Casual Fridays

Nearly 2.5 million views in two weeks.
I can’t stop playing this video.
I think the beauty of it is how a big, polished production doesn’t get in the way of the even bigger idea.
The music’s pretty good too.

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Hat tip: Bill Kinnon

Illustration based on this Flickr photo by Mark Hurst.
Without a doubt, no other blogger has influenced my perceptions of marketing more than Seth Godin. Before I started reading Seth’s blog and books, I had a pretty narrow perception of marketing. I also had a narrow perception of career and business success.
Here’s what [...]

Flickr photo by feefee.
I advised a political candidate recently to follow up with a blogger who had contacted him.
“The blog probably doesn’t reach as many people as TV, radio, or direct mail.” I acknowledged. Then I explained, “But the people who read it are influencers. By engaging them with your message, you [...]

There’s one character who appears in The Incredibles only three times, but he really says it all, that little kid on the tricycle. When Mr. Incredible yells at him, “Well, what are you waiting for?” the kid replies, “Oh, I don’t know. Something amazing, I guess.” That’s what we’re ALL waiting for.
Andrea Gronvall interview with [...]

DUST!N
So, we’re segueing into your book, Warriors, Workers, Whiners & Weasels and you have an accompanying blog with that, which is blog.warriorsandweasels.com. Can you tell me a little bit about the book?
Tim
Well, it’s a management philosophy that I’ve been working with for some time and thought I’d put it down on paper. Basically, what [...]

Two posts by Big-Time Gurus recently addressed the same point.

1. Tom Peters:

Old story. But never an old story. I went to Whole Foods and Starbucks back-to-back yesterday afternoon. No holes: Every (EVERY—perhaps 6?) staff member was pleasant, chatty, informed, etc.

I remain amazed.

2. Seth Godin (read the post to get context)

Sure, she was an annoying nut. But she was passionate about containers, certainly. Smart hiring goes a long way.

Duh, you say? Yet how many businesses really hire people because they’ll be pleasant, chatty, informed, and PASSIONATE (specifically about your core offering)?

I submitted a proposal to write a manifesto for Changethis.com. It is a presentation I present on personal development. The premise is based on the same concept as the 3 Rs of Business. In my presentation, I encourage individuals to take stock of their personal brand, Brand You as Tom Peters says, [...]

… when you can simply advertise with Blue Sheep?
I think Blue Sheep is a great example of the mindset of most advertisers and marketers today. The effort to be different is focused almost exclusively on the promotion. Meanwhile, their positioning (brand), product, pricing, placement (distribution), and people are unremarkable.
This is Flash-in-the-pan thinking. [...]

johnmoore of Brand Autopsy referred to a NY Times article in his post, Harvesting Collective Genius. The article outlines how Rite-Solutions uses an internal stock exchange for the submission of ideas in which employees invest part of their allocated $10k fantasy funds. johnmoore also quotes from the book, Ideas are Free, mentioning the [...]

If you haven’t checked out Squidoo, well it is worth a visit. By searching Seth Godin’s brainchild, I’ve found some great information on HR and ideas for a professional organization to which I belong.
Check out my lens when you have a moment. I haven’t really figured out what I want it to do, [...]