The “Game of Change”

July 9th, 2010 admin

AdzZoo is an electrifying entity in the industry of Search Engine Management.  One reason we have a commanding lead is based on the leadership within this company.  Bill Anderton, one of our founders, began his road to leadership with a basketball scholarship at Mississippi State University.

In 1963, this dominant basketball team of the Mississippi State “Bulldogs” was involved in a watershed moment that changed the game of NCAA basketball forever.  The documentary film, “Game of Change,” is about the events of Mississippi State playing against the interracial team of Loyola of Chicago in the first ever appearance of MSU in the NCAA tournament.

The president of MSU made a stand to challenge the system and allow his championship basketball team the opportunity to play in a national tournament. Coach McCarthy organized his team to slip out of town defying an order from the Governor (it was an unwritten Mississippi law) that did not allow a state university to play against an interracial team.

In 1963, segregation was coming to an end and many schools become racially integrated.  All these “Bulldogs” wanted to do was play basketball, so they slipped out of town in the early hours of the morning to travel in secret to East Lansing, Michigan.  Anderton told us last August that they were so tired,  and they didn’t have time to even practice  for that “Game of Change.”  They lost, but won more than any of them realized at that moment. This “Game of Change” has been determined one of the top 25 events in NCAA history.

Bill Anderton went on to coach, then sold insurance, and finally joined his friend and former “Bulldog” football player, Art Williams, to build the giant company, A.L. Williams Insurance.  Bill Anderton has come out of retirement to build the AdzZoo business.

We are proud to be working with this leader.

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Discover Creative Thinking

January 19th, 2009 admin

Successful companies and individuals are required to eliminate attitudes that devalue creative thinking.  To foster creativity in the workplace, a creative company doesn’t rely on the same data that their competitors have access to.  The creative company seeks new experiences and ways of thinking about their market, products, and internal processes to insure their successes.

In the book “Thinking For a Change” by John C. Maxwell, the following phrases are listed to guarantee to kill creative thinking.  Don’t let yourself or anyone else subject you to these creativity killers.

* I’m Not a Creative Person

* Follow the Rules

* Don’t Ask Questions

* Don’t Be Different

* Stay Within the Lines

* There Is Only One Way

* Don’t Be Foolish

* Be Practical

* Be Serious

* Think of Your Image

* That’s Not Logical

* It’s Not Practical

* It’s Never Been Done

* It Can’t Be Done

* It Didn’t Work for Them

* We Tried That Before

* It’s Too Much Work

* We Can’t Afford to Make a Mistake

* It Will Be Too Hard to Administer

* We Don’t Have the Time

* We Don’t Have the Money

* Yes, But…

* Play is Frivolous

* Failure Is Final

“You can’t use up creativity.  The more you use, the more you have.”
Maya Angelou

Posted in Business | 2 Comments »

Elevate Recognition to the Next Level, Part II

January 19th, 2009 admin

Posted in Business Incentives | No Comments »

Elevate Recognition to the Next Level

January 15th, 2009 admin

Posted in Business Incentives | 2 Comments »

Partners for Incentives

October 28th, 2008 admin

We have recently partnered with Partners for Incentives in Cleveland.  We now have a combined experience of 62 years in the incentive industry.

What does that mean for you?  It gives us the capabilities to expand our services for your challenges in the incentive and recognition needs of your company.   It is paramount that we provide solutions that are cost effective and give you the results needed.  We have a team in marketing and sales that deliver the right program to get the right solution for you.

The economy does not change the challenges; a company still needs to move a product, still needs to engage employees, and still needs to create a positive, responsible environment where people are valued and rewarded for creative service.

Remember that our team is a creative and personal resource for solutions.

Posted in Business Incentives, Business Relationships | 2 Comments »

Chicago Motivation Show

October 23rd, 2008 admin

We attended the world’s largest exhibition of motivational products and services at McCormick Place in Chicago.  It is imperative that during this challenging business climate, we provide you with all the tools at hand to help you with solutions for your business.

The show contained more than 2,000 exhibitors with brand-name merchandise awards, gift cards, and enticing travel destinations.  Because of this show opportunity, we are networking with incentive houses in order to help you with all your incentive and recognition award needs.

Along with the merchandise and travel, we noted that two authors of two books in our business library, The Carrot Principle, and Saving the World at Work, were among the 50 seminars in the show.  These seminars on effective incentive recognition, along with the world’s largest display of recognition award ideas, will help us create a well-designed recognition program for you.

The results will be increased productivity, morale, and employee retention.  A satisfied employee and satisfied customer improve business performance.  Everyone says that, but do you have a creative marketing partner to “pull this off?”  Our right brain approaches to creating incentive programs capture people’s hearts and minds.

We look forward to helping you.

Posted in Incentive Trends | 2 Comments »

Peer-To-Peer Recognition

September 19th, 2008 admin

Recognition programs, designed to drive engagement, focus on every employee and are extremely successful.  These engagement-targeted programs are peer-to-peer driven.

Some companies have used a five-tier plateau program where the first step is merely a peer-to-peer email-based thank-you, and as each plateau increases in significance, so does the incentive reward.  The final tier is a substantial award plateau that would need executive approval.

We have designed some recognition programs using several options for each plateau.  These engagement and recognition programs increase productivity.  Ask yourself  would you rather have employees working at 75% or 100% productivity?  How much money would that increase in productivity save a company?

As reported in Incentive Magazine, the consulting firm, Tower Perrin, concluded that a 15% improvement in engagement, will cause a 2% improvement in a firm’s operating margin, for a Fortune 500 company that could equal billions.

Employee engagement recognition programs work!

Posted in Incentive Trends | 1 Comment »

Holiday Gifts

September 2nd, 2008 admin

Even though it’s only the beginning of September, it’s time to start thinking about holiday gifts.  The art of corporate gifting is a marketing opportunity and if used correctly, you’ll make customers and employees happy.  The result is you will build loyalty at both ends.

If you are in charge of company gifting, you will need a good memory and a considerable amount of time to choose the right gifts.  Especially, when it is possible that you may be buying for a variety of ages, heritage, and dietary preferences.   Finding something unique and within budget restraints is also a challenge.

At KS Yocum Enterprises we understand the challenges that you face in your gift selections.  We wrote about an example of a bad choice in our blog article, Choosing The Right Incentive.

One of our programs offers your recipients the gift of choice.  We provide you with full service options, 18 different price points, online gift redemption for more than 600 choices, no shipping charges and 100% satisfaction guarantee for up to six months with this service.

With this program you will save time, provide your recipient with his choice of gift, and provide the positive goodwill that you seek.  All you need to do is tell us what you want to invest, and we will do the rest.

Contact us at ksyocum@gmail.com or at 888.491.9774.  We are at your service.

Posted in Business Incentives | 2 Comments »

Recession-Resistant Workforce

August 26th, 2008 admin

In our blog articles, we have mentioned how important employees are to a company. They are the most important assets a company possesses.

We would like to share an article with you, “Recession-Resistant Workforce,” that we received through one of our business newsletters. If your best weapon against a possible recession is the workforce, then we need to invest in employee development and incentives.

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Good Taste Wine & Food Shop Incentive Destination

August 25th, 2008 admin

Seth Godin wrote a marketing book, “Purple Cow,” and in it he says, “You’re either a purple cow or you’re not. You’re either remarkable or invisible. Make your choice.”

Good Taste Wine & Food Shop is a remarkable destination. Chris and Robin Rose have created an environment where you are asked, “What can we do for you?”

We chose Good Taste for an award fulfillment destination because of their creativity, service, food quality, and interest in providing a stunning, beautiful, affordable dining experience. Creating exceptional memories with Good Taste as an incentive award is a great ROI.

Katie Palmer will be working with us to help create adaptable company events with the cooking school, the chef’s table, and the “great room” facility. Good Taste is the kind of place where they do whatever you want because they have a different approach to customer service called flexibility.

Katie says, “Anything you want to do, we will make it work for you.”

We are proud to be working with Good Taste Wine & Food Shop in Medina, Ohio.

Posted in Business Relationships | 1 Comment »