For me the year is flying by. January was much better than I thought it would be and February was about what I thought it should be. The net is we are ahead of last year but still cautiously optimistic moving forward. From talking to clients research spending has freed up a little bit and more people are optimistic. Our proposal volume is heavy and clients appear to be making decisions on projects more quickly than in 2009.

• What are you seeing?
   
• How are you doing?
   
• Is business better than you thought it would be?
   
• How are you feeling about things?
   
• Are you bringing in as many new clients as you thought you would?
   
• Are you still pulling back your expenses?
   
• Are you still watching your travel and marketing budget as closely as you did last year?

I look forward to reading your comments.

I gave it a little time to pause and am almost embarrassed to say what my three shows are:

1. The Office – I like the goofiness of the cast and especially the character that Steve Carell plays in Michael Scott. I love the dry sense of humor and the flow of the show.
    
2. Survivor – I really enjoy the challenges, the competition and strategy of the game. I have been watching it for ten years and truly do enjoy the show.
    
3. Deal or No Deal – I like Howie Mandel and the way he gets the contestants into the show. I also enjoy trying to figure out what the banker is going to offer prior to him offering it. Ok I will admit it I always liked math!

Not sure what it says about me that I picked these shows. Interesting that I picked a reality, comedy and game show!

Ok your turn.

• What do you think of my choices?
   
• What are the three shows you would watch every week?
   

I look forward to reading your comments.

Growing up I always knew that Wade Boggs ate chicken before every game. He would also come out of the dugout at the same time every game at 7:17 to do wind sprints. 

Last night I was watching the Dallas Mavericks take on the Indiana Pacers and newly acquired star Caron Butler was chewing straws during the game. Yes, I said that right — apparently he chews 12 straws during a game and 60 — yes 60 — every day. I thought it was a joke until the announcers actually got some straws and started to chew them as they were announcing the game.

Jason Terry — the night before every game, Terry goes to bed while wearing the shorts of the next day’s opposing team.

And there was tennis great Bjorn Borg who for good luck always grew a beard during Wimbledon.

Baseball player Jason Giambi had a different superstition. When he went into a slump he would wear a golden thong to get him out of the slump.

• What do you think of the ones I listed?
   
• What are some of your favorite superstitions that athletes have?
   
• When you are playing sports do you have any of your own?

I look forward to reading your comments.

I think you will really enjoy this.

Click here to take the quiz.

I look forward to seeing your answers.

PS – this will take only a minute.

I have a vanity plate and although it means something special to me it isn’t as deep as WEIT. Mine is SOX07. For those who know me well, you know it stands for Red Sox 2007 which is the last time they won the World Series.

Here are some of the ones I have seen over the years: 

• 4sakn
   
• Ddysgrl
   
• MyToy
   
• Was His
   
• I CUFF UM
   
• DRTHVDR
   
• Gore Won
   
• BKRPTCY
   
• KIDLESS
   
• Il Sue U
   
• Blogger

I thought some of the ones I have seen were cute and funny.

• Do you have a vanity plate?
   
• What do you think of the ones I listed?
   
• Do you like mine?
   
• What are some of the ones you have seen over the years?

I look forward to reading your comments.

Time to get creative, think out of the box and plan the halftime show.

As you are thinking of acts, here are a few things to remember: the audience is global and covers all age groups. So whatever you do really needs to appeal to everyone. Since Dallas does things big, MONEY is NO object. You have an unlimited budget.

As you are trying to Sfigure out who you might want, here is a list of the last 11 super bowls halftime shows:

I will go first. How about Diana Ross and Jon Bon Jovi–a combination of old and young. Great songs that will be played on the radio forever. 

• What do you think of my choice?
   
• Who is your halftime show for the 2011 Super Bowl?

And who knows since it is in Dallas you never know what kind of surprise I might have up my sleeve for anyone who posts a comment.

I look forward to reading your thoughts.

I was thinking about the number three with three different categories:

• What three websites do I visit every business day? Market Research Global Alliance Social Network, Google I am still amazed at how many times I am using their search and of course The Merrill Dubrow Blog (please stop laughing).
   
• What three things do I read every business day? I read the same three e-newsletters every single day. Daily Research News from MrWeb, eMarketer Daily, The WOMMA Word
   
• Who are the three people I speak to every business day? R.H., S.A. and S.S. Two of the three people are industry contacts. I think it is critical with the economy being the way it is to really have your pulse on what is going on and speaking to these people helps me accomplish that. The third is one of my best friends whom I speak to early in the morning (6am) about what is happening in the sports world.

Now your turn:

• What three websites do you visit every business day?
   
• What three things do you read every business day?
   
• Who are the three people that you speak to every business day?

I look forward to reading your comments.

• What would you do if it happened?
   
• Do you buy a big boat?
   
• How about a fast car?
   
• Do you take a trip around the world?
   
• Do you donate some money to charity?
   
• Who do you help out?
   
• Do you quit your job?

Well before you answer those questions here is what I think I would do. First I wouldn’t quit my job. I love what I do and actually would make a commitment to Omnicom and M/A/R/C Research to work for at least one more year. Right away I would help out some friends and family members who have gone on hard times. I don’t believe I would buy anything fancy except I would buy a minority share in a minor league baseball team.

I think long term I would write a book or two, be a guest lecturer at colleges and continue to present at conferences in the market research industry.

Now your turn:

What would you do short and long term?

I look forward to reading your comments.

We congratulate you on your first anniversary of your ULTIMATE DRIVING MACHINE. Enclosed you will find our special gift to you: a designer’s sketch of your BMW vehicle. An attractive addition to any BMW’s home or office, it also provides insight into our passion for automobile design – by starting with a great idea. Compliments of Moritz BMW.

A few things jumped out at me:

• I have actually had the car for 14 months
   
• I have owned a few other BMW’s and never got an anniversary gift before so this must be a new program
   
• The sketch doesn’t have a BMW logo on it
   
• I would NEVER frame this sketch and put it in my home or office

I really applaud BMW for coming up with an anniversary program for my car. Although it would have been nice if I received the gift closer to my anniversary date, it was still really nice. I think they really swung and missed on this one. I could think of a bunch of other things they could have sent that I would have used. Here are a few thoughts:

• BMW key chain
   
• BMW shirt
   
• Tickets to a sporting event with my salesman
   
• A coupon for a friend to test drive a BMW for an entire weekend

All of those ideas could help with BMW’s branding and potential future sales. I really don’t see the value in a sketch.

Am I wrong?

• What do you think?
   
• What could have BMW sent their customers that would have made a difference?
   
• Do you get an anniversary gift from your dealership?

I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

PS – that is a picture of me holding up the sketch.

Thanks for playing.

P.S. The contest will close Friday, March 5 at 5:00 PM CST.