THEN: Secretary of State (KY), 1996-2004; Candidate for Lieutenant Governor, 2007
NOW: JYB3 Group (Owner) -public affairs consulting firm; Miller Wells law firm (Of counsel)
Full Biography:link
By John Y. Brown III, on Fri Jul 20, 2012 at 12:00 PM ET
Facebook advertising and paying for colonoscopies.
As I watch Facebook succumb to ad creep I am reminded of a ridiculous joke I suggested a couple of months ago to a friend as we discussed the need for, ahem!, colonoscopies and how to pay for them.
My idea was a simple, All-American pro-Capitalism approach. I thought of the most obvious solution that everyone else seemed to be missing.
Look, some people rent out their cars for ad space. We have ads in the most intimate public spaces, including restroom stalls. And don’t forget the human sandwich boards.
The solution was so simple, a child could have thought of it. Why not allow us to contract through our insurance providers to rent out our colons as advertising space?
Duh!!
When doctors are doing a scope they will see advertising campaigns specifically targeted to them. Ads for new medical equipment, new pharmaceutical medication, trips abroad, Mercedes Benzes and subscriptions to Cigar Aficionado. With the new advertising revenue derived from colon ads, we will be able for every American to be able to financially cover all the needed medical procedures involving their colon.
Health improves. Our health care system is more financially solvent. And doctors get interesting and relevant information about new marketplace opportunities while snaking through our colons looking for the presence of unusual new growths.
It’s a classic win, win, win.
And reminded me of the new spate of ads we are all subjected to now on Facebook. We are all being treated like doctors now, in an odd sort of way. I guess. There is always a silver lining if you look hard enough.
And also, if you look hard enough, there is another advertisement that just appeared. ; )
By John Y. Brown III, on Thu Jul 19, 2012 at 12:00 PM ET
Are you feeling shallow today?
Did your boss seem dismissive of you?
Are you not getting the kind of respect at home you feel you deserve?
Next time you feel a personal slight, actual or anticipated, stop yourself. Straighten your back. Look the person in the eyes and repeat this quote–soberly and with conviction.
“There is no coming to consciousness without pain. People will do anything, no matter how absurd, in order to avoid facing their own soul. One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious.”
Pause. And then add,
“Oh yeah. That’s Carl Gustave Jung. Since you appear confused.”
Shuts ’em up every time. And they will not take you for being shallow or inconsequential again.
By John Y. Brown III, on Wed Jul 18, 2012 at 12:00 PM ET
Good living tips.
Try each evening to review the day and ask yourself, “What is one thing I learned today based on first hand experience?”
Write down the answer–don’t just think about it. In fact, write down the answer in the form of a declaration or “lesson learned.”
This helps you not only remember but also has a greater impact on positively changing future behavior.
Here’s my most recent entry:
July 11th.
Today I learned that you should never select a song by Michael Jackson when playing Karaoke. And if you do, try not to do Micheal’s signature spin move. Especially on thick carpet.”
By John Y. Brown III, on Mon Jul 16, 2012 at 12:00 PM ET
Crashing or coasting?
Depends on if you are on the outside looking in or the inside looking out.
Unfortunately, you see it a lot in business. It’s almost a predictable arc–rising, leveling and, like a star, eventually imploding.
It starts with breaking through initial barriers and onto the scene. Followed by rapid and dynamic growth for a sustained period until it becomes an institution of sorts. Then there is a plateauing. An uneasy period where management becomes more concerned about maintaining market share than growing it…because, frankly, it already has about all the market share it can ever get.
And then there is a disconnect. Slow at first and only noticeable to those looking for it. But then noticeable to a growing number of others. But not to management. Until the decline has begun. Sometimes management notices and faces the problem then and tries to reverse course. Other times a new management team is brought on because the current team is unable to see the problem clearly or navigate out of the crisis they inadvertently created. And if neither of these take place, there is the crash. Sometimes its soft; sometimes hard. Sometimes swift; sometimes slow. But the crash is inevitable.
In the final stage the company is no longer nimble. No longer responsive to customers. It takes them for granted. Instead of trying to see ahead and anticipate market demands and adjust early to them the company instead rests on its laurels and tries to prevent the natural changes from happening within the industry—ironically, the same changes this once great company used to break into a leadership position by being more responsive than their former complacent competitors. The former agent of change has become the agent for the status quo.
They resist change during this phase not because change will hurt better delivery of their products or services to customers but because change has become an inconvenience for management. The company is no longer “client centered” but “self centered.” And they have long forgotten the day when they counted on their once larger competitors to believe that self-importance was a successful long-term growth strategy in business. It never is.
They will eventually remember this truth. That is inevitable too. But sadly that is almost always “after” the inevitable crash–not before.
By John Y. Brown III, on Fri Jul 13, 2012 at 12:00 PM ET
Found myself weirdly wondering what song I had heard the most times in my life.
Fittingly, it’s a weirdly wonderful song. One I still fail to understand and have never been very interested in figuring out. I just enjoy listening to the bluesy moody jazzy melody. And seem never to tire of it.
“The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys” by Traffic.
The song sustained me many nights, days and afternoons from my teens into my late 20s–when I finally got to see the band live in Tamarac, FL in 1992.
It was a small intimate theater in the retirement community of Tamarac, FL and the average audience age was about 40.
But if I had to pick out my favorite concert moment, it would be when Traffic played Low Spark. That moment, for me, just barely beat out the time I saw Steely Dan live (also in the early 90s in FL) play Aja. Which was a close second place for the song I’ve listened to the most times. And, again, a song I have no interest in understanding. I just enjoy the bluesy, moody, jazzy….
By John Y. Brown III, on Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 12:00 PM ET
Relationships are hard and take work.
It was inevitable. No relationship that begins with love at first sight is able to remain in the “honeymoon” phase forever. There’s that initial irritation (maybe an offhand comment, the way they chew their food, a quirky habit not noticed before–but always something). And then there is the first disagreement (or fight).
Maybe you work through it; maybe you don’t. But there is disappointment. And then reality sets in and you move ahead with a more realistic assessment of expectations in the relationship.
That happened yesterday between me and my new iPhone, which I bought last week.
Several times last week (Thursday during a noon meeting and Friday for a 2pm conference call), at the peak of the work day, I went to my iPhone to find it lifeless. Dead.
I didn’t say anything at first. Just changed the subject and looked the other way while lovingly recharging.
But when it died again late afternoon Friday, I snapped and said some insulting things to my iPhone. “Come on! What is it with you? Do Apple people only work 4 hours a day and don’t make phones that last longer than that?” Ouch! I took that back. But later thought “You (my iPhone) remind me of that cute little Chihuahua that Paris Hilton carries in her purse —a cute but useless accoutrement.”
Fortunately, I didn’t say that out loud.
If was Friday night, so I let it go. And we had a good time. Took some pictures. Played with some apps. Watched a video clip of Modern Family.
But today I’m wondering if the iPhone and I are going to make it. Breaking up with the Blackberry wasn’t easy. And, yes, I’m on the rebound now and perhaps not thinking straight. But I was hoping for a second phone that was more like a solid second marriage….not a fun fling to get out of my system. I’m committed to making this work, if it can. And am buying a car charger for the iPhone this morning.
The initial thrill is wearing off and I worry about being stuck with a high maintenance smart phone. I’m not ready to explore legal options of breaking the two year service contract.
By John Y. Brown III, on Wed Jul 11, 2012 at 12:00 PM ET
Fathers and sons.
Tip for the day.
If you are a dad and haven’t complimented your son recently for doing something well, take the time today to do so. You’ll feel better and it will make your son’s day. … I promise.
Whether you are a 25 year old father with a 4 year old son or a 78 year old father with a 49 year son, it always works that way. Always. And it doesn’t matter whether the compliment is about throwing a baseball or writing silly posts on a blog (or Facebook).
Case in point, an email received yesterday from my father.
JYB Sr., JYB Jr. and JYB III circa 1972
“I try to keep up with your blogs (Recovering Politician) and I find most of them entertaining and thought provoking. I just finished catching up with the last week of blogs and you had a good week.What’s so amazing to your father is how informed you are on so many different categories and how uninformed I am. Guess it’s never too late to try and catch up to be relevant. Love, Dad (There was a time in my life I thought I was pretty well informed but with the computer information I been left far behind. I’m having more fun learning than ever. Even in my so called twilight years .)”
And if you can throw in a comment about you, as a father, having a weakness, even better.
By John Y. Brown III, on Tue Jul 10, 2012 at 12:00 PM ET
Mental Molting or Convergence?
Once upon a time I had a well trained mind. Disciplined; respectful; dutiful; useful and predictable.
It used to be when I was given a new topic for consideration my mind would race breathlessly to pull up as much relevant information as possible and have it ready to stand at attention and be manipulated or marshaled as needed to impress or persuade.
Not so much anymore.
I don’t know if it is some glorious harmonizing of the totality of our mental capacities that now–as my mind ripens with age– allows me to hear a new topic for consideration and, for several minutes immediately following, hear the stark sound of crickets. And then follow up with the expressionless expression exuded by Jack Nicholson’s character in the final scene of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest as we realize he’s been lobotomized. Maybe it is some form of intellectual convergence at work. But I suspect it’s something different and inglorious.
Like pruning or mental molting. New topics I hear these days stimulate either nothing or something random I later try to make a logical excuse for popping into my mind.
For example, I was discussing the news website Digg.com. After listening for several minutes about it all I could think of was the lyric “Dig this!” from The Main Ingredient singing “Everybody Plays the Fool.”
And now I’m trying to introduce the song as a logical and relevant part of our discussion about Digg.com.
So, if you can relate, Dig this!
And let’s hope others only think we’re “playing the fool.”
By John Y. Brown III, on Mon Jul 9, 2012 at 12:00 PM ET
“I –seriously–believe that an appeal of the Republican party is to appeal to people with a father-deficiency (or “father hunger” as Robert Blye calls it). It’s the father-party. Hierarchical, protective, tough, male-dominated, etc.”
This is a verbatim line form an email sent to a friend [Editor’s Note: Me] who asked me if this meant that Democrats had “mommy issues.”‘
I said, yes. And I really do think you can divide the two major political parties into a patriarchal and matriarchal divide in how they approach problems and appeal to voters.
Republicans are, as described above, the party more inclined to have a convention speaker accuse the competition of being “Girly men.” It’s crude, dated, and ham handed but also fills a need we all have for a strong sure father-figure. Ronald Reagan mastered this role in a way that Schwarzenegger only caricatured.
By contrast, we Democrats are viewed as the more nurturing, compassionate, and patient party who “feels your pain” as Bill Clinton famously said. A banal statement that became famous because it so well symbolized a key difference between Clinton and his opponent; Democrats from Republicans.
A conservative will tell you to quit whining and fix a personal problem yourself. A liberal will go on a long walk with you to help you talk through it. Both approaches have their excesses and extremes. But both parties, in my opinion, do have this primitive distinction between them at their core.
Of course, the gender characterizations I make are outmoded and crude. But then again, that’s a very liberal thing to say.
Facebook advertising and paying for colonoscopies.
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