Blog
Post 1: Stephen Covey and others remind us to “begin with the end in mind.” Even if you’re a planner, you probably don’t plan beyond social media or content posts #3, #5, or maybe #10. Sure, you want to be flexible as reactions to your posts come in. But posting any kind of content establishes a covenant with your followers, trading their attention for a relevant dose of your insight.
So, where do you want the conversation to go? How will you get it there?
That’s the difference between planning for long-term value and scrambling from post to post. I planned for 100 posts to ensure I could:
– Provide consistent value – Not every post will resonate, but hopefully the series will
– Sustain for the long-haul – Trust and meaningful engagements are built over time
– Provide a complete set of thoughts (by the time I’m done)
I’ve got 99 more posts to see if I can deliver — or not.
What’s your social media content planning horizon? Are you thinking post-to-post, or building toward something bigger?
Post 2: Too often, communications start with, “We need to send the message that…,” or “The market needs to know about this….” That may be true. The easy answer is to create communications that we think the market will care about.
We forget that the only thing the market cares about is the market. The market won’t care about your message until you cut through the clutter so they understand how you can help them. You do that by talking to them about them, every time. Show you care about them in your communications, and you’ll better the odds they show you they care about you with their business.
Post 3: Over the years, I’ve learned there are two paths to simplicity.
The first: “dumbing it down.” You sacrifice nuance and depth because deadlines loom and budgets shrink. “Besides,” we think, “no one will notice.”
The second: doing the hard work. You transform complexity into clarity. You articulate essential truths that move markets.
Every message we create aims to change hearts, minds, attitudes, and actions. You don’t do that by cutting a few bullet points, limiting slide count or in 280 characters. You do it by creating clarity of purpose and value that builds trust.
“Keep(ing) it simple” isn’t easy, but it’s essential for successful communications.
Post 4: Your brand isn’t the visual identity you spent months perfecting. It’s not your carefully chosen color palette, that custom font, or even your perfectly polished website.
Your brand is your promise.
It’s what customers can expect every single time they interact with you—through your products, service, quality, pricing, delivery, support, and company culture.
Your logo, colors, fonts, and messaging? Those are just the tools that help communicate your promise clearly and consistently. They’re the visual shorthand for the experience you deliver.
Too often, we spend more time thinking about colors and logos than we do the promise they stand for.
Consider asking these questions in this order:
1. What promise are we making to our customers?
2. Are we delivering on it consistently?
3. Do our visual elements and language reflect that promise?
Your brand lives in every interaction, every decision, every moment someone experiences your business. Make sure your promise is stronger than your packaging.
#branding #customerexperience #marketing #businessstrategy #thoughtleadership
Post 5: In every great story, a hero faces a challenge. In your marketing, that hero isn’t you—it’s your customer. Your role? The trusted leader, sage or magician who helps them overcome obstacles and achieve their goals.
· Apple doesn’t sell computers—they help creators change the world
· Nike doesn’t sell shoes—they help athletes achieve greatness
· Peloton doesn’t sell bikes—they help people become their strongest selves
What story are you helping your customers tell?
Your customers are the heroes of their own stories. How well do you know their stories? Understanding them helps you provide the products, services, knowledge, and support to ensure a happy outcome.
#Marketing #Branding #CustomerExperience #StoryBrand
Post 6:
“We can’t say anything negative.”
“Let’s keep this positive and upbeat.”
“Don’t mention problems.”
Playing it safe is how most marketing messages get neutered before they ever reach your audience. Without tension, you don’t have a story worth telling.
Your customers are wrestling with problems, frustrations, and unmet needs every day. When you acknowledge that—when you show you truly understand them—you create connection.
The best brands, which are usually the best storytellers, don’t shy away from problems. They name them, own them, and position themselves as the solution. Tension is how they connect. They make their business relevant by showing the problems they solve for customers.
Without tension, your messaging becomes something that could apply to any company in your space. Then, you’ve lost the interest, and the chance to connect with the very people you paid good money to reach.
#Marketing #Storytelling #ContentMarketing #Branding #MarketingStrategy #B2BMarketing #CustomerEngagement #MarketingTips #BrandStory #ContentStrategy
Post 7: I find this is the second most difficult question for marketers or business leaders to answer (I’ll address the #1 question in a later post).
Teams can spend weeks crafting campaigns, writing copy, and designing assets, but they often lack a clear definition of the desired outcome. For your next marketing communications project, consider thinking about it in reverse.
Instead of starting your next project with beautiful creative, clever messaging or something more tactical, like “We haven’t had a social post in a while, let’s put something out today,” start with:
-The specific action you want people to take.
-How they should think differently after seeing the message.
-Knowing what beliefs and feelings need to shift for them to take action.
Once you’re crystal clear on the change you want to create, everything else becomes easier. Your messaging has purpose. Your call to action is clear. Your metrics have meaning.
Every piece of content should move someone from Point A (where they are) to Point B (where you need them to be). If you don’t know where you’re leading them, they can’t appreciate the journey.
Before you write another email, social post, or ad, ask yourself: “What do I want them to do?”
Then work backward from there.
#Marketing #ContentStrategy #MarketingStrategy #B2BMarketing #Messaging #ContentMarketing #MarketingTips #Branding #CustomerJourney #MarketingLeadership
Post 8: The most powerful companies know who they are. Nike is The Hero, inspiring athletes to greatness. Disney is The Magician, creating the seemingly impossible and transporting you to new worlds. Harley-Davidson is The Outlaw, offering independence on two wheels.
Those companies chose their personality types (or archetypes).
Tracing their roots back to Plato, archetypes were formalized by psychologist Carl Jung over a century ago – timeless personality traits that help shape how we personify our businesses to connect with customers today.
The challenge is that we want to be everything—the wise Sage AND the innovative Magician AND the trusted Ruler. But trying to be all things to all people makes you nothing to no one.
Effective brands pick one archetype and own it completely.
Take a moment to enter ‘Brand Archetypes’ into your favorite search engine. You’ll see several graphics that explain the 12 archetypes. Which archetype does your brand embody? Which best suits your brand promise? Do your customers see the same archetype in you that you see in yourself?
If you want to experiment further, ask your favorite AI tool to analyze your online presence and identify your archetype. You may be surprised.
P.S. If you’re curious to learn more, “The Hero and the Outlaw” by Mark and Pearson is my definitive guide.
#BrandStrategy #Marketing #Leadership
Post 9: Here’s what all great creators know:
The first idea that comes to mind? It’s usually the obvious one. The safe one. The one everyone else will think of, too.
The magic happens when you throw that idea(s) away.
Great communicators, designers, and problem-solvers all do this instinctively. They let those first ideas flow out, then get to work on what’s really innovative.
Try it.
But don’t wait for your next big project, where everyone is expecting a big idea. Start small by picking a project with low expectations.
You’ll surprise your team – and yourself. Sometimes, an unexpected creative approach can transform a small project into something with a big, unexpected impact.
#Creativity #Innovation #ProfessionalDevelopment #Leadership
Posy 10: Perfect Friday watch after a long week. I revisit this video annually and have used it as a primer before major C-suite branding presentations.
Watch here.
Watch to the end. When facing criticism about Apple’s creative direction, Jobs holds his ground: “We have to let people know who Apple is and why it is still relevant in this world.”
That’s the mindset every brand needs.
Post 11
Approach #1: “We’re an award-winning company with cutting-edge technology!”
Approach #2: “We’ll cut your project timeline in half while reducing costs by 30%.”
Which grabbed your attention? Benefits-first messaging wins every time.
Your prospects don’t care about your features until they understand what’s in it for them.
Instead of: “We use advanced technology”
Try: “Get accurate insights in minutes, not days”
Lead with benefits, then back them up with how you deliver on those benefits (features).
When you do, you show your customers that their challenges (which you’re in business to solve) are what matters most.
#Sales #Messaging #Marketing #ValueProposition
Post 12: Ever been “green with envy,” found yourself “seeing red,” or felt “blue”? These expressions show just how much color impacts our emotions. I work with strategy and the written word, so why care about color?
If color evokes emotions, and emotions drive action, then color becomes a crucial part of the communications equation. Are your colors evoking the right emotions in your customers?
Red: Urgency, passion, action
Blue: Trust, stability, calm
Green: Growth, wealth, nature
Orange: Energy, creativity, warmth
Purple: Luxury, creativity, mystery
Before choosing colors for your brand, website, or marketing materials, Google the psychology behind them or ask your favorite AI to detail the meaning behind potential color choices.
Your audience is unconsciously responding to every color decision you make. Make sure your color choices align with the message you want to send.
#BrandStrategy #ColorPsychology #Marketing #Design #Branding
Post 13: Before you hit “publish” on that social post, blog, or digital ad – ask yourself: Does this directly connect to a stated business goal?
· Social post: Brand awareness? Lead generation? Customer engagement?
· Blog entry: Thought leadership? Educational content? Recruiting?
· Digital ad: Conversions? App downloads? Learn more? Purchase?
· Trade show: Lead capture? Partnership building? Deal closing or announcement?
If you can draw a clear line of sight from your communication to a specific business objective, you’re on track. If you can’t, consider?
· Recalibrating the content to serve a goal
· Finding a different approach that does
Every communication should earn its place in your strategy. Quickly generated content might feel productive and get something off your overflowing “to-do” list, but purposeful content drives results.
What business goal is driving your next piece of content?
#MarketingStrategy #ContentMarketing #BusinessGoals #ROI #DigitalMarketing
Post 14: In the beginning, absolutely nothing.
Almost everyone I’ve worked with obsesses over giving their logo instant meaning. They want every curve and color to tell their complete brand story.
Your logo doesn’t create meaning for your brand. Your brand gives meaning to your logo:
-Apple’s bitten apple didn’t mean innovation until they delivered it
-Nike’s swoosh didn’t mean “Just Do It” until they proved it
-Disney’s castle didn’t mean magic until they created it
Your logo becomes meaningful when you:
-Consistently deliver on your brand promise
-Build trust through quality products and services
-Create positive experiences for your customers
You give your logo meaning through every interaction, every product launch, every customer service call.
What meaning has your brand given to its logo over time? More importantly, will your customers answer that question the same way you do?
#BrandStrategy #LogoDesign #Branding #MarketingStrategy #BrandBuilding
Post 15: Most businesses nail the expression side of branding – the logos, social posts, slogans, and ads that attract customers.
However, they often overlook translating the brand promise into a consistent experience that keeps them coming back.
Ask yourself:
-What’s it really like to buy your product?
-How smooth is your customer service?
-Do you deliver the experience your marketing promises?
There are two sides to your brand, and both should have equal weight:
-Expression: Where your marketing attracts the right people to your business.
-Experience: Where you deliver on the promise made in your marketing.
Both matter. Both need attention. But experience is what turns customers into advocates.
When was the last time you actually walked through your own customer journey?
You likely see your ads, social media and blog posts each week. This week, add buying your own product or service to your “to-do” list. You might be surprised by what you discover.
You might also find that the investment in keeping more current customers (experience) pays a higher ROI than your investment in attracting new ones (expression).
#CustomerExperience #BrandStrategy #Branding #CustomerService #BusinessGrowth
Post 16: We all have brands we love—brands that resonate with our values and help shape our identity. Many of us work to build compelling brands for our organizations every day. While we might have an intuitive sense of what makes a brand powerful, when was the last time you clarified that definition?
Philip Kotler and Waldemar Pfoertsch offer four essential attributes of successful brands in their book B2B Brand Management that I’ve found particularly useful for measuring brand effectiveness:
-A brand is a promise.
-A brand is the totality of perceptions – everything you see, hear, read, know, feel, think, etc. – about a product, service, or business.
-A brand holds a distinctive position in (a person’s) mind based on past experiences, associations, and future expectations.
-A brand is a short-cut of attributes, benefits, beliefs and values that differentiate, reduce complexity, and simplify the decision-making process.
These pillars are a great reminder that strong brands don’t just communicate (expression)—they create lasting connections (experience) that simplify choices and build trust.
#branding #brandmanagement #marketing #brandstrategy #b2b #business #customerexperience #brandbuilding #leadership #brandpositioning
Post 17: One of the most powerful content marketing strategies is connecting your subject matter experts (SMEs) directly with your customers. When customers interact with the brilliant people working behind the scenes, they develop deeper connections to your brand and products and become more loyal advocates.
Most SMEs will participate when the topic aligns with their expertise and schedule. However, they often raise these concerns:
–Trust & Support: Many technical experts chose careers away from the spotlight. Will you provide proper guidance and support?
–Professional Protection: Content creation, if mishandled, could impact their career. Will you safeguard their reputation with leadership and peers?
-Credibility Preservation: Inaccurate or controversial content could damage their professional standing. Will they have input on accuracy, sourcing, and context?
Building trust is essential for great content:
-Pre-Interview Meeting – Never just schedule an interview. Have a brief discussion about story purpose, context, and themes. SMEs often contribute valuable insights during story formation.
-Share Goals & Questions – Send both objectives and interview questions ahead of time. SMEs frequently suggest additions that lead to richer discussions.
-Ask The Magic Last Question – “What haven’t we discussed that’s important?” or “What should I have asked?” By the end of an interview, your SMEs are typically relaxed, in their flow and have covered their prepared talking points. This is the perfect moment to ask this open-ended question, which consistently uncovers unexpected insights, untold stories, or critical details that neither you nor your SME anticipated sharing. These spontaneous revelations often become the most compelling parts of your content.
–Review & Approval Process – Let them proof the content. It improves quality, builds trust, catches errors, and sets a precedent for future collaboration. Remember: you’re teammates, not traditional journalist and source.
Your SMEs need extra care to become the stars of your content. Taking time to build trust upfront creates the rich, engaging content your audience craves.
#ContentMarketing #ThoughtLeadership B2BMarketing #SubjectMatterExperts #ContentStrategy #MarketingStrategy #BrandBuilding #CustomerEngagement #ContentCreation #MarketingTips #DigitalMarketing #ContentDevelopment
Post 18: In my May 27 post, I noted that “What do you want them to do?” is the second hardest question many marketers face. Here’s the first: “Assume people will only remember one thing about you. What do you want that one thing to be?”
When developing brands, positioning, or even a simple ad or social post, I ask that question. “What’s the one thing you want them to remember?” Usually, I get an answer that’s three things mashed together to sound like one. Or I get a silent stare.
My follow-up questions usually sound like: What’s THE one thing you think you’re known for? What’s the one thing you want to be remembered for? What’s the one thing you want your customers to talk about? What’s the one thing that makes your competitors more nervous than they’d like to admit?
That one thing shouldn’t be a technical spec or price point. It should be your brand promise. Think of how Apple positioned itself around empowering people who “think different” – making products for those crazy enough to believe they can change the world.
Then, support your one unchangeable thing with compelling stories, product innovations, technical specs, and price points. These become proof that you’re keeping your brand promise fresh, while the heart and soul of your brand stays constant.
PS For those of a certain age, I intentionally resisted the urge to include any references to Curly or City Slickers.
#marketing #branding #positioning #brandstrategy #marketingstrategy #leadership #brandpromise #businessstrategy #marketingthoughts
Post 19: When did you last walk your own factory floor, visit a satellite office or service center or have coffee with a group of customer service reps?
As marketers, we live in the “promotion” part of the 4Ps. We craft campaigns, analyze data, and build strategies – often from our desks at HQ or home offices. But when was the last time you connected with the people and teams who actually bring your company’s brand and promise to life? I bet it’s been a while.
Full disclosure: Many times, I’ve been guilty of this disconnect myself.
There are amazing brand insights to be gleaned from the designer who solved that tricky engineering problem, the shift supervisor who sees customer complaints firsthand, or the service tech who talks with customers while fixing their problems.
Do you know their names and their stories? Do they know yours?
Take a moment now and block time to get out of your office. Visit your facilities. Meet and learn from the colleagues who keep the brand promise you make. And don’t forget to talk to people on second and third shifts – their perspectives are often less filtered through the cultural flag-waving and leadership influence that can color first shift. Ask questions, then listen with intent.
You’ll uncover gaps between your brand promise and reality. You’ll find stories that no focus group could reveal. You’ll not only build authentic connections that make your marketing more powerful, you’ll also meet some pretty cool people.
Plus, it’s always better when the people who deliver on your brand promise know the person promoting it.
#Marketing #BrandManagement #Leadership #EmployeeEngagement #CustomerExperience #MarketingStrategy #CompanyCulture #Authenticity
Post 20: This Russian proverb, popularized by Ronald Reagan in the 1980s, has never been more relevant for marketers than it is today.
While this wisdom could apply to AI-generated content and deepfakes, I’m focused on something equally vital: technical specs, pricing, delivery dates, and brand promises that we, as marketers, put into the world.
These details are changing so fast that by the time the news reaches the marketing department, they’ve changed again. What’s more, the rules around marketing claims—what you can say, how you can say it, and what disclosures must accompany them—continue to evolve rapidly. Even Homes.com is parodying this phenomenon in their current TV campaign.
As marketers, we’re tasked with filling the funnel with emotion, aspiration, and compelling brand promises. But when we convert those prospects to MQLs and SQLs, we must do it with data that proves our brand promise is real. If that data doesn’t hold up or isn’t presented properly, we’ve broken trust.
I used to treat technical verification and legal review as a “check the box” exercise at the end of message development. With cottage industries now targeting companies making questionable marketing claims—especially around greenwashing—getting upfront input from subject matter experts and legal teams has become essential to the message development process.
#Marketing #TrustButVerify #MarketingStrategy #BrandPromise #MarketingClaims #LegalReview #B2BMarketing #MarketingLeadership #Compliance #Greenwashing #MarketingOps #ContentStrategy
Post 21: I’ve worked with and for companies that approach recruitment branding as completely separate from their corporate brand. When I ask why, I hear:
-“We’re selling career opportunities, not products…”
-“Our target audience wants to join us, not buy from us…”
-“We sell B2B, but recruit individuals…”
Each ends with: “…so our existing branding won’t work.”
I see their point, but I don’t agree.
If your brand promise only extends to selling products, it doesn’t run deep enough. The core reason customers choose you should be the same reason top talent can’t wait to join you.
In fact, I would go so far as to suggest that some of your best employees were probably drawn to your company for the same reasons your customers are. Some of your best employees might even be former customers. Your purpose, core values, products/services, and overall market impact are generating unqualified notice and attraction.
The most powerful recruiting messages grow from the same deep, authentic roots as your customer-facing brand. When your “why” resonates deeply enough to drive customer loyalty, it naturally becomes a magnet for the kind of people who want to strengthen that promise while building their careers.
#EmployerBranding #TalentAcquisition #BrandStrategy #Recruiting #CompanyCulture #Leadership #HR #TalentAttraction
Post 22: During a college advertising class, we studied the relevance of Volkswagen’s legendary “Lemon” ad. The iconic ad from the late 1960s revolutionized advertising at the time and laid the foundation for much of the great branding we see today. The stark image of a VW Beetle with a bold one-word headline (“Lemon”) had real stopping power. It made people think. The opening sentence paid off the headline beautifully:
“This Volkswagen missed the boat. The chrome strip on the glove compartment is blemished and must be replaced. Chances are you wouldn’t have noticed it; Inspector Kurt Kroner did.”
No mention of price, horsepower, or warranties. Instead, VW told the story of one quality inspector doing his job with care. It humanized their brand, made vulnerability a strength and provided proof of their quality promise.
As marketers, we obsess over logos, fonts, colors and visual consistency—and that matters. But we can’t forget that our brand promises are kept by the Kurt Kroners throughout our organizations. Do you know them? Have you considered sharing their stories?
Every customer service rep, every quality inspector, every delivery driver, every product manager is reinforcing the brand we’ve worked so hard to build.
The most successful brands are activated from the inside out. Before launching campaigns to the world, we need to ensure that everyone in our organization understands and embodies the promise we’re making.
Your brand isn’t what you say it is. It’s what your people do every day.
#branding #marketing #employeebrand #brandstrategy #customerexperience #advertising #brandpromise #companyculture #internalmarketing #brandactivation #marketingstrategy
Post 23: Does this sound familiar?
Sales: “Marketing doesn’t understand what it’s like to get an appointment, much less call on a customer, overcome objections, negotiate terms, close the sale, get the product delivered, keep the customer engaged and buying.”
Marketing: “Sales doesn’t understand the work that goes into the branding, positioning, messaging, content delivery, and data management that sets us apart and eventually makes their phone ring with a qualified lead.”
I don’t have a solution to end the cycle, but I have an idea that could slow it down: Go on a sales call (or several).
When you do, you’ll:
-Experience customer dynamics firsthand
-Help generate better sales enablement tools from your own experiences
-Build credibility with your sales team
-Better understand what messaging resonates, what doesn’t and where the gaps are
Here are a few thoughts to help when you’re ready to hit the road:
Shadow diverse salespeople – Most likely, your sales and marketing leadership will want to decide which salespeople and customers will participate. Push for variety. New salespeople grinding to build their book of business, calling on prospects, can teach you as much as the salesperson-of-the-year calling on a 20-year customer.
Set ground rules for each customer visit—Respect that it’s their livelihood, but don’t get steamrolled, either. Agree on the reason you’re there and the role you will play.
Ask simple questions about the company’s marketing – “What’s working? What’s not? What would you change?” It’s primarily a sales call, and everyone’s time is valuable. You can always arrange to follow up later if needed.
Debrief afterward to understand the nuances – You’re essentially walking into the middle of the movie, and you can’t ask questions until the end. Pay attention. Note what was said, and your questions at the moment. Then, get the backstory and nuances as soon after the sales call as possible to fill in the gaps.
Frame your visit as valuing the customer’s expertise – Let your customers know about the visit before you arrive. Remind them that you want to learn from them because you value them.
Whether it’s field visits or trade show shadowing, this effort always pays dividends beyond what I expect (and I could certainly benefit from doing more of it myself). The insights you gain could transform how you approach marketing and put an end to the age-old debate between sales and marketing.
#SalesAndMarketing #B2BMarketing #SalesEnablement #CustomerInsights #Marketing #Sales #Leadership #B2B #MarketingStrategy #SalesAlignment #CustomerExperience #BusinessDevelopment
Post 24: As marketers, we instinctively know storytelling works. We’re constantly asking: Where’s the story? Before we do our work.
The brands we love? They’re collections of great stories. Founder journeys. Customer wins. Innovation breakthroughs. Experience transformations.
But WHY are stories so powerful? Here’s what neuroscience reveals:
Your brain syncs with mine when I tell you a story. Princeton’s Uri Hasson discovered that this “neural coupling” happens as we literally get on the same wavelength.
Facts only activate two brain regions. Stories? fMRI studies show they light up the ENTIRE brain, engaging visual, sensory, and emotional networks simultaneously.
Stories hit your default mode network – the same system that handles memory and imagination. Hasson’s research shows you remember them longer.
Your brain chemistry changes during dramatic stories. Neuroeconomist Paul Zak found stories release cortisol (focus), oxytocin (empathy), and dopamine (reward).
Mirror neurons fire when you hear stories. Giacomo Rizzolatti’s groundbreaking research showed these neurons make you experience stories as if they’re happening to you.
In his book, How Customers Think, Gerald Zaltman reminds us: “95% of thought, emotion, and learning occur in the unconscious mind – that is, without our awareness.”
My Point? If you’re not leveraging storytelling, you’re missing 95% of your customers’ decision-making process. Put another way, the more of their brain you engage, the more likely they are to engage with you.
#Storytelling #Marketing #Neuroscience #BrandStrategy #ContentMarketing #DigitalMarketing #MarketingStrategy #BrandBuilding #CustomerExperience #MarketingPsychology #B2BMarketing #Leadership #Communication #MarketingTips #BrandNarrative
Post 25: Any marketer who doesn’t know their market will soon be exploring new career options.
In fact, between demographics, psychographics, personas, analytics, lead scoring, fans and followers, some marketers might argue they know their markets too well.
But how many of us in marketing can enrich that data with our own experiences? How many names, faces, titles and impressions can we add? How many times have we laughed, shared stories, problem-solved and listened with real intention to the people represented in the data?
Data tells us what happened. Human connection tells us why it matters. We need both.
#Marketing #CustomerInsights #RelationshipMarketing #KnowYourCustomer #CustomerExperience #MarketingStrategy #DataDrivenMarketing
Post 27: My decades-long journey through marketing communications has allowed me to work alongside some truly exceptional people and lead successful teams. I’ve discovered that exceptional team members don’t all think alike—but they do complement each other.
At their core, successful marketing and communications teams need:
Doers – They live for execution and thrive on processes, deadlines, and checking items off their to-do lists.
Dreamers – Possibility seekers who ask “What if…?” and create meaningful work that resonates in the marketplace.
Analysts – Numbers storytellers who find insights in engagement rates, conversions, and data to guide future success.
As a leader, knowing your type is just the starting point. The real magic happens when you actively appreciate and respect what each of the other types brings to your team.
The Doer must value The Dreamer’s creative process, not just rush them to “get it done.” The Dreamer needs to honor the Doer’s timelines and structure. The Analyst should present more than numbers, but insights that inspire both execution and innovation.
Bottom line: We’re rarely just one type, but understanding your dominant style—and making an effort to genuinely appreciate your teammates’ different approaches—transforms your team.
#MarketingLeadership #TeamDynamics #MarketingStrategy #Leadership #ProfessionalDevelopment #TeamBuilding #MarketingCareers #WorkplacePersonality #MarketingManagement #CareerDevelopment #TeamPerformance #MarketingInsightsr #CustomerExperience #MarketingStrategy #DataDrivenMarketing
Post 27: In some organizations, marketing and communications have a well-earned seat at the leadership table. In others, we’re waiting outside the boardroom for marching orders from sales, development or commercial leaders.
Almost all the marketers and communicators I know got into the business to tackle marketing and communications challenges. If you feel like the head cook cranking out orders in the communications kitchen, there is hope.
The next time someone asks you or your team to just:
• Create a PowerPoint presentation
• Develop a brochure
• Produce a video
• Build a campaign
Respond with this simple question: “What problem are you trying to solve?”
Here’s what happens when you consistently ask this:
You position yourself as a counselor, not just an order-taker: Most leaders will engage with an answer, opening the door for you to suggest alternatives that might be more effective.
You can add strategic value: “Should we create social media content to support this video launch?” or “Have you considered an email campaign to encourage downloads of the new brochure?”
You validate the request with strategic thinking: You help leaders think through whether their tactical request actually addresses the underlying business challenge. (And if it does, validating the request is still a win for you.)
Over time, the conversations triggered by this simple question (What problem are you trying to solve?) will transform your role into the strategic problem-solver that probably drew you to marketing and communications in the first place.
#MarketingStrategy #MarketingLeadership #ProfessionalDevelopment #MarketingCareers #StrategicThinking #MarketingManagement #CareerAdvancement #MarketingInsights #LeadershipDevelopment #MarketingCommunications #BusinessStrategy #MarketingTips
Post 28: Ronald McDonald. Jolly Green Giant. Pillsbury Doughboy. Energizer Bunny. Geico’s Gecko. The Michelin Man. Tony the Tiger. Mr. Clean.
Imagine working on any of these brands and having to manage or build around one of these icons. In a world where being different is often prioritized over being better, our marketing peers who manage these icons likely face enormous pressure to constantly refresh and reinvent without changing much.
It’s easy for any of us to tire of our branding long before the market does. We feel the urge to chase new followers, boost engagement rates and drive people through the customer journey. The immediate answer often seems to be finding something new—experimenting, A/B testing, pushing boundaries—anything for more eyeballs and clicks.
Yet, these icons endure. (Google InstaCart’s 2025 Super Bowl ad if you’re not sure.)
As marketers, we also have to remember there’s comfort in the familiar. There’s a reason many of these brand icons are old enough to collect Social Security. These icons, and the brands they’ve represented for decades, stand for something timeless: trust, reliability and consistency.
Sometimes, the most revolutionary marketing strategy is restraint. Your next big campaign could celebrate that you haven’t changed—that you still embody the same values you always did, and that the products and services your customers counted on yesterday will be there when they need them tomorrow.
For most marketers, this is hard.
But consider that your next big idea could be to stand firm as the calm and steady presence your customers need in an increasingly tornadic world.
#BrandManagement #Marketing #BrandStrategy #CustomerLoyalty #BrandConsistency #MarketingStrategy #BrandPositioning #MarketingPsychology #BrandIdentity #MarketingLeadership #BrandingTips #MarketingInsights
Post 29: Day one, Communication Theory 101. Our professor opened the class with this simple sketch (below) on the board. Then came the question and answer I’ve never forgotten:
“Who is the most important person here?” (You can imagine what a class of naïve 19 and 20-year-olds answered.)
Then he said, “Your job as communicators is both simple and challenging: find a way to get your message into the busy, cluttered mind of your audience.”
Today, we’re drowning in complexity—omnichannel strategies, endless analytics, AI-powered everything, and made-to-order content. It’s easy to lose sight of what we’re actually here to do.
Despite numerous tools, tactics, and data, our core mission remains unchanged. We’re still paid to do one thing well—break through the noise and connect meaningfully with real people.
#Marketing #Communication #Leadership #Strategy #CustomerFirst #MarketingStrategy #BrandStrategy #ContentMarketing #DigitalMarketing #MarketingLeadership #CustomerExperience #SimplifyComplexity #MarketingMindset #ProfessionalDevelopment #ThoughtLeadership
Post 30: With over 68 million views, you’ve likely seen Simon Sinek’s TED Talk on How Great Leaders Inspire Action. Instead of reading another post from me today, rewatch Simon Sinek, instead.
Sinek’s “Golden Circle” approach also works for building great brands. I’ve used it and quotes from Simon Sinek’s book, “Start With Why,” to kick off many brand presentations.
#StartWithWhy #Leadership #BrandStrategy #SimonSinek #GoldenCircle #Purpose #Marketing #BrandBuilding #TED #BusinessStrategy #Inspiration #Motivation #PurposeDriven #ThoughtLeadership #BrandDevelopment
Post 31: Over the past few weeks, I’ve seen many LinkedIn posts that could be summed up as: “With so many people having AI write their content, it’s not only hard to know what’s real—it’s hard for anyone’s unique voice to be heard.”
I can’t speak to how others use AI, but for those who’ve been generous enough to read, comment on, and share my posts, here’s my process and AI’s role in it:
1. All post ideas are mine. I developed them during a drive to pick up my son from school in North Carolina.
2. The initial draft is all me. I want to capture the big idea, wording, tone and emotion for each post.
3. I use AI as an editor. I load that first draft into my preferred AI with the same instructions every time (including for this post): “Please review, revise and suggest appropriate hashtags.”
4. I heavily revise the AI draft. I correct inaccuracies, misunderstandings and loss of meaning. I also put back in turns of phrase that I like (but AI didn’t) and cut the length.
5. I keep valuable additions. Occasionally, AI adds thoughts or perspectives I hadn’t considered. If they strengthen the post and serve the original premise, I keep them.
6. Final polish. I run the draft through a separate grammar and spelling checker before posting.
In the end, AI hasn’t shortened my process as much as it’s given me an editor to challenge my thinking and chops at the keyboard.
That’s what works for me, and I hope it’s creating content that works for you as well.
#AITransparency #ContentCreation #WritingProcess #AIEthics #AuthenticContent #CreativeProcess #AIAsATool #ContentStrategy #WritingCommunity #DigitalTransparency #AICollaboration #CreativeWriting
Post 32: Growing up, my father took my brothers and me skiing every season. The first day always meant ski school. During one lesson, our instructor said (with his great Austrian accent): “You are not falling down enough. I want you to fall down more because that tells me you’re trying to improve.”
Those two sentences have been with me ever since – and shape how I think about marketing communications.
While you don’t want your tax preparer or heart surgeon “falling down” (save that for continuing education), marketers have both the privilege and obligation to push boundaries. Sometimes that means failing.
Our job is guiding human behavior: Call Now! Buy Now! Click Here! But what moves people today may not work tomorrow. We can forecast the future, but we can’t know it.
On the flip side, our always-connected world demands transparency, leaving little room for falling down in the service of improvement. No one wants to explain to leadership why their rising metrics flatlined. Who wants to be reminded that their big campaign idea didn’t meet expectations during their next review?
No one. So why risk it?
Because that’s what we signed up for when we chose careers built on exploring, creating, and asking “What if?” Our job is to own that place on the Venn Diagram where strategy and boldness overlap—knowing we might uncover breakthrough opportunities or come up empty-handed.
To get up after we fall, we need a mindset and culture (or a ski instructor) that understands falling down is part of improving. That failure isn’t the opposite of success—it’s the next step to achieving it.
P.S. This post reminds me of Theodore Roosevelt’s “The Man in the Arena.” If you haven’t read it, make time to do so now. You’ll be glad you did. If you have, reread it. I’m always glad when I do.
#MarketingStrategy #Leadership #Innovation #GrowthMindset #MarketingLeadership #RiskTaking #Failure #Success #MarketingInsights #ProfessionalDevelopment #TheodoreRoosevelt #MarketingWisdom
Post 33: For most of my career, the process to create marketing communications has been the same. Following approval of the objectives and creative brief, we typically:
-Develop creative concepts
-Write messaging and copy
-Create graphic design/layout
-Review and revise
-Publish, print or post
Now, consider this: We’re bombarded with tens of thousands of messages daily. Most of us experience the world through pocket-sized screens. We’re fundamentally visual beings.
Should visual stopping power be our next consideration once the concept is created? Should copywriters then layer in depth, context, and a call to action? Imagine a scenario where art directors and graphic designers say to copywriters, “Here’s the design – make your message fit.” (Instead of the other way around, which is how it’s worked for decades?)
As a former writer, the very idea feels like blasphemy. But given how we actually consume content today, I can’t help but think this might be better way to approach our work.
#MarketingStrategy #VisualStorytelling #CreativeProcess #DigitalMarketing #ThoughtLeadership
Post 34: I’ve seen marketing teams banned from using certain colors, words and images because “that’s what our competitor uses.” I’ve sat through sales conferences entirely themed around “Beat [Competitor X].” I’ve been asked to study market leaders and simply “do what they’re doing.”
Appreciate your competitors, but don’t let them live rent-free in your head.
If you’re a challenger brand, understanding market leaders is crucial. But smart competitive intelligence means understanding:
-How competitors bring value to the market
-Where you outperform them – and more importantly, where they outperform you
-Why customers choose them over you
-How competition has sharpened your products and elevated the entire market
But many brands go too far. They make competitive analysis the driving force of their strategic plans instead of a key data point.
The strongest brands appreciate their competition, learn from them and then focus relentlessly on delivering on their own brand promise and purpose.
Your competitors can inform your strategy, but they shouldn’t drive it.
#BusinessStrategy #MarketPositioning #ThoughtLeadership #BrandStrategy #CompetitiveStrategy
Post 35: The post was created on U.S. Independence Day 2025. At the University of Nebraska, where I went to college, and many other institutions around the country, the marketing communications programs are housed in the journalism college.
One reason for this may be that we enjoy the same freedoms of expression typically associated with our brothers and sisters in journalism. And while today is a day to honor and respect the Constitution that guarantees these rights to journalists, we cannot forget that the work we do is born from the same freedom of expression they enjoy.
Today, I’m going to take a moment and be grateful for that.
#IndependenceDay #FreedomOfExpression #MarketingCommunications #Gratitude #ThoughtLeadership
Post 36: Cross-functional collaboration is essential for marketers today. We need real-time customer feedback, product insights and market intelligence from across the organization to create effective communications.
But here’s where many teams go wrong.
While input from other departments is invaluable, branding, positioning, message development, and funnel strategy remain our core expertise as marketers. I’ve rarely seen compelling creative concepts or messaging emerge from a committee.
Not everyone is wired to distinguish good messaging from bad. Some team members have confirmation bias or territories to protect. Others are risk-averse and resist anything new.
Use your cross-functional team to gather insights that add power and depth to your communications. Tools like creative briefs (discussed in post #37) help you harness these insights effectively when presenting creative concepts (covered in post #38).
Our job is to engage our cross-functional partners while maintaining clear boundaries around areas of expertise.
#MarketingStrategy, #CrossFunctionalTeams, #MarketingLeadership, #BrandMessaging, #CreativeStrategy, #MarketingManagement, #TeamCollaboration, #MarketingInsights, #ContentStrategy, #MarketingTips
Post 37: For marketing communicators, the creative brief is one of the most overlooked tools. If you haven’t used one recently (or ever), there’s no better way for aligning cross-functional insights with creative execution.
While your favorite AI can build you one, most creative briefs include:
-Business and marketing goals
-Primary/secondary target audience profiles
-Primary message with supporting proof
-Secondary messages with supporting proof
-Competitive landscape overview
-Supporting research and data
-KPIs and measurement plan
-Budget and timeline
But a creative brief is far more than another form to fill out. Use it:
-As a Meeting Agenda: Your brief becomes the roadmap when meeting with cross-functional teams. Focus discussions on gathering insights, reviewing content or finalizing the brief before handing it off to the creative team.
-During Creative Presentations: Before revealing new concepts, remind your team of the brief content they helped create. This builds ownership and keeps feedback strategic rather than subjective.
The magic happens when you shift the conversation from “Do you like it?” to “Is it on strategy?”
When strategy is solid, creative execution becomes much simpler. A strong creative brief transforms subjective opinions into strategic discussions—which is what you need to succeed as a marketing leader.
#CreativeBrief, #MarketingStrategy, #CreativeProcess, #CrossFunctionalTeams, #MarketingManagement, #BrandStrategy, #CreativeStrategy, #MarketingLeadership, #TeamAlignment, #MarketingTools
Post 38: I still get excited every time a campaign goes live—watching a video run for the first time, unboxing fresh printed materials, seeing a post hit its mark with the market. That thrill never gets old.
But the most important moment happens before any of that: presenting new creative concepts to your cross-functional team and leadership.
I used to present three options—good, better, best. I’d push hard on the “best” concept while being prepared to accept “good” if needed. Then I started relying more heavily on creative briefs (see post #36) and something changed.
There was always one concept that clearly stood out as being “on strategy” over the others. And isn’t being on strategy the point?
Now, I try to challenge myself and my teams to focus on the creative brief and sweat the strategic details. Then remind stakeholders of those key elements (goals, market, message) in the first few moments (or slides) of my presentation.
Then, I present the creative that feels like the most natural, obvious extension of the strategy—even if it’s not the most intriguing. How can I ask others to remove their bias if I don’t remove mine first?
This approach has worked well for me, though I still keep a backup concept ready for emergencies.
When you ground creative development and presentation in strategy, you avoid those dreaded questions: “Can you try a different shade of blue?” “Why this font?” “Can you make the logo bigger?”
A strong strategic foundation keeps discussions focused on what actually drives results.
#CreativeStrategy, #MarketingLeadership, #CreativePresentations, #MarketingStrategy, #CreativeBrief, #StrategicThinking, #MarketingManagement, #CreativeProcess, #BrandStrategy, #MarketingInsights
Post 39: Some moments from college stick with you forever. Here’s one that’s shaped how I approach content creation.
My copywriting professor (who became a mentor and lifelong friend) threw down a challenge one day in class: “I guarantee I can get you to read every page of a 1,000-page book.”
After letting us ponder that, he offered: “I’ll title the book: Everything in this book is about you.“
That lesson feels more relevant now, in a world of goldfish-like attention spans, where we’re asked to cut slides, trim videos and limit thoughts to 280 characters.
I can’t help but wonder, what if shortening content is just the easy way out?
What if instead of making it shorter, we made it more interesting? What if we worked harder to convey: “Everything in this video/post/presentation is about you”?
When your audience feels like you’re speaking directly to their challenges, their goals, their world, they’ll give you their time and attention.
#ContentStrategy, #MarketingInsights, #Copywriting, #AudienceEngagement, #ContentCreation, #MarketingTips, #StorytellingInBusiness, #MarketingStrategy, #ContentMarketing, #MarketingLessons
Post 40: When people ask why I got into marketing and communications, I tell them: “It was this or get a real job.”
To my friends and colleagues who might be offended, please hear me out. Yes, we work hard. Yes, we face the same pressures and responsibilities as everyone else.
But we also regularly hear, “That looks like fun!” and “That’s amazing—how did you create that?”
Our colleagues wear our work on their shirts, share our campaigns on social media, get excited when our work hits the market and can’t wait to show our work to their families.
How many other departments can say that?
While workplace satisfaction surveys show most Americans aren’t thrilled with their “real jobs,” we get to solve problems through creativity and turn ideas into experiences that move people.
I suspect most of those people think we’re lucky.
I do. I hope you do, too.
#MarketingLife, #CreativeWork, #MarketingCareer, #WorkplaceCulture, #MarketingJoy, #CreativeIndustry, #MarketingInspiration, #WorkLifeBalance, #MarketingCommunity, #CareerSatisfaction
Post 41: Like you, I’ve created countless PowerPoint presentations. I’ve also noticed a pattern: we’ve turned a PowerPoint presentation into a communications Swiss Army knife—combining word processing, brochure design and presentation creation. Honestly, we aren’t really doing any of them well.
Most PowerPoint presentations are created by dumping information onto slides, adding a title, throwing in some clip art and bar charts for visual interest and calling it done. We resist editing because “someone might forward this,” so every word stays.
What we don’t realize is that we’re creating the same painful presentations that we complain about having to sit through. Bloated presentations shift the burden of understanding from you to your audience, and your audience doesn’t have the time or desire to figure out what you’re trying to say.
Next time, try building your presentation from back to front:
-Identify Goals – What do you want people to do, think, or believe differently after your presentation is over?
–Narrow Your Focus – What’s your one key message? What are the 3-4 supporting points that prove it?
–Engage the Audience – Where will you invite discussion and interaction?
–Share a Story – How can you turn data into a compelling and memorable narrative?
–Call to Action – What specific action do you want them to take?
–Leave Time for Discussion – Are you creating space for questions and challenges?
Stop asking “What do I want them to know?”
Start asking “What do I want them to do?”
Your presentations—and your audience—will thank you.
#PresentationSkills #PowerPoint #BusinessCommunication #Leadership #PublicSpeaking #ProfessionalDevelopment #Storytelling #WorkplaceCommunication #PresentationDesign #EffectiveCommunication
Post 42: Yesterday, I posted some thoughts about how to think about presentations differently and make them more impactful. Unfortunately, that advice doesn’t help the person whose team, manager, customers or business culture expect you to, “Just send the deck.”
The best slides need context. They’re designed to support, not replace, you and your story. The next time you think you’ll be asked to send your slides, try this:
Just as your slides are nearly done, and your speaker notes perfected, give them to your favorite AI with a prompt that looks something like this:
“Please use this slide presentation and speaker notes to create a written summary that can be used as a presentation pre-read, printed handout, leave-behind or thorough executive summary. Ensure it captures the spirit and tone of the presentation, makes the call to action clear and can be read in under [X] minutes.”
What you’ll get:
-A standalone document that actually makes sense
-Something your audience can reference and share
-A format that executives prefer
But here’s the bonus – you’ll also get incredible insight into your presentation before you give it:
–Key Points: Did the AI identify the same priorities you intended?
-Theme Understanding: Did it catch your nuances or suggest a better flow?
-Language: Did it find clearer ways to express your ideas?
-Clarity: Did it find where your logic needed strengthening?
The AI summary won’t be perfect (it says so right there on the screen), but that’s the point. The gaps force you to think more clearly and present more effectively.
So, the next time someone says,” Just send the deck,” tell them, “No. I’ve got something better.”
When you send the written summary, your audience will thank you. Your ideas will land the way you intend (stronger). And you’ll stand out from your colleagues who are happy to dump their slides and hope for the best.
#PresentationSkills #AI #BusinessCommunication #Leadership #ProfessionalDevelopment #WorkplaceTips #PowerPoint #EffectiveCommunication #BusinessWriting #ProductivityHacks #ArtificialIntelligence #CorporateCommunication
Post 43: Screens are now the medium through which most everyone works. As marketers, they are also the medium through which our work is consumed. And it seems the smaller the screen, the higher the likelihood that our work will be viewed on it.
But sometimes screens can shrink our biggest ideas or cause us to miss them altogether.
When you’re reviewing major projects—big presentations, product launches, website redesigns, annual plans, trade show layouts—try this: Print everything. Grab some painter’s tape. Find a blank wall. Hang up every page, every slide.
Then step back. Take it all in at once. I guarantee you’ll see your work differently.
There’s something powerful about seeing the full scope of your biggest projects in one view – not page by page. The tactile experience of paper. The collaborative energy when you invite your team to join you – or when people stop to look. The ease of moving paper around, scribbling notes, experimenting.
Creativity has been described as seeing things in a way others don’t. That can happen by just changing the medium.
Who knows? You might find your biggest idea hanging on the wall, waiting to be discovered through a new perspective and fresh eyes.
#MarketingStrategy #CreativeProcess #Design #Leadership #Innovation #Collaboration #PrintMarketing #ProjectManagement #TeamWork #MarketingTips #BrandStrategy #WorkflowHacks #Creativity #DigitalMarketing #BusinessStrategy
Post 44: Language matters. The right language is the code that shows you’re a thought-leader, you’re credible, that your products and innovations have merit, that your brand and purpose are true. It binds industry and culture. It’s proof you belong.
But Jargon can exclude as much as it includes.
Your prospects might not know every term, acronym, or colloquialism. New market entrants—your best growth opportunity—might feel intimidated by too much insider speak. You could be speaking fluent expert while your audience is still learning the basics.
Your role as a thought or market leader is to help your customers see that you (better than anyone) understand their challenges, offer solutions and can show them a brighter future.
Use just enough jargon to demonstrate expertise, but not so much that you lose people along the way. Your brand promise, customer benefits and products/services should be the star—jargon should just enhance the flavor.
Can someone outside your industry read your website, social posts or brochure and understand 80% of what you’re saying? If not, you might need to dial back the garlic.
#MarketingStrategy #Communications #ContentMarketing #TechnicalWriting #B2BMarketing #ThoughtLeadership #Copywriting #BrandMessaging #MarketingTips #BusinessCommunication #Leadership #Storytelling #ContentStrategy #Writing #Marketing
Post 45: I used to dread legal reviews. As a marketer, I saw lawyers as skittish creativity killers who, in just a few minutes, were determined to red-line the heart and soul out of all the good work our team spent weeks or months creating.
Early in my career, a wise corporate counsel pulled me aside. “I’ll make you a deal,” he said. “If you do everything possible to ensure your work keeps us out of court, I’ll do everything I can to ensure it keeps its creativity. We’re on the same team.”
I agreed on the spot and made that same deal with every legal reviewer since. Legal review stopped being a roadblock and became a collaboration.
They know the guardrails. You know the goals. Together, you can create work that’s both compliant and compelling.
#Marketing #Legal #Collaboration #TeamWork #Leadership #BusinessStrategy #MarketingStrategy #CorporateCommunications #ContentMarketing #CrossFunctionalTeams #WorkplaceTips #Creativity #ComplianceMarketing #B2BMarketing #ProfessionalDevelopment
Post 46: Working in marketing communications can feel like being a person without a country—especially if you’re doing it right.
When you’re in the office, your job is advocating for your customer while others are more company-focused:
• Product managers need to reduce costs to improve margins
• Engineers add features that may or may not be needed (or are genuinely valuable but too complex for customers to immediately grasp)
• Supply chain partners are racing to get materials in and products out even faster
In the face of continuous improvement, it can be hard to be the one constantly asking: “But what about the customer?”
And then, in the field, marketing is often the first line of defense during product updates, feature removals, price changes, competitor moves—we are the voice of the company.
Some days this balance is harder than others. I’ll admit there have been times I wasn’t the advocate my customers deserved. It’s easy for our default position to be to the one whose logo appears on our paychecks.
But then, I remind myself that customers are the reason I – or anyone – get a paycheck.
#MarketingCommunications #CustomerAdvocacy #MarketingStrategy #CustomerExperience #MarketingLeadership #BusinessStrategy #CustomerFirst #MarketingLife #BrandStrategy #CustomerInsights #MarketingChallenges #CustomerCentric
Post 47: The value of AI is exploding faster than any of us can monitor. Its capabilities are jaw-dropping, the efficiency gains are real and the applications seemingly endless.
I’ve shared how I use AI in my work, and I’ve written about the critical importance of storytelling in marketing communications. But here’s where it gets interesting: the real value communicators bring sits at the intersection of AI and story.
And at that intersection, there’s a missing ingredient only we can provide: soul.
When AI generates content, optimizes campaigns or analyzes data, it’s incredibly powerful. But it can’t infuse work with the human elements that make brands memorable—emotion, empathy and authentic connection.
We’re not just marketers anymore. We’re soul-keepers.
Despite the changes that AI is making in our lives, what hasn’t changed is that people still do business with people. Brands that feel real, authentic, and connected to something deeper than algorithms are still the ones that will win the day.
#AI #MarketingCommunications #Storytelling #HumanConnection #MarketingStrategy #BrandStrategy #ContentStrategy #DigitalMarketing #MarketingLeadership #AuthenticBranding #CustomerExperience #MarketingInsights
Post 48: I love big ideas. Always have. There’s something indescribable about the way I (and hopefully you) feel when you see the world in a new way.
I felt it in my first advertising class (which I wasn’t even supposed to be in) when the professor explained how Volkswagen’s “Lemon” and “Think Small” campaigns changed advertising forever. That moment of revelation was magic for me.
For years, I thought that was the point. The lightbulb moment. The creative breakthrough. Coming up with the big idea felt like the hard part.
I was wrong.
The real test of a big idea isn’t the excitement it creates when you first alight upon it. It’s whether that idea can survive the skeptics, the budget guardians, the “what-ifers,” and the defenders of the status quo.
It took me way too long to appreciate the value of those who wanted to turn a fire hose on those big burning ideas.
Now, I see them as Edmond Dantes might, “Do your worst, for I shall do mine!” Bring on the debate. Test every assumption. Push back on every detail. Sometimes a big idea emerges stronger, battle-scarred but unbroken. Sometimes it dies in the battle.
The point isn’t to protect your ideas—it’s to prove them.
If I had to point to the moment I matured most in my career, this was probably it. Learning to love the process of pressure-testing ideas rather than just creating them.
#BigIdeas #CreativeStrategy #MarketingLeadership #Innovation #AdvertisingHistory #CreativeProcess #MarketingStrategy #Leadership #ProfessionalGrowth #CreativeThinking #BrandStrategy #MarketingInsights
Post 49: I had a leader who suggested that we, “Go sit at the DMV for a few hours and just watch people.”
His point? We get dangerously out of touch with everyday people. The DMV is a no-cost, ready when you are focus group that is always just down the street.
We get lost in data dashboards, buyer personas and engagement metrics. We fall victim to our own confirmation bias, assuming everyone worries about the same things we do. Or worse, we have zero practical experience with our actual audience and struggle to empathize with them at all.
The DMV was his favorite suggestion because everyone goes there. Working parents rushing between errands. Executives checking their phones. Teenagers getting their first license. Retirees with all the time in the world. Sales reps, tradespeople, students—the full spectrum of humanity, all in one waiting room.
If you try this (and I think you should), ask yourself:
-How are all these people the same?
-How are they different?
-What do you observe that the data doesn’t capture?
-How does this change your narrative?
Whether it’s the DMV, grocery store, county fair, or the trade show floor (B2B), spending time as a student of the human condition makes us better marketers.
Data tells us what people do. Observation shows us who they are. You need both.
#Marketing #CustomerInsights #MarketingStrategy #HumanBehavior #CustomerExperience #MarketingTips #B2CMarketing #ConsumerBehavior #MarketingWisdom #CustomerResearch #MarketingLeadership #Empathy
Post 50: I recently connected with someone new through a mutual friend—another professional navigating the job search journey. It was an inspiring conversation, and I was grateful to meet a kindred spirit.
This person shared the one criterion driving their search: “Does it bring me joy?”
The “it” being the job, the organization, the team and the purpose behind it all.
I think this approach is brilliant and should guide all of us—whether we’re actively job searching or settled in our current roles.
It wasn’t until after our meeting that this really hit me. I realized I’d been so focused on the practical aspects of job searching that I’d forgotten to ask myself the joy question. But when I reflected, the answer was clear.
After decades in this business, I still get excited about:
-The moment a new video goes live on our website
-Watching people engage with our social content
-Even the increasingly rare thrill of unboxing and holding a freshly printed brochure
Do you still feel the joy of creative problem-solving? Of seeing your ideas come to life? Of knowing you’ve moved people to act or see the world differently?
I’m grateful to be reminded why I love this work. I hope this post does for you what my new connection did for me.
PS – I’m halfway to my goal of 100 posts. THANK YOU to everyone who liked, shared, commented and questioned my posts so far. I appreciate you all!
#JobSearch #CareerJoy #Marketing #CreativeProfessionals #WorkPassion #ProfessionalGrowth #CareerAdvice #FindYourWhy #JobHunting #WorkLifeBalance #CreativeIndustry #MarketingCareers #ProfessionalDevelopment #CareerReflection #WorkJoy
Post 51: Here’s a simple exercise that might surprise you:
The Competitor Swap Test:
1. Identify your 3-4 main competitors—the ones that keep you up at night
2. Copy your homepage text or latest brochure content (text only, no visual) and paste it in a Word doc.
3. Replace your company name with each competitor’s name, one at a time, in that Word doc.
Is most of your copy still true with your customer’s name in it? Be honest with yourself. If you showed the document to your customers (the one with your text and the competitor’s name), would they see the difference?
If you answered “yes” to the first and “no” to the second, your messaging has lost its edge.
Well-meaning stakeholders request small edits over time. Legal wants softer language. Sales asks for tweaks based on customer feedback. Leadership suggests “minor” adjustments after an industry conference.
Individually, these changes seem harmless. But collectively? They erode what makes you unique.
The result is often generic messaging that could describe anyone in your space. Messaging that doesn’t have the firepower to differentiate you in the market. Confused customers who can’t distinguish between competitors. A brand that blends into the background.
Consider regularly auditing your messaging with the simple test above. If your copy works just as well with a competitor’s name, it’s time to reclaim what makes you different.
#BrandMessaging #MarketingStrategy #BrandPositioning #ContentMarketing #DigitalMarketing #BrandStrategy #MarketingTips #BusinessStrategy #Branding #CustomerExperience #MarketingInsights #CompetitiveAdvantage
Post 52: For decades, we’ve relied on linear funnels to guide prospects from awareness → interest → qualification → sale → advocacy. It’s clean, predictable, and works well with rigid B2B procurement processes.
But here’s what’s changing:
New generations of business managers and leaders won’t tolerate being funneled. They’ve grown up and entered the business world influenced by social media posts, peer reviews, influencer endorsements, AI recommendations, and a healthy dose of brand skepticism. Their journey looks less like a funnel and more like a pinball bouncing unpredictably between bumpers.
One solution may be to borrow from mystery writers and TV series creators.
No matter where your audience enters your content universe, make sure your content can stand alone, yet fit in a larger narrative so that:
-Newbies won’t get lost (include enough backstory and context)
-Veterans won’t be bored (provide depth, new information)
-Every piece connects meaningfully to the others (think more like pieces of a puzzle and less like a story arc)
Your analytics will tell you what customers typically do, but we’ve all heard, “past performance doesn’t guarantee future results.”
Focus less on forcing people through your funnel and more on creating remarkable experiences wherever they choose to engage.
#CustomerJourney #B2BMarketing #DigitalTransformation #CustomerExperience #ContentMarketing #MarketingStrategy #BuyerBehavior #MarketingFunnel #SalesStrategy
Post 53: Earning my journalism degree helped me see that “advertising is news.” In fact, I put myself through the last few years of college working on a research team that proved it. But here’s what most companies miss: your ads are also vital information for the people who matter most to your success.
Your employees probably visit your website and see your social posts on their own time. But when did you last:
Run your latest ads on office monitors?
-Post them near break rooms or printers?
-Include them in internal newsletters?
-Share campaigns on your company intranet?
-Leave copies of your brochure on tables in the cafeteria
I’ve seen the difference firsthand throughout my career. Companies that regularly expose employees to their marketing communications seem to have more engaged teams. Employees feel more informed, aligned, and connected to the company’s mission when they see how it’s playing out in the marketplace.
And, the employee team feels empowered to give honest feedback when it’s working (and when it isn’t).
The work is already done. You’ve invested in creating these campaigns – why not maximize their impact by ensuring ALL your key audiences see them? When employees know your story as well as your customers do, they become your most authentic advocates.
#EmployeeEngagement #InternalCommunications #EmployeeAdvocacy #CompanyCulture #MarketingStrategy #TeamAlignment #WorkplaceCommunication #EmployeeExperience #InternalMarketing #CompanyBranding
Post 54: One of my favorite definitions of creativity is the ability to connect two unrelated ideas in a new, compelling way. Think about your favorite marketing campaign – it probably proves this definition to some degree.
But where does that come from? Like you, I’ve been asked many times, “Where does your creativity come from? How did you come up with that idea?”
Honestly, I don’t know. I start by priming the pump, including:
-Fill my head with everything: Books, shows, conversations with strangers (without being creepy), social media scrolling with a skeptical eye
-Stay in motion: Walking, motorcycle rides, people-watching from coffee shops or at airports
-Dig deeper: Understanding why I love some ideas and hate others (same goes for people)
–Always be curious: Ask questions and approach new situations with a “couldn’t hurt to try” mindset
If I input as much stuff as I can and stay open to new possibilities, I can trust the inner workings of my brain will do the rest. Some of the ideas are good. Some not.
To me, the best part is that this approach can work for anyone. You don’t need special training or talent – just curiosity and patience.
#Creativity #Innovation #ContentCreation #MarketingStrategy #CreativeProcess #Inspiration #IdeaGeneration #CreativeThinking #Marketing #Advertising
Post 55: Most marketing content likely tells a story instead of showing it.
Try this challenge today: Go through the marketing content on your desk and note every place you’re listing features or specs*. Rewrite each one to show the customer benefit instead.
Here’s how: Instead of TELLING features → SHOW benefits.
❌ TELLING: “We use galvanized ¾” bolts” ✅ SHOWING: “You get equipment that lasts longer and stands up to harsh weather”
❌ TELLING: “Our product is 10% lighter than competitors” ✅ SHOWING: “You save on fuel costs for more efficient operations”
❌ TELLING: “We’re sugar- and gluten-free” ✅ SHOWING: “You get a healthier option that actually tastes great”
When you show instead of tell, you’re not just writing better copy. You’re connecting features directly to the value your customers actually care about.
*Quick note: Spec sheets are different – they should absolutely list technical details. But when you convert features to benefits in your narrative marketing copy, you make your spec sheets more valuable as dedicated and trusted technical resources.
#Copywriting #ContentMarketing #MarketingStrategy #DigitalMarketing #CustomerFocus #MarketingTips #ContentCreation #BrandMessaging #MarketingCopy #CustomerBenefits
Post 56: My latest StrengthsFinder profile confirmed what I already knew: “Strategic” is one of my top five strengths. I love a good plan and am naturally inclined toward Stephen Covey’s second habit (from the Seven Habits of Highly Successful People): “Begin with the end in mind.”
But any planner worth their salt also has to keep in mind Mike Tyson’s famous words: “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face.”
As marketers, we have a responsibility to lead brand building, help drive sales growth, position our companies and attract top talent. Strategic planning ensures our time and resources are optimized for maximum impact.
In their book “Decisive,” Dan and Chip Heath offer a larger framework and several tactics to help planners galvanize their efforts and test for the “what ifs.” One approach struck me as a way to integrate both Covey and Tyson’s thoughts for better planning:
1. What would have to be true for us to stick with our plan?
2. What would have to be true for us to consider pivoting?
3. What would have to be true for us to abandon our plan entirely?
For the truly bold, they recommend a “pre-mortem” exercise: Before launching, ask your team, “If we were meeting six months from now to discuss why our plan failed, what would we be talking about?”
Most planning frameworks I’ve encountered don’t build in these variations. Maybe they should. Contemplating failure away from the heat of battle:
-Sharpens your planning process
-Reduces emotional decision-making under pressure
-Enables more efficient resource reallocation
-Empowers teams to act with confidence
You might consider adding this question to your planning templates: “What might failure look like, and how do we prepare for it?”
#MarketingStrategy #StrategicPlanning #MarketingLeadership #BusinessStrategy #MarketingPlanning #DecisionMaking #FailurePlanning #MarketingInsights #BrandStrategy #MarketingManagement #StrengthsFinder #MarketingBestPractices #PlanningFramework #MarketingThoughts #LeadershipDevelopment
Post 57: My stepfather was a notorious figurer. He taught me life lessons on the backs of envelopes, scraps of newspaper, and paper napkins—how to budget and balance a checkbook, calculate the real costs of owning my first car and renting my first apartment, and understand how mortgage interest actually works.
At the end of each lesson, he’d wink and remind me: “You also have to remember that figures lie and liars figure.”
Years later, early in my career, an incredibly generous research mentor reminded me of my stepfather’s wisdom. Whenever you’re shown data, he said, the first question should always be: “Compared to what?”
Whether you work in marketing or not, we all rely on data these days. But are we being too trusting?
-Are we raising the same skeptical eyebrow when the data looks good as when it looks bad? -Are we peeling back the layers to see past what the potentially self-serving, algorithm-tweaking data providers are showing us?
-Who or what are we comparing our data to—and why?
-Have you ever taken your marketing data to analysts or number-crunchers in other parts of the business and asked, “What do you see in this data? What am I missing?”
-Can we connect the data we’re collecting to actual business growth and opportunity creation?
If authors like Malcom Gladwell or Michael Lewis have taught us anything, it’s that the most valuable insights come from digging into the numbers, not just accepting them.
#MarketingAnalytics #DataDriven #MarketingStrategy #BusinessIntelligence #DataSkepticism #MarketingInsights #DigitalMarketing #BusinessGrowth #DataLiteracy #MarketingLeadership #ProfessionalDevelopment #LinkedInLearning#MarketingThoughts #LeadershipDevelopment
Post 58: “This is your license to learn. A good pilot is always learning.”
Those were the words my flight instructor, Bill Kelly, said as he signed off on my pilot’s license. I wonder if we should say the same about storytelling.
These days, I see “storyteller” appearing everywhere—LinkedIn profiles, job descriptions, marketing communicator, “must have” qualifications. And rightfully so. In our overly saturated digital landscape, storytelling is the best way to cut through the noise and genuinely connect.
But telling stories well is hard. At least, it is for me.
Storytelling is a craft as old as humankind—maybe older—and it has evolved in complexity just as we have. If we’re going to claim this title, shouldn’t we approach it with the reverence it deserves?
For me, it began with asking, “What makes a good story?” Joseph Campbell’s research in the 1940s revealed the formula behind the stories that have endured for thousands of years. George Lucas credited Campbell’s work as foundational to Star Wars. Christopher Vogler, a Disney executive, built on Campbell’s framework to drive the company’s storytelling renaissance—think The Lion King.
My dog-eared copy of Vogler’s “The Writer’s Journey” sits within arm’s reach. In my mind, it’s the operator’s manual for a storyteller. Fair warning: studying mythic story structure will ruin every novel, movie, and streaming series for you. I find myself constantly deconstructing the narrative framework and character archetypes according to Campbell and Vogler’s insights.
But that’s the price for being a student of storytelling.
I’ve shared thoughts on storytelling’s impact on the brain, the need for tension, the importance of archetypes, and why your customer should be the hero—not your brand. These posts help me learn as much as I hope they might help you.
Because, like flying, storytelling deserves our respect, our study, and our commitment to never stop learning.
#Storytelling #MarketingCommunications #ContentMarketing #BrandNarrative #CustomerStory #MarketingStrategy #DigitalMarketing #CommunicationSkills #LearningMindset #ProfessionalDevelopment #Marketing #CreativeWriting
Post 59: Marketing communicators love storytelling when things are going well. Growth numbers, new customers, new products, exciting case studies—we shout these from the rooftops. And we should.
But when sales miss targets, products flop, or key leaders jump ship? We grasp for ways to “frame the story” or worse, go dark, hoping to stay invisible until better days return.
The problem is that asking audiences to trust our story on sunny days while we spin (or disappear) during storms doesn’t work. They see right through us.
Recently, some smart colleagues introduced me to an idea that I think solves for the peaks and valleys of corporate news sharing: Responsible Transparency.
Along with a cross-functional advisory team, you can develop a framework that outlines what insights you’d regularly share about our company—good, bad, and everything in between. The name itself drives the questions for building the framework:
-What defines responsible reporting at our company?
-How do we balance transparency with protecting investor, customer, employee, community and partner trust?
-How do we maintain credibility while safeguarding competitive advantages, brand equity and confidentiality?
-What language do we use to talk about ourselves that can frame any issue within the bounds of our core values and brand promise?
It won’t be easy. Compromise will be essential. But the result? A pre-approved, values-driven process for sharing company news that isn’t hijacked by emotions or crises.
Instead of reactive damage control, you have a framework that answers: “What’s the responsible and appropriately transparent thing to do?”
Your audience will trust you more when you’re as honest about the valleys as you are the peaks.
#CorporateCommunications #Transparency #CrisisComms #MarketingStrategy #BrandTrust #Leadership #CommunicationsStrategy #PublicRelations #BrandAuthenticity #Storytelling #CorporateStrategy #MarketingCommunications
Post 60: Here’s a tip: The next time you’re asked to review or approve any content—videos, social posts, web pages, ads, brochures—check it on your phone.
Designing for smaller screens forces you and your team to make hard choices:
–Concept clarity: Does your message work in 3 seconds of scrolling?
–Visual impact: Can someone understand your graphic while walking?
–Message refinement: Did you cut the fluff and keep only what matters?
Yes. Your audience uses phones, tablets, and desktops—but when you design for the smallest space first, you’re forced to prioritize what truly matters. Scaling up is easier than scaling down.
Try it with your next piece of content. You’ll be surprised how much tighter and more effective your messaging becomes.
#MobileFirst #DigitalMarketing #ContentMarketing #UserExperience #MarketingTips #ResponsiveDesign #CommunicationStrategy #DigitalStrategy #Marketing #UX #ContentStrategy #MobileMarketing
Post 61: I’ve been in those meetings. You know the ones—frantically searching for holidays to celebrate, employee spotlights, or random industry facts because “we haven’t posted in a while.”
I know those discussions happen because I’ve led them.
But I’ve also led content discussions that don’t start in the marketing department. They start in the offices of product managers, sales leaders and customer service managers. And they are the basis of content that gets much better results.
When we bring those people into the conversation, stop asking “What should we post?” and start asking:
-What’s the #1 thing our product team wishes customers understood?
-What questions keep coming up in sales or service conversations?
-What problems are we solving that our market doesn’t even know they have?
-What should our market be thinking about right now that they might not be aware of?
The result is content that doesn’t just communicate—it creates value. It builds trust. It becomes a product line itself.
What’s more, it allows marketing teams to stay connected with every part of the business, learning (and relearning) what truly matters to customers.
You can start this content development approach today: Right now, walk down the hall, send that text or email, or hop on a quick call with a product manager. Ask them: “What’s the one thing you wish our market knew right now, and why do they need to know it?”
That’s your next piece of content.
#ContentMarketing #MarketingStrategy #ProductMarketing #B2BMarketing #ContentStrategy
Post 62: In my world, two words keep showing up everywhere lately—in books (I’m rereading Simon Sinek’s Leaders Eat Last), coffee conversations with fellow marketers, podcasts, and social posts.
Those two words? Oxytocin and dopamine.
I’m not a brain scientist, so I asked my AI assistant for simple definitions:
Oxytocin: The “bonding hormone” that builds trust and connection. Released when we feel understood, supported, or part of a community.
Dopamine: The “reward chemical” that drives motivation and satisfaction. Released when we anticipate or experience something rewarding.
As marketers, we’re likely triggering these releases more than we realize—oxytocin when we share our purpose and build genuine connections, dopamine when our content resonates or we offer something of immediate value.
What struck me is that as leaders, marketers, parents, or friends, we literally impact the brain chemistry of those around us.
It’s both humbling and clarifying. Despite all our data, personas, and analytics, it’s one more reminder that we’re still just people connecting with people.
I wonder if this is how authentic communication (and connection) naturally works—we create moments of genuine interest and curiosity (dopamine), then nurture the deeper connections that build real trust over time (oxytocin).
#MarketingStrategy #CustomerConnection #BrandBuilding #MarketingPsychology #ContentMarketing
Post 63: I’ve had the privilege to market everything from airplanes to ammunition, insurance to fast food, software to sit-down restaurants, soft drinks to manufactured products. Different industries, different challenges—but one constant.
Any success I’ve had started with this question: What do I actually like about my market or target audience?
Data, analytics, and customer journey maps were a great start, but left a gap. I had to find a way to genuinely connect with people I’d never met, living lives I didn’t understand.
It turns out there is a lot to like in everyone I’ve come across:
The Ag Producer – Not in it for money, but driven by the responsibility to feed the world and care for the land
The Life Insurance Buyer – Genuinely worried about the financial situation they’d leave their family in if they perished early
The Hunter – Deeply concerned about wildlife disease, malnutrition and overpopulation, and needing ammunition that is accurate and effective, and won’t wound an animal leaving it to suffer
These were markets I knew nothing about, but finding these points gave me the connection to do my work. Are these connections perfect and all-encompassing? No.
But they are a great place to start.
My work is much better when I want to talk to my audiences instead of simply getting paid to do it.
And more importantly? It provided me a connection point to be genuinely engaged when they talk back.
#MarketingStrategy #CustomerEmpathy #AudienceInsights #MarketingLeadership #CustomerConnection
Post 64:
“You never asked.”
That’s what my parents said when I challenged them about something I thought I’d known my whole life.
Let me explain.
Growing up, our house was in constant renovation mode. We finished basements, built decks, painted everything, landscaped—all DIY, no professionals. When we complained about the constant stream of work, my parents always joked that they had to take advantage of the “cheap labor” my brother and I provided as we grew.
Fast-forward 15 years: I’m marketing air compressors to DIY home improvers. It was a market I knew well, because I had lived most of my life in it. Our research confirmed what I “knew”—DIYers choose to do projects themselves because of cost.
But then we dug deeper.
The real driver for this market? DIYers believed they cared more about the projects and would provide better quality than a professional who saw it as “just another job.” Lower cost was the icing on the cake.
I called my parents with this revelation. They agreed as if they’d known it along.
Feeling frustrated, I asked: “Why didn’t you ever mention that you thought we could do a better job than the pros? This entire time, I just thought you were about saving money.”
“You never asked.”
Market research isn’t just about discovering new insights that will spark innovation and creativity.
Sometimes the most valuable research finding is about gaining deeper clarity and insights on the things you’ve known (or thought you knew) all along.
#MarketResearch #MarketingInsights #CustomerResearch #MarketingStrategy #ConsumerBehavior
Post 65: After decades as a marketer, journalist, ad agency exec and consultant, one question has unlocked more insights than any other I’ve ever asked.
Whether I’m wrapping up an interview, building a creative brief, or ending a presentation, I always end with some variation of:
“What haven’t we discussed today that you think is important?”
Then I show I’m ready to listen.
The response almost always starts the same way: “I think we’ve covered it all pretty well, but there is one thing…”
Here’s why this question works: You’ve likely owned most of the conversation—setting the framework, tone, and agenda. This question puts them in the conversational driver’s seat. It validates their expertise and often reveals the insights they were hesitant to share earlier.
For me, the “one thing” question has led to:
-Story angles I never would have discovered
-Strategic insights that changed entire campaigns
-Clarity that I never would have discovered through my meeting notes
-Suggestions for other subject matter experts to interview/consult
-Offers of additional research, customer access or insights that would have been inappropriate to ask for
-Valuable and authentic conversations that a prescribed meeting agenda could not have anticipated
-Connections that became long-term partnerships with people who felt heard
The magic isn’t in the question itself—it’s in genuinely being ready to listen to the answer.
Try it in your next meeting. See what doors it opens.
#CommunicationSkills #Leadership #ProfessionalDevelopment #ActiveListening #BusinessCommunication #MarketingStrategy #Consulting #CustomerInsights #Networking #BusinessRelationships #InterviewSkills
Post 66: I have a longtime friend who is a successful and highly respected mental health counselor in our hometown. We have shared and critiqued each other’s work extensively over the years through our writing group.
In his writing, he shared a powerful couples therapy technique: One partner shares something they’re feeling. The other partner then reflects the feelings behind the words. Not just “I heard you,” but the actual feelings behind the words. (“Wow. That must feel really frustrating.”)
It builds empathy. It creates understanding. And it often reveals what was really being communicated.
What if we tried this with our competitors?
We all have spreadsheets comparing features, market share, and pricing. But have you ever:
• Looked a former customer in the eye and said: “Can I reflect back why you left us and went to a competitor to make sure I understand?”
• Asked a colleague or company leader: “If you were selling against us, what would that pitch look like?”
• Honestly answered: “What reasons does the market have NOT to buy from us?”
Very few customers love our products as much as we do. As employees and marketers, we make our living advocating for them.
In How Customers Think, Zaltman reminds us that over 90% of decision-making happens unconsciously. Despite what former customers tell us, the real reasons they choose competitors likely lie beneath the surface—beyond price, features, or rational comparisons.
Selling against yourself isn’t about self-doubt—it’s about self-awareness.
When you can articulate why someone might choose a competitor, you gain authentic insights and understand the emotional and unconscious factors driving decisions.
Try it. Sell against yourself. Reflect back to your team why you think customers could legitimately choose competitors. It’s not disloyal. In fact, the discomfort you feel might be the most valuable market research you do this year.
#CompetitiveAnalysis #MarketingStrategy #CustomerInsights #SalesStrategy #BusinessDevelopment
Post 67: We’ve all been there, staring at a blank screen, the only thing on the page is a blinking cursor in the upper left corner taunting, “So, are we going to write something or what?!” In my head, my cursor sounds and acts a lot like a Joe Pesci character.
But here’s the thing—Writer’s Block isn’t really about finding the right words.
It happens when our brain gets stuck in a doom spiral that sounds something like: “I don’t know what to write. I can’t find the words. I don’t want to sound stupid.”
Even though legends like Hemingway reminded us that “The first draft of anything is sh!t,” and Anne Lamott gave us permission with her “sh!tty first drafts” philosophy, we still can’t type those precious first words.
Early in my freelance career, I learned that Writer’s Block isn’t about words—it’s about clarity.
When you’re unclear on:
• WHY you’re communicating
• WHO your audience is
• WHAT you want them to know, think, believe or do
…words won’t save you.
Here’s where AI gets interesting. Yes, it can generate words when you’re stuck. But more importantly, AI forces you to get clear on your intent before you even start.
To write a good prompt, you have to be clear on your purpose, audience, and desired outcome. AI becomes your thought partner or clarity coach, not just your word generator. And through several drafts, it will force you to sharpen your focus when the words aren’t what you want.
Perhaps the clarity AI requires will finally put an end to Writer’s Block.
#WritersBlock #ContentCreation #Writing #AI #CommunicationSkills #ContentStrategy #WritingTips #LinkedInCreators #FreelanceWriting #MarketingCommunication #BusinessWriting #WritingCommunity #ContentMarketing #ProfessionalDevelopment #Storytelling
Post 68: The most effective presentations I’ve ever given have one thing in common. I wish it was deep audience insights, crystal-clear arguments, or those amazing “aha” moments when insights or recommendations are revealed.
It’s not. The one thing my most effective presentations have in common is that I rehearsed them. Out loud. Standing up. With the actual tech setup. In the room where I’ll be presenting, when possible.
Yes, I feel like an idiot doing it. But better to feel that way alone than in front of my audience.
Here’s the difference rehearsing out loud makes:
• You not only clarify meaning and find the best words (because you hear them), but you also find the best place for silence/pauses
• You practice your tone and find key moments to ensure eye contact
• You learn when to guide attention to slides vs. engage directly with you
• You prepare yourself to lead an engaging discussion, not just read slides
Rehearsing allows me to be my first audience member. If I can get colleagues to be test audiences too, even better.
I’m the first to admit, I don’t rehearse as much as I should. But I’ve learned that when the slides are “done,” that’s not the end of the prep work. It’s just the beginning.
This principle extends to writing too. I pace my office with drafts in hand and red pen ready, reading every sentence aloud. Here’s what I’m listening for:
• Flow and rhythm – Do the sentences have natural breaks, or do I run out of breath? No one wins if the sentences ramble
• Clarity – If I stumble over words or phrases, my reader will too
• Voice and tone – Can I hear my authentic voice, or does it sound stilted?
• Attention gaps – The moment I zone out while reading is exactly where I’ll lose my audience
• Punctuation opportunities – Where can I use italics, bold, or em-dashes to capture the inflections of my voice on the page?
When I catch myself getting tongue-tied or confused, that’s gold. Those rough patches shine a bright light on places where my writing can improve.
#PresentationSkills #PublicSpeaking #ProfessionalDevelopment #Leadership #CommunicationSkills #CareerAdvice #PresentationTips #BusinessCommunication #WorkplaceTips #ProfessionalGrowth
Post 69: As the father of growing boys, one piece of advice I often shared when they faced tough decisions was: “The hard thing to do is almost always the right thing to do.” They’d roll their eyes and ask their mom what to do instead.
This idea is one of the hardest-learned lessons in my marketing career—and I’m still working on it.
Think back on your professional successes and failures. Aren’t your most memorable victories the ones where you put in the hard work and it paid off? Conversely, when you need a career mulligan, isn’t it usually because you cut a corner?
Most of us know what the right thing to do is. The challenge comes from external pressures to take the easy path:
“If my boss finds out, I’ll hear about it in my next review.” Maybe. But you can earn points back by telling your boss first and providing a plan to fix the problem ASAP.
“There’s no time (or money) to fix it.” In the short term, you’re right. But missed deadlines and budget overruns are quickly forgotten. Uncorrected mistakes are not.
“If my peers find out, they’ll talk about it for weeks.” Sure. But you can pull a trusted colleague aside and say, “If you hear people discussing the error, would you also mention how we fixed it?”
“Our customers will think we don’t know what we’re doing.” Some will. But your best customers will wonder how you’re going to solve the problem. Let your brand values guide the solution, and you’ll turn this into a win.
I’ve made plenty of blunders in my career. My colleagues, managers, mentors, and customers have been generous in teaching me one simple lesson: It’s not the mistake that defines you—it’s how you make the situation right that counts.
#Leadership #ProfessionalGrowth #CareerAdvice #Integrity #WorkplaceCulture #DecisionMaking #LearningFromMistakes #Accountability #PersonalDevelopment #BusinessEthics #MarketingLeadership #Transparency
Post 70: If you’re of a certain age and attended the University of Nebraska College of Journalism, the name George Tuck might ring a bell.
Like many who knew him, George had a profound impact on me—and he did it with just four words: “Try classical music instead.”
I was deep into a project with classic rock blaring through my headphones when George added something like: “Rock is great when you need to finish a project on deadline. But listen to classical when you’re creating—it opens your mind.”
I didn’t think much about it until a few days later when I visited my father’s office. Classical music was in the background. When I asked about it, he confirmed George’s theory. I decided to try it.
I don’t know the science behind why it works (I’m sure you can Google it), but I know it worked for me. Once I started, I never stopped.
For decades now, classical music has been almost the only music I listen to.* It’s always playing in my office or through my earbuds during working hours. I even have a playlist of classical movie soundtracks for those deadline-driven moments when…when the clock is ticking.
The next time you’re creating something, try classical music instead and see what happens.
*Full Disclosure: I’m a lifelong Parrothead. You will catch me listening to Jimmy on nights and weekends. Fins up!
#Creativity #Productivity #WorkplaceTips #Mentorship #ClassicalMusic #Focus #ProfessionalDevelopment #Journalism #UniversityOfNebraska #WorkFromHome #CreativeProcess #LifeLessons #Inspiration #WorkHabits #Learning
Post 71: Marketing and communications are expensive—we all know this inherently. What’s more, I’ve yet to convince any accounting department that marketing should appear as an investment rather than an expense on the ledger.
That’s a battle for another day.
But here’s what will get the attention of finance teams (and likely your sales and leadership teams too): a dedicated marketing plan for customer retention.
Most organizations know their customer acquisition costs down to the penny. There are countless models to help build marketing and sales budgets focused on fighting for market share, growing customer lists, moving prospects through funnels, and getting products out the door. (And if all goes well, frighten – or at least frustrate – your competitors in the process.)
And you should absolutely do that.
But how much of your budget is dedicated to keeping customer retention rates as high as possible?
In addition to customer acquisition costs, I suspect you also know the approximate lifetime value of each customer. Isn’t the cost of retaining an existing customer—and protecting that lifetime investment—a fraction of what it takes to attract, convince, close, onboard, and service a new one?
If nothing else, is it worth a call to your sales lead to ask, “How can we help you keep more customers?”
To be clear, businesses need both customer recruitment and retention to grow. But I can count on one hand the number of times an employer or client has asked me to prioritize customer “retention over recruitment.”
What would your business look like if retention became a bigger part of your marketing effort?
#CustomerRetention #CustomerSuccess #MarketingStrategy #CustomerLifetimeValue #BusinessGrowth #CustomerExperience #MarketingBudget #SalesStrategy #CustomerLoyalty #RetentionMarketing #BusinessStrategy #ROI #CustomerAcquisition #GrowthMarketing #MarketingROI
Post 72: Though I finished it several years ago, Robert Coram’s biography of John Boyd (Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War.) still sits on my desk. For me, the book is a powerful reminder of Boyd’s “To Be or To Do” challenge to a subordinate (and, thanks to the internet, millions of others since).
On pages 285 – 286, Coram writes of Boyd’s career advice to a young subordinate, “Tiger, one day you will come to a fork in the road,” he said. “And you’re going to have to make a decision about which direction you want to go.” He raised his hand and pointed. “If you go that way you can be somebody. You will have to make compromises and you will have to turn your back on your friends. But you will be a member of the club and you will get promoted and you will get good assignments.”
Then Boyd raised his other hand and pointed another direction.
“Or you can go that way and you can do something – something for your country and for your Air Force and for yourself. If you decide you want to do something, you may not get promoted and you may not get the good assignments and you certainly will not be a favorite of your superiors. But you won’t have to compromise yourself. You will be true to your friends and to yourself. And your work might make a difference.”
He paused and stared into Leopold’s eyes and heart. “To be somebody or to do something. In life there is often a roll call. That’s when you will have to make decisions to be or to do? Which way will you go?”*
The entire biography made clear that Boyd was a “do something” guy. He saw the “be somebody/do something” line as black and white – and never to be crossed. For most of his career, Boyd had “somebodys” advocating for him – even when he made it challenging for them.
We must each choose for ourselves, while appreciating that it takes both to make the world go around.
In marketing communications, the “roll call” of life surfaces this choice constantly: Do we craft the message that will get us noticed by leadership, or do we create the communication that truly serves our audience? Do we follow the latest trend because it’s safe, or do we push for the strategy we believe will actually drive results? Do we tell clients what they want to hear, or what they need to hear?
In our industry, this choice might look like: authentic storytelling vs. rote brand speak, data-driven insights vs. gut-feel campaigns, or challenging a client’s assumptions vs. just executing their brief.
Which path defines your work? More importantly, do you see the paths those around you have chosen? From my experience, it takes those who choose to “do something” working with those who choose to “be somebody” to achieve success.
*NOTE: Coram wrote this as a single paragraph. I inserted the paragraph line spacing to make it easier to read/scroll on a screen.
#Leadership #CareerAdvice #MarketingStrategy #Authenticity #ProfessionalDevelopment #MarketingCommunications #Integrity #JohnBoyd #DoSomething #MarketingLeadership #BusinessPhilosophy #CareerChoices
Post 73: “Once Upon a Time…” or “A Long Time Ago, in A Galaxy Far, Far Away…”
Just a few words. Yet they instantly grab our attention and spark excitement. They signal something valuable is coming—a great story with characters we’ll care about who will take us on an unforgettable journey.
These simple phrases also have great stopping power.
As marketing communicators, we obsess over creative concepts, messaging, visuals, proof points, and CTAs. But in a world where human attention spans are measured by a stopwatch and compared to goldfish, maybe we need to put a new question at the top of our content checklist.
Will it stop them?
If you can’t stop your audience mid-scroll (and likely get them to scroll back), then the concept, proof points, and call-to-action your team worked so hard to create will never be seen.
The secret isn’t flashy graphics, starburst effects, or animations. Everyone has access to those tricks, and you don’t want to fall in with the crowd who will use those shortcuts.
Great storytellers have already shown us how to stop people: Promise a story worth their time:
-Make them the hero of that story
-Include relatable tension or conflict
-Include your brand as the mentor, magician or sage
-Show how you’ll help them reach their “happily ever after”
(NOTE: If you want more detail, I’ve posted on each of these points)
Stop them with the promise of a great story. Then deliver.
#MarketingStrategy #ContentMarketing #Storytelling #DigitalMarketing #B2BMarketing #ContentCreation #MarketingCommunications #BrandStorytelling #CustomerEngagement #MarketingTips #ContentStrategy #MarketingInsights #CreativeStrategy #AudienceEngagement #MarketingProfessionals
Post 74: Early in our elementary (or grade, grammar or primary) school years, we learn fractions. One of the first lessons? Find the lowest common denominator—the smallest number by which all fractions can be divided. Instead of 24/36, we simplify to 2/3. It just makes things easier.
To be clear, I’m on the record many times stating, “One of the things I love most about communications is that there is no math.”
So you can imagine my surprise when “lowest common denominator” crept back into my professional vocabulary. A quick Google search revealed it also means “the simplest, lowest-quality idea that appeals to a very large audience.”
If you’re Amazon, Walmart, or the US Federal Government, a lowest common denominator strategy probably works. But most of us are not operating at that scale.
We face C-Suite leaders, sales teams, and clients who push us to market to as many people as possible. Marketing communications are expensive, they reason, and shouldn’t we maximize ROI by reaching the broadest audience? And when everyone is your audience, it just makes things easier.
I understand that logic, but here’s the problem:
→ The lowest common denominator doesn’t want to hear from us
→ They’re not looking for our message
→ They likely wouldn’t care if we somehow reached them
Meanwhile, our messaging misses the customers and prospects who do want to hear from us—because we’ve diluted our message to something they don’t recognize, hoping to grab the attention of someone who isn’t even listening.
As marketing communicators, we’re the first line of defense. Our job is to ensure our message not only hits its target but changes what they think, believe, feel—and on a good day, how they act.
It’s not easy work. It’s exactly why we segment (or fractionalize) our audiences for impact and ROI.
And it’s why we should avoid communicating to the lowest common denominator.
#TargetedMarketing #MarketingStrategy #AudienceSegmentation #B2BMarketing #ContentMarketing #MarketingCommunications #CustomerInsights #BrandMessaging #MarketingROI #DigitalMarketing #MarketingTips #BuyerPersonas #MarketingLeadership #ContentStrategy #MarketingProfessionals
Post 75: As marketing communicators, you’ve likely fielded questions about Cracker Barrel this week. I don’t know about you, but I’m more interested in learning from it than sharing my opinion.
Here’s what strikes me: One of our own was behind what happened at Cracker Barrel.
Just like one of our own created that personalized Bud Light can for Dylan Mulvaney. Or developed the DEI positioning that led to Target boycotts. Or, going back decades, suggested Coca-Cola create New Coke.
To be clear, I’m not making political, moral, or social judgments. I’m simply pointing out reality: Any one of us could be leading—and sweating over—the next rebrand, brand update, or modernization effort that backfires, despite every indication we did everything right.
That’s the nature of our work. Our job is to help companies and clients grow by taking risks. Calculated risks, yes, but risks nonetheless.
I know several people who have written about Cracker Barrel this week. Bringing informed opinions to the conversation is healthy. But here’s what I think is more valuable: This gives us yet another opportunity to stop, look, listen, and learn. And not just from what they did, but to how they responded.
Because tomorrow, it could be our turn in the spotlight.
#MarketingStrategy #BrandStrategy #MarketingLeadership #BrandManagement #MarketingCommunications #RiskManagement #MarketingLessons #BrandPositioning #DigitalMarketing #MarketingProfessionals #BrandRebranding #MarketingInsights #ContentStrategy #MarketingTips #CrisisManagement
Post 76: Early in my career, I helped a client with a small online essay contest. We expected several hundred entries—we got several thousand.
I was once the lead writer for a national 24-hour fundraising campaign. Our launch email went out as people were having their first sips of morning coffee at their desks. Before they drove home that evening, we’d surpassed our goal.
I’ve also shared before about the individual brochures I created for insurance wholesalers—not for the company, but introducing each person. They were so popular we couldn’t update and print them fast enough.
These were all small projects with low expectations that became huge successes.
What did these projects have in common?
Most companies ask, “What could we do differently?” only during high-stakes moments—product launches, rebrands, major repositioning. These big-budget, high-visibility campaigns come with enormous pressure, numerous leadership “input sessions”, and extra scrutiny and skepticism at every turn. Often, they get scaled back into something completely forgettable.
But very few people want to showcase their best creative work when “no one is looking.” We tell ourselves, “I’m saving it for that big moment.”
I think that’s backwards.
Want to wow someone? Surprise and delight them when they least expect it.
Use those low-expectation, low-risk projects to flex your creative muscle. Experiment. Learn. Show what you’re capable of. Try and fail when the stakes and expectations are low.
When you consistently exceed expectations on small projects, people will trust you with the big ones. And the best part? You probably have the perfect small project sitting in your inbox right now.
#CareerGrowth #CreativeStrategy #ProfessionalDevelopment #MarketingStrategy #Leadership #ProjectManagement #CareerAdvice #SmallWins #CreativeThinking #MarketingTips #BusinessStrategy #ProfessionalSuccess
Post 77: I had a simple view of business in my formative years: us vs. them. Competitors were the enemy. We protected our secrets, criticized their work, and stole their market share.
Then reality hit.
The company we were trying to destroy in one market segment? They are our signed joint venture partner in another.
The “enemy” that had sharpened our competitive edge for decades? They are now in merger talks with us.
Our biggest competitor sold us a technology license we needed to manufacture rival products.
Meanwhile, we shared the exact same supply chain vendors with two others whom we battle with each day.
I was shocked to discover how blurred the lines between competitors really are—and how necessary these relationships have become.
Most Industries Need Frenemies
Competition drives innovation, but collaboration enables growth. You need both. That means your biggest rival today might be your acquisition target tomorrow—or they might acquire you.
The marketplace knows these dynamics exist and accepts them. The only people often left out of the loop? The marketers and communicators tasked with positioning against these “enemies.”
Know Your Full Landscape
Understand the complete relationship map before crafting competitive messaging. That company you’re targeting might be funding your next project – which could be walking back that campaign you just launched against them.
To paraphrase Sun Tzu: “Keep your frenemies close. Keep your enemies… oh wait, we don’t really have any true enemies anymore.”
#BusinessStrategy #CompetitiveIntelligence #MarketingStrategy #BusinessRelationships #StrategicPartnerships #B2BMarketing #CompetitiveAdvantage #BusinessDevelopment #MarketingInsights #StrategicThinking #BusinessGrowth #CorporateStrategy
Post 78: Every department faces stress, but marketing and communications professionals deal with something uniquely challenging: we’re held accountable for outcomes we can only partially control.
Author Nir Eyal, in his book “Indistractable,” describes a concept that perfectly captures a commonly held definition of stress (which he applies to burnout, but I think still works): it is caused by high expectations coupled with low control.
Sound familiar?
We CAN control a lot:
-Message and positioning
-Audience targeting
-Timing and channel selection
-Research and analytics
-Budget allocation
-Response strategies
But there’s far more we CAN’T control:
-Market reactions and sentiment
-News cycles and current events
-Changing social and political attitudes
-Competitor actions
-New marketplace entrants
-Disruptive technologies
-Product issues or supply chain problems
-Economic conditions
-Social media storms
-Customer perceptions (beyond our messaging)
This creates a perfect storm: leadership expects measurable results, but external forces can derail even the most strategic campaigns.
I don’t think this gives communicators a free pass for messages that don’t resonate. Smart marketing communicators hedge their bets by building strong relationships with sales teams, investing in brand equity, and setting realistic expectations around brand and product excellence—not perfection. They build the kind of trust that allows for inevitable missteps, product issues, or external curveballs. In short, they build trust that’s bigger than any single campaign or message.
Recognizing the unique stress we face isn’t about lowering standards—it’s about building the resilient relationships that get you through them. The best communicators understand that building genuine trust creates space for real or perceived missteps.
#MarketingStress #Communications #MarketingLeadership #BrandManagement #MarketingStrategy #ProfessionalDevelopment #MarketingChallenges #BusinessCommunications #MarketingInsights #StressManagement #Indistractable
Post 79: Like many of you, I subscribe to a popular writing tool that analyzes my grammar, spelling, and loves to point out when I’m using passive language. Periodically, they send me my “productivity stats”:
• I’m more productive than 97% of users
• I’ve used 10,000+ unique words
• My tone tends to be confident, informative, direct
• Total words analyzed since I subscribed: Over 4.6 million
My reaction? So?
Other than a quick shot of dopamine and an opportunity to pat myself on the back, how is this making me better?
This company has millions of data points about me – and likely you, too. Why not put them to work for our mutual benefit? Instead of generic usage data, what if they sent me emails that say:
“Based on your writing patterns, readers likely perceive you as…”
“Your audience responds best when you…”
“You lose readers when you…”
“Here’s a personalized tutorial to strengthen your weak spots (or do even more with your strengths)”
“Join our community of writers with similar styles”
Engagement for engagement’s sake feels short-sighted.
Sending periodic stats emails feels like engagement. I’m sure the open rates are impressive – who doesn’t want to see how they stack up? But if the company’s actual value proposition is making me a better writer (which I believe it is), their “engagement” strategy only works for them, but not for me.
This isn’t just about writing tools—it’s about how we approach customer success across industries. Are we checking the “customer engagement” box (hoping to hold customers over until we email them again), or are we actually living up to our brand promise and helping customers achieve their goals?
#DataDriven #CustomerExperience #MarketingStrategy #AI #ContentStrategy #CommunicationSkills #CustomerSuccess #DigitalTransformation #UserExperience #MarketingInsights #BusinessStrategy #CustomerCentric #ContentMarketing #WritingTips #DataAnalytics
Post 80: “People may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel.”
Whether attributed to Maya Angelou or Carl W. Buehner (the quote’s originator), this simple idea drives everything great brands do. Steve Jobs understood this. The best marketers understand this.
It’s not just about what you say—it’s about the connection you create.
That’s the real value of investing in building and maintaining your brand. Emotional connection lasts longer than specs, features, and the latest product updates.
#Branding #Marketing #CustomerExperience #BrandStrategy #EmotionalBranding #Leadership #BusinessTips #MarketingStrategy #BrandBuilding #CustomerConnection
Post 81: You know what the Oxford comma is (AKA: serial comma, series comma or Harvard comma), but you might not know it by its name(s). It’s the comma that appears before “and” or “or” at the end of a list of three or more items. For example: “The colors in a rainbow are red, orange, yellow, and green.” That comma before “and green” is the Oxford comma.
I was raised not to use it. The rationale was that commas in a list substitute for the word “and,” so adding both seemed repetitively redundant. Using the example above, you wouldn’t write “red and orange and yellow and green,” so why would you write the grammatical equivalent of “…yellow and and green”?
Yet every AI I use, every spell checker I encounter, and most people I know swear by the Oxford comma. So, I’m changing my ways. But not because I’ve had a change of heart.
It’s so I can continue to be seen as a credible communicator.
If the world expects an Oxford comma—and sees it as the mark of a writer who understands the fundamentals of writing—then I’m putting the darn thing in. I don’t want to risk tripping up a reader who thinks its absence is a typo. As I’ve posted in the past, the most important thing isn’t the message or how it’s presented; it’s how the message is delivered and perceived that matters most.
Sometimes, adapting is about serving the greater good.
#ProfessionalWriting #Communication #BusinessWriting #Grammar #OxfordComma #WritingTips #Adaptability #ProfessionalDevelopment #Leadership #ContentCreation #EffectiveCommunication #WorkplaceCommunication
Post 82: For years, I worked at an ad agency with an exceptional new business win rate. Our secret? Our new business leader’s simple philosophy: It’s not a presentation, it’s a show.
Think about the last mundane presentation you endured. It probably overwhelmed you with data, lacked relevance, avoided making a clear point, and treated you like a mere observer.
We’ve all been there. But what if your next presentation could be different?
Transform your next presentation into a show by focusing on these four elements:
Simple, Compelling Message: Have one clear point and make it repeatedly. Your audience should leave their time with you in complete agreement, “That presentation was about [your key message].”
Clear Outcome: Know exactly where you want to take your audience and ensure everyone arrives at the same destination.
Great Production: Why use words when graphics work better? Why use graphics when video tells the story? Consider playing music as people enter to set the mood. Use props to break screen fatigue. Transform the meeting room to feel like a customer location—or better yet, present in your customer’s location, on their shop floor, at their warehouse, or anyplace where the surroundings support your key message. (Hint: Conference rooms rarely work as a metaphor.)
Real Audience Engagement: Build participation beyond asking “any questions?” at the end. Try a quiz. Get them to a whiteboard. Place folders marked “Do Not Open” at each seat and reveal your big idea on paper, not on screen. I once watched tension dissolve in a difficult meeting when the leader dropped an armload of Nerf guns on the table as a metaphor. (If you’ve been to Rocky Horror Picture Show, you know the power of audience engagement.)
All these elements create one crucial thing for any live show: connection. Before you worry about what points to make, how many slides to include, or which data to present, ask this first: “How are we going to connect?”
When you lead with connection, everything else falls into place. You’re no longer creating a presentation about you and your agenda—you’re creating a show about them and their needs. In my experience, that shift is the difference between winning over the audience (even if they didn’t agree) and not.
#PresentationSkills #PublicSpeaking #BusinessPresentation #Storytelling #AudienceEngagement #SalesPresentation #CommunicationSkills #Leadership #NewBusiness #MarketingStrategy #ClientPresentation #BusinessDevelopment
Post 83: I’ve been fascinated by Human-to-Human (H2H) marketing lately—the idea of moving beyond traditional B2B and B2C strategies toward something more authentically human. It was a legitimate strategy up for consideration at my former employer, and it was energizing.
To me, H2H felt like coming full circle to how business was done before mass marketing: genuine relationships, authentic connections, and treating people as individuals rather than segments.
At scale, H2H marketing is complex. Managing the data and processes needed to authentically engage thousands of relationships has typically been why marketers have backed away from it. How do you maintain a genuine connection when you’re dealing with massive audiences?
Today, I find myself wondering what H2H could look like if AI could handle the heavy lifting of data management, freeing marketers to focus on what matters most—emotion and authentic connection.
H2H marketing emphasizes empathy, authenticity, and genuine relationships over purely transactional interactions. Instead of treating customers as data points, it focuses on emotional connection through storytelling, community building, and authentic engagement.
Successful H2H Campaigns:
• Dove’s Real Beauty Campaign – Featured real, diverse women redefining authentic beauty and self-esteem
• Spotify Wrapped – Creates shareable, personal year-end stories about users from the previous year’s song choices
• Airbnb’s “Belong Anywhere” – Positioned travel as cultural exchange and opportunity for belonging
• Starbucks Idea Platform – Let customers crowdsource product and service improvements
Maybe there’s an interim step on the horizon. Something like Business-to-Human marketing (B2H), where purpose-driven companies connect with customers through shared values rather than demographics.
I’m not claiming to be an H2H expert—I’m still learning. But I do think this approach offers a glimpse into a future where AI doesn’t replace marketers, but enables us to be more human in our work.
#H2HMarketing #HumanToHuman #MarketingStrategy #AIMarketing #AuthenticMarketing #CustomerConnection #DigitalMarketing #MarketingTrends #PersonalizedMarketing #BrandStorytelling #CustomerExperience #MarketingInnovation
Post 84: A few weeks ago, I posted about my favorite question for others: “What haven’t we discussed that you think is important?”
Its twin is harder—a question I’m still learning to ask myself: What don’t I know?
I grew up professionally when leaders were supposed to have all the answers, especially if you were the senior person in the room. During my ad agency years, our entire value was knowing something our clients didn’t. I got really good at being the expert – or at least pretending to be.
But somewhere along the way, things changed. The meetings where I had no choice but to ask more questions than I answered produced better ideas, more energy, and a stronger connection with the team. When I reluctantly admitted I wasn’t sure about something? That’s when my team would jump in with insights I never would have considered.
Training? Ego? Testosterone poisoning? Whatever it was, I’m working every day to get more comfortable with the vulnerability that comes with asking, “What don’t I know?” out loud.
About the product. The market. Our customers. The competition. The team. What worked in the past? What didn’t? Why?
It’s messy. Some days I get it right. Other days I catch myself defaulting back to being the “expert.” But I’m learning that leading with questions—real questions, not the kind where you already know the answer—and then truly listening for the answers changes dynamics for the better.
The best idea wins, not the loudest voice or the opinion of the person from the corner office.
I’m working hard to make “What don’t I know?” the first question I ask before I dive into any project.
If you’re like me and this feels uncomfortable—that’s good. That probably means you’re on the path to something great.
#Leadership #VulnerableLeadership #LearningOutLoud #ProfessionalGrowth #AuthenticLeadership #AskingQuestions #LeadershipJourney #WorkInProgress #TeamBuilding #PersonalDevelopment
Post 85: My wife runs an international museum. In addition to working with artists, stewarding donors, and leading a team that delivers great experiences, her days are driven by data – visitor counts, membership renewals, donations, program attendance, gift shop sales, etc.
When she’d share her day, I might hear “10% increase” in something, but I didn’t know if that was good or bad. Was the goal 7% or 15%? I learned to ask, “Compared to what?” – and suddenly became a much better partner.
As marketers, we’re often guilty of the same thing. We throw numbers at customers without context.
In “Making Numbers Count,” Chip Heath and Karla Starr note: “Nobody really understands numbers. Nobody…We lose information when we don’t translate numbers into instinctive human experience.”
Recently, I addressed a group that won its national organization’s highest honor seven times in the last 20+ years. Instead of providing context like “that means you’ve won the award every 2.8 years on average,” or “that puts you in the top ten percent among your local chapters,” I labeled them the “New England Patriots” of their organization.
Humanizing that number gave immediate meaning – a winning dynasty, resilience, year-over-year excellence. Everyone within the organization understood instantly. It also gave them relatable bragging rights with those outside their organization.
Numbers without context can be easily lost. The next time you share data, ask yourself: “What story do I want my audience to get from it?” Then please add that story to the data report. Don’t assume your customers know or will take the time to figure it out.
#MarketingStrategy #DataStorytelling #ContentMarketing #BusinessCommunication #Marketing #CustomerExperience #DataVisualization #MarketingTips #BusinessWriting #Leadership
Post 86: The RFP reads like it was copied from your website. The communications challenge aligns perfectly with your best case studies. Initial conversations with the prospect create an immediate connection. Your audience research provides fresh insights while confirming your core recommendations. The budget exceeds expectations, and more of their business is at stake than you initially realized.
Your creative and strategic recommendations are simple, elegant, and perfectly aligned with their core values. Your presentation and team strike the ideal balance of engaging and educational. The planets have never been more perfectly aligned, and you’ve never worked harder for new business you’re certain you’ve earned.
And then you don’t win.
After investing what amounts to six figures in otherwise billable time, the prospect thanks you graciously. They enjoyed meeting your team, found your presentation wonderful and thought-provoking, and then inform you they’re going in another direction.
This happens. You know because you’ve been there—we all have.
I have friends who don’t believe in moral victories. There’s one winner, they say. Second place makes you the first loser, nothing more.
I see it differently. When my team gets gob smacked like this, I try to acknowledge the sting, create space for the disappointment (and a bit of Kubler-Ross-like processing), then pull everyone together and ask: “What did we learn? Where do we go from here?”
I’ve seen and been on teams that rush to the second question. If the experience doesn’t fundamentally change how you (as a leader) and your team approach the next opportunity, if it doesn’t create hard conversations about what you missed, assumed, or took for granted, then asking “Where do we go from here?” just sets you up to lose the same way again.
The learning has to be real. It has to hurt a little. It has to focus on “what,” not “who.” It has to shift something in how you see yourself, your process, or your market. Otherwise, “moving forward” is just expensive repetition.
Losing tests our resilience; it also opens a door to evolution.
#BusinessDevelopment #Sales #Resilience #Leadership #LessonsLearned #Growth #Entrepreneurship #ClientRelations #TeamBuilding #ProfessionalGrowth #Perspective #BusinessStrategy #Learning #Failure #Success #Evolution
Post 87: As communicators, we’ve all been asked to “revise this narrative down to bullet points,” “boil this page down to two paragraphs,” or “get this presentation under ten slides.” In past posts, I’ve suggested that the real issue isn’t length—it’s story.
Consider what may be the shortest story ever told: “For sale: Baby shoes. Never worn.” Just six words. Still, I think it tells a complete and compelling story. Any parent would. Whether Hemingway actually wrote it or not, those words paint a picture.
On the flip side, comedian Henny Youngman’s “Take my wife…please!” might be the shortest joke ever written—and one that was passed between several generations.
Both examples prove that the request to make something shorter may be an opportunity to create more impact. What if we all reframed the challenge to cut words as a challenge to cut to the core of our message and sharpen our delivery?
Next time someone asks you to “make it shorter,” try this:
1. First, revise for clarity and meaning
2. Then (if still needed) reduce the length
3. Remember, you have help at your fingertips
With AI as your editorial partner, you can identify the fluff you might miss, and others don’t have time to help you find. The goal isn’t just fewer words—it’s better communication.
#CommunicationSkills #Storytelling #WritingTips #ContentStrategy #Leadership #AI #ProductivityTips #ProfessionalDevelopment #BusinessWriting #LinkedInTips
Post 88: In my career as both a strategist and content creator, I’ve been in conversations that started with:
-“I need assurances this ad campaign will work before I approve the budget.”
-“Can you publish another story about our company (in the magazine you write for)? I want more free advertising.”
-“Can you make me a viral video?”
After decades in marketing communications, I’ve learned these requests all stem from the belief that marketing is a precise science with predictable outcomes.
For me, Marketing is more like Meteorology. We study past performance, analyze current conditions, and make informed forecasts, amid a swirl of ever-changing variables.
Based on the latest research I could find, we’re exposed to 4,000-6,000 marketing messages daily. We’re good at filtering, because we only notice about 150 of them. That’s a 2.5% attention rate—which doesn’t include building awareness, creating preference or converting today’s prospect into tomorrow’s customer.
This challenge energizes the best marketers. To be clear, they do their homework. But they also accept that campaigns could fall short of expectations if not fail completely, and that falling short provides insight into how to do better next time.
If you want guarantees, marketing communications may not be for you. If you want to beat 2.5% odds and create something that actually breaks through? Welcome to the challenge.
#MarketingReality #MarComm #DigitalMarketing #MarketingStrategy #MarketingTruth #AdvertisingInsights #MarketingProfessional #ContentMarketing #MarketingLeadership #GrowthMarketing
Post 89: In his book On Writing, Stephen King noted, “Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration, the rest of us just get up and go to work.” I’ve lived by that philosophy for decades.
But I’m wondering if the definition of “professional” is evolving. We’ve seen professional athletes take mental health breaks, CEOs prioritize family time over career, and leaders openly discuss stepping back when needed. While some may dismiss this as hype or spin, some of these people have to mean it. Don’t they?
Chuck Lorre, creator of The Big Bang Theory, wrote a message on the “vanity card” that appeared at the end of each episode—279 shows over 12 seasons. Except for Season 7, Episode 23, where vanity card #458 simply read: “I got nothing.”
Why did that one stand out? Lorre didn’t force it. Despite exposure to an audience of millions of viewers, he didn’t manufacture a message or bit of wisdom where none existed. He recognized when he had nothing valuable to contribute—and had the confidence to admit it.
Is that the mark of a true professional? The amateur charges ahead regardless, assuming their voice always matters. The professional has the judgment to recognize when they can no longer add value—and then steps aside.
Many of the professionals I most admire know not just when to speak, but when their silence is a better form of service. When to push forward and when stepping back is the more prudent choice. When “I don’t know” is a more thoughtful answer than some credible-sounding pablum.
Stephen King was right: professionals “get up and go to work.” But today, I believe true professionals get up and go to work where they make a difference for others, step back when they can’t, and have refined their wisdom to know the difference.
#ProfessionalDevelopment #Leadership #WorkplaceWisdom #Authenticity #SelfAwareness #ModernWorkplace #ProfessionalGrowth #LeadershipDevelopment #WorkLifeBalance #KnowYourWorth #ProfessionalMindset #CareerInsights
Post 90: Early in my career, I got advice that has stayed with me for years: “No matter what you do, your brand will eventually end up in the hands of a minimum wage employee.”
He wasn’t disparaging minimum wage workers. He was pointing out that we could develop a sound strategy, engaging creative concepts, and perfect messaging, but if the person at the register, the delivery driver, or factory floor worker wasn’t committed to the brand promise we created, most of its value was lost.
I recently witnessed what he meant at the end of a shift at a warehouse for a global company whose name you’d recognize. This particular location is reportedly one of the company’s best—top 10 by all accounts. I think I figured out why.
As workers exited Friday morning, the facility leader was waiting. He smiled, looked them in the eye, called them by name when he could, shook hands, patted backs, and asked each person to take a cookie or cupcake from the fresh assortment he’d placed by the time clock.
More importantly, he said “Thank you” to every single person.
The employees were warm, returned his greeting, and looked him in the eye as well. Even those who didn’t take treats smiled at the thoughtful gesture. They were glad but not surprised to see him—clearly, he connected regularly with his team.
This leader also clearly understood that his team IS the brand.
I’ve posted before that I feel employees are your most important audience when creating campaigns or communications. Yet usually, employee engagement is an afterthought—a poster by the time clock, table tents in the breakroom, or talking points in an all-hands meeting.
For future campaigns, I’m budgeting time for donuts, cookies, and cupcakes. I’m asking leaders to budget time to truly engage their teams. And I’m hitting the road to visit facilities to say “Thank you” to those who bring life and meaning to the work we do.
#EmployeeEngagement #BrandExperience #Leadership #InternalCommunications #CompanyCulture #EmployeeAppreciation #BrandStrategy #WorkplaceCulture #TeamBuilding #CustomerExperience #BrandDelivery #LeadershipDevelopment
Post 91:Polls aren’t just “engagement bait” – they’re genuine connection tools that create quick, meaningful touchpoints between you and your audience.
They can provide:
–Easy insights – Get a pulse-check within hours or days on key topics, emerging trends…or just share in some fun.
-Instant engagement – Engagement is nearly effortless. With one click, they shared something of value with you.
–Community connection – People love seeing how they compare to others, and many will share the rationale behind their vote.
–Content generator – When your planned content falls through or doesn’t feel right, ask your followers what they’d like to hear more about.
What’s your primary goal when you create a poll?
Vote below and tell us in the comments how polls have worked for you! (NOTE: Poll was open for one week here.)
Research audience preference
Boost post engagement
Build community connection
Content inspiration
#SocialMediaStrategy #LinkedInPolls #CommunityEngagement #MarketResearch #ContentMarketing #SocialMediaTips #AudienceInsights #DigitalMarketing #ContentStrategy #SocialEngagement
Post 92:When people find out I work in marketing, many still reference the decades-old saying: “I don’t care what they say about me, just so long as they spell my name right.”
The idea was built on the belief that any press is good press.
I beg to differ.
I’ve been in strategy sessions when reporters from major global outlets share hit pieces and demand responses within two hours. I’ve fielded calls from HR about former employees posting libelous, inaccurate attacks on my clients and employer. I’ve sat helplessly in traffic while a client was ambushed by breaking news on the radio.
Not once did any of us think, “thank goodness they spelled our name right.” Nor will we when it happens again…and it will.
The pendulum has swung from when PR professionals cultivated relationships with a handful of key editors, to today where technology has created billions of potential reporters and editors.
You can’t control when reputation challenges strike, but you can control the strength of your reputational bank account before they do.
The brands and leaders who weather storms best aren’t the ones hoping for correctly spelled names—they’re the ones who’ve invested consistently in authenticity, transparency, and genuine relationships.
It’s either that or hope they spell your name wrong.
#ReputationManagement #PersonalBrand #CrisisComms #PublicRelations #AuthenticLeadership #ProfessionalGrowth #MarketingStrategy #BrandBuilding #ThoughtLeadership #BusinessStrategy
Post 93 – Years ago, a boss shared this wisdom: “I have to tell my daughter to take out the trash at least three times before she does it. And she wants to do what I ask because I pay for her phone.”
Now imagine what it takes to get a prospect who has zero vested interest in you to even consider your product. Or to switch from something they already like to give yours a try.”
That lesson stuck with me: Even the best message has to be sent multiple times – and in multiple ways – before it gets through.
Here’s how the three channels work together:
EARNED MEDIA – Traditional PR, influencer mentions, blogger reviews, customer testimonials, and media coverage. It’s called “earned” because you did something noteworthy that makes others want to talk about you. These are your most trusted channels because trusted sources are talking you up.
OWNED MEDIA – Your website, social channels, newsletter, blog, and email campaigns. You control the message completely. The trust level here depends on how you use them. If you’re constantly selling, they feel like paid ads. If you’re consistently helpful, they build credibility.
PAID MEDIA – Display ads, sponsored content, PPC, social media ads. You’re paying to rent space on other sites, but also to control the message. This is the least trusted channel—but it’s often the most effective for meeting new audiences where they are.
The challenge I see is that companies think they can succeed with just one channel.
“Let’s just post it on social and see what happens.” Result? Lots of likes, maybe some shares, but no sales.
“We got great press coverage—why aren’t we seeing it reflected in sales?” Because awareness alone doesn’t close deals.
When it works, this is usually how:
A prospect sees coverage from a trusted source (earned). That sparks curiosity, so they check your website and social channels (owned). Now they’re interested enough to click your targeted ad for a demo or white paper (paid). That’s when the sales conversation begins.
Today, experts believe that 70% – 85% (depending on the source) of the buyer’s journey is “dark.” That means your prospects are researching, comparing, and considering you in ways you can’t track or control. They’re reading old blog posts. Asking colleagues in Slack channels you’ll never see. Comparing your pricing and features to competitors on any number of review sites.
You don’t know when, where, or how they’ll show up. And, you need to do more than just hope they do.
That’s exactly why you need to be where they already are—earned, owned, and paid channels.
Your earned media builds credibility. Your owned media demonstrates expertise. Your paid media ensures you’re there when they’re ready to act.
It’s not about choosing one channel. It’s about orchestrating all three to meet your prospects wherever they are in their journey.
#MarketingStrategy #B2BMarketing #ContentMarketing #DigitalMarketing #PRStrategy #MarketingTips #BrandAwareness #LeadGeneration #MarketingFunnel #IntegratedMarketing #BuyerJourney #MarketingLeadership #GrowthMarketing
Post 94 – I’ve been in several content marketing conversations lately, and I’ve enjoyed them. But I find myself wondering if we’re losing sight of the simple mantra that made content marketing what it is: Helping is Selling.
Up to 85% of the buyer’s journey is “dark.” Your prospects are researching you, comparing you to competitors, reading your blog posts at midnight—and you have no idea they exist.
And here’s what’s interesting: at any given moment, 97% of your audience isn’t ready to buy. They’re researching for a future purchase. Staying informed. Learning about new industry and product developments.
So, when we show up in our content trying to sell, we miss the opportunity to connect.
We’re eroding the very trust we’re trying to build.
In the early days of content marketing, there was a clear understanding: content and sales served different purposes. Some of my clients hosted content on separate domains to keep the two completely distinct.
When we treated content as neutral ground—a place to genuinely help—we saw great results. High rankings. Engaged audiences. Quality leads emerged from the darkness when they were ready– and they were informed and, in most cases, primed to buy.
Lately, I’ve noticed the pendulum swinging back. More calls to action in content. Content that is more like advertising and less like journalism. More pressure to convert at every touchpoint.
I get it—there’s pressure to show ROI. But I wonder if we’re sacrificing long-term trust for short-term metrics.
The content that resonates most is about them, not us.
It educates. It solves problems. It answers questions they didn’t know they had. It shows them we’re trustworthy—without asking for anything in return.
That trust? That’s what brings prospects out of the dark journey when they’re actually ready. Not because we pressured them, but because they want to work with people who helped them first.
Helping is selling when the customer is in charge of the buying journey.
The best prospects will find you when they’re ready—especially if you’ve already proven you’re worth finding.
#ContentMarketing #B2BMarketing #MarketingStrategy #ThoughtLeadership #TrustMarketing #BuyerJourney #ContentStrategy #InboundMarketing #DigitalMarketing #SEO #B2BContent #MarketingLeadership
Post 95 – “By the time I show them, I could have done it myself.” I hear this all the time in reference to interns and new hires. Early in my career, I often said it myself.
But then, I got a lot smarter.
Every intern and new hire I’ve worked with has made me better. Today, I’ll take on every intern I can get. I’ve even been known to “borrow” them from other departments where their managers struggle to keep them engaged.
Here’s what I’ve learned: If you see interns as extra hands to pick up slack or do grunt work—someone who’ll learn by osmosis while you work—you’re missing the entire point.
Teaching forces you to think differently. When you have to explain why you do something, not just how, you start questioning your own assumptions. You spot inefficiencies in your process. You discover better ways to articulate strategy. You reconnect with the fundamentals you’ve automated away over years of experience.
In other words: You become better at your job.
I see companies posting intern positions every day. Maybe yours is one of them. If not, ask yourself why.
Here’s how to make internships transformative—for both of you:
1. Flip the question. Don’t start with “What do I want them to learn?” Start with “What do they want to know?” Ask them: “What’s the one thing you want to learn from this internship that you don’t know today?” Then build their experience around that answer where you can. Imagine the possibilities when their ambitions align with your needs.
2. Create a real teaching plan. Not a task list. Break down your expertise into teachable moments. You’ll be shocked at what surfaces when you’re forced to articulate what you do instinctively.
3. Give them real work, not busy work. Interns know when they’re being given throwaway tasks. Give them projects that matter—with scaffolding and support. They’ll rise to it, and you’ll get fresh perspectives on problems you’ve been staring at too long.
When the internship ends? You’re a better communicator. A clearer thinker. A more intentional leader. And your intern? They don’t just learn skills—they learn what excellence looks like. What mentorship feels like. What it means to invest in others.
When it’s their turn to lead, they’ll remember how you showed up for them. And they’ll pay it forward.
That’s not just professional development. That’s legacy.
#Internships #Mentorship #Leadership #ProfessionalDevelopment #TalentDevelopment #WorkplaceCulture #CareerGrowth #NextGenLeaders #LeadershipDevelopment #FutureOfWork #PeopleFirst #LearningAndDevelopment #NewHires
Post 96 – “Bisociation” is the fancy word for the thing that got me hooked on advertising and creating.
It’s the moment when two seemingly unrelated ideas collide to create something entirely new. A Volkswagen Beetle above the word “Lemon” in a newspaper ad. Clydesdales conjuring up a beer brand during a Super Bowl. Apple launching the Mac with imagery from Orwell’s “1984.” A gecko encouraging me to buy insurance.
It’s an unexpected connection that somehow works well. It makes you stop and think.
For me, bisociation is why metaphors are so powerful—and why the best creative work feels both surprising and inevitable.
But here’s the challenge: those connections are hard to find. You can’t force the link between your product’s features and an unrelated concept in the outside world. You have to discover it.
That’s why the mark of a great creative isn’t someone who wants a one-page brief. It’s someone who wants to know everything.
They’re hunting for connections. They know the first idea is rarely the best one—but it’s often the spark that ignites the creative process. They need raw material. Context. Nuance. The stuff that doesn’t seem relevant at first glance.
Here’s the irony: We’re in a creative drought right now, and it’s not because we lack information. We’re drowning in it.
The problem is we don’t take the time to actually read it. To understand what it means. Why it matters. How customers feel about it. We skim. We summarize. We reduce complexity to bullet points—and in doing so, we lose the connective tissue that sparks breakthrough ideas.
Here’s what’s even trickier: You can’t predict which piece of information will unlock the best idea. That random customer quote. That obscure market trend. That weird cultural moment. Any of them could be the missing piece.
So, if you’re working with a creative team, give them more than you think they need. More than they ask for. Let them decide what’s relevant. Because buried in that “extra” information might be the seemingly random data point that turns a good idea into a home run.
Work with people who are curious, not dismissive. Who ask, “What else?” instead of say, “That’s enough.” Give them the whole picture—and make sure they understand it.
Because the best creative doesn’t come from limiting information. It comes from finding the connections no one else saw.
#CreativeThinking #Advertising #Marketing #Bisociation #CreativeStrategy #BigIdeas #Copywriting #CreativeProcess #MarketingStrategy #BrandStrategy #Innovation #AdvertisingIdeas #CreativeConcepts
Post 97 – It’s hard to do. You feel weak doing it. You’re not sure who to ask. They won’t understand why you’re asking. They’ll overexplain—or underexplain—and you’ll be more confused. By the time you find someone, you could probably figure it out yourself.
At its core, you’re likely afraid that 1) you’ll look incompetent and 2) you’ll feel incompetent.
But here’s what I’ve learned: asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness—it’s a sign of strength.
In an earlier post, I wrote about the power of asking “What Don’t I Know?” Leading with genuine questions—not the kind where you already know the answer—and truly listening for the response changes dynamics for the better. Asking for help takes that principle and puts it into action.
When I ask for help, I follow these guidelines:
1. Exhaust my own efforts first. People are more willing to help those who’ve shown initiative. This wisdom dates back to ancient Greece: “The gods help those who help themselves.” Try the obvious solutions. Google it. Read the documentation. Watch others. Then ask.
2. Be specific. Don’t say “I don’t understand this.” Instead: “Can you help me figure out X? I tried A, B, and C, with these results. Where am I going wrong?” Give context. Show your thinking and trying.
3. Accept help on their terms. Are you a visual learner asking someone who’s more hands-on? Let them teach you in the way that’s easiest for them. You can reflect the lesson back to them in the way that’s easiest for you to understand.
4. Respect their time. Be prepared before you ask. Have your materials ready. Take notes so you don’t need to ask the same question twice—at least not the exact same way. Have something else to do in case they can’t help you in the moment.
5. Express genuine gratitude. Don’t just say “thanks.” Show them the impact: “I was stuck on this for hours, and you just saved me. I really appreciate it.” The value isn’t measured by how long it took them to help—it’s measured by how much it helped you. A 30-second tip that unlocks hours of your time deserves real appreciation.
You’ve been asked for help before, and I’m guessing you were glad to give it. It felt good to share what you know. To contribute. To matter.
When you ask for help, you’re not just solving your problem—you’re giving someone the gift of being useful. You’re building connection. Creating community. Deepening rapport.
You might be giving someone who needs it a chance to feel good for a moment in an otherwise difficult day.
So ask. Not because you’re weak, but because you’re wise enough to know that none of us gets there alone.
#AskForHelp #Leadership #ProfessionalDevelopment #WorkplaceCulture #GrowthMindset #Collaboration #CareerAdvice #Vulnerability #TeamWork #ContinuousLearning #ProfessionalGrowth #LeadershipLessons #WorkplaceWisdom
Post 98 – Someone on your team made a big mistake. You know it. Your boss knows it. Their boss probably knows it. The client knows it. Your competitors might even know it. By the end of the day, it’ll be whispered about in every corner of the office.
And that person—the one on your team who made the mistake? They know it most of all.
In my experience, people rarely make mistakes on purpose. Yet they’re already bracing for impact, gritting their teeth, waiting for you to unleash on them like they’re strapped into a rickety roller coaster through a haunted house.
It’s expected. Damage was done. Lessons must be taught. Examples must be made. The mistake cannot appear acceptable or tolerated.
But what if there’s a better way?
What if next time someone on your team made a mistake, you didn’t become the villain in their story? What if you met them with grace and questions instead?
Tell me what happened. Why do you think it happened? How did you feel when you realized the outcome? What would you do differently next time? What can we do right now to make this right? Will you take those steps immediately? How can I help?
Here’s what I know: I have always felt worse about my mistakes than any boss, customer, or teammate ever could.
Maybe I got careless. Maybe I was in over my head before I realized it. Maybe I didn’t know something as well as I thought. Maybe the situation shifted and I wasn’t tuned in enough to notice. Regardless—the mistake was mine, and so was the ripple effect.
Being yelled at after an honest mistake always made me feel like everything I’d done right didn’t matter. It minimized my commitment to excellence. And it made me resent a boss who, instead of supporting me, was covering their own shortcomings.
That’s the difference between a boss and a leader.
Bosses punish mistakes. Leaders understand that it’s not the mistakes we make—it’s the speed and integrity with which we correct them that defines us.
The leaders who showed me grace when I stumbled? Those are the ones I’d run through a wall for.
So that’s the kind of leader I try to be.
Not one who pretends mistakes don’t matter. But one who believes that how we respond to failure reveals far more about our character than success ever will.
Grace doesn’t mean lowering standards. It means raising people up to meet them.
#Leadership #GracefulLeadership #TeamManagement #WorkplaceCulture #PeopleFirst #LeadershipLessons #FailForward #GrowthMindset #EmpatheticLeadership #ManagementTips #LeadershipDevelopment #TrustInLeadership #BuildingTeams
Post 99 – As marketers, we have to believe this. Not naively—but fundamentally.
We have to be explorers willing to consider new horizons, ideas, and ways of doing things. We have to believe the world is ready to embrace the products, services, and concepts we’re helping to bring to market.
Should we temper enthusiasm with reality? Absolutely. When viewed the right way, reality isn’t a limitation—it’s a pathway to opportunity. Constraints force creativity. Market realities reveal unmet needs. Customer pain points show us where to innovate.
Where I struggle—in our profession and in life—is with reflexive naysayers. The doubters whose first instinct is to tell you why something won’t work. The chronic pessimists who drain the energy the rest of us are trying to create.
To be clear: Constructive skepticism at the right time? Invaluable. Challenge my ideas. Poke holes in my thinking. Make me better with your questions and your rigor. I need that. We all do.
But pessimism pretending to be realism? That’s different.
Our job as marketers is to envision what’s possible and, within the bounds of reality, try to create it. To see abundance where others see scarcity. To find opportunity where others see obstacles.
There’s no room for doubters in that work.
Not because we can’t handle criticism—but because creation requires believing something better is possible before anyone else does.
Surround yourself with optimists who challenge you, not pessimists who diminish you.
The world is abundant. Let’s celebrate it.
#Marketing #Innovation #GrowthMindset #Optimism #CreativeThinking #MarketingStrategy #Abundance #Leadership #Entrepreneurship
Post 100 – This is my last scheduled post.
Thank you for reading. For liking, sharing, commenting—even for pushing back when you disagreed. I appreciate all of it.
Writing these 100 posts forced me to think harder about what I actually know versus what I only think I know. It made me put words to lessons I’d learned but never articulated. It gave me space to reflect on what I believe and why it matters.
I dare say the exercise was as valuable – if not more – than any training I could have taken.
I hope reading a few of the posts helped you.
Writing them certainly helped me.
Thank you for that.
#Gratitude #ThankYou
Dan Levy Writer 