In recent years, we have moved from an Internet saturated in ads to one heavily dependent upon subscriptions. Venture capitalist Fred Wilson makes a smart observation about this trend in his 2019 year-end post: “a subscription overload backlash is emerging as many consumers have signed up for more subscriptions than they need and in some…
As the year and decade* come to a close, it’s a good time to reflect on the personal, professional, and societal events that have impacted you in that time. I’m a much bigger fan of looking back and learning than I am in engaging in the traditional year-end exercise of trying to predict the future….
Whether you’re looking to close a contract with a new client, settle on a deal with a vendor, or reach agreement to sell your business, you always need to be prepared to say “no.” When you don’t walk away from bad terms, you inevitably end up regretting the decision. Pressure to complete a deal comes…
For more than twenty years, I have had the privilege of working with a lot of very talented agency owners and executives. These are individuals who excel at the creative process and delivering superior client service. They have built teams that help their clients achieve important business objectives. As good as they are with clients,…
I went to the local farmer’s market this morning, and just about every stall was selling piles and piles of tomatoes. Now, I wasn’t all that interested in tomatoes since it was 58 degrees out (hints of fall are finally in the air here in New Hampshire). But that’s not what really struck me. What…
Why must we always make the perfect the enemy of the good? The drive for Artificial Intelligence to solve a world of problems for communicators will likely result in failure—at least for the foreseeable future. Computers can make our lives easier, but they won’t relegate PR pros to a life of sitting in a La-Z-Boy…
University of South Carolina men’s basketball coach Frank Martin went on an epic rant recently about youth sports parents and how they yell and scream from the bleachers. He chastised parents for coaching from the sidelines and not letting the coaches do their jobs. But he also made an excellent point about sports officials. He…
If I knew anything about batteries, other than how to drain them through excessive use, I’d probably spend all of my spare time trying to figure out how to build a better one. It’s hardly an original thought, but better batteries remain the key to so much innovation. Electric cars. Smart watches. Mobile phones. Laptops….
I’m a big fan of checklists. There’s a reason why pilots and others in life-and-death roles rely on them to ensure things get done right. In business, we often develop processes to deal with repeatable activities — things like on-boarding clients, promoting events, and publishing content. Many times we will get a group together, think…
Government agencies have long understood the value of “open source intelligence” to national security. While the public may think of secret agents, skulking in the shadows and breaking in to dangerous foreign places, the reality is that intelligence agencies work extensively with publicly available information to glean insights for their leaders. That’s a lesson that…