The Motivational Speaker Next Door
We're all aware of the more high-profile celebrities who are inspiring people to make a positive change in our lives. Suze Orman teaches women the importance of getting their financial lives in order. Seth Godin inspires entrepreneurs and marketers to think in new ways. Zig Ziglar hands out lessons in the world of selling. These people have much greater reach than the rest of us, and that's part of their appeal. We like to be...
Donate Cell Phone Minutes
Verizon Wireless must love me. My cell phone carrier charges me $60 a month for 400 minutes worth of call time and text-messages. I use maybe 20 minutes a month, generally with people who also have Verizon. They're getting that $60 a month no matter how much cost I'm incurring for them based on my usage, and I know that they're banking a ton of profit from me. This is common. You might have seen...
The Thinking Mood
I participate in the efforts of a local nonprofit organization, and the guy who's running everything holds weekly meetings to discuss fundraising and other challenges. He insists that everyone show up ready to brainstorm and come up with lots of ideas. In other words, he wants people to come to the meetings wearing their "thinking cap" so they can let their brilliance shine. I don't think it works that way. Creativity is not something that...
People Are Clocks
And the wet mass of brain tissue between our ears is like clockwork. Which is to say, in part, that we thrive on routine and consistency, but more importantly, what's happening in our brains is a very delicate process. Think of what's happening in people's brains as a complicated system of little cogs and gears that all fit together, the teeth of the which are transferring motion to and from each other, and all working...
Limits of First Impressions
It's very difficult to get someone's attention or generate interest with a single tweet or blog post. I have almost 200 posts on here now, and each one is a potential landing page. That means each post is a potential first impression for anyone who is stumbling blindly around the Internet looking for something, and happens to click a link that leads to one of my posts. Most of them probably won't stick around for...
Lots of Irons in the Fire
Jed Simon, a guitar player in one of my favorite bands, was talking about how he writes songs as they come to him and then, after the fact, he shoehorns them into all kinds of different projects that he's working on. That's a great idea. It's similar in concept to picking an outlet. Once you've determined how you're going to unleash yourself onto the world, create logical groupings within that outlet. Cluster what you create,...
Who Woulda Thunk?
The guy who started eBay began the whole idea by selling a broken laser pointer, which, to his astonishment, someone actually bought from him. Surprised, he contacted the buyer directly and asked him, "You realize that the laser pointer is broken, right?" "Sure," the buyer replied. "I collect broken laser pointers." In hindsight, this strikes a person with the "Who Woulda Thunk?" syndrome. As it turns out, that can be a pretty good competitive advantage....
A Visual Editorial on DVD Piracy
A DVD isn't just a movie. It's a chance to upsell and cross-sell you.
I was going to elaborate in a post on this point, but I came across this picture someone made that sums up the problem quite nicely:
What the Hell is Everyone Doing?
The best they can with what they got. Always. It helps to keep that in mind.
Jiffy Lube Is On the Right Track
I have complained in a few prior posts about the quality of coffee that auto maintenance places offer to the people sitting around in their cramped and uncomfortable waiting rooms. It seems like spending a few extra bucks for a decent coffee machine and decent coffee is pretty low-hanging fruit, as far as things you can do to keep customers happy while you're working on their car. I went to a local Jiffy Lube recently...