Aim Up, Compare Down
February 27, 2012
To me, it’s not about comparing yourself to other people or being boastful. It’s about comparing “down” to a previous version of you.
Read MoreThe Front Page Test
February 20, 2012
Now I’m no prude and I’m all for artistic expression. But peddling obnoxious trash to audiences in order to sell more records can’t be making the world a better place. Sure, these “artists” are scoring a bunch of cash. But at what cost?
Read MoreMy 11 Principles
February 13, 2012
My 11 guiding principles for graduates, dropouts, young guns, and seniors alike.
Read MoreAbout to be Nested?
February 6, 2012
That’s right… the Nest sells for ten times the price of the find-anywhere industry standard thermostat. And they are sold out everywhere you look.
Read MoreInventing Your Enemy
January 30, 2012
Throughout my career, my favorite saying has always been: “Someday, a company is going to come along and put us out of business. It might as well be us.”
Read MoreThe Dark Side is Yummy
January 23, 2012
As the dark side becomes yummier, it’s time for you to strengthen your resolve.
Read MoreDefying Gravity
January 9, 2012
Let the countdown begin.
Read MoreDistinctive
November 14, 2011
The sole of every single Louboutin shoe is painted bright red. Pantone 187C to be exact.
Read MoreWhat’s Your Brand Personality?
November 7, 2011
If you or your company has the personality of a pet rock, it’s time to shake things up. If you don’t, your competitors surely will.
Read MoreFlood the House to Catch the Mouse
October 18, 2010
Imagine you had the challenge of inventing a better mousetrap. Literally. A typical brainstorm session may yield incremental improvements in the spring on a mousetrap, or the bait, or the construction materials. The whole essence of igniting your curiosity is to question and challenge everything. Why does a mousetrap need to use a spring at […]
Read MoreThe Pike Syndrome
September 20, 2010
The pike is a fierce carnivorous fish that eats other smaller fish. They are cunning, mean, and always find a way to get their prey (sounds like some people I know who work on Wall Street, but I digress). Scientists conducted an experiment where they put a pike in a tank with many other smaller […]
Read MoreCreativity or Bust
September 7, 2010
In the past, there were creative companies and non-creative companies. Ad agencies were creative. Bolt manufacturers were not. The music industry was creative. The steel industry was not. The difference today is that all companies and industries must embrace creativity in order to compete. In today’s hyper-competitive world, everyone at every level of the organization […]
Read MoreWhat’s Your Color?
July 12, 2010
If you wanted to start a groundbreaking business in 1981 where you could express your creativity and beat your competitors, I bet you wouldn’t have chosen the nail polish industry. At the time, it was a mature industry with deeply entrenched leaders such as Maybelline and Max Factor. Going head-to-head with these giants who were […]
Read MoreNow That’s a Prezi!
June 21, 2010
Bad Power Point presentations have reached the same punch-line status as lawyer jokes, yet most of us still use this ubiquitous tool. Some have moved to Apple’s Keynote, which has cool transitions and flaming bullet-points, but it is still essentially the same thing – a linear presentation system. A hot new company called Prezi finally […]
Read MoreIt Can’t Be Done
May 24, 2010
It was widely accepted that a computer could never beat a grand master at a game of chess. Until, of course, when IBM’s Deep Blue computer bested the reigning world champion, Gary Kasparov, in 1996. What was once unimaginable had become reality. A new game from Matel called Mind Flex allows you to use your […]
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