The question this post answers is: “How can I build great relationships to improve my business and my brand?”
We look to complicated solutions to demonstrate virtuosity. But based on First Principles, it’s often a mastery of the basics that leads to exceptional results.
Are you a consultant, a professional, a coach or a service provider who has had a client do something egregious that really pissed you off? If so, how did you respond? I’m writing this blog on November 23rd, which is the birthday of my long-time business partner and friend Roberto. Thinking about him on his ...
Recently all of these storied brands have come under protest and scrutiny for being offensive: Aunt Jemima, Uncle Ben’s, Mrs. Butterworth’s, Eskimo Pie, Barbie, GI Joe, the Washington Redskins, the Cleveland Indians, the Atlanta Braves. How about all of those Disney movies you grew up with? Jungle Book, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Or ...
We’ve all heard the old saying, “If you build a better mousetrap the world will build a path to your door.” Trouble is, that’s not true. If you build a better mousetrap, the world WON’T beat a path to your door. You will just wind up with a bunch of dead mice. The history of ...
My father was an innovative and very successful real estate developer. The Miami Herald called my dad “The Father of Florida Condominiums.” That was because he built the first residential condo in the United States – and the first office condo in the world. As a kid growing up on Miami Beach, I used to ...
When my kids were little and we’d go on road trips, sooner or later the whining would begin. “Are we there yet?” “I’m hungry.” “She touched me.” “I have to go to the bathroom.” No matter what I tried, I couldn’t get them to stop. Until one day we hit on an alternative solution. Instead ...
My friend Cathy Berkowitz ran a risk-management consulting firm. She and her business partner would tour factories and recommend the steps needed to protect companies against potential calamities. Cathy soon discovered that the problem with her business concept wasn’t that her services weren’t needed, but that prevention is the most difficult thing to sell. Why? ...
What Will Coronavirus Change? What Will Coronavirus Not Change? People who look ahead to let us know what’s going to happen call themselves futurists or prophets. The more cynical amongst us call them crystal ball gazers or witch doctors. After all, if fortune tellers are so good at their craft, why do they labor in ...
Don’t Watch That, Watch This. Marketing in the Days of Coronavirus. We think the movie Babe did it. Because when our daughter Ali was only eight-years old she announced that she wouldn’t eat anything if it meant killing animals. And at sixteen she became a committed vegan and upped the ante. Ali hasn’t violated her ...
Newton’s Third Law of Motion states: “Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.” Later, The Byrds rerecorded Pete Seeger’s interpretation of a passage from the Book of Ecclesiastes: “For everything, (turn turn turn) there is a season.” And so, we all believe that one thing causes another. The Butterfly Effect It’s natural to believe ...
Buying and Selling. Frank Kiick was one of the best-dressed men I ever met. His shirts and suits were always immaculate and precisely tailored to fit his lanky frame. His beard was perfectly trimmed and his accessories — tie, cufflinks, watch, shoes — were always just right. So imagine my surprise when I walked into ...
The one hour, time-certain meeting convened at 10:00 AM. It’s 11:45 and we’re only about halfway through the agenda. The enormous conference table is completely surrounded, and even more people fill the folding chairs around the walls. A DOT engineer is making his presentation on the department’s strategy to reconfigure a high-traffic roadway. The engineer ...
It’s not the most attractive image, I know. But I got up from the table with something stuck between my teeth. I walked through the dining room to the front counter looking for the little cup filled with toothpicks. After circling the front desk and reception area a few times, I gave up and asked ...
Regular readers of this blog know I’m an unabashed car fanatic. As a good buddy of mine (whose passions run to full-bodied cabernets) once told me, “I have a friend who says I’ve never met a wine I didn’t love for some particular nuance or reason. I think the same rule applies to you and ...
The Key To Building Your Brand. “I blew out my flip flop, Stepped on a pop top; Cut my heel, had to cruise on back home.” Those aren’t just some of the lyrics to Jimmy Buffett’s 1977 song Margaritaville. They contain the secret message to his stellar success in music and business. Maybe it’s no surprise that ...