With Mother’s Day around the corner, it was pure coincidence that I found myself watching Mel Gibson’s cheesy rom-com “What Women Want”. As I watched our chauvinistic advertising God Nick Marshall (played by Gibson, naturally) squeeze himself into panty-hose, failing in his attempts to get into a woman’s mindset for some insight to nab the Nike account (and the looming promotion that is sure to follow), I couldn’t help but feeling guilty as the impending pressure to find THE perfect Mother’s Day gift seemed to increase by the second.

You see, being the fantastic daughter that I am, I SHOULD have been out scouring the malls and online world for a fabulous present for Mummy Dearest. Instead, I was lazing about in my pajamas watching cheesy Roms-Coms (and btw, I still have NO idea what to get her. I sure wish I had seen Le’s awesome suggestions early enough to ship in time for Sunday).

And as Nick goes through his journey to understand his relationship with women, I began thinking about the relationship with my own Mother. You know, that part when he thinks he has it all figured out, and is telling them what he THINKS they want them to hear, but they lash out at him? Yeah, I guess sometimes Moms can be like that at times as well.

Sometimes you feel as if you’re speaking a completely different language and occasionally can’t see eye to eye on something. But at the end of the day, after spending all day seething, you just can’t help but to sigh and put it all in the past behind you. And you know what this relationship is like? Affiliate Managers and their affiliates.

Think about it. It’s inevitable that either party will get frustrated at the other at some point in time. Affiliates will get annoyed when managers aren’t bringing forth any new promotions. Managers will sometimes wonder where their affiliates have disappeared to. But you know what they DO have in common with one another? They want the best for each other. They both want to see great sales and high conversion rates. And when affiliates are happy because they’re generating sales, AM’s are happy because their programs are profitable - everybody wins. Kinda like Mom and me.

So affiliates, this Sunday if you’re lucky enough to be close to family (or know a fantastic Mom), step away from the monitors, go enjoy some of that spring weather with the people you love, and give Mom a call. And we all know when Mom is happy, EVERYBODY is happy.

And Mom, if you’re reading this (err…you can ignore the first bit about your present), just know that I love you and I’ll try to be better at understanding what you want.

And to all the affiliates in my programs, have a Happy Mother’s Day, I’ll be touching base with you on Monday. Moms (and Mel Gibson) have inspired me to be more mindful of those around me, which will help me to figure out what affiliates want. But on Monday, if I don’t answer your email inquiries right away, don’t worry –it’s not because I’m sitting around in pj’s watching cheesy movies.