V-Day 2/16/08

A long time ago and a short time ago. In a place both near and far away a professor wrote a poem he believed would be useful for V-Day in New Orleans. I sent two e-mails one to V-Day and the other to Amy Goodman at Democracy Now. I saw author Eve Ensler on Democracy Now today.   The following is the e-mail I sent to both any and Eva.

Dear Amy Goodman:

Please forward my poem to Eva Ensler to see if she would like to use the poem for her V-Day.


16 Parkside Lane

Deceived;
captured;
raped and beaten.

Watched;
sold;
used up.

Discarded;
unending supply;
where is God she screams?

David Morris
Copyright 2008

Eva Ensler you may look up my poems on www.irishcelticpoetry.com

If you prefer to use a different poem of mine please let me know.

My telephone in 203-530-XXXX

Please let me know so I can sign the proper work to allow usage.

Marketing Application

I am an accomplished poet and have put hundreds of my poems on my website. The poem I wrote for the 50 Anniversary of India was read in Washington, DC by the Ambassador from India.  I have sold framed poems for 50 dollars a poem. My class sent a poem I wrote and a card designed by Kathy Stock to the King of Thailand. It was sent through the Thai Embassy in Washington DC in the Kings personal pouch.

Although these are positive applications of my poems from a marketing and storytelling point of view the most difficult part is to contact individuals that can make a decision. Many times e-mails and letters are stopped by others before they can reach a decision maker. This may be for a good reason but it limits access to thoughts that may be helpful to those that were able to make a decision.

I teach my students to give all ideas and suggestions 6+ or -3 three seconds. This way with minimal time expended leadership may find many things that bring positive results. For example 3 seconds per every hundred inquiries takes five minutes. If you find one good idea out of every thousand inquiries that means for less than 1/2 hour of effort you will come across one good idea to give more time to. Today it is zero and nothing gets through.

It is also a good idea to respond to most enquiries. This makes many people happy. This reply does not have to be done by the recipient. Two examples in my life. one I sent a letter to Jack Welch at GE asking him to consider reviewing one of my books. I got back a small note signed by Jack Welsh that he did not do book reviews. I treasure the note. A showed it to my friend who was a top manager a GE. He said Jack Welsh gets thousands of such letters and the signature was done by machine. I was still impresses.

Example two I sent a letter to Harvard Professor Michael Porter to make a suggestion and ask a question. He never responded. I was hurt. I saw and article in Harvard Business Review by him. I wrote a scathing review which I believed to be true that HBR published. He had to respond to my review and the first thing he said was I do not know what Morris is so mad about. I could have told him. Not answering my letter. My point was that his ideas about corporate success made no mention of the selection of the leader of the firm. I asked if Chrysler would have had a successful turn around without Lee Iacocca?

I will add any response from either person.