Marketing Makes You Nervous?

Marketing Makes You Nervous?

Why does marketing inspire anxiety? I don’t know. But I have two theories. The first is that we possess a fundamental distrust of brevity and simplicity. The second is that we don’t recognize effective marketing is simple storytelling. Most of us think the...
Do It Well

Do It Well

When my three siblings and I were children, Mom and Dad took us to dinner at the historic Griswold Inn in Essex, Connecticut. The place was bustling, as always. Young members of the wait staff hustled from table to table, tending to their patrons. After a few minutes,...
Tell Your Story

Tell Your Story

A few years ago, Peter Guber wrote this in the Harvard Business Review, “Critical details, data, and analytics are more effectively emotionalized and metabolized by the listener when they’re embedded in a story.” Similarly, Jonathan Gattschall wrote...
I’m All Set With the Internet of Things

I’m All Set With the Internet of Things

Kleptus vocabularis is rearing its ugly head again. That’s right. The Internet of Things has finally slithered its way into the trendy, mainstream business lexicon and given the jargoneers something old to feel good about. Just shoot me: The Internet of Things...
Take the First Step

Take the First Step

When I speak to students during readings of my books, Martin the Marlin, The One and Only Ben, and Martin the Marlin: Friends Help Friends — in groups that often number in the hundreds, from Kindergarten through 8th grade — I get questions so direct they can only come...