from JPT Group | September 2024 | Vol. 17 No. 9
Time to Tee-it-Up and Kick-it-Off
In the 1950s it was known as “The Biggest Show in Football.” We’re talking about the Cleveland Browns. Now, unfortunately, not so much. Although their on-the-field performance has waned of late (here “of late” means the past half century) Browns fans remain stubbornly loyal. In fact, a 2006 study by Bizjournal determined that Browns fans are the most loyal fans in the National Football League.
The most prominent organization of Browns fans is the Browns Backers Worldwide (brownsbackersworldwide.com). The organization has approximately 305,000 members. Browns Backers clubs can be found in every major city in the United States, and in a number of military bases throughout the world. The largest club is in Phoenix, Arizona.
In addition, the organization has a sizable foreign presence in places as far away as Egypt, Australia, Japan, Sri Lanka and McMurdo Station in Antarctica. According to The Official Fan Club of the Cleveland Browns, the two largest international fan clubs are in Alon Shvut, West Bank and Niagara, Canada, with Alon Shvut having 129 members and Niagara having 310.
Following former Browns owner Randy Lerner's acquisition of English soccer club Aston Villa, official Villa outlets started selling Cleveland Browns goods such as jerseys and NFL footballs. This has raised interest in England and strengthened the link between the two clubs. Aston Villa supporters have established an organization known as the Aston (Villa) Browns Backers of Birmingham (UK).
“The only thing that counts is your dedication to the game. You run on your own fuel; it comes from within you.”
— Paul Brown, Hall of Fame coach of the Browns
BUSINESS UPDATE
Founded in 578, Japan’s Kongo Gumi construction company is recognized as the oldest continuously operating company in the world. Founded in the 6th century by a Korean carpenter specializing in Buddhist temple construction, the Japanese construction company has been operating for the past 1,446 years.
Source: odditycentral.com
Check it Again, Charlie
Everyone makes mistakes. No one is immune. We admit to overlooking errors which, in retrospect, seem glaringly obvious although at the time we glossed right over them.
Although most people acknowledge the importance of proof reading, surprisingly many don’t actually do it. Some think that “spell check” will catch any and all errors. Sometimes they’re right, and sometimes…
Even for those who make concerted efforts to catch every misspelling and each missing word or punctuation, there is still more to do.
How often do you take a step back and look at the whole document? Seeing your work from afar will expose a whole other world of missteps. How often do you check for consistent formatting? Are all of your subheads the same size and font style? Are they all bold? Are some italic and some not? Do some appear in "small caps" and others not? Do all your sub-sections follow the same numbering pattern? (George Carlin famously admitted to categorizing something as “1, 2 and C.”)
It’s all part making a professional appearance. You may not think that your customer (or worse, your prospective customer) may not notice, but invariably they do. And so should you.
“Luck is the residue of design.”
— Branch Rickey, American baseball player & executive
KEEPERS
According to the New York Times (and others), Danny Jansen has become the first player in history to play for two Major League teams in same game. Jansen began the June 26, 2024 game playing for the Toronto Blue Jays. Bad weather forced the game to be postponed.
By the time the game was rescheduled and resumed on Monday, August 26, Jansen had been traded and was catching for the Boston Red Sox – the opposing team on June 26, thereby playing for both opposing teams in the same game.
That’s wrong. Fork you. One-fifth of employers plan to offer their employees business etiquette training this year.
— WorkLife
Sign me up. The first known classified ad for employment was published in 1705 in The Boston News-Letter. It asked for a “single able man to drive a team in Boston.”
— Work It Daily
You’re in the way. Some 43 percent of information workers in the U.S. report that meetings get in the way of other work.
— Miro
Lonely at the top. The annual turnover rate for all CEOs in 2023 was 13.2 percent – a three percentage point increase over the previous year.
— BoardEx
Floor please. The first literal ‘elevator pitch’ was given by Elisha Otis, the founder of the Otis Elevator Company.
— workitdaily.com
Work-saving device? A study by the Upwork Research Institute found that 77 percent of employees using AI say that it has added to their workload.
— HR Brew
The plain truth. Plain vanilla ice cream is Baskin Robbins’ number one selling flavor and accounts for a quarter of its sales.
— greatfacts.com
Watch out, Mickey. There are approximately 200 feral cats roaming the grounds of Disneyland, where they help control the park’s rodent population.
— Mental Floss
Only with egg rolls. Fortune cookies are neither Chinese, nor American. The snacks were first made in Kyoto, Japan.
— ripleys.com
Grrrrrrr. African lions catch only about 20 percent of the prey they chase.
— factretriever.com
The Month of September
Month of the Month
If you believe that September is something special, let everyone know. It’s International Speak Out Month. And don’t be shy about it… just because it’s National Chicken Month. Want something to go with your chicken? You’re in luck. It’s National Rice Month. And wouldn’t that make your significant other pleased as punch? Hope so. Because it’s Pleasure Your Mate Month.
Is it a coincidence that yesterday, (our regular publication day) September 15, is International Day of Listening? Probably not. It’s also National 8-Track Tape Day. If there are any of those still around. No need to get mushy about it but today, September 16, is World Play-Doh Day.
Question of the Month
Why is bubble gum pink?
Don’t want to burst your bubble, but the answer is really something to chew on.
Quote of the Month
“It's so simple to be wise. Just think of something stupid to say and say the opposite.”
— Sam Levenson, American humorist, writer, teacher, TV host and journalist
Get a Headstart
If you have ever thought about including a newsletter in your marketing communications toolkit, before you begin, download our free digital booklet – Getting Started with Your Newsletter – to get some basic questions answered as well as a little inspiration to nudge you forward. Be sure to check out “Something Special” at the end. Download your copy.
A Gridiron MBA?
Maybe that’s not possible, but there is much you can learn about business from football in the book, Hard Hitting Lessons. The subtitle says it all, “Some not-so-obvious business lessons learned from playing football.”
Get your copy here!
