Life & Marketing
Take Advantage of the New Reality: The post Covid-19 environment will be similar to post 911
With respect to conducting business, there are going to be a lot of similarities in the coming weeks and months with what transpired after September 11, 2011. In fact, like post-911, some things will never be the same. Travel will be impacted the most in the near term. Beyond travel being a problem based on…
Read More7 Must Have Character Traits for Entrepreneurs:
There has been a great deal written about this topic over the years and based upon my experience working with entrepreneurs for nearly a half-century, I thought I’d offer my observations. Two things of which I am certain are that “Your greatest strength is always your greatest weakness” and regardless of your degree or title,…
Read MoreClients are Like Spouses: Tell Them You Love Them
I was enjoying lunch with a Professor from Babson College and discussing a couple of book ideas when he asked me, “why do you have so many clients who have been working with you for 40 years? There are three reasons, I told him: 1. “I clearly and simply explain what services I provide and…
Read MoreTrump: Dumb as a Stump or Sly as a Fox?
In the 1960 election, John F. Kennedy capitalized on the new media of the day to capture the presidency and sustain his popularity. He recognized the power of television and the importance of winning the debate visually as well as substantively. That was accomplished by his dark blue suit, makeup, and lighting. It was an…
Read MoreWhy do you get up in the morning?
“A man’s got to have a reason to get up in the morning.” This was a favorite expression of my uncle, an extremely successful entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and philanthropist. In fact, what got him up in the morning for the last 10 years of his life was giving away much of his fortune. He said…
Read MoreThe Great Power of Underestimation
In 1976, Sales Development Associates blasted onto the advertising scene with a disruptive approach which most misunderstood and many underestimated. I know the story because it is mine. I was 28 years old and started the company from a spare bedroom at my folks’ house and then six months later moved into our office building…
Read MoreAre You an S.O.B?
There was nothing remarkable about the small industrial building as we drove into the company parking lot. It was a brisk November day back in 2007. The leaves had already been raked and the walkways were well groomed. What prompted the memory of that day is Thanksgiving. I’m always prone to reflection this time of…
Read MoreAn Exchange of Unaltered Meaning
While enjoying the sun, sand, and warm breezes on the beach at Key West recently, I saw an interesting exchange between a resort guest and an employee that reminded me of a seminar I attended way back in 1979 which dealt with interpersonal communication. A woman was standing about twenty feet away from me awaiting…
Read MoreBuild Your Business by Being Distinct
On the wall in my office is a framed copy of a quote which was given to me by Manny Affler, a great client many years ago. He was in his 50s at the time and hired me multiple times for several years. He recognized that Venmark was a different kind of company. It was…
Read MoreWhy Work With Small Companies?
I was introduced to a young man who was starting a company. In the process of our initial conversation, he let me know that he graduated Carnegie Melon with an engineering degree. Therefore, I assumed he was smart. That said, he went on to ask me, “If I was so good at what I do,…
Read More“The Profit” on CNBC Validated my Observation
There are clearly two types of owners in small businesses, those with big egos who need to be in control and those who have learned how to delegate and empower the people who work for them. Knowing what you don’t know can be a huge problem for bright entrepreneurs who believe they can learn…
Read MoreAre You Fundamentally Unemployable?
I love LinkedIn and appreciate its value. However, I read too many questions about starting businesses that are much too academic. Maybe because of entrepreneurship studies at universities? For many entrepreneurs, starting a business was a visceral need. My wife and I started our business from a spare room and worked eight and a half months without a day…
Read MoreBe a Fan for Your Kid, Not an Advocate
I met a professional woman who coached a basketball team of 12 year old girls. That wasn’t her primary job, of course, but it was clearly a labor of love. A self-confessed jock and the first girl to infiltrate her little league syndicate as a young female who could pitch a ferocious fastball, this woman…
Read MoreWhy Don’t we Hear More About Corporate Philanthropy?
The short answer is because it doesn’t fit the Obama administration narrative about corporate greed and income inequality. Moreover, it doesn’t have the appeal of a good old fashioned Wall Street scandal featuring the latest greedy scumbag being walked out of his office in handcuffs to get media attention. The real answer is that…
Read MoreSticks and Stones will Break my Bones, but Names will Never Hurt me!
That was a popular phrase in the 1950s, when I grew up. “Sticks and stones will break my bones, but names will never hurt me.” That’s how we were taught to respond to name-calling back at a time when personal freedom and independence were revered values.
Read MoreWhere is the Outrage on Campus Today?
Watching the news about excessive government snooping via phone and the internet and Eric Holder’s misinforming congress, I recall how we would have responded back in the 1960s when I was in college.
Read MoreSmall Business Embodies American Spirit
Back in 1978, there was a report published by the ninety-fifth congress of the United States of America entitled, THE FUTURE OF SMALL BUSINESS IN AMERICA. (Report No. 95-1810). In Chapter 3 was the following quote:
Read MoreProud of our Police, FBI, and others
With tears in my eyes I watched the crowds cheering the police, FBI, and others after capturing the second suspect in the Boston Marathon terrorist bombing incident.
Read MoreExcessive Government Regulation is Bad for Small Business
In “The State of Small Business: A Report of The President” Transmitted to the Congress May 1985, Chapter 1. began with “The key word for the American economy in 1984 was growth, in terms of both employment and national output.
Read MoreConsistency Counts in Business and in Life
When one of my clients turned 35, he was experiencing identity issues. When I said to him, “Who hasn’t?” He said, “What identity issues do you have? You are product publicity, that’s who you are, it is as simple as that!”
Read MoreAbraham Lincoln Got It
As I listened to another campaign-style speech by President Obama lecturing Republicans about only wanting to protect the interests of the wealthy, relative to the “fiscal cliff,” I opened one of my favorite books, “The Forbes Scrapbook of Thoughts on the Business of Life” and found three quotations from Abraham Lincoln that are apropos.
Read MoreBrilliant Campaign Wins White House
Kudos to David Axelrod and team. Once again, this illustrates the importance of “marketing” and selling the sizzle, not the steak. Clearly, President Obama didn’t have the steak. Here’s the record:
Read MoreSmall Business is America’s Canary in the Coal Mine
Back in 1978, there was a report published by the ninety-fifth congress of the United States of America entitled, THE FUTURE OF SMALL BUSINESS IN AMERICA. (Report No. 95-1810). In Chapter 3 was the following quote: “This country’s small business people are believers in the rights and responsibilities of citizens, and strong participants in the…
Read MoreObama’s Brilliance
President Obama understands that [at the core] people want to be told what to do and to be taken care of. He masterfully appeals to that “visceral wish.” Folks won’t acknowledge that fact because it is an emotional response, not a rational one. They don’t even realize it.
Read MoreSelling Competence v.s. Likability
When my father needed quintuple bypass heart surgery we hired the best, most competent cardiac surgeon around. He happened to be Henry Kissinger’s surgeon too. Frankly, I don’t recall his name, it was almost 30 years ago. But, I do remember that he fixed my father and was also abrasive, abrupt, impolite, and just plain rude!
Read MoreObama Campaign’s False Advertising
President Obama claims that he’s for “insourcing” and Mitt Romney outsourced jobs. Let’s do a fact check. Let’s look more closely at General Motors, one of President Obama’s alleged successes, our government’s $80 billion bailout of GM (and Chrysler),
Read MoreFollowing Focus Groups is not Leadership
Steve Jobs had an instinct for what would help people. Focus groups didn’t help him decide to invent the Mac, iPod, iPhone or iPad, he innovated. Bill Gates operated the same way.
Read MoreRomney’s Strength, He isn’t a Brand…
No offense to the Nike swoosh, but is it smart to sell a president the way they sell shoes and clothing? I recently conducted a Google image search for “Obama branding, Romney branding and Ronald Reagan branding.”
Read MoreMake Commonsense the new Ideology
I had lunch with an old friend recently. We’re both baby boomers and our conversation turned to politics. He said to me, “I’m going to hold my nose and vote for Obama.” To which I asked, why? And he said, “Because of women’s rights.”
Read MoreSmall Business is the Essence of America
“The essence of the American economic system of private enterprise is free competition. Only through full and free competition can free markets, free entry into business, and opportunities for the expression and growth of personal initiation and individual judgment be assured.”
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