260 Ways to Be More Visible

For the tenth anniversary of Visibility Marketing Inc., we’ve compiled a list of 365 260 ways to “be more visible.” They are quick and easy.  Nothing hard.  Nothing new.  It’s only a matter of incorporating the old Nike tagline philosophy “just do it.”

We started out with 365 but then realized, why work them on the weekends?  We’ll just give them enough for Monday through Friday and let them rest and play the other two days.  Now, if you’re really ambitious we can have that conversation.

So, if you want to be “more visible” just do one of these a day.  Or, you can do one of these for 5 days, or 25 days.  If you get bored with one, choose another. It’s all a matter of working it until it works.

Now sign on to Twitter and follow @BeMoreVisible to get your visibility for today.

No More Black Beans and Rice (It’s Gumbo Now)

The deep psychological wounds of slavery cannot  easily be measured, but the evidence of the superior race mind-set is ever present.

As America’s pot becomes gumbo rather than black beans and rice, everyone has to learn to accept and welcome the positive changes diversity brings. Not only do we now have an African American running our nation, but minorities are at the helm of some of our great businesses and institutions. Many minorites and some in the majority accept what is, because from generation to generation we have not known otherwise.

A recent incident brought the necessity of diversity education home. For nearly one year I attended job-related meetings at which I was the only African American. One meeting I could not attend, so I asked a co-worker to stand in for me.

Imagine my surprise when she returned, exclaiming how nice and accomodating everyone was. She was beckoned to sit with the hosts and made to feel like a “sorority” sister – gestures of acceptance, acknowledgement and appreciation I had never experienced.

At first I could not quite understand why my emotions were on a roller coaster. Then, it dawned on me. My color prevented me from being in their “club.” I could not join because I did not look like them.  Maybe  even deeper than that – they were uncomfortable with me. In their world I don’t exist. I am invisible.

The days of  “black beans and rice” are over. The numbers of Latinos, Asians, Native and Arab Americans and other ethnic groups are growing. Therefore, diversity education is necessary. By making entire races invisible, we are shortchanging our schoolrooms and boardrooms of their talents, time and treasures. We have to try to learn and understand the history, cultures and souls of those who are different.

There were two lessons learned from this incident. One, I was used to being invisible and ignored. I didn’t recognize it until it was blatantly brought to my attention. Alienating others was their way of life – their actions went unrecognizable to them.

Two, I now have a better understanding of what Jesus meant when He said, “…love your enemies. Do good to them…Then your reward will be great and you will be sons of the Most High, because He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.” (Luke 6:35 NIV).

The attitudes and actions that have brought the need for diversity education to took hundreds of years to create and may take just as long to eradicate. We must be patient and continue to seek change with love. We may not see it’s full manifestation in our lifetime. Maybe our great-grandchildren will.

Touched By a RAK

The year was 1998 - I was touched by a RAK. I even wrote about it in Kaleidoscope magazine. It was in the early days of the Internet when we didn’t have to worry about Spam or phishing. Not many people were on the Internet back then. Since I had an AOL account, the only people I connected with were on AOL.

One day on April 9th I received an email from a stranger. Which was quite rare in those days. It simply said, “You don’t know me. I want to wish you a Happy Birthday. You’ve been hit by a RAK… “Random Act of Kindness.”

The email threw me. Since he was also on AOL, it wasn’t hard to figure out how he got my email address. I emailed him back to thank him. He said that’s what he does…thinks of various ways to perform random acts of kindness.

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It’s All About the Information

Cuyahoga County is building a new Juvenile Justice Center. As you might imagine, the idea did not sit very well with a lot of people…especially the residents where this mammoth center is located.  Why? Well, let’s just say that a justice center for youth may remind people that they failed the children. It also reminds them that there’s a lot more work to do.

Visibilty Marketing Inc. is designed Tower of Change – a newsletter about the project which keeps the 3500 residents imformed. Most importantly Tower of Change answers the question WIIFM?

Since the building is in a predominantly African American neighborhood, the residents want to make sure that African Americans were represented on the project. In each Tower of Change issue readers will see: ~~People living in the Fairfax neighborhood and working on the project
~~Career opportunities and profiles
~~Mentoring relationships
~~Construction tidbits
~~Promises made and promises kept 

Here’s a sample of the first newsletter. Let us know what you think…

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