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Black and White Television

I am old enough to remember watching a black and white television as a kid. No, I am not talking about black and white movies on a color television, I am referring to a television with no color. When I grew up, color television was not groundbreaking, but it was still an upgrade from the […]

Time Change

First – the time change is stupid. Can’t we just move it 1/2 hour and stop the madness? And now… the rest of the story. The time change in Spring generally makes everyone really tired for a few days – particularly those of us who have to wake up early. It typically takes me about […]

The Front Line

After the Superbowl I spent an hour watching the new CBS program Undercover Boss.  The show featured the CEO of the company Waste Management posing as a new hire for the company in numerous front line service jobs.  He picked up litter on a hillside, helped manage traffic at a landfill, cleaned portable toilets, and […]

Knock, Knock, Knock!

When you hear that bang on the door of life, it is important to check it out. Sure there are a fair share of times when you pull the door open to find nobody on the porch, but every now and again something special is waiting on the other side of the door. Why am […]

Snow Job

I heard a great story by Jeff Brady on NPR while on the way home yesterday.  It was about the work of two researchers from Dartmouth who found it odd that ski resorts seemed to report more snowfall than surrounding areas and and steeper increases in snow amounts on weekends.  They also found that resorts […]

Dead Cat Marketing

Suppose your business sells something to a customer.  Following the sale, you gather no information about them.  Instead you send the customer out the door and off into the universe, hoping they will come back again someday.  In the time that follows, you make no direct or indirect attempt to determine if the customer is […]

Trick or Treat

With Halloween just one day away, Trick or Treat is definitely on the brain.  So in the spirit of the season ask yourself this question.  Metaphorically speaking, what are you giving your customers these days? Tricks or Treats?  If you are offering treats, are they like those old, stale, home-made popcorn balls or are they […]

Summing Up SummitUp

Yesterday I got to celebrate my birthday by having my very own social media conference – SummitUp.  I highly recommend this as a way to celebrate your next birthday.  (actually this was purely coincidence, but a nice one none the less.)  The day was simply amazing.  To give you an idea of how well things […]

SummitUp

For my birthday this year, I am getting something really cool –  a social media conference right here in Dayton.  “Yea, Just what I always wanted, a conference!” No, the conference was not put on for that reason, but it is a nice coincidence.    The event is called SummitUp, it will take place on October […]

Sharpen The Saw

Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw Sharpen the saw is the last of Covey’s 7 habits.  (There actually is an 8th Habit, but that is another book, and perhaps another post.)  Sharpen the Saw is the habit of personal renewal.  The metaphor of “sharpening the saw” is simple –  It is counterproductive to spend all of […]