Jan 02
How many people would miss my work if I stopped contributing it?* That’s the question that’s been nagging at me as I enter 2013 — but I’m approaching it in a positive way. It was a challenging year; I ran into a lot of roadblocks as I tried to create content that customers would find …
Nov 19
We just brought home a pound puppy named MJ (Mary Jane). We’ve been looking for more than a month — and looking at website photos for much, much longer — with little success until I brought a couple of business principles to the decision. Understand everyone’s needs. Early on, we gave each family member veto …
Feb 05
Beyond the political aspect of the whole Komen-Planned Parenthood debacle — which is why most of Komen’s partners likely stayed quiet — there are some lessons that companies can take from the last few days when they’re thinking about business decisions that could blow up on social media. Control the news cycle. Put out a …
Feb 01
I recently heard a podcast with Mark Horstman and Mike Auzenne (the Manager Tools and Career Tools guys) that quoted a passage from John Brown’s Body in a way that really resonated with me. It really gets to the heart of the challenges of turning strategy and planning into execution. Or, as Mike Tyson once said (and I …
Nov 26
There’s an article in today’s USA Today romanticizing a woman who decided to fire herself rather than lay off one of her nine employees. I think the whole thing is a load of crap. So here’s what happened, according to the reporter Paul Davidson: About six months ago, Lola Gonzalez , the owner of Accurate Background …
Sep 13
Does your organization have an Alex Barron? Barron is the substitute offensive lineman who cost the Dallas Cowboys a victory over the Washington Redskins last night when he committed a holding penalty that negated a Cowboys touchdown on the game’s last play. Forget about whether the Cowboys should have ever been in that position at that …
May 22
In the midst of some new projects and designing a new website that has a real chance to impact people’s lives, I’ve gotten to thinking about whether my personal-branding materials go far enough to explain what makes me different, whether I’m adequately reinforcing the “bulldog” brand on my personal website and elsewhere. I’m not sure I’m …
May 15
As one group of students prepare to leave college and another batch of high-school seniors prepare to take their place, the importance of technical knowledge takes center stage. Whether you’re talking about undergraduate or post-grad admission offices or potential employers, GPAs and test scores that demonstrate students’ abilities to get the one “right” answer are …
May 06
A few days ago, someone asked me to explain what made me a “good marketer.” I had never heard the question phrased quite that way before and stumbled through an answer. Later on, I realized I built a class around that very question 11 years ago. So I headed down to the basement and pulled …
May 05
I cancelled my subscription to the relentless Jos. A. Bank e-mail ads today. This has nothing to do with the quality of their clothes (most of my business wardrobe is from there), my need for business suits and accessories, or with reducing my e-mail volume. It has to do with trust. Here are a few …
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