Without judging the merits of Proposition 3, I have to wonder about the credibility of its supporters when they state that “PROPOSITION 3 DOES NOT RAISE TAXES.” If the State of California sells $980 million in general obligation bonds for capital improvement projects at children’s hospitals, the money to pay back the bonds must come from somewhere. Sure, the proposition isn’t technically a sales tax, income tax or property tax, but someone is on the hook for the money, and I think it is all of us.

With Cinco de Mayo being just one month away, I saw that Jack Daniel’s is already out with their Hispanic Gift Pack. Curiously, I spotted this package at an Asian supermarket instead of the local supermercado. I guess nothing says gracias like a bottle of Jack Daniel’s. I need to keep an eye out to see if an Asian Gift Pack is released the next time Chinese New Year rolls around.

Stopped into 7-11 this afternoon and got The Finger. It’s actually a Butterfinger rebranded as The Finger for presumably an April Fool’s prank. As part of the promotion, the wrapper says “Go to Yahoo! and search ”THE FINGER” To find out more!” Besides the Butterfinger ad, Yahoo! also suggests: “Also try: the middle finger.” Uh, great marketing stunt, I think.

Marketing works. Why else are we drilled to not judge a book by its cover? Sometimes our marketing ideas work. Other times, they are a complete failure. And, you will never receive a more honest response than from a child. If they don’t like what you prepared, then they don’t eat it. One easy way to make sandwiches more appealing is to use a cookie cutter. Suddenly, a regular peanut butter and jelly sandwich is transformed into a person, heart or a star. On one level, it makes no sense. Same bread. Same peanut butter. Same jelly. But, cut it into the shape of a gingerbread man and it’s delicious.

Keep that in mind the next time you are facing a challenge at home, work or elsewhere. There’s nothing wrong with your sandwich. It’s just the shape of the sandwich. A minor change can dramatically transform your product or career.

Made me look, but was that really the point? Everyone receives credit card offers. People with excellent credit. People with horrible credit. Maybe even people who have previously declared bankruptcy. Everyone gets credit card offers. So, what can the marketing department at a credit card company do to make their offer stand out? Well, one company decided to send me a padded envelope: a large manila envelope that contained the usual gibberish plus a small sheet of bubble wrap.

Made me look. But, then again, I always open the envelopes because I shred the pre-filled applications just in case. If the bubble wrap was protecting a free pen, pencil, key chain or letter opener, I wouldn’t be annoyed. However, the bubble wrap was just there to make me look and annoy me. To reciprocate the friendly gesture, I mailed back the Walgreens circular from this week protected by the bubble wrap. At least I’m sending them something useful. I hope the coupons are good wherever their processing center is located.

Last night, as I was cooking dinner, I received one of “those” phone calls. The ones you usually hope to avoid by signing up with the National Do Not Call Registry. As the seller started her sales pitch, I didn’t hang up. This time, I responded enthusiastically and placed a sizeable order. The difference? I knew the seller.

Americans love to overcomplicate their understanding of the Chinese. They turn ordinary human friendships and relationships into a complex set of social norms that mandate the provision of certain favors based on several millennia of Chinese tradition, customs and culture. It’s not that complex, really.

When banks send unsolicited credit card offers, I mail back the empty prepaid envelopes. If someone shows up at the door to sell magazines or newspapers, I don’t answer the door. If someone calls to switch my long-distance service, I hang up. However, if my friend’s daughter calls up and asks if I want purchase Girl Scout cookies, I’m in. That’s Guanxi 101. Guanxi marketing is relationship or word-of-mouth marketing. If you know the buyer, you will have a leg up on the competition because the natural distrust that buyers exhibit for salespersons will be absent. I don’t have to worry about the pitch being a scam or some form of telemarketing fraud. The discussion starts out with which cookies I will buy, instead of deciding whether or not I will buy.