When I ran marketing, public relations strategy was relatively straightforward. There weren’t that many influential analysts, pundits and media powerhouses, so the PR folks built relationships and didn’t bug them unless we had real news to pitch. And we followed the old axiom: If the WSJ covers it, the others[…] Read On
Some of the most powerful life and business lessons are apparent paradoxes. I say “apparent” because once you learn to question popular dogma and look at things objectively, the paradoxes ultimately resolve into truths. I’m not making this up. It’s fundamental to how things work. It’s a yin and yang thing.[…] Read On
Everyone says you should do what you love, or at least what you’re best at, but how do you know what that is? How do you know what career to pursue? The choices can be mind-boggling. Let me explain how it works, and how it doesn’t: I spent summers working[…] Read On
I was asked to attend a marketing conference in Vancouver, Canada. All expenses paid. Sounds cool, right? Just one hitch. It’s apparently a snowflake conference with a strict Code of Conduct. If you’re not “nice,” “kind,” “delightful” and “inclusive,” out you go. Same goes for off-color humor. And don’t even[…] Read On
Since man could talk, he’s been searching for ever-more creative ways to sell stuff that doesn’t work and, even if it did, nobody needs in the first place. Every generation has its own version of swindlers with their bill of goods for sale. The 1800s had snake oil salesmen. The 20th[…] Read On
Apple’s historic 1984 Super Bowl commercial was a watershed event for two reasons: It really got your attention, and it got a clear message across: that Apple’s Macintosh would save the world from a dystopian future of IBM clone PCs. It was so prophetic, so true to what has become[…] Read On
I see so much bad behavior these days it isn’t funny. Duplicitous behavior. People talk a good game but their actions tell a different story. I’m not sure if that dynamic is more pronounced than it used to be or that we see more of it because everyone puts it out[…] Read On