We Created Problems

Flashback with me to earlier this month in Michigan. My team and I went out of our way to create problems. In fact, my partners and I created a — not behind a closed door — but a public forum for 140+ leaders to come together to scoff and serve up their companies largest problems […]

You Are What You Ist

Do tell. What is your Ist? When you review the “IST List”, you start to recognize that some “ISTs” are more hobby than job: Artist. Adventurist. Bicyclist. Pianist. Mixologist. Tourist. Hobbyist. Spiritualist. Some “Ists” are more job than hobby: Anthropologist. Dental Hygienist. Botanist. Journalist. Environmentalist. Economist. Scientist. Some “Ists” can be extreme and take years […]

Fear of Rejection

You weren’t looking for a new job when the recruiter reached out. But here they are. Showing up with that seemingly perfect brand and title to match that would look so good on paper. So into the interview process you go… First round. Second round. Final round. Then? The call you had been waiting for…. […]

“Work-Life” vs “Life’s Work”

When it comes to my job, I don’t see what I do as an endeavor in “work-life”. Rather, I see this journey to my current, winding adventure as “life’s work”. That wasn’t always the case. Like all of us, I wanted to make my mark. I wanted to be seen for my talents. I was […]

WIP or RIP

It has been 30 years since one of the greatest movies of my lifetime first rolled into a movie theatre near me. Not that I lost myself in this masterpiece in a real, live actual cinema. Almost no one witnessed this prison drama enveloped in surround sound on the large screen. For one, competition in 1994 […]

Rebirthday

I turned 48 this week. I rung in my birthday watching both my kids perform in a musical performance called, “Team Zombie”. As I sat there, watching both of my ghouls fully be themselves, I couldn’t help but smile. Here they are, fully immersed in doing what currently lights them up: Birthdays are often a time […]

Keep Your Options Closed

1998 was the year. I had made the move to NYC to start “earning my PhD in advertising” as MVBMS co-founder Ron Berger once forecasted. He wasn’t wrong. Looking back, it wasn’t just the ability to learn on household brands like Universal Studios, Subway, Volvo Cars and evian . It was gaining access to 700 elite thinkers, strategists and makers who roamed […]

Risky Busyness

Once upon a time, there was a busy bee. Buzzing around doing its worker bee work. Murmuring to themselves, “better to bee busy than bee bored!” What the Busy Bee doesn’t realize is that their stinger loses sharpness when it’s working on projects that don’t: 1) feel sweet to the bee 2) bring in that honey […]

The Two You’s

The only way to truly be “you” is to realize there’s TWO of YOU “in there”. There’s the Worrier YOU. There’s the Warrior YOU. The Worrier You freaks out and fears more. The Worrier You makes a mess of your mentality. The Worrier You speculates; sending you into a spiral. The Worrier You stresses up your life, can minimize your potential, and silently serenades you to […]

Quiet Staying

Move over Great Resignation. Quiet Quitting is a thing of the past. Now? We’re onto Quiet Staying. The Wall Street Journal published an article on the matter no less than a month ago about the cliff-like decline of turnover. Attrition has taken a serious nose dive. And while that might seem like a good thing, it also […]