The Spider and the Crab
Once upon a time, there were two employees: The Spider and The Crab. The Spider, thanks to its spooling savviness, quickly rose up the corporate ladder. To hold its position, The Spider would often spin its political traps that others would walk into which kept many skeptical of the arachnid now high above its coworkers. […]
Whittle the Middle
The middle is never a good place to be. It’s even worse when it comes to business. The middle is where consensus seekers make compromises. The middle is where price wars (vs quality wins) ensue. The middle is where you land when you react to competition vs making competition react to you. So how can […]
FOMF
Now a personal story. It was in 2017 when I knew I was going to leave the creative agency I co-founded. I hadn’t shared this information with anyone yet. After going through the 1000 day journey of writing Return On Courage, I came out the other side…different. I had a clear picture of my values […]
THE IMPACT EQUATION
Ever been to an Arcade Fire concert? These guys make an impact. Not only does each sing; but each rotates through their set riffing different instruments. Are you an NBA fan? Giannis Antetokounmpo makes an impact. Not only does Giannis average 28 points per game, but he’s dominant defensively as the reigning Defensive Player of […]
Persuasion Is Not Manipulation
Whether you are launching a new product or service, or evolving your brand with a worthwhile story, there are ways to rise above the noise so that your target audience can actually see and hear you. Gaining their attention, of course, is not enough. Once you have their attention, you have to persuade. When it […]
Willing Ascenders vs Cautionary Descenders
Throughout the book-writing process for Return on Courage: A Business Playbook for Courageous Change, I encountered a handful of phone calls like this one: It’s just after I remind the chief marketing officer that most of my questions will be about business courage—or the lack of it—that my contact breaks the disappointing news. Counsel from […]
Training for Courage in Business
Warriors don’t start out that way. They take the necessary time and steps to learn and transform into battle-ready soldiers. They do so by building their talent through hours and hours of rigorous practice. Speaking of Warriors, Jeff Boss wanted to be a Navy SEAL because he wanted to do something different with his life—something […]
Either Change Drives You or You Drive Change
Change drove me out of a fast-paced New York work life and my comfort zone into the world of entrepreneurship. Besides thinking about my friends or the Chinese food, I’ve never looked back—with the exception of reminiscing about the little gift I’ve coined as my negative blessing, getting fired. Perhaps your negative blessing is lurking […]
The Purpose of Corporate Purpose
When billionaire Laurence Fink sends a note to all of the CEOs in his money-management portfolio—a portfolio that has been estimated at 6.5 Trillion in assets—people take notice. The note stated, “Society is demanding that companies, both public and private, serve a social purpose.” When you’re the CEO of BlackRock, you’re not sending out a […]
How To Unlock Corporate Courage
True story. Once upon a time, in an elevator ride somewhere inside the corporate offices of Caesars Entertainment, the doors opened up on a certain floor unveiling a sign that read, “Risk Management Department.” I turned to my client who had become a friend and instantly spouted, do you have a “Courage Management” department? While […]