When is The Right Time?

As you may have seen in previous posts, I am a huge fan of many CBC radio shows. One of the best these days is Terry O’Reilly’s Under the Influence, as well as its predecessor The Age of Persuasion. In show’s website, O’Reilly states:

 “As the marketing world shifts from a century of overt one-way messaging to a new world order of two-way dialogue, we leave the age of persuasion and enter the era of influence.

The first 50 years of modern advertising was hard-sell. The next 50 years was persuasion through creativity and media tonnage. But advertising is no longer a loud one-way conversation. It's a delicate dialogue now. The goal is no longer to triumph by weight, but to win by influence.

Welcome to Under the Influence. An exploration of that critical shift."

I think his view of these paradigm shifts relate to more than just marketing. In some ways education is in the midst of similar changes.

I was listening to an episode a few weeks ago while ferrying my kids between Oakville and Toronto on Saturday and was quite captivated, to the point of rolling down my back window and turning up the volume so I could listen while filling up with gas.

The show was focused on the often forgotten fourth question of marketing. While defining what to say, how to say it, and to whom it should be said are commonly recognized as the key tenets of a successful marketing approach, O’Reilly suggested that  there is a fourth that can be just as powerful.  He went through a number of striking cases of the success of a marketing efforts being almost entirely based on their timing, either through deliberate planning or simple good luck.

Here are a few of the compelling examples he cited:

·         Those of you who fish will know Rapala lures. When I was a kid at camp on Georgian Bay, “the Rapala” was reputed to be one of the best lures (together with the “Red Devil”) to catch the really big Northern Pikes. Rapala was a modestly successful Finnish lure company until 1962, when there was an article in an August issue of Life Magazine on the Rapala Wobbler. Little could anyone have predicted, but Marilyn Monroe died just before the issue and it turned into a memorial to her. In modern parlance, the issue went viral and became the best-selling magazine of all time – and along with it soared Rapala. The two-person Rapala USA company received orders for 3 million lures over the subsequent few weeks, and its status in fishing was forever changed. This is why Rapala inducted Marilyn into its fishing hall of fame in 2008.

 

·       Target has developed an algorithm to identify which customers are pregnant. Apparently expectant mother change their buying habits in their second trimester of pregnancy as they have a tendency to load up on things such as unscented lotions, vitamin supplements, cotton ball and wash cloths. Target has had great success in using this predictor as the basis of focused marketing pitches. The only problem is the fallout when Target’s materials tip off family members who weren’t yet aware of the big news!

 

·       One of the US Navy’s most successful recruiting strategies was when they set-up booths at movie theatres aimed specifically at men leaving Top Gun full of inspiration to be the next Maverick or Iceman.

·       The thriller The China Syndrome, starring Jane Fonda, Jack Lemmon and Michael Douglas, dealt with a television crew’s chance discovery of a nuclear melt-down at the local power plant. 12 days later, North America’s worst nuclear disaster took place when there was a nuclear meltdown at the Three Mile Island reactor in Pennsylvania. The compounding impact of the sensational movie with the unlikely plot and the real-life accident caused a sea-change in the public attitudes towards nuclear energy. At the time of the accident 70 new nuclear facilities were being planned. Since that week, none have been built. 

·       O’Reilly opened my eyes to why many women really go to washroom in clubs. He featured a Dr. Scholls ad that is placed in many women’s washrooms in dance clubs. The ad asks the question about whether the women are really in there to take a break from their uncomfortable high heels? It goes on to promote the benefits of the super-comfortable Dr. Scholls fast flats shoe inserts. Once again, the campaign had huge impact.

O’Reilly’s point in all of these examples is when you say something has everything to do with whether your message will hit its mark. More specifically, understanding the mindset of the listener based on their experience at a given time can as important as what you say and how you say it. When the listener in the right mental zone and open to what you are trying to get across, then your chances of success are multiplied. Conversely, if the audience is mentally in a far-away place, there is no point delivering your message.

It all makes perfect sense, and it poses two questions to schools. The first is the institutional question: when is the best time to approach prospective students and their parents? When are these people most open to think about the possibility of independent school education and the Appleby experience? Once you understand the when, then the how becomes a bit clearer.

The second question is a pedagogical one but also applies to parenting. We have many important messages and themes we are trying to share with students. Sometimes it is frustrating because the arrow doesn’t seem to hit the mark. While we tend to plan out the “whens” according to the school timetable, the interesting question is when are our students’ minds most receptive to these messages? What are the times of the day or week or year or relationship with specific experiences that provide the most fertile “teachable moments”? And are they different for different kinds of messages?

World Transitions

This is a remarkable time in world history, and my colleague Rebecca Llewellyn and I are experiencing it from China, Korea and Japan.

A couple of days ago, we were arriving in Seoul at the same time the next “Great Leader” Kim Jong-Un was sabre-rattling about nuclear and conventional responses to South Korean and US military exercises. My eldest son Jack has a uncommon fixation on dictators (especially the North Korean  variety,) so was interested on the goings-on, while wife Alison was mildly concerned about press reports and the potential for trouble during our visit.  Of course, all was fine. What was of greatest interest (and I have seen the same thing during previous trips to Seoul) was the lack of interest of the South Korean people. Many Koreans lived through the Korean War and subsequent omnipresent tension (with associated fiery rhetoric) between North and South – which seems to go through regular cycles like an inter-nation bio-rhythm – barely registers on their psychic radar. In fact, our Korean parent hosts were far more concerned about any anxiety we may have had than by any prospect for real trouble. It tells you something about the stoic nature of a country that has lived through difficult times, about desensitization (or perhaps Westerners’ over-dramatization,) and most of all by how lucky we are to live in Canada – a point further amplified when seeing Japan still recovering from the earthquake/tsunami/nuclear problems of 2011.

While I haven’t read any pieces on the subject, I suspect that many have already written on the amazing fact that the Chinese President Xi Jinping and Pope Francis were elected within a day of each other. Between them, they lead almost 2.5 billion people, albeit their leadership takes place in very different domains. Likely, the Chinese government wasn’t delighted about the timing of the white smoke. This was indeed an historic period, and these are interesting times.

There are remarkable contrasts in these stories. One transition was painstakingly planned and prepared for after the decision was announced publically at least a half a year in advance, while the other was a suspense-filled surprise, which was the culmination of a shocking decision of his predecessor. One was infused by the pomp and ceremony of the highest profile, ancient Western church, while the other was played out in the ceremony of the in the modern, complex, Communist party structure that represents one of the world’s oldest and most sophisticated cultures.

There are also many similarities. In both cases, the decision on succession was made by a relatively small group of knowledgeable insiders who place a strong priority on the stability of the institutions. In both cases, the choices represent blends of non-traditional associations and histories, while also remaining closely associated with other traditional institutional values. Both Mr. Xi and Pope Francis are seen to be men “of their people” with deeper understandings of the plight of the common man than their predecessors. Finally, they both face imposing expectations about bringing significant reforms to their institutions – cleaning up a series of problems – while also staying true to their core principles. It will be very interesting seeing how each of these men handles these imposing circumstances.

Educators talk a lot about leadership and how we can infuse those skills in our students. I think that studying these two world figures – both how they came to be two of the most powerful people in the world, and what they do in the years ahead – will be fascinating case studies for those interesting in leadership.

If This Is Tuesday, It Must Be ...

I am always stimulated by my travels to Asia, and this March Break is no exception. With my colleague Rebecca Llewellyn, and at various times with colleagues Esther Kim ’05 and Katherine Fung-Surya, we are spending time in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Seoul and Tokyo. I write this post on the plane from Tokyo to Hong Kong – about to land in our fifth city in seven days!

I have been to Asia about two dozen times, and now feel very comfortable in many of the cultures and cities. Particularly at the Royal Garden Hotel in Tsim Tsa Tsui, Kowloon (with its enchanting view of Hong Kong Island,) and at spectacular Mission Hills Golf resort owned by my good friends Dr. Ken and Tenniel Chu, I have a great sense of being at home and connection.

In Asia I find that I am constantly learning new things and understanding new nuances about the issues, perspectives, and cultures. There is no doubt that my views of world dynamics, multiculturalism and educational priorities have been powerfully shaped by my time here and my interactions with some remarkable friends from this part of the world. Certainly this trip is no exception.  This is my first trip here on behalf of Appleby, so there is the new wrinkle of meeting many new people and receiving most generous, warm welcomes by Appleby parents and alumni.

On this trip, I am struck by three things in particular, relating to differences and similarities:

1.       Once again, it is striking how westerners mistakenly group Asian cultures together into one. In fact, while there may be some similarities, the differences between Hong Kong Chinese culture and Korean culture, or between Japanese culture and mainland Chinese culture are at least as wide as those between American culture and, for instance, Korean culture. As Canadians, we are particularly sensitive about differences between Canadian and US cultures, while my friends from Atlantic Canada and Quebec are also (very!) quick to point out that their cultures are very different than that of Toronto.

Westerners, in general, and North Americans, in particular, have a long way to go to better understand these Asian differences and their implications for our future. I take great comfort that our children’s generation, especially Appleby students, have a massive head-start over my own generation. And in the decades ahead, this understanding will undoubtedly be a hallmark of great leadership, regardless of field.

2.      The flip side of appreciating differences is seeing similarities. While in Shanghai, we had the opportunity to stop in briefly at Bi Le Middle School (a top Shanghai local school.) Students from Bi Le were hosting students from Appleby and Melbourne’s Ivanhoe Grammar School on an intercultural exchange. Shanghai was their first stop, before heading off to Sian and Beijing. It was great to see our Grade 9 students and colleagues Fraser Grant ’87 and Sheila Kuyper.

We watched a program where students from each school gave presentations on their countries and schools, then discussed what life is like in each country. While they spend lots of time focusing on differences, I was just as struck by how similar these 14 and 15-year olds were in terms of their humour, their concerns, their habits – including reaction to Canadian exports like” the Beebs.”  So many aspects of being a teenager transcend culture.

3.      On a similar note, while North American educators often talk about cultural differences in dealing with parents of students from various parts of the world, parents from different backgrounds share many more traits than not. Part of this trip has been meeting parents one-on-one and in small groups to talk about their children and about their Appleby experiences. Many of these conversations have been stereotype-busters. I have been delighted to hear universally positive reports from parents, knowing that many wonder about things like: How is my daughter fitting in? Is my son working hard enough? What about universities? Does my daughter clean her room? I want my son to experience some real challenge/failure to prepare for life. Most of these conversations could be easily transposed for those I have with Oakville families.

At the end of the day, I think that almost all parents want two things – for their children to be known and embraced by the school community for who they are, and for their children to be cared for in terms of program, culture and support. Once again, while the “hows” may look different, these core values transcend nationality and culture.