Blogs

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…

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…

“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,…

If you’ve been anticipating getting your hands on the new Apple Watch, your long wait is nearly over. You can pre-order it starting April 10, and it will be available April 24. If you’re still on the fence as to whether this new device is right for you—like me—check out Apple’s latest video overview for…