You can do a lot at your kitchen table when nobody else is watching.
Tinker, experiment, pull things apart, put them back together. Shine, buff and polish weathered chains and dusty rocks until they begin to glitter in a way that makes Mom and Dad light up with pride.

How do you know for certain if your brand strategy is working?

What visible proof do you have of a return on your marketing efforts?

Through the halcyon days of late-night television, it was common to see celebrities, actors, rock stars and best-selling authors appear on talk shows hosted by stars like Carson, Leno, and Letterman.

For centuries, alchemists were thought to possess mystical powers to create elixirs of immortality, panaceas to cure any disease and allow humanity to achieve magnum opus perfection of mind, body and soul.

There were no guarantees.

No proven methods or maps to follow.

No structure. No support systems. No turning back.

We were literally flying by the seat of our pants.

Whether it was about Kobe, Tiger, Shaq, Wayne, or Magic, Ted kept hearing the same thing over and over again.

Arnie lifted an entire sport on his shoulders. Then he put it on the map. 

“It’s tough to hit your second shot when you’re wiping away the tears”

Why did Jeff Bezos always have an empty chair at the Amazon boardroom table whenever high-level executives gathered for meetings? Did Jeff know something every leader should know about storytelling? Could there be a lot more to this craft than meets the eye?

Have you ever wondered why Darth Vader and Johnny Cash preferred to wear black while wedding brides and Luke Skywalker are often adorned in white?  

"We can't find any good people" is an all-too-common refrain from business leaders who choose to ignore two realities.

If you truly want to compete and win in this Second War For Talent, several questions need to be put on the strategic planning table right now. Gather your fellow executives, turn the boardroom into a war room and begin the conversation.

It first rumbled into the internet station in 1999.

Hardly anyone noticed or paid much attention.

22 years after the train has long since departed, there are still plenty of people – especially B2B marketers – unaware of how much they’ve been left behind.

Nothing wastes time and money like activity without insight.

If you could express what you see and feel solely with the written word, there would be no reason to pick up a paintbrush.

No reason to grab a guitar, play the piano or play some sax.

No need to rap, rhyme, sculpt, sketch or create any form of art.

Step inside your story and own it.  

Or stand outside your story and wonder why you don’t stand out. 

You run a small organization and future prosperity hinges on being noticed.

Making people stop what they’re doing and pay attention.

What inspires you to celebrate?

Motivates you to high-five, fist-pump and do the happy dance?

Humans are hardwired to give.

You, me and more than 7 billion others inhabiting this spinning, topsy-turvy globe.

In December of 1985, a bumper sticker armed with four powerful words began appearing on pickup trucks all over Texas.