Blogs

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…

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,…