by Mark O'Brien | Dec 31, 2014
In the good old days (when were those?), companies differentiated themselves by purporting to be the best at what they did. One specialization. One concentration. One reliable deliverable or set thereof. That was then. This is now. Can a company that did one thing...
by Mark O'Brien | Dec 29, 2014
There are many reasons to be skeptical of the claims made by inbound marketing (or marketing automation — the terms are virtually synonymous). Here’s one. Here’s another. And here’s a third: Inbound marketing seems to be adopted by B2B companies that...
by Mark O'Brien | Dec 26, 2014
In 2004, the priest who presided over the high-school graduation of my son, Quinn, said this, acknowledging the myriad difficulties of the age in which the accidents of our births find us in existence: “We are blessed with challenges.” My first reaction...
by Mark O'Brien | Dec 22, 2014
For man, unlike any other thing organic or inorganic in the universe, grows beyond his work, walks up the stairs of his concepts, emerges ahead of his accomplishments. (John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath) Like so many other inexplicable occurrences in my life, I...
by Mark O'Brien | Dec 18, 2014
I recently engaged in a discussion about branding on LinkedIn with a gentleman, Joseph Benson, who proved to be as patient as he is knowledgeable. I offer our exchange here, edited only for brevity and clarity, with Joseph’s permission. Joseph is indicated by...
by Mark O'Brien | Dec 15, 2014
I have a troubled relationship with planning. I see it as teetering on a scale between dubious advisability and abject futility. Nevertheless, I do recognize the need for it, even if the plan is nothing more than a map on which to plot course corrections. Nothing...
