Why does virtually every brochure, website and eBook I see have a picture that combines MOST or ALL of the following: an asian, man or woman, smiling a black person, smiling an older white guy, smiling at least one woman, smiling or talking a laptop, unbranded Is this really what your meetings look like? People smiling at [...]
Why Seth Godin might piss off bloggers
Last April, Seth Godin spoke at a marketing conference in Montreal. (which, by the way, was interesting, clever and certainly colorful – thanks Seth). The main idea revolved around the concepts of his most recent book Tribes, which I have yet to read. A brief Q&A period followed his presentation, during which someone asked him why he didn’t have comments [...]
Formula1 can no longer afford innovation. What?
For every problem that money can fix, a new one arrives. Formula1 racing boss, Max Mosley, is working on setting a budget cap for F1 teams to respect next year; a set limit to the amount of money they can spend on their season. This is hugely ironic, given that Formula1 is, by most accounts, the [...]
“Good enough” is the new “crap”
What are you working on? Will it be good, or good enough? Here is the deal; good enough is an oxymoron because if you intend to have any impact, to be a part of something special, then good enough isn’t good enough. Most people already know this, deep down. They just need to DECIDE to be [...]
Have you learned something today?
Not yet? Then what are you waiting for? No one will learn it for you… How can tomorrow be better than today if you don’t have anything new for your brain to play with? Go ahead and learn something, write down what you learned on a post-it (4 or 5 words is plenty) and apply [...]
The Mismatch – are we hiring the best losers?
In this video, Malcolm Gladwell, author of the Tipping Point and Blink, explains why everything we know about making an intelligent hiring decision is useless. From Teachers to professional athletes, lawyers to bankers… It’s brilliant, grab a coffee and listen to it. From “Stories from the Near Future,” the 2008 New Yorker Conference. Check it [...]
The tree, but not the forest (missing the big picture)
Facebook users have recently voiced their anger at the new terms and conditions, which says that data could be erased without warning. Such a fuss that FB reverted to its previous terms and conditions. Consumers: 1 – Facebook: 0 Of course, no one has contested the previous terms, which include this: “By posting User Content [...]
The Teenage Years of Public Relations
Public relations has essentially been around forever. From Rasputin to Hitler, from Julius Cesar to Napoleon, from Jesus to the Dalaï Lama, from Donald Trump to Richard Branson, people have always succeeded in using communications as a way of achieving their objectives; by reaching out to people and proposing a message (sometimes imposing the message…). As a profession, however, [...]
Your sales pitch might be crap.
I have been getting more service proposals now that my e-mail address is listed on every news release published by iWeb. Most proposals don’t get read all the way. The are three (3) possible outcomes to every pitch, listed in order of importance (and likeliness) Delete Thanks, but (fill in the blank) Interesting, tell me more about [...]
How Pixar is Creating Innovation
Last year, McKinsey Quarterly interviewed Brad Bird and asked him about creativity, innovation, team-building and management. Brad Bird has produced The Incredibles, Ratatouille, and many more animated works (including episodes of The Simpsons) Not only is his approach is extremely effective, but more importantly, Brad Bird is very well respected by his peers and gets [...]