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The Cart Goes After The Horse. Okay, Which One Is The Horse?

August 8, 2013 —

The Cart Goes After The Horse. Okay, Which One Is The Horse?

You can usually divide the world into those who think corporate sustainability programs are for real and those who say “window dressing, PR, don’t believe a word of it.” But both camps share the same view about why companies do sustainability reporting, because it shows off how well they’re doing. In other words, almost everyone thinks sustainability reporting for corporations is like wrapping paper on a gift: a thin veneer, for appearances only. Would it surprise you to learn that almost everyone is wrong? The reality is that reporting has a huge influence on what companies actually do to...
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Brands As Quality Content Generators: GE Focus Forward (Even When Talking About Shit)

August 7, 2013 —

Brands As Quality Content Generators: GE Focus Forward (Even When Talking About Shit)

Brands have the opportunity to use the Flipboard app to curate interesting stories that support key brand attributes. Flipboard’s recent addition of user generated “Magazines” has added a new dimension to content curation on mobile devices. Flipboard’s rich user interface makes it easy to flip through links of stories organized around specific themes. Some brands are jumping on this content delivery idea, which I’m guessing is a primo “cheap and cheerful” way to manage content. GE Minds + Machines: Brilliant Reads A great example I’ve come across recently is GE Minds + Machines, “Brilliant...
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Storytelling: If Grandma Could Do It, Why Can’t The CMO?

August 4, 2013 —

Storytelling: If Grandma Could Do It, Why Can’t The CMO?

My grandmother used to tell stories to the kids in my neighborhood. She would gather us around, get this far-away look on her face, and start in on a tale of some kids in the woods or a rabbit in the meadow or whatever. They would always be just as long as they needed to be, no longer. We would hang on her every word. Once I asked her to retell a certain story we had heard from her years before, and she agreed. But as she told the story, it kept taking twists and turns I did not remember from the first time. ‘That’s not the story, Grandma,” I objected. She nodded with certainty. “Yes it is,”...
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NYT Crosswords Gracefully Acknowledges My Long Tenure And Makes Me Smile

July 22, 2013 —

NYT Crosswords Gracefully Acknowledges My Long Tenure And Makes Me Smile

I first started doing crosswords in the PC era and now enjoy them on my iPhone and iPad. In a recent email, the New York Times Crossword service cleverly (at least to a crossword freak) promoted a special offer of downloadable puzzles that will work without a Wi-Fi connection. Two smiles from me. The good feeling that comes from being acknowledged as a long-term customer. And the good feelings that came from the way the offer was promoted visually. Lesson: it’s often the little things that matter most. Image...
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The First Thing We Ask Is How We Want People To Feel

July 15, 2013 —

The First Thing We Ask Is How We Want People To Feel

Apple’s design principles embrace everything I believe about how businesses and brands can become more successful through empathy, purpose, and emotion. There’s a huge debate raging among the design community about iOS7. I’m not a designer by trade, so I won’t even venture to enter the fray. But as a proponent of the ideas of “empathy, purpose, and emotion” when creating, strengthening, or transforming brands – I am gratified to see lots of people sharing this film from Apple about how they approach what they do. It’s All In The Feelings Your Brand Strives To Generate So, what does Apple...
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Before You Ask What Your Employees Want, Consider What They’ve Already Lost

June 20, 2013 —

Before You Ask What Your Employees Want, Consider What They’ve Already Lost

“Employee loyalty and expectations have changed as pensions and nice retirement packages have disappeared.” @smaxbrown Before you complain about the morale of your staff, consider the massive change the employee market has undertaken over recent years. Job security is a dream of the past. A cozy retirement is assured for only a very few. For many, even the task of finding a job is a threatening and demeaning experience. Add to this the growing angst about the overall economy, the dysfunctional infighting within government and the increasing concerns for the health of our planet. Of course,...
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Leaders! It’s Time to Let Go and Move On

June 19, 2013 —

Leaders! It’s Time to Let Go and Move On

We cling to traditional ideas and ways of being because they bring a certain level of comfort to us. As the environment around us becomes more turbulent and threatening, we tend to revert even further into the known and comfortable worlds we inhabit. We do this even though there is no evidence that “staying put” and “holding on” will make our situations any better. Indeed, we simply keep falling further and further behind, feel weaker and weaker, and lose more and more. One reason we fall into this trap is that we often focus on the wrong things. Consider these excerpts from Umair Haque’s...
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The Bigger Question

June 10, 2013 —

The Bigger Question

Putting aside the polarizing views from what Apple announced today at WWDC 2013, flat vs. skeuomorphic…Who cares? That’s another discussion, for another day, on another blog. Apple made me feel a few things today. At first, a sense of huge disillusionment over the future of the aesthetic design world around me with their new approach to the iOS look and feel. This maybe an over reaction, and it was short lived when I saw this video. From this video was my second reaction, a sense of pride in who I work for and the industry I am in. I think this is the best ad I’ve seen from Apple....
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The Iceberg, Not the Sailboat

June 2, 2013 —

The Iceberg, Not the Sailboat

Sustainability reporting is harder than it looks. Companies new to reporting often pick up the reports of competitors, suppliers, or customers and think, “Well, that’s not rocket science. We already have a corporate brochure and a website. We’ll just add some ‘sustainability facts’ to that stuff and we’re good to go.” Then they produce a report that looks like a corporate brochure mashed up with a website and a data dump, and they wonder why no one is impressed. The reality is that good sustainability reports are icebergs: you can’t see three-fourths of what goes into them until you get up...
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In Turbulent Times, Brands With Creative Thinkers Thrive

May 29, 2013 —

In Turbulent Times, Brands With Creative Thinkers Thrive

I came across an article on FastCompany.com that posted that modern business should look for people who are better able to deal with ambiguity, know the value of learning through failure, and who can think creatively. So, out with the MBA and in with the MFA (Master of Fine Arts). I graduated with a fine arts degree from NYU. Since that time I’ve been a “creative” in the advertising/branding field. But that job description doesn’t really capture all that I do when dealing with clients and their business and branding issues. This does: “Many people see artists as...
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