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You Can Make Your Volunteerism a Winning Strategy for All
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…
How to Make Pro Bono Work a Win-Win Strategy
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…
Be Free. Be Creative. Be Fun.
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…
Spring Forward: Time for Fun, Creativity
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…
Is Your Brand Flexible? Entrepreneurs, Startups, and even Major Brands Need to Respond to Changes in the Marketplace
The smartphone and tablet wars are ongoing. Every 6 to 12 months, we get a new barrage of tantalizing photos and cryptic descriptions of the latest this and the latest that—sleek new gadget designs and powerful new software that promise to be bigger, better, faster. In all honesty, though, it all seems a bit “more…
Great Brands Need to Respond to Changes in the Marketplace
The smartphone and tablet wars are ongoing. Every 6 to 12 months, we get a new barrage of tantalizing photos and cryptic descriptions of the latest this and the latest that—sleek new gadget designs and powerful new software that promise to be bigger, better, faster. In all honesty, though, it all seems a bit “more…
Mardi Gras Anyone?
Mardi Gras seemed to come and go this year with little fanfare. In fact, if New Orleans hadn’t been featured as a backdrop to some of my favorite TV shows, I might not have noticed its arrival and departure at all—though I do recall seeing an online feature on Rio de Janeiro’s “Carnival” celebration .…

Needs vs. Wants Helps Us Keep Priorities in Focus
It’s not easy to stay focused—not in a world that seems to be moving at a million miles per hour, not in a world in which we are bombarded with endless news cycles that feed us stories ranging from deadly snow and cold in the northeast to ISIS beheadings in the Middle East to romantic…

Staying True to My Brand
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…

A Lesson in Branding from the NFL
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…
If Chimps Can Do It . . .
I was reading an online article this week about scientists studying how chimpanzees communicate. For this particular study, researchers spent 750 hours observing chimps and analyzing their vocalizations. What they found is that chimps indeed do “talk” to one another using a “variety of vocalizations, but also facial expressions and gestures.” Unsurprisingly, most of their…
What Can Your Taxes Teach You? Business 101?
Inevitably, once the NFL playoffs hit, individuals, married couples, small business owners, and corporate financial types start hauling out the previous year’s receipts, bank statements, and other tax records. It’s a sure sign that tax season has arrived: W2s and 1099s and Mortgage Interest statements are crossing in the mail; numbers are getting crunched and…