Mastering Authenticity in Your Content Strategy
Authenticity isn’t (just) a way to get what you want. Still, the “A” word has been a running theme in my discussions with clients about 2024. It’s generally a good principle. People trust people. Authenticity can anchor thought leadership, storytelling, community building, and connection. Content that is actually about what we have to say in […]
The Synergy Between Ideas and Stories
Seth Godin calls it story. I call it ideas. They function in many similar ways. They amplify each other. They spread. “The reason that our attention has been strip-mined is that the system that evolved seems to reward short-term players that take the direct, easy, and lazy way out. While it seems like we have […]
Unleashing the Voice of Tech Founders
It’s HARD building a new technology or business solution. But worse, it’s SAD doing so and getting nowhere with investors or early adopters. So much effort spent on enabling change that ends up not happening… What you need is a story to tell and a compelling message. Because vision is only in your head. Stories […]
How Marketing Can Embrace Conservation Science Wisdom
Marketing could learn a lot from conservation science.
Beyond the Charts
I love Throbbing Gristle. Most people have no idea what that is. And if you look it up, you probably won’t thank me. Hint: It’s music. That’s the problem with content marketing dogma. You can tell me all that you want that TG is unlistenable, that it’s not music, that it’s upsetting. But I love […]
Humanizing Marketing
Marketers have a basic humanity problem. They see people as targets. They talk about people as targets. This mindset must end. The sad part is that most marketers I know are fantastically good people. Warm, humane, and thoughtful. I’m honored to work with them. But all of those qualities get lost in the mix of […]
The Essence of Thought Leadership
In some ways, thought leadership is just content CREATED by and for people who are passionate about what they do and SHARED in order to inspire and spread change. Once you remove the anxiety and buzzwords and nonsense, it comes down to one thing: care.
Decoding Decision States
Something unexpected happens when you market at very small scales. Many of the rules change. Your buyers exist in a superposition of decision states until they are engaged, at which point they collapse into a single state.
When Identity Becomes a Crime
Write down three words that describe your identity. Not behavior, not traits, but who you fundamentally are. Then imagine waking up to find out that a top leader in your government believes one of those things should be criminalized. Not discriminated against. Criminalized. That’s what has happened. The Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, […]
Against the Ideology of Stupid
I was bullied through most of school. A lot. Not just for being a non-conformist—eyeliner, torn clothes safety pins, as early 80s as you can imagine. Not just for being gay. Not just for coming from a single-parent household. There was a much deeper stigma… I was effortlessly, unstudiously, and unapologetically smart (i.e., good at […]