I finally saw The Social Network last night. Good movie, although I don’t think it’s possible to develop a compelling story about a young company without taking artistic liberties of some kind. So while much of the film is probably a work of fiction, it reminds me that many entrepreneurs: Think that ideas have value. [...]
Liar, Liar, Companies on Fire
January 12, 2011 By Leave a Comment
What’s your story? Every company has one. The problem: some can’t resist the temptation to tell stories that don’t match reality. In other words, they lie to customers. To prove this point, let’s take a look at the stories told by Apple and Pets.com. One story is true, the other is a lie. Not surprisingly, [...]
Stop Reinforcing the Status Quo
March 4, 2010 By 3 Comments
Every day, people do the same thing over and over without questioning the policy or the system. Which is why new ideas are usually met with resistance. “That will never work.” “It’s never been done before.” “Don’t bother – we already tried that once.” “Nice idea, but can you prove that it will work?” “We [...]
What Matters Now
January 4, 2010 By Leave a Comment
2009 was a year that many would like to forget. Sales, profits, and corporate morale declined, and in some cases evaporated altogether. “The Great Recession” did a number on us. Does this mean we’ll have to limp through 2010 as well? Of course not. But we will need to make changes if we expect this [...]
Persuasion & Surprise
October 6, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Sooner or later, you’ll need to persuade someone to take action they may not have taken before. To hire someone with an unusual background, buy a product they’ve never used, or embrace a new idea. One approach is to play it safe. Outline features and benefits. Put together a PowerPoint with fancy charts and bullet [...]
Solve the Right Problem
September 10, 2009 By Leave a Comment
The way I see it, most big companies have two problems. The first is the problem itself – poor customer service, me-too products and services, uninspired marketing, miserable employees, and layers of bureaucracy. The second problem is that they solve the wrong problems. More often than not, companies focus their energy on improving the current [...]
Web Design Essentials
August 19, 2009 By Leave a Comment
In today’s world, an 11-year old can design a website. That’s good news – it means that everyone has access to the tools necessary to build a site. And those tools keep getting better and better. The bad news is that greater access doesn’t translate into better design. When I was in graduate school, I [...]
Simple Web Design
August 18, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Could you reduce your website to a single page? These companies did: Silverback (software) Luke Larsen (web design) Visualbox (art direction, motion graphics, and screening) Want to guess what these sites have in common?
Will It Blend?
August 13, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Imagine the excitement when a prospect receives your latest brochure. “Bill! Look at this – it’s Blue Banana’s* new brochure!” “Really? What does it say?” “Well, let’s see…wow! Are you ready? They’ve been in business for fifty years!” He looked at Bill. “Maybe we should talk to them about our next project. Do you have [...]
We Show Up
August 9, 2009 By 1 Comment
The cost of an advertisement is not positively correlated with its effectiveness. Consider the following: Advertisement 1 Media: TV Commercial (2007) Company: Shell Oil (with Ferrari Formula 1 Cars) Cost to produce: $3.9 million Advertisement 2 Media: Signage Company: A-1 American Chimney and Roofing Cost to produce: $500 – $1,000 (estimate) It’s obvious which one [...]
