I recently called the police to report suspicious activity. Just to clarify: when on the highway, should you ever notice another driver sitting on plastic-covered seats while wearing surgical gloves, that’s suspicious. If the driver notices you looking at him and then drops his hands out of site, that’s very suspicious. On the phone, I [...]
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 [...]
Don’t Settle
August 12, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Not that long ago, I worked with someone who decided he no longer liked his circumstances. In what seemed like an instant, he opted to change the direction of his career. I was impressed with the speed of his decision. “Why wait?” he said. “I’d rather do work that matters.” He looked at me. “You [...]
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 [...]
Naive and Positive
August 5, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Entrepreneurs regularly approach me with business ideas. Too often their plans, while filled with energy and enthusiasm, have little substance. Wishful thinking without a map. Like most entrepreneurs, I believe in thinking big. But there is a difference between a naïve entrepreneur and one that is relentlessly positive for the right reasons. Positive has a [...]
Competing On Service
August 3, 2009 By Leave a Comment
A lot of companies claim that they’re in the service business. But are they? Not really – if they were, we wouldn’t hear things like: “Due to heavy call volume…” “I’m sorry, but that’s our policy.” “I’m just doing my job.” Of course, what they actually mean is: “Due to budget constraints, we have less people [...]
Gary Vaynerchuk Wants You…
July 31, 2009 By 2 Comments
…to stop doing stuff you hate. He wants you to have patience. To have passion. To leave a legacy. This video is from his presentation at the Web 2.0 Expo. If this doesn’t inspire you to do and want more, I don’t know what will.
Paul vs. Brad
July 30, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Paul Giamatti is one of the great leading men in Hollywood. And while he doesn’t look like the person we generally think of as a movie star, that doesn’t change the fact that he is one. Brad Pitt, on the other hand, looks like a leading man. Every budding star wants to be just like [...]
Foolproof
July 28, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Everyone wants the foolproof formula. Something that’s been done before. Proven to work. That’s ridiculous. Great success stories usually begin with “no one thought it would work.” They never start with “they copied something that’s been done before.” If that were true, weekend karaoke singers who could carry a tune would make it big. It’s [...]
Who Cares About You?
July 27, 2009 By Leave a Comment
No one enjoys difficult conversations. I experienced one of these the other night. I was engaged in small talk – in other words, nothing being discussed was going to alter the quality of my life. But small talk led to a colorful conversation, which quickly resulted in a difference of opinion. No big deal, right? [...]
