strategist!

Recently, I've been involved in many discussions pertaining to the impact of social media conversations and how to best monitor and manage an organizations' online presence.  Much dialogue revolves around the necessity for good quality engagement, transparency of message and adding value to the consumer.  How is this attained?  In a nutshell, the Buddhist path is a great starting point for "how to manage" a social media strategy.  


To many, Buddhism goes beyond religion and is more of a philosophy or 'way of life'. It is a philosophy because philosophy 'means love of wisdom' and the Buddhist path can be summed up as:

(1) to lead a moral life,
(2) to be mindful and aware of thoughts and actions, and
(3) to develop wisdom and understanding.

 Let's break this philosophy down.  Point (1) tells us as marketers that we need to be open and realistic about our product/service.  Give an honest representation of how we can accommodate our prospective customers.  Always strive to under promise and over deliver, you will sleep better at night if you do!  Point (2) reminds us to ALWAYS think before you speak, or tweet, or blog, or post.  Be aware that you are representing your company and your voice is heard around the world.  Be mindful of the impact that your comments have on your organization - positive or negative!  And point (3) is critical to success.  Never stop your education, stay humble and remember that there is always more to learn and understand.  Put yourself in the shoes of others - often.  

It's Smart Business to Thank Good Behavior

The tale of the Subway foot-long sub.  I'm often excited to witness 'smart business' strategies in action;  the following is a recent experience with Subway.  Let me first set the stage.  Here at Princeton Corporate we have a longstanding tradition in which all the executives eat together daily in a "working lunch".  We order food from local restaurants and quick service places on a daily basis and dine together in one of the board rooms.  There's been a standing 3 or 4 different restaurants to choose from, this limited selection provides some comic relief as it often feels like groundhog day during any given lunchtime meal.  Personally, I've consumed enough "Panera Fuji Apple Salads" to fill a football stadium.  


I digress.....a few weeks back we decided to shake things up and order from Subway.  Historically this establishment wasn't on our lunchtime radar.  Our CEO enjoyed his sandwich so much that we added Subway to our weekly rotation.  To date, we've order approximately 2 times per week for the past 2-3 weeks.  


This is where the story gets good!  Today, Subway showed up at our Corporate Office with a surprise.  They delivered a giant tray of sandwiches and other goodies as a Thank You for our recent flurry of business.  Now THIS is 'smart business'.  Subway proactively thanked their customers for simply being their customers.  A Simple and Valuable strategy in Customer Service.  This gesture cemented their place in our "working lunch" tradition.  I foresee many more 6" Flatbread subs in my future.  Thank you Subway, I will be back to order again soon!     

Apartment Social Council

Looking forward to participating in the Apartment Social Council starting on September 15, 2011.  I'm thrilled to be serving on a panel with such brainpower.  Check out my fellow Council Members here: Carmen Benitez; Mark Juleen; Sara Scarborough Graham; Sarah Greenough; Eric Brown; Brian Owen; Ed Javier.  We will be taking on topics pertaining to "Apartment Innovation".....more specifically we'll be chatting about best practices and strategies for implementing effective digital marketing efforts for the multifamily industry.  Technology has significantly altered (in a very good way) how we provide resident customer service and how we market to prospective residents.  Join us on the 15th when the Council will discuss leasing and marketing ideas to consider implementing at your community and/or company.  Check out the Facebook link above for more information on the Council members and air times for the conversation.  Looking forward to talking with you all in September!

The Meaning of Life.

Okay, so I don't have the answer to "What is The Meaning of Life?".... I will leave this question in the capable hands of Monty Python. But I do have some thoughts on the meaning of my life and how they relate to my professional life! Recently I was asked to reflect on attributes that may contribute to having a successful career. I’ve been marinating on this question for a few weeks trying to get to the heart of it all. My conclusion is that the following two traits mixed with a dose of luck and good timing will lead many down a successful path.

Diligence and Humility. This is the combination for success.

Diligence will allow you to really hone your craft. By putting your head down and doing the work – all the work – you will begin to fully understand your job and the bigger picture of your impact on the organization. Mix in humility; this by no means should be mistaken with meekness or timidity. It is entirely possible to simultaneously be a confident and humble person. Humility will allow you to keep your mind open to new ideas, it will serve as a constant reminder that you’re continually learning and improving. Humility will take away the chance of getting caught reflecting solely on the “glory days” instead of making new great moments now and in the future. Your diligence will allow you to seize new powerful ideas and implement them.

I feel these attributes have helped me along the way, what traits to you feel contributed do your success?

To + or not to +...that's the question, or is it?

Google + ..... I have mixed emotions about this one. On one hand, I certainly LOVE all things Google. In fact, if Google and Apple had a love child it would be me. Oh, and Tivo would be a really close friend of mine as well! All kidding aside, I admire so many of Google's products and platforms but do I really need another social platform? I have so much "time" invested in Facebook, I don't think I will abandon it. Perhaps if I can work out some sort of syndication between Google+ and Facebook, then I could update both social sites. I'm not sure I will maintain both sites, what's the point?

Competition is good. Facebook crushed My_____ (ridiculous logo)....but will Google stand a chance again Facebook now? Timing is everything, do you think it is too little too late? I suppose if the Google+ platform can significantly impact search engine rankings then the product will begin perking up my ears a lot! Perhaps dangling this search carrot in front of us will encourage the transition from Facebook to Google+. Time will tell. Goodness knows Google has the money to throw at this project.

There is rumor of an internal Google memo in which a senior exec warned that the company was behind in social networking and needed to catch up fast. Later, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt acknowledged that the company had "screwed up" when it came to social and the threat from Facebook. Is it too late for serious competition for Facebook? Even it if is coming from the juggernaut that is Google? My synopsis - I am interested, intrigued even.....and ready to get my +Circles going. You?