by Mark O'Brien | Mar 1, 2016
Uh oh. That crashing sound you hear is the fast-tracked hysteria of digital marketing hitting the wall. At least one digital agency wants you to think it’s had an epiphany, that it’s recognized the corner into which it’s painted itself and found a...
by Mark O'Brien | Jan 20, 2016
When will they ever learn/When will they ever learn? As a naïve adolescent in the ’60s, I bought into all the equally naïve, adolescent claptrap about peace, love, harmony, and understanding. As I got older and more observant, I realized all the naïveté, all the...
by Mark O'Brien | Jan 12, 2016
Why in the world do we think we’ll see, perceive, or even recognize innovation? That question leapt to mind, yet again, when I read this: “Why Real Innovation Will Not Come From Within Your Own Industry”. Outside your own industry? If real innovation...
by Mark O'Brien | Dec 17, 2015
It’s apparent from a post I read recently — “Design is Not a Service” — that there must be some sort of potent and pernicious hallucinogen making the rounds. The author of the post, seemingly in the throes of an overdose of the stuff, ranted through...
by Mark O'Brien | Dec 16, 2015
I couldn’t help thinking about Charles M. Schultz’s most popular character (with the possible exception of Snoopy) when I read “The Dark Side of Creativity”. The article would have us believe creative people are negative, moody, depressive,...
by Mark O'Brien | Dec 3, 2015
The story you’re about to read is true. The names have been changed to protect the guilty. In my entire working life, only one attempt has been made to stiff me for an invoice. It was the mid-1990s. Having been cut loose from The Travelers Managed Care and...