When I need a quick kick in the pants, I reach for Tom Peters’ Brand You 50. Each one of his 50 tips are tow trucks pulling me out of what ever rut I find myself in. This is why I’m so excited about his new manifesto from Seth Godin’s ChangeThis project. This I Believe! …
Monthly Archives: August 2004
When Brand is the Bottleneck
Recently, a collegue and I went to lunch at Pancheros, a 14-year old burrito chain started in Iowa City, IA. I’ve spoken about the power of lunch before as well as the lunch experience. Always enlightening. This time was no exception. I’m a big fan of Chipotle, they’ve taken the Subway model and transferred it …
5 Organizational Tips from Academia
This semester I’m one of the coaches in the excellent Visualization program at the Minneapolis College of Art & Design. As part of that involvement, I attended their recent new faculty orientation. I’ve culled 5 organizational tips from that meeting. Have a Warning Sign for Poor Customer Relationships: Each faculty member is asked to contact …
Wal-Mart.com Tests Ship-To-Store
Big box retailers are continuing their search for the Holy Grail of Retail – increasing merchandise selection without increasing real estate costs. For years,
How Not To Do Customer Research
We do quite a bit of customer and employee research here at Working Pathways. From in-depth 1-on-1, deep dive, interviews to quick email surveys to observational studies – our expertise runs the gamut. Whatever the study, each participant involved is 1. screened and qualified and 2. receives some level of compensation for their time and …
Want Better Collaboration – Improvise
The earlier collaboration techniques post (Stop Asking Questions) was based a key to successful improvisation. This post digs further into the relationship between improv and collaboration. Good improvisational comedy teams believe a group of individuals working together can start with nothing and quickly create something engaging, desireable, useful, and valuable. From this perspective, the keys …
Talking is Marketing
Any time someone in your organization has any contact with your clients or prospects, they are performing a marketing function. Thanks to John Jantsch for this timeless thought.
Moving Day.
I’m moving workingpathways.com to a new host this weekend. So, there maybe some flakey-ness over the next couple days. Apologies for any interruptions in advance. The move is complete and successful – if the site feels faster now, this is why. Thanks for your patience.
Want Better Collaboration – Stop Asking Questions
The first step to a collaborative environment is to banish questions. Yes, banish the question mark from all conversation. Questions reinforce heirarchial relationships rather than build the peer-to-peer relationships necessary for innovative, effective collaboration. Step #1. Everyone is smart and everyone’s knowledge is of equal value. A question forces someone else to make something for …
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