Many people have asked me why I was in Guatemala. Here's the answer. We adopted a baby boy! Soon we will be able to have a Kawasaki line when we play hockey (that's five players for those not familiar with the sport). Life doesn't get much better than this... You may see noticeably fewer postings [...]
Many people have requested my list of favorite books, so here you go. (I've sorted this list by author's last name, fyi.) Read long and prosper! I hope you find them as useful as I have. 1. Influence: Science and Practice. Dr. Bob Cialdini. You should already know how I feel about this book because [...]
I found a great hotel in Antigua, Guatemala named Casa Santo Domingo. I've been to a lot of nice hotels in my life, but this one ranks near the top for its integration of history, materials, and local flora. (Yes, it does have fast Internet access in the rooms.) What does this have to do [...]
Many people requested more examples of companies driving their competition crazy. I found six more for you. 1. When Security Pacific Bank merged with Bank of America many Security Pacific branches were closed. First Interstate Bank rented trucks and parked them in the lots of the branches that were closing. Then First Interstate employees in [...]
I've been getting lots of goodies lately, and I thought I'd break the mold of my blog and provide some product reviews. (Before the conspiracy and conflict-of-interest folks ask, I don't have a monetary interest in any of these companies.) 1. Yojimbo. This software enables you to create a free-form database of stuff. For examples, [...]
My buddy Bill Meade pointed out this article in the Economist to me: http://snipurl.com/womenworkforce Very interesting and eye-opening about the economic power of women. The Economist provides a day pass for people who aren't subscribers. The first paragraph of the story is: EVEN today in the modern, developed world, surveys show that parents still prefer [...]
I found a very good follow-up to my posting called The Art of Customer Service. This is by Doug Hanna, and the entire text plus some other postings about customer service are available here: http://snipurl.com/p3w5 1. Use their name. Though it may seem obvious, you’d be surprised how much of a difference addressing a customer [...]
I've been a blogger for a whopping 100 days, and it's been a delightful and educational experience. Some readers (Omer Trajman, in particular) asked me share my observations about my blogging experience, so here goes: 1. The more popular a person thinks he is in the blogosphere, the thinner his skin and the thicker his [...]
This blog entry is a response to a topic suggestion by Douglas Hanna. It covers the art of customer service, a subject that is near and dear to my heart. 1. Start at the top. The CEO's attitude towards customer service is the primary determinant of the quality of service that a company delivers. If [...]
FilmLoop creates “looplets.” The primary purpose of these looplets was to show a sample of the loop in order to encourage people to install the loop. However, looplets now have gained significantly more functionality. In essence, they are now an end unto themselves. This means that you can use looplets on web pages and in [...]
There are some books that are “must reads” for entrepreneurs; some for marketers; some for salespeople; and some for programmers. And then there are a handful that everyone should read. IMHO, one such book is Influence--Science and Practice by Dr. Robert Cialdini, a psychology professor at Arizona State University. This book provides insights that you [...]
Raindance Communications is putting on another free seminar. This time it's Darcy Rezac, the author of Work the Pond! Use the Power of Positive Networking to Leap Forward in Work and Life. Wednesday, April 12th 12 pm to 1 pm EDT http://roi.raindance.com/rndc/roi/upcomingEvents.jsp?lid=30538#s25 Here's a description: Studies show that a majority of people don't enjoy networking [...]
Several people have asked me for a blog entry about executive summaries. My colleague at Garage, Bill Reichert, wrote this explanation, and it's as good as it gets. Writing a Compelling Executive Summary By now, you’ve probably already read several articles, web pages—even books—about writing the perfect executive summary. Most of them offer a wealth [...]
This is the flip side to The Art of Driving Your Competition Crazy. It's meant to help you avoid being driven crazy by your competition. This isn't a top ten--it's only a top five because the key to maintaining your sanity is to keep things simple. 1. Delight your customer. As the old saying goes, [...]
I found a very interesting blog about naming: http://www.namedevelopment.com/blog/ This led me to the most interesting article I've read about finding domain names called The Search for a Domain Name: http://www.yafla.com/dforbes/2006/03/29.html#a302 I strongly suggest you check these two blogs out if you're interested in the topic of naming. Technorati Tags: branding, marketing, positioning
Please send ideas for topics and questions that you'd like me to cover here. I need to know what you want to know. I can't say I'm qualified to do them all, but like my mother used to say, “You don't get if you don't ask.” I could also use about 5,000 links in my [...]
“The purpose of competition is not to beat someone down, but to bring out the best in every player.” Walter Wheeler One of the signs of boom--or at least a boomlet--is that companies start wanting to drive their competition crazy. This occurs when “survival” is no longer an issue and optimization or maximization can become [...]
Check out interviews with Steve Wozniak, Andy Hertzfeld, John Sculley, Steve Capps, Mike Boich, and me: http://snipurl.com/oacg To give credit, where credit is due, I saw this here: http://www.tuaw.com/2006/03/26/podcasts-with-influential-apple-figures/ Technorati Tags: Apple, Macintosh
Most of the information that you can find about recruiting is for the employer, not the employee. (I'm as guilty as this as anyone: for example, The Art of Recruiting, I and II.) Let's turn the tables, switch modes, and balance the scales by discussing what a hot candidate should ask a private, venture-backed startup [...]
I made the Technorati 100 today. Thanks, everyone, for your linking, comments, and evangelism! I only need 5,000 more sites to link to be in the top ten! (This is a picture of David Sifry, Technorati's CEO, giving me a tshirt to commemorate breaking into the top 100.) Guy