Every few years I re-read Disney War by James Stewart (it’s one of my all-time favorites) about the rise and fall of Disney. The majority of the book focuses on the Michael Eisner years, just after Eisner became CEO of Disney in 1984. Like him or not, he brought about a much-needed change in culture […]
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This Time-Tracking Activity Could Save Your Life
I’ve had a chance over the past few weeks to talk to many people about their plans for 2020. In most cases, people are feeling overwhelmed in a chaotic world. They are having a hard time grasping meaning with so much going on around them. Do you feel this way? I know I do sometimes. […]
Continue ReadingPlan On Saving Time or Money in 2020? Here’s Why There’s Only One Right Answer
Making resolutions can be daunting. To be “resolute” one has to stand firm…and back up a decision either to do, or not do, something of importance. Heavy stuff in my opinion. Most of us (at least as resolutions go) don’t last the entire year. I’m all for resolutions, both in business and on the personal […]
Continue ReadingHow to Be More Creative in One Easy Step
Actor and comedian Jerrod Carmichael eats scrambled eggs with blueberries and almonds for breakfast almost every morning. Why? He likes it and it’s one less thing to think about. Sometimes he mixes in walnuts, but that’s as crazy as it gets. Almost everyone knows about Steve Jobs wearing the exact same wardrobe each day, which […]
Continue ReadingWarren Buffett’s 25/5 Goal-Setting Strategy
It’s always about this time of the year I start thinking about the next year. What do I want to accomplish? What’s most important to me? To my family? How do I prioritize everything I want to do? What’s the best way to accomplish these things? It can be overwhelming. I mean, let’s be honest…it’s […]
Continue ReadingTo Differentiate, You Actually Have to “Be” Different
My son Joshua recently turned 18 and is now formally applying to colleges and universities. He used the Common App to make that happen. If you’re not familiar with the Common App, it’s a little miracle for applying to college. Instead of filling out separate applications to all the places in which you want to […]
Continue ReadingPull the Goalie on Your Decisions and Change Your World
I love my newsletter subscribers. Let me give you an example of why. I first met subscriber Rob Ristagno in 2016 at a Niche Media event. We’ve chatted a couple times on the phone since then, but I hear from Rob mostly when he responds to my newsletter. Last week I mentioned something in Random […]
Continue Reading21 Questions to Save Marketing from Bad Execution
One of my first custom publishing sales calls happened when visiting Carrier Corporation, the HVAC manufacturer, in Syracuse, New York (Summer, 2001). I was pitching them on a special 100th Anniversary Issue to commemorate 100 years since Willis Carrier invented the air conditioner. They executed on the idea, but didn’t use us for the services. […]
Continue ReadingStart Getting Concerned about Social Media
Annual LCA Golf Outing…regular shenanigans with my three best friends (taken September 7, 2019) Part of my Content Marketing World 2019 keynote focused on the end of social media as we know it (here are the slides if you are interested…this particular section starts at slide 57). I’m pretty much obsessed with the concept. […]
Continue ReadingThis One Thing Made All the Difference (Yes, It’s about Events)
Content Marketing World 2019 Speaker Party (taken September 3, 2019) Last week was the 9th Annual Content Marketing World, held again in my home city Cleveland, Ohio. It’s hard not to get nostalgic about the event. Almost 4,000 attend this event every year, coming from well over 60 different countries (as well as every […]
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