With times getting tight for a lot of folks out there, its easy to get dismayed at all the bad news coming our way. Its even harder to see that start to impact things closer to home. We’ve ridden a bit of that wave ourselves as of late, and still, have seen God’s continued provision for us in the midst of it all. Why say any more when I can just let someone else’s writing say it best…
Psalm 66 | For the director of music. A song. A psalm.

1 Shout with joy to God, all the earth!

2 Sing the glory of his name;
make his praise glorious!

3 Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!
So great is your power
that your enemies cringe before you.

4 All the earth bows down to you;
they sing praise to you,
they sing praise to your name.”
Selah

5 Come and see what God has done,
how awesome his works in man’s behalf!

6 He turned the sea into dry land,
they passed through the waters on foot—
come, let us rejoice in him.

7 He rules forever by his power,
his eyes watch the nations—
let not the rebellious rise up against him.
Selah

8 Praise our God, O peoples,
let the sound of his praise be heard;

9 he has preserved our lives
and kept our feet from slipping.

10 For you, O God, tested us;
you refined us like silver.

11 You brought us into prison
and laid burdens on our backs.

12 You let men ride over our heads;
we went through fire and water,
but you brought us to a place of abundance.

13 I will come to your temple with burnt offerings
and fulfill my vows to you-

14 vows my lips promised and my mouth spoke
when I was in trouble.

15 I will sacrifice fat animals to you
and an offering of rams;
I will offer bulls and goats.
Selah

16 Come and listen, all you who fear God;
let me tell you what he has done for me.

17 I cried out to him with my mouth;
his praise was on my tongue.

18 If I had cherished sin in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened;

19 but God has surely listened
and heard my voice in prayer.

20 Praise be to God,
who has not rejected my prayer
or withheld his love from me!

I don’t know how many of you readers grew up during the time when MTV was actually played music videos, because honestly, I didn’t.

I think I was alive for some of those years but only watched it for a year before the likes of the Real World and Road Rules and Real World Road Rules Challenge and Making the band dominated the broadcasts. Sometimes if I was lucky I would catch Silverchair playing around midnight on saturday night.

Now thanks to the world wide internet, MTV is actually playing nothing but music videos. That is if you go to mtvmusic.com

I’m happy that I can watch my favorite videos easily now, but still find it funny that you have to type music after mtv in order to get there.

I’m an Operations guy, which makes it easy to talk about how something “should” work. But rather than talk about what “should be”, it’s better to start with one central question – what are the results saying? Results don’t lie, they can’t be debated about, and they are not personal (they are facts).

There are a few main types of results we like to focus on – one of them being what our Customers are saying.

We’ve learned more from our customer’s feedback about what to refine, revamp, and add-on to than we have from any book or other company’s model. We’re interested in hearing what our customers are saying about our process, the fulfillment of our obligations, our customer service, and so on. Their feedback is priceless, and gives us a true look at what reality is, even when something may “feel” good to us internally. Afterall, brands are all about who other people say you and your company are.

So that said, if you’re reading this as one of our customers, don’t be shy about letting us know what you really think. You’re part of shaping who we are and who we become.

“Somebody ought to call Steve Jobs, who doesn’t need to be bribed to do innovation, and ask him if he’d like to do national service and run a car company for a year. I’d bet it wouldn’t take him much longer than that to come up with the G.M. iCar.”

A recent column from NY Times contributer, Thomas Friedman, discusses the potential government bailout General Motors and more importantly, what led to the General’s failure.

G.M.’s vice chairman, Bob Lutz has been quoted saying that hybrids like the Toyota Prius “make no economic sense,” and that global warming “is a total crock of [expletive].” It’s exactly why in times of economic crises, GM is looking for a lifeline while Honda is building new manufacturing plants to keep up with increasing demand for efficient cars. It’s why Apple continues to grow year after year while competitors from all sides are constantly scrambling to play catch up. (How many awesome new “touch” phones and MP3 players have come out this past year only to be forgotten and replaced months later?)

The key here is innovation. Sure, a company can probably ride out the latest trends and even make a quick buck from it. But fresh ideas, new ways of thinking and looking ahead are what will separate a good brand from the rest in the long run.

Malcolm Gladwell, best selling author of The Tipping Point and Blink, released a new book this week entitled Outliers, The Story of Success.  In Outliers, Gladwell tries to figure out what it actually is that makes someone successful, and like usual, he will take our typical thinking and flip it upside down.

I can’t tell you how much I love the way this man thinks.  The Tipping Point was early to the movement of word of mouth marketing and making a big difference in the small things.  And though Outliers isn’t a marketing book, I am just such a huge fan that I can’t help but tell the world.

I have forced myself not to buy this book until next week so I can spend some good time digging into it.  If you want a little insight on the angle of the book, read this review from Time Magazine online.

In sports the debate of which is more important goes back a long ways. In football you can’t win if you don’t have a great defense (Missouri) but you can’t win without an offense either (… i know, Auburn)

At Matchstic we have a constant conversation of whether we are on offense, or on defense. Are we leading the client through the process? Or, are they leading us? When you are on defense you can’t control the experience. You are only responding. It is impossible to surprise (in a good way anyways) or to exceed expectations, when we are being lead by the client

This is something that to be honest, I am still learning. I think it is something that as a manager I will be learning it more everyday. It is far easier to respond then it is to communicate, be proactive, keep up with the details, and ultimately delivering what you promise. But, at the end of the day, it is the only way to guarantee the result of a great experience.

Sorry for the call out Missouri.

Progressive. That’s an interesting word. I was having a conversation the other day with Craig, about the idea of progressive companies, and by all accounts I guess Matchstic could be labeled as one (after all we are working on implementing ROWE, a profit share, and our job relies on forward thinking!) but I’m curious to seek out and learn from more, especially in Atlanta.

Here’s a quick run down or check list to see if you are a “Progressive Company”:

• Are you constantly instituting changes for the better?
• Are you making progress towards better conditions?
• Do you experiment with new methods?
• Do you look at failures as valuable lessons?
• Do you strive for continuous improvement and better results?

If so, we’d love to hear from you. Email us at progressive@matchstic.com and tells us about your company.

Blake and Craig were honored Thurs night as one of ATLs “40 under 40″ – one of Atlanta’s 40 most promising young stars! We’re proud of them and all they’ve built together as partners that has created the framework for our house.

As part of the team, its really cool to see things like this happen as we approach our 5 year anniversary.

Here’s hoping they make it to the “40 over 40″ in another decade!

Click here to check out the article.

McDonalds Japan is testing out a new marketing/branding strategy, that can only be described as No Brand Branding. They have opened “Quarter Pounder Stores” in select locations in Japan. There is no mention of the name “McDonalds”, no sighting of Golden Arches, and even the beloved Ronald McDonald is no where in site. Word is, that curious customers are lining up to see whats happening behind the stark black and red storefronts.

Once they are inside they only have 2 menu choices, a Quarter Pounder with Cheese Set for 500 yen (about $5.15) or a Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese Set that goes for 600 yen (about $6.20).

It’s an interesting strategy that seems to play on the “intrigue” factor to get customer’s through the door, but I’m not sure how effective it will be to get repeat business or to re-ignite customer’s love affair with the Golden Arches.

So I have officially survived my third day here — without any catastrophes, disasters or meltdowns. In fact, the whole transition has been pretty seamless. I think this can be attributed to the incredibly well-oiled machine that is Matchstic.

These days, everyone and their cousin’s moms are in the business of “branding”. What sets Matchstic apart is their commitment to really walk the talk. Every member of the team is incredibly smart and an expert at what they do. There is talent oozing out the cracks. The company dynamic and teamwork is effortless. For lack of a better word, it just “works”. It’s what attracted me from the beginning and undoubtedly what brings in their ever impressive client base.

Everyone has been extremely friendly and helpful and it already feels as if I’ve been there for a while. It’s an exciting time, and I look forward to learning, contributing and calling Matchstic my home away from home.