Blogs

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 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…

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…

“If you build it, he will come,” may be a classic movie quote (number 39 all time on The American Film Institute’s Top 100 Movie Quotes), but as a business maxim, it just doesn’t pass muster. Let’s face it, there are no guarantees in business. As any entrepreneur, business owner, and executive knows, you could…

With just under 17 months to the finish line, the 2016 race for the White House is underway. Hillary Clinton ended months of suspense (insert monkey sarcasm here) by finally making her bid official over the weekend. She joins fellow Democratic hopeful and former Governor of Maryland, Martin O’Malley—plus GOPers Rand Paul and Ted Cruz,…

In a few days, Major Leaguers in Florida and Arizona will be breaking camp and opening up the 2015 Major League baseball season. Each team will have gone through the arduous and sometimes tedious process of winnowing their rosters to 25. Presumably, these 25 players represent the best of the best (let’s face it, even…

I make a point of doing regular pro bono work for a number of businesses and organizations. Some of it’s purely voluntary because it’s the right thing to do, while some of my efforts are at least partially motivated by a desire to further my business prospects. While I’d like to claim my motivations are…

I make a point of doing regular pro bono work for a number of businesses and organizations. Some of it’s purely voluntary because it’s the right thing to do, while some of my efforts are at least partially motivated by a desire to further my business prospects. While I’d like to claim my motivations are…

Can you feel it? The sun’s rays are warmer, the Santa Ana winds are dying down, and soon crocuses and other early bloomers will be on full display. Spring is definitely in the air. With each spring comes a sense of renewal. Though we in southern California don’t have the seasonal shifts our friends to…