The Big Picture - April 2013 - (Page 4)

insight by Gregory Sharpless www.bigpicture.net Gregory Sharpless Editor-in-Chief gregory.sharpless@stmediagroup.com Adrienne Palmer Assistant Editor adrienne.palmer@stmediagroup.com Don’t Pull a Rory I don’t follow golf all that much. I don’t even play the game. However, I couldn’t help but see all the news stories about pro golfer Rory McIlroy abruptly quitting a tournament a few weeks ago. At the age of 23, McIlroy is the world’s number-one golfer, according to the latest rankings. But in this particular tournament’s second round, he was seven over par (for you other non-golfers, that’s apparently bad) and had just hit another golf ball into the water (that’s bad, too). So his score was about to get even worse that day. His solution to golﬁng poorly? Simply quit and walk oﬀ the course. Oh, he initially blamed a sore tooth for quitting in the middle of his round. Later, however, he admitted it wasn’t the tooth at all but rather his dissatisfaction with his score that led to the decision to just give up. Granted, McIlroy is only 23 and we’ve all made silly decisions at that age. Alas, it comes with being a young adult (my apologies if any of this oﬀends you young adults who are not making poor decisions). But you shouldn’t quit in the middle of a sporting event – particularly a professional sporting event, and particularly when you pulled down more than $8 million last year playing said sport (plus endorsements, etc.). It’s decidedly unprofessional to do so, and it reeks of someone who has yet to rid themselves of their last vestiges of childhood tantrums and baby fat. Think about what would happen if you’re in the middle of a job, and it’s not going quite as well as you’d like it to. Or perhaps you’re simply having a bad day at the oﬃce. How many times have you just quit and gone home? Probably zero. Instead, in the case of the job that’s not going well, you try some other things. You probably ﬁrst strive to determine if the problem is executing the production. Or perhaps something was incorrectly spec’d at the outset of the job? Are certain expectations (yours or your client’s) just unrealistic? And if you’re having a bad day, you probably shrug it oﬀ – you realize these pop up every now and then. You make the best of it and soldier on. Tomorrow, you realize, will likely be a better day. In neither case, however, do you simply “walk oﬀ the course.” By doing so, you risk sending a bad message to your staﬀ, your clients, and yourself. And, besides, wouldn’t you rather be the hero who tackles the problem and solves it rather than the quitter who gives up on the problem? Laura Mohr Art Director laura.mohr@stmediagroup.com Marty McGhie, Craig Miller, Jared Smith Columnists Linda Volz Production Supervisor linda.volz@stmediagroup.com Lou Arneberg - East and Midwest US, Eastern Canada Ben Stauss - West and South US, Western Canada, Europe, Asia Business Development Managers Rick Bachelder, Kathy Boydstun, Terry Corman, Scott Crosby, Brandon Gabriel, Michael Garcia, Kirk Green, Robert Kissel, Tina McLaughlin, Craig Miller, Carmen Rad, Greg Root, Jared Smith, Mark Taylor Editorial Advisory Board Tedd Swormstedt President Steve Duccilli Senior VP of Content Christine Baloga Audience Development Director Kari Freudenberger Director, Online Media Subscription Services (847) 763-4938 tbp@halldata.com bigpicture.net/subscribe bigpicture.net/renew Single Copies/Back Issues Debbie Reed debbie.reed@stmediagroup.com THE BIG PICTURE (ISSN 1082-9660) is published 9 times annually (Jan/Feb, March, April, May, June/July, August, September, October, Nov/Dec) by ST Media Group International Inc., 11262 Cornell Park Dr., Cincinnati, OH 45242-1812. Telephone: (513) 421-2050, Fax: (513) 362-0317. No charge for subscriptions to qualiﬁed individuals. Annual rate for subscriptions to non-qualiﬁed individuals in the U.S.A.: $42 USD. Annual rate for subscriptions in Canada: $70 USD (includes GST & postage); all other countries: $92 (Int’l mail) payable in U.S. funds. Printed in the U.S.A. Copyright 2013, by ST Media Group International Inc. All rights reserved. The contents of this publication may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the consent of the publisher. The publisher is not responsible for product claims and representations. Periodicals Postage Paid at Cincinnati, OH and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: The Big Picture, P.O. Box 1060, Skokie, IL 60076. Change of address: Send old address label along with new address to The Big Picture, P.O. Box 1060, Skokie, IL 60076. 4 THE BIG PICTURE APRIL 2013 11262 Cornell Park Drive Cincinnati, OH 45242 tel (513) 421-2050 fax (513) 421-5144 http://www.bigpicture.net http://www.bigpicture.net/subscribe http://www.bigpicture.net/renew

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Big Picture - April 2013

The Big Picture - April 2013
Contents
InSight
Wide Angle
UpFront
Inside Output
Business + Management
Becoming a Pace Setter
RIP Tide
Success with Dynamic Signage
R+D
Explorer

The Big Picture - April 2013