Knowing Write from Wrong: Part 1

Knowing Write from Wrong: Part 1

In the summer of 1964, my parents rented a small, red cottage on Cherry Street at Chapman Beach in Westbrook, Connecticut. Headed east along the shoreline, the next beach is Chalker Beach. The one after that is Indian Town. That matters because that same summer, my...
But That’s the Way We’ve Always Done It

But That’s the Way We’ve Always Done It

SASS (self-absorbed self-satisfaction), is a philosophy, not to be confused with its homonymic variant: SaaS (software as a service). SASS is the twin sibling of stubbornness and the bane of creative productivity. It can be stated in one simple sentence: “We do...
The Ten Commandments of Leadership

The Ten Commandments of Leadership

I’ve been carrying these on a laminated card in my wallet for as long as I can remember. They need to be shared: People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered. Love them anyway. If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Do good...
Courage

Courage

Though I manage brands for a living, I’m not objective enough to position and manage my own brand. I’m too close to it. Every brand owner has the same myopic inability. But many of them resist objectivity. And when presented with the new, the push is on to...
He Blinded Me With Science

He Blinded Me With Science

Good news, kids: We’re no longer complex creatures. We’re neither cryptic nor complicated. Anfractuous behavioral lines are now — if not perfectly straight — at least malleable. Outcomes are predictable. That’s right. We have experience maps. An...
Make the Logo Bigger

Make the Logo Bigger

If you do a Google search for dreaded words in business, you’ll get millions of hits. That’s a lot of dread. And it’s a reminder that dread is contextual. Edward G. Brown thinks the most dreaded words in business are Got a minute? Shell Haffner...