Great in-depth article in Sports Illustrated recently about Baltimore Orioles’ first baseman Chris Davis. Short version: For several years, Davis proved himself as a solid player, but was severely handicapped by a less-than-stellar batting average – though not for lack of trying. He tirelessly studied his own swing for hours and patiently listened to and...Continue reading
If you were on a cruise ship and it was announced you were about to cross the equator, would you take notice? I would. I mean, it’s nothing magical, but it’s significant, right? Certainly not something you experience all the time. That’s how I feel right now because today the middle day of the year. ...Continue reading
Who would actually sit down and watch a dog show on TV? Not Rin Tin Tin, but the competitions with the parading and the judging and the Best In Show. The answer to that question is “me”. I happened upon it one Thanksgiving Day and was immediately drawn in. Fascinated even. It took me a...Continue reading
Whether it’s a screenplay or a product or a business model, it’s not enough that the thing works; we have to understand why it works. Only then do we get to apply that knowledge to newer (and better) screenplays and products and business models. But here’s the rub: to learn the ‘why’, we sometimes have to break the thing that works.Continue reading
True story: guy takes his motorcycle to a shop for an oil change. After chatting with the man, the mechanic looks at the bike, its pristine condition, and its low mileage and says to the man, “Oh, you’re not a motorcycle rider, you’re a motorcycle owner.” Now, when it comes to takeaways from this un-fable,...Continue reading
The Commitment Continuum -- where do you stand?Continue reading
If you have had any exposure to TV or the Internet in the last few weeks, you’ve likely seen a rotund, well-dressed Asian man dancing as if he were riding an invisible pony. As you probably know, his name is Psy, a South Korean performer whose hit “Gangnam Style” (destined to be the “Macarena” of...Continue reading
Hate Failure, But Never Fear It I know, I know… a blog / website should tout how awesome its author is, but I’m here to tell you plainly: I have failed. Many times in my life I’ve attempted something, only to have it Hindenburg on me. I’ll spare you the entire list, but it runs...Continue reading
A few weeks ago, I shared with you a maxim I’ve found to be true, useful, and readily applicable: “I will take ‘no’ for answer; I won’t take ‘no answer’ for an answer.” In that post, I cited a prospective Client who showed interest in hiring me as a creative consultant, but then went off...Continue reading
To make it in sales (and we’re all salesfolk on one level or another, agreed?), ‘no’ must be an acceptable answer. You don’t have to like it-- you shouldn’t like it-- but you must be able to roll with it and move on. But what about when there’s no response? Do you assume the answer is ‘no’ and move on? Or do you keep pushing?Continue reading