Remarkability Is Not Taken, It is Earned
Evan Almighty, Life and Business Lesson in Opportunity
Have you seen last year's movie Evan Almighty? (I'm on a movie kick this week...) Evan Almighty Briefly, the plot... Evan Baxter (Steve Carell) is a newscaster who was just elected to Congress. His slogan was "Change the World". He moves [...]
Customers Know The Difference
I'm a big fan of attention to detail. One of the masters of attention to detail was Walt Disney. In his animated features and themeparks, he always made sure never to sacrifice the Guest experience. This was especially important in creating [...]
A Cup Of Joe (Williams): Discussions & Debating
Know your subject as well as your mind is capable of. Believe in what you say. Tell it in your own words, just as you see it. Paint a word picture. If you disagree with the issue, don't insult the other [...]
Throw Away Words, Marketing Claims, Steve Martin
We use words so repeatedly, in marketing, they lose their meaning. The word unique is worthless because it's been overused. New and improved... what does that mean? It can mean the label was changed on the package, not that significant improvement [...]
Creative Problem Solving: Invention of the Ice Cream Cone
The weather is warming up here in Amsterdam... We've had a week of sun and temperatures in the mid-70s. It's ice cream weather, which brings to mind creative problem solving and the invention of the ice cream cone. In September 1904 [...]
Keep Digging for Ideas
Italian Roulette
I've just returned from my first visit to Venice, Italy or Venezia as it's called locally. Ah... Venice... The beautiful city built on water... [required establishing shot here] While I the entire trip was terrific, I was especially impressed with this [...]
Fire Near Idea Sandbox: Amsterdam
There was a fire today across the street from my office. I was sitting working... looked out the window and saw flames erupting from the top floor of the building across the street. I called 112 (the 911 of the Netherlands) [...]