Business Lessons from Batman
Batman has always been my favorite superhero. Why? Superman is an alien, Spiderman is a science experiment, Batman is a real guy (yes he’s fiction, but the character is just a man). Sure, he comes...
View ArticleComfort Kills
As this year winds to a close and we spend time with our loved ones and celebrate the season, I can’t help but think about the year ahead. Call it a New Year’s resolution, call it a goal, call it a...
View ArticleSomething I Gotta Say
A few weeks ago I wrote about making ourselves uncomfortable to drive forward. It was an attempt to shed light on my thought process for the big decision I recently made. Since then I have been asked...
View ArticleTips for Trade Show Exhibitors
For over a decade I was an exhibitor at hundreds of trade shows. The amount of details that led to the success or failure of an exhibitor’s trade show experience is staggering: “Do we have enough...
View ArticleSales and The Olde Sea Dog
Before he had kids, my Dad was a pirate. Not a bad pirate, no plundering or pillaging, but a pirate nonetheless. He would sail the high seas for months at a time, he would battle gangs of evil...
View ArticleDo It With Love
There is a picture hanging on my wall that I see every day, and every day it brings me a smooth mix of joy, sadness, and inspiration. Few things get to me in this way. So what is it about the man...
View ArticleOpen Letter to Gov. Jerry Brown
Dear Governor Brown, Last week, in an attempt to ease California’s budget deficit, you ordered state agencies to stop using promotional products to as a means to market their programs and services. I...
View ArticleWhat’s Next: The Greatest Thing Ever
Walking the streets of Austin during South by Southwest (SXSW), I am startled by the difference since I first attended (and rocked) this event 12 years ago. What with the tweets, and blogs, and...
View ArticleBelieve or Be Lost
I believe. Every day I confirm that simple truth. I believe that I control my own destiny. I believe that I can be a better person. I believe that good things happen when you open yourself to the...
View ArticleWill You Be Obsolete?
Toothless and Taking Over At my house we love Spongebob Squarepants and we usually watch it through Roku, commercial-free. For some reason last Saturday we were watching it on a regular TV broadcast...
View ArticleDream Big – Quit Sleep
“You can say what you want about me but I’ve made the most of my time.” Vokab Kompany Wild dreams. Impractical hopes. Unreachable desires. Impossible ambitions. Crazy ideas. You’ve had them. I...
View ArticleWhat We Can Learn from Sharks
If the President, the Pope, the Dali Lama, and the Queen came to my house the first week of August, they would be offered a cold beverage, light snack, and a seat in front of the TV – as would any...
View ArticleSummer Sun, Spending, and Service
As the summer winds to a close, I look back on the season as an experience in entertainment, heavily wrapped in commerce and customer service. We all spend money in the summer. Trips, bicycles, cold...
View ArticleDealing with Disaster
Gusting winds, dry plants, high temperatures – perfect condition for a wildfire, just add a spark. First a single shrub, then a stack of brittle timber, then a field, then an acre, then a hillside, a...
View ArticleThe Worst Advice Ever
I recently received an email from a good friend who wanted to discuss a sales concept that he read about. The concept is that in order to make a sale you should call a client 10 times. Before I give...
View ArticleBusiness Lessons from the Cub Scouts
When we decided to sign up for Cub Scouts, I thought it would be a great way for my son to make some friends, learn cool things, go camping, and maybe even get a pocket knife – sweet! What I didn’t...
View ArticleThe Apocalypse is Real (for some)
I have to admit I am a little intrigued by the whole “2012-Mayan-calendar-end-of-the-world” thing. Not that I think it will actually happen, but I do love bold predictions. I would agree that life...
View ArticleHandling Criticism (the Booger Effect)
Back in my single days I once told a girl I was dating that her perfume smelled terrible. She couldn’t believe I would say something so rude. I couldn’t believe she didn’t appreciate that I was...
View ArticleAdam Yauch – Leaving a Legacy
Flying down the highway, windows open, stereo on blast, Beastie Boys bumping – my teenage version of freedom. The joy of good friends, weird adventures, and great music as the soundtrack to our...
View ArticlePublic Speaking: Nervous? Or Nailin’ It!
“I think I might barf on my Jimmy Choo’s,” she said in despair. “This sucks!” That’s what I heard when I picked up the phone a few weeks ago while a friend of mine was suffering from a good old...
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