Embrace the bad

July 7, 2010

I was facilitating a client meeting not long ago. As always, we had a lot of content to review and discuss. Some folks wanted to move ahead quickly and I tried to move the discussion from point A to point B to stay on track. One fellow got pretty upset and felt like we should […]

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Don’t be a sheeple

June 9, 2010

I was with my eldest son a few weeks ago at Rutgers University for an orientation. They had a separate session for parents in their very large gym. Along one side of the gym they had refreshments set up. It was hot and sticky in the gym and so I got up to get myself […]

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Hard is simple

May 18, 2010

Got a complicated answer to my question, a confusing solution to my problem, a way of thinking about an issue that requires detailed explanation? Well get in line. That’s easy. If you’ve got to say a lot or write a lot to get your point across then you probably haven’t thought it through. Spend more […]

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Why wear my shoes?

May 7, 2010

It’s a big world out there. There’s a place for you. And trust me, you want to find that place. Trying to force yourself into a situation that isn’t meant for you is worse than a waste of time. It’s torture and you don’t need it or deserve it. First, you’ve got to recognize that […]

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It’s supposed to hurt

May 7, 2010

You can go through life doing what you’re good at and choosing situations in which you know you’ll shine. The benefit of that approach is that nobody will ever tell you that you suck. You’ll never have that experience where you’re in the midst of doing something and you’re unsure of whether you’ll be able […]

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What if they won’t play along?

April 27, 2010

It is by now received wisdom that companies should stick close to their core competencies. “Don’t try to do too much. Stick to your knitting” they say. And thus, the passion is beaten out of companies much as it has been beaten out of individuals for so long. A related phenomenon is the desire to […]

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Don’t overpromise

April 26, 2010

I use the LogMeIn service to use my home computer when I’m out of the house. It’s a free service but I also have their iPhone app which cost around $30. I really like the service – the free and the rather expensive iPhone app. But I’ve been having a problem lately. So I went […]

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What are your real values?

April 20, 2010

Wait, before you answer, read on. And, my dear reader, this is a very long post. I really hope you will find it as enlightening to read as it was to me when I was thinking about it and writing it. It seems to me that there is a lot of sloppy thinking and communication […]

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But it’s just…

April 15, 2010

Many marketers and would-be innovators often make a fatal mistake. I call it the “it’s just” mistake. They look at their product category and see a dearth of innovation and little growth and they assume that there are no growth opportunities because people – consumers – don’t care much about those products. These products are, […]

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Maybe you’ll like it

April 14, 2010

We are creatures of habit. That’s not such a bad thing. If we had to figure life out every day anew we wouldn’t get very far. But while habits help us with our need for efficiency, they don’t do much to help us progress. Habits are all about maintaining the status quo. But what if […]

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