Transparency is a popular term in business these days. Let’s examine why, what transparency is, and how to create more of it in our organizations. Why Transparency Matters Trust is the foundation of a relationship. The more trust we have, the better our businesses function. Transparency builds or restores trust of stakeholders (employees, investors, partners,…
More than a few people were posting birthday wishes this morning as soon as I logged on. That’s very kind of everyone, and I appreciate it… but it’s not my birthday. Facebook is telling you that October 23 is my birthday. Twitter will tell you it’s October 19. Other social networks will report other dates.…
While conferences will never go away, companies of all sizes have put scrutiny on us when it comes to attending conferences and events. What’s the value, they’ll ask, of an event? What’s the ROI? How will we justify our trip? The stingiest will ask, “Why do you need to go since you can just watch…
If we survey the landscape of the most popular social and business influencers, we find common words and themes such as “rise and grind”, “hustle”, etc. In an era when lots of people believe they are automatically entitled to The Good Life, a message that work is hard is a welcome one. Far too many…
The Google Analytics Certified Partner Summit, a convocation of over 500 partner agencies from 50 nations, has come and gone again. I love the GACP Summit because it’s a chance for partners to see the roadmap ahead of what Google is planning with its analytics products, a chance to glimpse the near future from one…
I’m often asked for suggestions, tips, and insights about marketing. People ask questions such as: What tools or technologies should we study? What’s going to be the next big social network? How will X technology impact marketing? While these questions are important, they will not yield the answer the querant is looking for. The underlying…
Competitive analysis is a double-edged sword. It’s one of the most-requested tasks we marketers are asked to perform, but done improperly, it’s fraught with danger. On one hand, competitive analysis helps us to understand our place in our industry’s ecosystem. We learn what the general best practices are, what other companies do or don’t do,…
One of the most dangerous habits we practice in marketing is holding strong convictions in beliefs not founded in data, in proof. We believe that X tactic is the best, that Y and Z things never work, that ABC only applies to other industries and not us. The reality is that we have very few…
I’ve never been a fan of sweet flavors for breakfast (except for coffee). It’s just not my thing. I’ve especially never been a fan of sweetening hot cereals like oatmeal and farina. No matter what my mother or grandmother did, adding more sugar or honey didn’t make the experience less unpleasant. As I got older,…
One of the most difficult tasks that marketers face when dealing with a new technology, new circumstance, or even a new job/industry is how to get up to speed quickly. How do we learn the landscape of a field, the basics of a topic, in such a way that allows us to begin operating efficiently…
