by Mark O'Brien | Jan 26, 2015
Here are five perennially perplexing questions, as intriguing as they are troubling and, as yet, unanswered: Why do so many organizations create the position, VP of Sales and Marketing? Why is the VP of Sales and Marketing typically a sales person? Is the chief...
by Mark O'Brien | Jan 23, 2015
At a large corporation for which I once worked, my boss’s boss told one of my internal clients (I love that phrase) — a gentleman who disagreed with my counsel on a matter of communication and went over my head to report his pique — to ignore me because,...
by Mark O'Brien | Jan 22, 2015
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...
by Mark O'Brien | Jan 16, 2015
I have four dental crowns cemented into my noggin. I’m completely familiar with every step of the procedure for getting them in there: the prepping of the tooth; the creation and application of the temporary crown; the molding of the permanent one; and the implanting...
by Mark O'Brien | Jan 14, 2015
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...
by Mark O'Brien | Jan 12, 2015
Companies complain about the effect of ad-blocking on their revenue streams. They have a point … to a point. Blocking ads does break the traditional covenant in which users gain access to content in exchange for exposure to advertising. But the complainants...
