What was Your Favorite Commercial from the 2013 Super Bowl?

The 2013 Super Bowl is selling ads for upwards of $4,000,000 for a 30 second spot.  My favorite ad was actually two minutes so it probably cost $10,000,000 to air.

I don’t sell cars or truck but rather furniture which I guarantee does not have the kind of margins necessary to pay for a $10 million dollar spot let alone a $1 million dollar spot.  Therefore I’ll enjoy the car spots as long as they can keep paying for them.  Since a truck goes for upwards of $30,000 and my sofa’s retail for $399 – $599 I believe my customers are getting a far better value even if we can’t place ads on the Super Bowl.

Enjoy this ad and let me know by comments what your favorite Super Bowl ad was.

My favorite 2013 Super Bowl commercial

Consider the implication of this idea…

What would happen if I were to follow you with a camera crew 24 hours a day 7 days a week for the next 100 days while you went for your goals?

I bet 3 things would happen….

1)    You would START doing the things you say you need to do.

2)    You would STOP doing the things you know you shouldn’t be doing.

3)    You would MAKE monumental performance gains and change your life.

How this possible?

Through the power of accountability!

Accountability will serve your character, as well as your credibility, and more importantly, it will get you to accomplish all your goals (whether that is being debt free, 20 pounds less weight or a scratch golfer).

What stops most people from accomplishing their goals is one thing: their lack of accountability.

How can someone that wants accountability get it, without paying thousands and thousands of dollars for a coach?

Good question.  Here is your answer:

Gary Ryan Blair, otherwise known as The Goals Guy has put together what I believe to be the most comprehensive form of accountability, goal setting and performance enhancement, that I have ever seen.

It’s called the 100 Day Challenge and enrollment is taking place right now.

The 100 Day Challenge is an extreme goal achievement and performance improvement workout because it’s all about getting things done, getting massive results quickly, and beginning the year with a BANG!

I’ve seen it, and it’s an amazing piece of work. But you don’t have to take my word for it, check it out for yourself here:

http://www.MikeRootRecommends.com.

Listen. I’m so impressed with Gary and his 100 Day Challenge, that I’ll be participating in the program myself as I did last year.  I expect to have the best 100 days of my life!

Join me over the next 100 Days, or, at the very minimum, take a look at this literally, it could change your life.

So click on this link right now: http://www.MikeRootRecommends.com

Happy New Year,

Mike Root

P.S.  I did this program last year with wonderful results.  I strongly recommend taking a look at this very special program!

Go here now:  http://www.MikeRootRecommends.com

This is a letter I am writing to my two kids as they begin their path in the working world.  I want them to understand that it is very important no matter what stage of life to always be grateful for the bounty our good Lord has bestowed on us.

This time of year is a good time of reflection for me.  Within the next couple of weeks my business travel will be done for the year.  I will be able to settle into a time to enjoy the holidays with you guys.  As our family grows older and you kids begin to make your own way and possibly have families of your own someday, I would like for you to always remember how fortunate you are to have a good education, a good work ethic, and a loving family.

As I grow older and wiser, for me the holidays are not the commercialization aspect.  I find myself struggling when you kids ask what do you want for Christmas?  I have what I want:  A roof over my head, a wonderful wife of over 25 years, two great kids and no animosities towards my parents or brothers.  I have a job I love and people I like working with.  This Christmas holiday is a time for me to be grateful for all my blessings over the past year.

But the Christmas holiday is also a time to realize there are those much less fortunate than myself.  We won the genetic lottery to be born in this great country with the abilities to go out and earn a good living.  So as I reflect I also try to share some of wealth in causes that truly touch people’s lives and make a difference.  I would like you kids to consider that same sort of thought process as you make your way through life. 

I remember early on in my business career, a successful business man told me that no matter how much his business was struggling he always made sure he had something to put in the Church offering.  He felt that was the reason for his success.  I look at it a little differently.  I think the more you give, the more you receive.  It’s a good Karma thing or the Universe is paying me back.  Whatever the answer, it has worked for me and I believe it will make you guys better people as well.

So where do you start?  I cannot afford to be all things to all charities…I don’t have that wealth.  I think it is important to focus on a few key areas that help people one on one.  Here’s kind of a list of the places I make regular donations:

• Church – I think it is important to attend weekly and give regular contributions
• Catholic education -  As a product of Catholic education, I think it is important to support these institutions.  I am particularly fond of the Catholic schools that serve the tougher areas of our community.  People that make the sacrifice for their kids to have a better life through education deserve some extra support from those of us who can help.  The CUES campaign, Sacred Heart and Jesuit Middle School are good examples.
• Catholic charities – this supports a wide range of ministry from shelters to food pantries, from adoption to drug rehab counseling.  They are carrying out the missions of the Church where the government safety net falls short. I admire their work immensely and would never have paid attention to it were it not for Aunt Kathy being involved over the years.
• Charities that are set up to help people directly with no overhead – my favorite one along these lines is the 40 Winks Foundation.  They provide beds for people and children who have never slept on a bed.  It is hard to imagine in today’s America there is this need, but it is there.  The Larson family who owns Slumberland pays all the administrative expenses so every dime I donate goes to helping the person needing the help.  Operations Others is another great example that you kids worked on.  The adopt a family for Christmas that the Notre Dame Club of Omaha sponsors is another.  You know your donations of time and money will all go to those who most need it, not some administrative cost.

Think about setting up a donation structure that works for you.  Don’t overlook giving back to those in need.  The Universe will reward your efforts.  We can’t change the world, but hopefully we can change a life, or at least make it a little easier.  Merry Christmas.

Despite many pundits and polls to the contrary, I felt Romney would win the last election.  I based this talking with people in a variety of areas around the country who felt their states would swing Republican.  The one thing I took for granted was that the Republicans and Democrats would be evenly matched when it came to the marketing efforts.  The Republicans and Democrats each wasted over a billion dollars in advertising getting their candidates message out.  One would have assumed that the Republicans would have been a more motivated group and by winning the independent vote, how could Romney lose?  Here was a guy who took the big broad issue of turning around the economy and made his business experience the cure.  Obama had a horrible record on the economy, a dismal foreign affairs Libya tragedy, and a weak first debate that really changed the momentum. 

But the Obama team did the only thing they could do given their known weaknesses.  They turned out a much bigger part of their base than Republicans.  And the way they did it was to micro-niche issues and talk to those constituents specifically about their issues.  If you were female, you heard the message about abortion and he won the female vote.  If you were Hispanic he targeted the immigration issue.  If you were gay, he talked about legalizing gay marriage.  If you were union in swing states he reminded people about saving GM.

The Obama team attacked the campaign thinking small issues rather than big global issues of the Republicans.  Obama didn’t resonate with almost half of the nations voters.  But he was able to convince a little more than half the voters that he deserved another chance.

In Chicago campaign headquarters they ran a massive data base, figuring out what their constituents wanted, and then spoke directly to them.  They listened to what their core constituent voters wanted, not to what the party stalwarts wanted like the Republican strategy.   They took advice from Stephen Spielberg and Steve Jobs, because those guys understand marketing to the masses.

They used this same micro-targeting to raise money.  In the Wall Street Journal editorial on November 19, it pointed out that one Obama $40,000 a plate fund raiser had at least seven different versions of an email solicitation based on who the target invitee was.

They used social media, email and large data bases to communicate their niche messages, fund raising and advertising spending.  Data driven decision making played a huge role in packaging Obama up like a new and improved product launch to get the number of votes he needed.  It was all done out of the public mass media.

Think what lessons retailers can take away from this.  You know who your best customers are.  You know what they bought and what they like to buy.  If they bought a bed from you, a personal offer six months later to buy the matching dresser, mirror might be well received. 

RC Willey listens on social media.  They posted two new bedroom sets from Progressive on their Facebook Fan page for customer reactions.  They committed to bring both groups in based on strong favorable customer reaction.

So the takeaway from Obama’s marketing efforts is how can you drill down on your customer base and talk to them on a micro-niche level keying in on their wants and needs with regards to our products and services.  Use social media, email and other direct mail to talk small rather than large grandiose sale themes.  For it is in the small targeted message that a Presidency was won and product can be sold effectively.

I’m tired of the political campaign. I am tired of all the candidates telling me what they think I want to hear without telling me how they are going to fix things. 

I want a robust economy driven by expanding businesses.  I want people to have opportunities in the marketplace so they don’t have to be on the growing lists of food stamps and other programs.  I want a smaller government.  I want civility to enter the Executive and Legislative branches of the government.  Finally, I want to be able to trust the guy who has his finger on the nuclear weapon trigger that he knows what he is doing.

I believe Mitt Romney is far superior than the crap our country has had to undergo the last several years under Obama.  Blame on past administrations has to stop at some point.  I can’t blame my faults and failings on someone else who preceeded me 4 years ago and the President shouldn’t either.  If he and the elitist he has around him had any idea what business is like in the real world, they would have spent all their time getting people back to work instead of passing the largest single tax increase called Obamacare the country has ever seen.

Romney is a successful businessman as opposed to the community organizer apologist and passing the buck guy we have in the office currently.  My business survives on consumer confidence.  When people feel good about themselves and their economic prospects, they go out and buy stuff.  When they don’t they won’t.  We need someone who understands how business works in this country so we can get the economy back on track.  Printing millions of dollars to devalue our dollar and keep interest rates artificially low is not an economic policy.  It is stealing from our future earnings  with a hidden tax.

For these reasons and more I have cast my vote for Mr. Romney

PS.  If the domestic issues aren’t enough, check out the trail of coverup over botched foreign affairs for the Obama White House.  http://www.theblaze.com/stories/treason-and-possible-prison-beck-breaks-down-obamas-lying-on-libya-in-fiery-segment/

With all the bad news the media and current events bring such as Obamacare, Congress fighting, Europe collapsing, wildfires in Colorado and floods in Florida, we need to remember we still live in the greatest country in the world.  The fourth of July is a time to celebrate our individual freedoms that have been gained our centuries of bad news that has somehow or other allowed us to live better than citizens of any other nation.

This past week, my hometown of Omaha, Ne celebrated two major events in town.  First was the annual College World Series came to town weeding eight College Baseball teams down to just one Champion.  Congratulations to the University of Arizona for a superb series. 

The people coming to Omaha from all over the country were spending lots of money on food and lodging, travel costs, and all forms of entertainment.  Fathers brought sons. School boosters and parents came to support their team.  Even folks that didn’t have a team in the series this year, enjoying the Omaha hospitality in year’s past, came back for the fun of the event. 

In other words it’s an entertaining event that draws people from all over the country.  They traveled here safely.  They cheered for their teams without any trouble.  They stayed as long as they wanted and left when they wanted.  And they did this all without any concerns for their safety.

Across the parking lot at the Century Link Center, some of the world’s greatest athletes are competing for the rights to represent our country on a world stage.  The US Olympic Swim Trials are a weeklong event that narrows down the very top swimmers into the one or two that will compete at the London Olympics for our country.

These swimmers are some of the fittest athletes.  The wear the most high tech of all swim suits to improve their speed.  This sport and the athletes who participate, like any sport or endeavor in our country, is totally voluntary as to the amount of time, effort, and money one wants to spend to chase the dream. 

The US is the greatest country in the world because we allow people to do what they want, when they want.  That’s what freedom is all about.

So we will celebrate these freedoms with fireworks this week.  My friend Vince and his family own the fireworks stands all over this area.  You think your business is tough, try having a firework stand that can only be open for three days in some towns and 10 days in others.  That’s for the entire year!!!!  He says it will be a tough year because the fourth is on a Wednesday.  My furniture is not sounding so bad after thinking about fireworks.

On the fourth of July there will be a ballgame in town with fireworks afterwards.  This week let’s thank our forefathers and those who protect our liberty that the only fireworks will be ones we shoot and not ones being shot at us like Afghanistan or other war torn nations. 

Happy Fourth of July

Memorial Day Means More Than Furniture Deals — But that Would Be Nice Too

Here we are at the unofficial opening of summer —- Memorial Day weekend. 

We join you in celebrating those who have helped make our country a great place and the freedom we cherish.  On this special Memorial Day we particularly remember the men and women who have served in the armed forces to protect our liberty.

As you are out this weekend swimming in the pools, hiking in the mountains, enjoying the lake life, camping, fishing, being with family and friends or like me you are out golfing — take time to reflect on the fact that we can do these recreational pursuits in the greatest country in the world due to those heroes, veterans, and wounded warriors who have fought in years past as well as today to help keep our nation safe.

Of course retailers will be spending the weekend in their stores since Memorial Day is generally a very good weekend for furniture sales.  The customer sure seems like they should have some pent up demand based on recent week’s sales, and we hope that they get out and decide they need some of the fine products we sell. 

But don’t forget this weekend to acknowledge the veterans, active enlisted men and women, and all who protect our way of living by putting their lives on the line for the country.  Here’s some ideas:

• If you are a retailer, give them an unexpected discount or free delivery. 
• We all can pay attention to those around who served in the military and acknowledge their sacrifices. 
• Any of us can reach out and make a donation to a cause like the Wounded Warrior Project.
• Take a moment to say a prayer for those who are still serving us in harm’s way.

We certainly want furniture sales to be successful, but most importantly we need to remember the reason for the holiday.  Happy Memorial Day to you and your family.

Recently I was elected the 74th President of IHFRA.  It will be a busy year.  Here’s the article from Furniture World magazine.

Mike Root, President of Furniture Sales of Mid-America has been elected the 74th President of the International Home Furnishings Representatives Association (IHFRA).  Mike has been active in the Association for the past four years, helping drive membership and rep benefits to make IHFRA one of the most dynamic sales rep organizations in the country. 

Mike is a third generation furniture representative with past experience in retail, rental, and wholesale.  His company, Furniture Sales of Mid-America, (www.furnituresales.biz) is a furniture wholesale and repping company servicing retailers in the Midwest and Rocky Mountain states and this year celebrates its 50th year in business. Mike says he has the good fortune of working with his father, Emmet Root, who started the company and still is quite active after 50 plus years on the road. 

Mike and his associates at Furniture Sales of Mid-America are multi-line reps.  Their top lines currently represented include Hughes Furniture, Progressive Furniture and Woodcrest Manufacturing all of which they have represented for 15 -20 years each. 

Within the past year Mike also partnered with another past President of IHFRA, Bob Bruns from Cozzia Massage Chairs to help launch a nationwide sales force for Mega Motion, a wholly owned subsidiary of Pride Mobility.  Mike indicated he never would have had this opportunity had it not been for his involvement and connections made as a member of IHFRA.

Mike writes the Rep blog for Furniture Today as well as the New Media Marketing articles for Furniture World magazine.  Mike is on the CQRID board for the Interior Design Society and is a newly elected Board member of the National Home Furnishings Association.
Mike is passionate about the incredible opportunities for our industry to make a difference in people’s lives. As President of IHFRA, he believes reps are still an integral part of the home furnishings distribution chain and continue to bring value to the industry.  The hope and challenge for his term is to grow membership of IHFRA by providing support and benefits to the sales professionals who in turn provide value to their factories and their retailer customers.

Outside of furniture Mike has two great loves.  First is his family: wife Nancy of 26 years and two adult children, Jay and Kara.  Mike’s other passion is golf for which he sports a low single digit handicap and owns with his son a business called FitnessForGolf.com.

IHFRA chose its 2012-2013 slate of officers during its annual Board of Directors meeting in High Point on March 17m 2912.  Joining Mike Root on the IHFRA Executive Committee are:  1st Vice-President Christopher DeLisa, Greater Metropolitan Furnishings Association; 2nd Vice-President, Matthew Keepers, At-Large Member; Secretary/Treasurer, Frank Lorenzo, Florida Home Furnishings Representatives Association; and Chairman of the Board, Mark Scharff, Greater Metropolitan Furnishings Association.

The IHFRA Executive Committee will be sworn in at the IHFRA Presidential Gala on Friday, April, 20, 2012 at the IHFC Ballroom on the 11th Floor Design Center.  For more information contact IHFRA at 336-889-3920 or e-mail ihfra@ihfra.org. Reservations can be made online at www.ihfra.org.

In our politically correct society, it is difficult for many to take a stand on politics and religion in public.  However, our current government is forcing this issue down our throats with their attempts to reengineer society through control of the health care system.  The latest flap came when the Health and Human Services mandated that Catholics pay for birth control, a tenet that the religion cannot support.  Whether you agree with birth control or not is not the issue.  The issue is the state is specifically forcing a religious organization to go against its beliefs.  I might add a religious organization that gave Obama and the crew support when he desperately needed it in passing Obamacare.

The President of my own University, Notre Dame, took so much flak for inviting Obama to speak, and yet he thought it was the right thing to do.  I’ll bet he wished he had that decision to do over.   The Catholic Bishops have been extremely vocal against this act, as they should be.  The Archbishop of Omaha had a particularly good letter describing the Church’s response to his congregation that I have posted below.

Well, today there evidently is some waffling going on by the White House because they had no idea what a firestorm they were raising (even though there is a Catholic Vice President who of course we haven’t heard from).  Don’t be swayed by these games being played in the name of politics.  This is a real threat to American liberties that Brian Burch of  CatholicVote.org describes:

“Moments ago President Obama introduced an accounting gimmick to appease voters over his recent Health and Human Services mandate. The so-called compromise will continue to force virtually all employers, including religious institutions, to pay into insurance policies that cover abortion drugs and other immoral medicines and procedures.
What’s the catch?
To protect himself from the national backlash, the President announced a “compromise” that will allow religious institutions to withhold premiums paid to insurance companies for select medicines and procedures they believe are immoral.
But these immoral medicines and drugs will continue to be provided by the same insurance plans for free — to everyone, including every employee of Catholic institutions!
 So President Obama decided to use insurance companies to hide his assault on religious liberty.
Separating the premiums paid to insurance companies does not change what these policies will cover. The very same policies funded by religious institutions will continue to cover contraception, birth control, and abortion drugs for every employee of these organizations. To pretend, by an accounting gimmick, that the premiums paid by the employer will not subsidize these services is simply absurd.
Furthermore, self-funded insurance plans (like many of those used by Catholic institutions) will continue to be forced to provide these immoral medicines.
And owners of businesses who believe abortion drugs are immoral? Sorry. To hell with liberty. Pay up.
All Americans should shudder at what has just transpired. 
Despite repeated promises during the healthcare debate in 2009, the President of the United States has created a sham conscience compromise, and ordered all insurance companies to pay for abortion drugs — and all religious institutions will be forced to pay into these plans. ”

The concern for society is this.  If the Catholic ministries are forced to pull out of providing care because in order to do so goes against their religious beliefs, then society will lose a major safety net to the poor, sick, aged, and weak.  Catholic hospitals, Catholic Charities and Catholic schools will be forced to rethink their missions.   The liberals love to talk about helping the poor, but the Catholic institutions actually do it.  As Americans in a free and open society, we cannot afford to lose this incredible love of our fellow man that Catholic institutions provide.

Here is Most Reverend George J. Lucas, Archbishop of Omaha’s letter

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I write to you concerning an alarming and serious matter that negatively impacts the Church in the United States directly, and that strikes at the fundamental right to religious liberty for all citizens of any faith.  The federal government, which claims to be “of, by, and for the people,” has just dealt a heavy blow to almost a quarter of those people-the Catholic population-and to the millions more who are served by the Catholic faithful.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced that almost all employers, including Catholic employers, will be forced to offer their employees’ health coverage that includes sterilization, abortion-inducing drugs, and contraception.  Almost all health insurers will be forced to include those “services” in the health policies they write.  And almost all individuals will be forces to buy that coverage as a part of their policies.

In so ruling, the Administration has cast aside the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, denying to Catholics our Nation’s first and most fundamental freedom, that of religious liberty.  And as a result, unless the rule is overturned, we Catholics will be compelled either to violate our consciences, or to drop health coverage for our employees (and suffer the penalties for doing so).  The Administration’s sole concession was to give our institutions one year to comply.

We cannot-we will not-comply with this unjust law.  People of faith cannot be made second class citizens.  We are already joined by our brothers and sisters of all faiths and many others of good will in this important effort to regain our religious freedom.  Our parents and grandparents did not come to these shores to help build America’s cities and towns, its infrastructure and institutions, its enterprise and culture, only to have their posterity stripped of their God given rights.  In generations past, the Church has always been able to count on the faithful to stand up and protect her sacred rights and duties.  I hope and trust she can count on this generation of Catholics to do the same.  Our children and grandchildren deserve nothing less.

And therefore, I would ask of you two things.  First, as a community of faith we must commit ourselves to prayer and fasting that wisdom and justice may prevail, and religious liberty may be restored.  Without God, we can do nothing: with God, nothing is impossible.  Second, I would also recommend visiting www.usccb.org/conscience, to learn more about this severe assault on religious liberty, and how to contact Congress in support of legislation that would reverse the Administration’s decision.

With best wishes and prayers, I am

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Most Reverend George J. Lucas

Archbishop of Omaha

A good friend of my parents is a gentleman by the name of Walter Scott.  He is a remarkable businessman whose net worth qualifies him to be on the Forbes list of billionaires.  He came by this fortune the old fashioned way — he earned it.  For years he was the head of Kiewit Construction, one of the world’s largest privately held, employee owned, construction companies.  Walter is also chairman of Level 3 Communications and sits on the Board of Berkshire Hathaway and Burlington Northern Railroad.

What has always impressed me about Walter Scott is what an astute, problem solver  he is.  Besides being a driving force in a number of successful businesses he also has been an incredible philanthropist in Nebraska.  Many buildings and projects honor him and his wife Sue for their donations of time and money to get the big projects going.  I respect him greatly for his willingness to give back.

Recently, Walter gave a talk to the Omaha Business Ethics Alliance that I wanted to share with you a synopsis.  In many ways, his talk about his views on integrity is why he has been so successful in business.  The rest of this article are quotes directly from the talk

“To me, high ethical standards are like air.  If the air is present, we don’t think much about breathing.  If it’s absent, you notice right away.  In the same way, we don’t often notice ethical behavior;  because it is assumed in those companies with high standards.  It is much easier to spot poor ethics which is why we usually illustrate the subject with negative stories.”

“… ethics reflect societal norms.  Integrity on the other hand is a personal quality.  It is difficult to conduct our businesses or our government institutions up to the ethical standards of the society in which we operate unless we employ people of integrity… It was my goal to hire and develop people with personal integrity;  because people of integrity will uphold and perpetuate the ethical standards of our companies and the ethical standards of society.”

Walter quotes his former boss, Peter Kiewit as saying “No matter how much native ability a man may have, no corporation dare employ him… unless he is fundamentally and entirely honest and trustworthy.  Without this, his very ability is all the more dangerous.”

“I believe there are potential problems for all firms…A big problem is that employees don’t come to us the same as they did when I started my career.  It’s probably a big surprise to these kids when they get to the world of work and find out their performance will be judged.  We can no longer assume employees come to us with the ethical toolkit of previous generations.  Society in general has lowered its standards, but society’s expectations for business are higher…

So what’s the prescription for us as business leaders?  Number one on my list is the tried and true — start by hiring people of personal integrity.  Number two is never assume an ethical culture will not automatically perpetuate itself.  Any business organization is only one generation away from losing its ethical moorings…Number three is to have an open culture where it is recognized that mistakes do happen.  In the world of politics our leaders learn  — or perhaps don’t learn that its never the scandal that gets you.  It’s the cover up.  The same is true of business.  The measure of a company’s character isn’t that they can have a problem from time to time, because that will happen.  Rather it is how they respond and whether they take immediate action to resolve the issue and ensure it doesn’t happen again.”

There is so much more in his talk including examples of these points.  To get a copy of the talk please click here.

As always, feel free to leave your comments below.