MONKEYZ BLOG

September can be a “crossroads” type month. Summer’s just about over, autumn looms, and shortly after that it’s the holiday season (which seems to get bigger and longer and more drawn out every year) and then New Year’s. Some might feel tempted to coast the remaining 3-plus months of the year, figuring they’ll just run…

As any sales and marketing expert knows, one of the keys to success is “knowing your audience.” The same goes with communication, whether it’s person-to-person or if you’re addressing your team or the entire company. Who is you audience? What needs does your audience have in relation to what it is you are trying to…

I read this quote today, “Influence may be the highest level of human skills” (author unknown) and it got me thinking about a blog I wrote two summers ago about “Influencer Marketing.” It seems I must have been channeling my younger self as I contemplated a topic for this week, which probably has something to…

I suspect we all have moments when we’re faced with a task or a challenge—big or small—that we need to address or overcome in order to move forward. It could relate to business, health, our relationships, finances, or all of the above. How we respond to these situations is a big part of who we…

Our lives are ruled by expectations. This is not good or bad – it’s simply stating a fact based on the “World According to Paul.” Men and women are expected to fulfill specific roles. Kids are expected to exhibit certain behavior, etc . In the business world, leaders are expected to lead, the innovators are…

“The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team.” (Phil Jackson) In early 2009, Barrel O’ Monkeyz first reared its head in the digital jungle. Envisioned as a virtual agency, my dream was to use technology to bring together marketing, technical, web design, graphic design, and digital assets…

I received a direct mail postcard (yes, they still make those!) in my inbox this week — not my virtual inbox, but my trusty old snail-mail box. This was a piece I could pick up and hold. It was a well-designed card, quality print job, and it had a few nice things to say about…

I’m back from a week-long vacation with family and friends to northern California. It was my first vacation of the “more-than-a-long-weekend” variety in over five years, and I have to admit time away from the business of business does a body and a mind and a spirit good. I won’t say I feel like a…

I admit it. Occasionally, I’ll opt for a quick text message or email rather than talk to someone by phone. It’s easy and I run little chance of getting caught up in a “too-long” conversation when I’m pressed for time. It might even help me avoid a difficult or awkward situation. When I do this,…

Time flies, they say, when you’re having fun, so I must be having loads of fun! While it seems just like yesterday I caught everyone up to date with one of my—ahem!—“quarterly” check-ins, a look back at the files tells me it’s been quite a stretch. Better late than never, so here goes with a…

“The life which is unexamined is not worth living.” – Plato I want to tell you a story. It’s the story of my life. Well, not the whole story—I’ll spare you the typical biographical details of when I was born and how old I was when I first learned to ride a bike. Instead, I…

I recently had a conversation with a good friend. He was feeling restless about his website, his social media presence, and his overall message. He said he was feeling the need for a change, but really could not say why. All things in both his personal and professional life are humming along smoothly. Business is…

Everyone has a story, and everyone likes to hear a good story. It’s a unique quality of being human. Heck, even cave dwellers told stories. In fact, for millennia, before we had writing, oral storytelling was the only way history passed from one generation to another. Stories were also “told” through cave paintings, hieroglyphics, singing,…

When you talk to others, do you fully engage? Do they? I was watching a discussion panel the other night on TV. It became readily apparent that the talking heads really weren’t listening to one another. Each was simply waiting for a moment of quiet as the cue for when it was his or her…

Ideas are the lifeblood of the entrepreneurial spirit. They are the sparks of innovation, the kernels of “what might be.” But ideas alone are not success. Ideas represent potential. Without execution, ideas are just that—ideas. They are pie in the sky dreams and wishful thinking. Many ideas fail to see the light of day—whether they…

I am sometimes amazed by the contents of my email inbox, particularly tailor-made messages and offers designed just for me. Of course, as a marketer and entrepreneur in this digital age, I shouldn’t really be that surprised. I get it. Opt-in lists, segmentation, targeted offers from online shopping venues I frequent, and more allows email…