If you want to change your life, how do you do it? I used to think it was hard. Then I realized that most of the opportunities in life have come through one simple activity: talking to people…about stuff. Who you talk to, and what you talk about, ends up...
communication
Here are articles on communication
Overcoming Email Overload
This article, originally printed in Harvard Business School’s Working Knowledge gives several different techniques for helping get email under control. The article was one of the most-read articles at HBS, has been translated into more than 7 languages, and reprinted in Entrepreneur.com, and several magazines.
Targeted Ads are the Worst of all Possible Worlds
The justification used for the incredible invasions of privacy on the part of the internet marketers of the world is that they want to serve us "targeted" ads. Targeted ads are ads that relate to what we're doing at the moment. Theoretically, if I'm having a...
Don’t accidentally say f**k you to your customers!
T-mobile is using the tune of the song F**k You by Cee Lo Green in their latest radio ads. They apparently missed the part of psychology where people recall the words to songs. They sing about how you should switch to T-mobile, which doesn't require a...
Efficiency Might Be Bad
I'm a huge fan of system dynamics and the understanding of complex systems that has come from the field that Jay Forrester invented. This is a superb article by the late Donella Meadows about the leverage points in complex systems, in ascending order of effectiveness....
Is texting in meetings rude?
Do you think it's rude to text/email during a meeting? Some say it's multitasking. An article I read celebrated "the skill of following along in person while simultaneously [doing other stuff]" Alas, that skill simply doesn't exist. Our brains are not wired to...
Internet: mass manipulation tool?
I'm downloading Trust Me, I'm Lying by Ryan Holiday, about media manipulation on the internet, at the recommendation of a professional journalist friend. As I read a few of Ryan's blog articles and PR interviews from the book, I'm struck by how much his experience...
In Business and Life, Understand *Their* Needs
I ordered a book from Amazon, gift wrapped for a friend's birthday. It arrived complete with the little card that had my special message in it. And … Amazon's logo on the outside. Really? Amazon feels the need to piggyback their branding on my gift? If they offer the...
Use Emotion in Marketing? Only With Care.
Pretty much every class in marketing I've ever taken is all about how to trigger knee-jerk emotional responses in people so they act NOW to buy your product, even if it's not right for them, or if there are better competitors on the market, or if they actually don't...
Why I Like Paper
A reader wrote in: I read your suggestion about the 3×5 pad and it sucks! That's because I hate paper and pen note-taking. I want something that I can carry with me anywhere on my handheld and which will also prompt me, just like a personal assistant, not something...