Made in America?

Now I am not a fan of isolationism or the buy only products "Made in America" philosophy. We are increasingly a global economy, and we better all get used to it and figure out how to live in this new reality. That being said, this e-mail I received today does provide food for thought:

"AIN'T IT THE TRUTH!!?

Joe Smith started the day early, having set his alarm clock (MADE IN JAPAN) for 6:00 AM.

While his coffeepot (MADE IN CHINA) was perking, he shaved with his electric razor (MADE IN HONG KONG).

He put on a dress shirt (MADE IN SRI LANKA), designer jeans (MADE IN SINGAPORE), and tennis shoes (MADE IN KOREA).

After cooking his breakfast in his new electric skillet (MADE IN INDIA), he sat down with his calculator (MADE IN MEXICO) to see how much he could spend today.

After setting his watch (MADE IN TAIWAN) to the radio (MADE IN INDIA), he got in his car (MADE IN GERMANY), filled it with gas (FROM SAUDI ARABIA OR VENEZUELA), and continued his search for a good-paying AMERICAN JOB.

At the end of yet another discouraging and fruitless day and after checking his computer (MADE IN MALAYSIA), Joe decided to relax for a while. He put on his sandals (MADE IN BRAZIL), poured himself a glass of wine (MADE IN FRANCE -- France!!), and turned on his TV (MADE IN INDONESIA), and then wondered why he can't find a good paying job in... AMERICA..... "

P.S. to "How to Damage a Hard-Won Reputation in 2 Minutes"

After a firestorm of negative publicity about the mean trick Fox Sports played on a loyal Panthers football fan (see blog entry for 9/6), Fox has apparently reluctantly done the right thing and awarded him the prize promised. Mr. Good will be receiving a 2007 Ford F-150 truck.

Fox' CEO and Chairman received more than 2,000 e-mails and phone calls in a single day about the humiliating stunt pulled at the expense of Greg ("Catman") Good on August 24 at the Panthers-Dolphins pre-season game. While I'm happy for Mr. Good, for Fox I'm afraid the damage done to the company's public image will not be repaired by this "come lately" gesture.

It's much harder to restore trust and good will than it is to damage it in the first place. Again, something to think about for anyone in a setting where relationships with their customers, clients, patients, viewers, users, readers, etc. are the lifeblood of their business.

How to Damage a Hard-Won Reputation with Your Customers in 2 Minutes

OK, so this is not strictly related to executive job search or to executive resume writing. But what happened on national TV on August 24 to an ardent fan of Carolina Panthers' football contains a lesson for anyone whose customers are the lifeblood of their business (and for whom are they not?).

As today's Charlotte Observer reports, Fox Sports played a really MEAN trick on one of the Panthers' long-time, most loyal fans, and stirred up the ire of countless viewers. "Catman" (Greg Good) sits in a front-row end zone seat at every Panthers home game wearing an electric blue wig and a black-and-blue cape.

With less than 2 minutes remaining in the Panthers-Miami Dolphins exhibition game, the announcer Daryl Johnston said: "Now all you fans out there, you might be thinking, well, the starting units are out, we might change the channel. ... We're going to do something special to try and keep you here tonight. We're giving a car away tonight." He continued with the teasers until sideline reporter Tony Siragusa walked up and introduced Good, asked him to scream for the Panthers and then said: "The car is coming in right now. Here it comes. Beautiful. It's white. It's a Porsche." Then Siragusa handed a small toy car to Good.

Good naturally assumed that the toy car was a symbol of the real car he had won.

Wrong. It was all a joke, and a cruel one at that. Fox Sports had tried to trick viewers into staying tuned with its fake "car giveaway."

Fox Sports only comment has been that "We would welcome an opportunity to speak to him and offer an apology for any misunderstanding." Who WOULDN'T have misunderstood?

The joke was particularly egregious due to the fact that Good needed a new car badly. He is a college graduate with three children who works with troubled kids for a mental health agency. He drives a 1991 Chevrolet Astro van with 130,000 miles on it.

In the mere span of a few minutes Fox Sports managed to leave a sour taste in the mouths of millions of viewers, erasing the benefits of millions of promotion and advertising dollars and many hours of good sports broadcasting. Something to think about, isn't it?