Blogs

The hallmark of most successful business leaders and entrepreneurs is the ability to step back every now and then to reflect on where they are, where they want to be, and where they’ve been—including an examination of takeaways and critical lessons of what they’ve discovered along the way. Through reflection, we can make progress with…

The authentic, genuine YOU that you present to an audience—whether that audience is one person or one hundred—NEVER changes (at least it shouldn’t), but the way you communicate and connect with your audience by necessity must change with the context of the situation. From how you speak to the clothes you wear, you have to “know”…

Holidays are big business, and none are bigger than the “Winter Holidays” of Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, and others, where in 2014 consumers in the USA (according to the National Retail Federation) spent more than $616 billion! I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, then, that it seems many retailers have jumped…

It’s funny how some memories just seem to linger, while others fade. Those that “stick” can leave lasting impressions that shape our way forward, influencing how we think or feel or act later in life. Some of my strongest memories center around the family dinner table when I was growing up. I couldn’t have known…

Do you procrastinate? Are you more prone to procrastinate in business matters or on the personal side of life’s ledger? Do you find yourself incapable of getting a start on a project or some task you need to complete—whether it’s mowing the lawn, washing the car, or working on this month’s financials? Nothing is more…

A successful brand is one that can evolve with changes in the marketplace in ways that don’t force you to re-create the wheel or re-establish who and what you are or what you represent to your target customers when new technologies, trends, and ways of doing business emerge. How does your brand story reflect you…

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…

With a personal slogan of “More Creativity, More Ideas, More Fun!” and a company logo that feature’s a blue monkey with a big, wide grin, it should come as no surprise that humor finds its way into my social media posts and blogs quite often. Humor is an important part of who I am and thus…

While I didn’t really have a “dog” in this show—my favorite team, the Oakland Raiders haven’t even got a whiff of the playoffs in a decade plus—being a west coaster, I was rooting for the Seattle Seahawks to be crowned champions again this year. One miracle catch had them poised to repeat, but a questionable…

Just as we expect the sun to come up tomorrow, or for there to be no one approaching us head-on in our lane when we round a hairpin turn, or that when we toss something up, it will come down, we come to expect certain things from brands. It’s just like the law of physics.…