One of the most underused and undervalued tools in a leader's toolkit is the element of surprise. It is fun, really; you can lie in wait in your office with the lights out, and when someone walks in, yell, "BOO!" All kidding aside, the idea of surprise can often be used not just as a culture builder but as a robust tool for building unique and effective relationships inside and outside your organization.

Organizational challenges are undeniable realities. They can be negative, such as declining profits, or they can be positive, such as lack of focus during a hyper-growth period. Regardless of what they are...

We all have 99 problems, but solving them should not be one.

The most challenging part of navigating the environment that is the interwebs is understanding how your business fits in. I offer here four simple things that you can do to figure out what you should be doing on the web—and through them, you can create a set of criteria to make an intelligent strategic decision about how to spend your web marketing budget.

Much like a personal journey through uncharted waters, my organization's response to the pandemic encapsulates the emerging dynamic marketing trends. This story serves as an analogy to explore nine key trends that have reshaped the marketing landscape since the onset of the pandemic.

I absolutely draw inspiration from all forms of science and thought. But when it comes to physics, I get the most geeky. And not because I can use physics to create better marketing (well, I do), but because I use physics concepts as a metaphor with my teams.

The concept was birthed from a conversation I unpacked with someone who reported directly to me. Not only did the desire to articulate the concept of Philosophy of Work come out of the conversation, but a maxim that helped me best articulate my philosophy: intent + opportunity. My philosophy is simple: move forward with intent and seize every opportunity that presents itself.

Why would AI be any different? Will some jobs go away? Sure, but it stands to reason that new categories of jobs will replace them. Why not embrace AI, especially generative AI, which we used to create most of the website (including research for many of our posts)?

if we leave the conversation at the level of the semantics behind how one person defines strategy or another defines execution or another defines projects, then all we are doing is having a conversation about how we view the work we actually do.

I am big fan of clichés. No, really, I am. The thing about clichés is that they are inherently useful in conveying meaning beyond words. Put even more straightforward, clichés are a way to share complex things, like emotion or emphasis, in ways that are sure to be understood.

Our stories are not written in stone, and our decisions have real-world implications. There may not be a right answer. But when you prioritize strategic allocation rooted in long-term value through an adaptable approach, well, that is worthy of Oompa Loompa.

The point of this post is not to show how good or bad this site is but to illustrate something specific. There is as much science as there is art to storytelling. Take the time to understand the science behind the craft and learn from those who strive to understand why stories work.

My life and I suspect that it may be the same for many of you, has been a constant stream of expectations: sometimes they are met, sometimes they are not. When my expectations are met, I feel a sense of fullness; when they are not, I feel a sense of dissonance.

Whether you are the senior leader in your organization, someone with empowered organizational influence, or rank-and-file on your team, here are five truisms that will help you change culture – or do something enough like it.

I am a fan of (some of) the music of the enigmatic band (whoismgmt.com), and while the use of their moniker is somewhat of an SEO experiment, this post is not about them. It is about three observations about management I would like to share.

Because, you know, clichés exist for a reason - they, after all, are based in truth (or at the very least describe reality). If that is the case, then why do so many writers/bloggers/pundits out there do so much to speak out against the use of clichés (simply do a search for the word cliché, and you will see as many posts about avoiding them as anything else)?

That is not to say that I have never been there before (well, I do not mean to brag, but it is a regular thing for me). It has taken me years to perfect this method (see my post on how I get things done). So the method that I have produced is very simple and very compelling. In fact, I can guarantee that my method will work for anybody.

I believe the goal of marketing is to produce a behavioral change in people from something that does not benefit you to something that does, and the way you do that is to "tell the right stories to the right people."

As a matter of course, everyone, every day, is faced with a series of decisions. A constant onslaught of decision points interweaves the fabric of our lives. It starts at the first dawn of consciousness and ends with its last flicker. The very moment we experience lucidity is the very moment we have to make a decision.

In the most iconic scene in the movie "Se7en," Brad Pitt's David Mills reacts to receiving a box from the antagonist by hauntingly saying, "What's in the box?" This scene can be a gripping analogy for a CEO delving into the underside of their organization's culture. Like the suspense surrounding that fateful box, leaders embark on a nerve-wracking journey when they conduct a 360-degree internal audit of organizational culture.

Sometimes, when we look at competing ideologies of organizations, we can easily fall into the trap of considering those ideologies as absolute or a binary construct. If we like one, we can’t like the other. So, let’s dive into two of the more critical voices in organizational culture: Edgar Schein and Peter Drucker, the heavyweight champs (as it were).