One of the most common questions asked of conference organizers goes something like this: “How do I justify this conference? Why should I attend it?” The short answer is: no conference can provide justification. None. Even if some conference marketers make “justify your trip” collateral. Why? A conference by itself is just a gathering of
A few people have asked for some general advice about keeping safe in unsafe, uncertain times and places. The ABCDEF basics apply to everyone, are easy to remember, and easy to teach others. Please feel free to share this with others if you think it would be helpful to them. The Checklist Avoid being alone.
We live in complex times as marketers. Every day brings new advances, new technologies, new ideas for us to incorporate in our work. How do we keep our skills sharp? How do we avoid becoming overwhelmed? We can look to one of the most complex martial arts systems for some answers. I’ve been practicing ninjutsu
Happy new year! No, not on the Gregorian calendar, but the Asian lunar calendar. 2016 is the year of the monkey, and in the five elements cycle, it’s a yang fire year. What does this mean for us? Buckle up! No, really. Buckle up. It’s going to be a rough ride. The monkey’s personality, as
Kerry Gorgone asked this intriguing question on Twitter: Advanced marketing subjects is an interesting question. What is advanced marketing? What does advanced marketing look like? To answer this question, let’s look from the perspective of the martial arts. In your beginning days, you learn mechanics. How to punch. How to kick. How to block or
In the last post, we discussed a basic tactic for determining what you should and shouldn’t give away in your content marketing strategy. Let’s look at a more advanced strategy that’s derived from the old ninja clans of ancient Japan. In the lore of the ninja, one of the most prized items held by the
Finding mentors and teachers today is both easier and harder than ever. It is easier because the digital age permits us nearly unlimited access to information and people. Paradoxically, it is also much harder for this very reason – finding the correct teacher is incredibly difficult amidst much noise. One of the most important aspects
Over the weekend, I did one of my least favorite seasonal things: climbing up onto the roof of the house and cleaning out the gutters. The reason why this task is among my least favorite isn’t because it’s cleaning (which is admittedly boring most of the time), but because it requires me to face one
Here are two conflicting sets of perspectives. On the one hand, there’s an argument to be made for self actualization. On the other hand, there’s an argument to be made that the “bugger it all, I’m swinging for the fences” is dangerously unrealistic. Believe it or not, these two extremes are not mutually exclusive. How
I was having dinner the other night with one of my coworkers, and we were discussing a talk I had delivered at a recent conference. During the course of the conversation, I related one of the biggest breakthroughs I had as a speaker that totally changed public speaking for me. In the beginning of my
