I believe every manager is a member of three teams: The people that report to that manager. This is usually what someone means when they refer to “my team.” The external stakeholders in other departments they work with every day. For example, marketing is often considered part of the extended team for sales or development. Their peers…
The February 2012 edition of Esquire Magazine contains a feature called “79 Things We Can All Agree On” which ranges from the assertion we were better off during Bill Clinton’s presidency (#1) to things are not so bad now (#79). Regardless of your politics, the list is one part humor and one part intentional controversy. We…
In 1948 David Ogilvy founded the agency that would later become Ogilvy & Mather. Ogilvy, who is often called the father of advertising, emphasized that the goal of advertising is to sell products and that successful advertising is based on information about the end consumer. Two of Ogilvy’s most famous campaigns are “The man in…
I emerged from my man cave to discover it’s that time again. Lake Superior State University (LSSU) released its amazing 37th annual “List of Words Banished from the Queen’s English for Misuse, Overuse and General Uselessness”. The idea for the list was hatched at a 1975 New Year’s Eve party in an attempt to win…
The abstract for ‘When Consumers and Brands Talk: Storytelling Theory and Research in Psychology and Marketing’ caught my eye: Storytelling is pervasive through life. Much information is stored, indexed, and retrieved in the form of stories. Although lectures tend to put people to sleep, stories move them to action. People relate to each other in…
Since we’ve just gone through the season of excess, I thought I’d do some Web sleuthing to determine alcohol’s economic impact on society. Estimates vary dramatically but a report from the reputable National Institute of Health (NIH) suggests the impact in the U.S. could be more than $100B annually. Regardless of the exact number, the…
My first real job was a software developer in a start-up that built massively-parallel supercomputers; the machines had up to 16K processors and handled very large datasets. While the company was staffed with seasoned hardware types, many of us software developers were relatively inexperienced. Not wanting to admit our greenness, we usually tried to solve problems…
A decade ago I read an intriguing article entitled “The Nocebo Effect: Placebo’s Evil Twin” which argued a patient’s pessimistic attitude could have negative consequences on their health. Research showed that patients who were warned of gastrointestinal side effects from repeated use of aspirin were almost three times as likely to exhibit the side effects…
What’s with all of the ice? The question bothered me after a recent trip to Whole Foods Market, an upscale market near my home. The container of hummus I bought hadn’t been refrigerated; it was displayed in a large barrel of ice. In fact, lots of other food and drinks items were stored in ice barrels…
We are creatures of habit. -OR- Variety is the spice of life. Both are commonly held beliefs which seemingly contradict each other. Which is it? Do we always choose our favorite food/toy/song or do we opt for less-desirable alternatives so we don’t get bored? The answer is yes. When faced with multiple simultaneous options, people…