Category: Peter Mehit

Must See TV: America on the Edge! | Peter Mehit

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During the 2008 campaign, Fast Company magazine called Obama a brand. Sadly, it turns out that they were right. Like most brand advertising, Obama identified with people and projected the things people wanted for their country, without having the will or ability to deliver. He lifted up a new ideal of government, creating at the same time a great height to fall from. He had a huge job that required Lyndon Johnson or FDR or Truman levels of courage and skill to pull off. But he hasn’t displayed that talent, the ability to push for common ground while being simultaneously willing to smack the opposition.

When Republicans campaign, they’re nasty bastards. They will do ANYTHING to win. If you want to sell a war, talk about mushroom clouds over American cities. If you want to boost the debt to sky high levels, suggest that gays getting married will cause the collapse of the civilization. If you’re opposed by a war hero, make him look like a total pussy. Mitt Romney’s multiple positions on everything tells you everything you need to know. They just put their heads down and charge.

Democrats on the other hand need to look like they’re fair. They want to be seen as standing on the moral high ground and knowing what’s best for all of us. They say they want everyone to get along when in reality they just want everyone to think like them or shut up. They want to be superior, but are inept at using power. They act like a brand new manager who believes the title should give them respect and action from subordinates. As most of us know, those managers get smoked, usually by one of their underlings. The next job you see them at they’re the boss from hell.

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10 Things I Learned from ‘We Are Anonymous’ | Peter Mehit

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I read Parmy Olsen’s ‘We Are Anonymous’ over the weekend. It is the story of the infamous hacker collective that brought down the Church of Scientology, Pay Pal, Master Card, Visa, Sony, the FBI and CIA among their numerous conquests. It’s a fascinating read about a group based on a contradiction: A few very talented, capable, creative people performed truly heinous acts because they thought their lives were pointless. This nihilistic perspective drove them until they were caught.

The participants were young. The oldest was 28, the youngest 16. Uniformly, they were the socially awkward. They were bullied and marginalized for most of their lives. Most left the education system in middle school because they were bored or mistreated. All of them lived with parents or relatives, reeking havoc on some of the largest organizations in the world from their bedrooms.

Anonymous was more of accident than a movement. The book details how the hacker collective transitioned from a  chaotic, leaderless group looking for lulz (fun at other people’s expense) to very small team that stole the private information of millions of people only to give it away to secure fame and respect from the hacking community. Without recounting the book, because it’s worth reading to understand hacker culture and the underworld of the internet, I was struck by several points:

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PEOPLE YOU SHOULD KNOW – Bill Ellermeyer | Peter Mehit

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One of the first people we met when we began marketing in Orange County was Bill Ellermeyer. I met him at a mixer where I noticed the ever changing number and types of people speaking with him. Some younger, some older, people in hip hop regalia and guys in suits we’re engaged with him in conversation.

When I finally spoke  with him I noticed two things. First, I felt like I’d known the man for more than a few moments, and second, he was an incredible listener. How this listening manifested itself was he asked questions that got at what I was thinking, not just saying. Within a ten minute conversation, he had a good grasp of my business and gave me a road map of whom to speak with and where potential partners and clients might be found. All of this information was delivered with wit and enough political savvy that the relationships of the people we discussed became apparent.  It was a seminar. Then, as quick as it started it was over, both of us shaking hands and continuing to work the room.

This is what Bill Ellermeyer does. He sees patterns. He makes connections. He then takes that vision and applies it to his clients who are primarily executives exiting the corporate world in search of the next illusive job or in some cases coming to grips with the idea that the next position won’t be there for them at all.

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The Boy Can’t Help It | Peter Mehit

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He heads upslope with purpose. He’s so focused that he steps over the spread out blankets and coolers, around the playing children and conversing adults without looking at them. He’s worked out an audio problem with speakers that flank a giant 100 foot wide inflatable movie screen and now he’s trudging back to the make shift projection booth with a scant twenty minutes to make sure all is in order for a screening of ‘Kung Fu Panda’.

Even while double checking connectors and dialing in the projector, he is aware of what his team is doing. It’s almost as if he has radar. Every so often he’ll stand up and use hand signals to communicate with one of his team down by the screen. Even with the occasional miscommunication, it’s pretty impressive.

Eventually the sun sets and the movie begins. About 2,000 people fill the bowl shaped park, settling in for the show. Hollywood Outdoor Movies has yet another successful program under its belt. This event, one of a series of publicity events for Bank of America, represents one several corporate events the company has done. The client list sports marquee clients any company would be proud to have: Dreamworks, Walt Disney, NASA, MGM, American Film Institute, AMC Theaters, KIA Motors and Univision to name a few. The business has broken a million dollars in top line revenue for the first time in 2011 and is seeking capital to quadruple that in 2012.

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Death By iPad | Peter Mehit

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I think iPads are really cool. I like that they’re instant on, broadband connected and can deliver the world to you in a compact little package that is easy to use and carry. They are well made, reliable and look really cool. There is no question that they represent a huge change in how information and entertainment is accessed, opening up a deeper internet experience for millions of people. Like all technology, however, there is the other side, the unintended consequences.

The more ubiquitous the iPad is becoming, the more demands there are on our already short attention spans. I was attending a meeting about positioning your business for angel investors. I was a tad late, and entering from the back of the room, my attention was drawn not to the presentation at the front of the room, but to the sea of little illuminated rectangles in front of most of the participants. It stunned me so much that I stood and watched as the contents of the screens changed faster than the presentation. This was not lost on the presenter who looked defeated at the end of his time.

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2012 – A New Chance to Become | Peter Mehit

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A new calendar is a blank slate. All of the missteps of the prior year are erased and nothing but possibility is before us. What will happen in the next year? To a large extent, it’s up to us and how we think. Most of us set goals, make resolutions, about what we want to happen in that vast gulf that is represented in that empty calendar. We tick our desires down in to-do list fashion: “Lose 20 pounds.” or “Find a new job” or “get a new car”

Time will pass and we will make judgments about how well we did with our goals. We will succeed at some and fail at others. Most of us will fight to a draw, the opportunity represented by January’s blank slate missed.

Over the past year we have been surveying ‘success’ literature looking for common patterns. To our surprise, we found them hiding in plain sight. From Napoleon Hill’s epic survey of industrial titans, “Think and Grow Rich” to the ‘scientifically’ based “Psychocybernetics” to “The Master Key” which is the basis for “The Secret”, all of them are saying the same things even though they were written in different times for different audiences. To us, it breaks down to three basic principals:

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A Good Outcome | Peter Mehit

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I have recurring insomnia. Not every night, or every week, but enough that I am always playing catch up. One recent Saturday night I was sitting in our upstairs office, cleaning out my e-mail and watching You Tube videos when two loud collisions broke the silence. No screeching tires or car horns, really no noise at all until that unforgettable sound of rapidly folding metal and plastic shattering.

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Marty Keller Resigns – A Sad Day For Small Business | Peter Mehit

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Marty Keller, who has been Governor’s Small Business Advocate for the last four years, is resigning. This is not good news as Marty has been a tireless advocate for small businesses in our state. Despite many setbacks and obstacles, Marty never quit reaching out to our community, while speaking truth to power about our situation and our needs.

Good luck, Marty. We know we’ll see you again in better circumstances. Keep your chin up! – Ed.

Marty’s letter:

Dear friends and colleagues,
It is with a sense of accomplishment and gratitude that I write to let you know of my decision to resign as the state’s Small Business Advocate effective July 31, 2011.
I am leaving this great job in order to work directly for small business owners.  Come the beginning of August, I will be embarking on a different course of advocacy, one that will not be shackled by the restrictions of political appointment.  I look forward to sharing the details of this new and exciting adventure in two weeks’ time.  You can be sure I will be inviting you to join me.

Politicians Won’t Stay Bought | Peter Mehit

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In a casual conversation someone quipped, “You know the real problem with politicians…they just won’t stay bought.” There was muted laughter. It’s too true to be funny.

Politician. The word has precise sound to it, as if your mayor had been called by God to run. As if people go into public service like it’s a ministry. For the good of all with pure, honorable intentions.  But the job is nothing like that. It’s a lot of arm twisting and ear bending by people all wanting you to do conflicting things. And in the end, nobody’s really happy with you. As Parker and Stone pointed out, the public sees you either as a ‘Giant Douche’ or a ‘Turd Sandwich’. Why would anyone want a such a shitty job?

Power.

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