Try Why.

Why?

Simple. Disarming.

And the only question you need to ask to probe a client's mind without making them defensive.

Why helps you dig deeper, understand more.

No matter what the product or service, ask Why?

Why will help you get to the heart of anything.

 

Happy 2013!

I'm sharing this poem because it speaks to me and what I will focus on this year in both my personal and professional life. 

Perhaps it resonates for you?

Lost
Stand still. The trees ahead and bushes beside you
Are not lost. Wherever you are is called Here,
And you must treat it as a powerful stranger,
Must ask permission to know it and be known.
The forest breathes. Listen. It answers,
I have made this place around you,
If you leave it you may come back again, saying Here.
No two trees are the same to Raven.
No two branches are the same to Wren.
If what a tree or a bush does is lost on you,
You are surely lost. Stand still. The forest knows
Where you are. You must let it find you.
David Wagoner

How to Make B2B Content Pop.

How can you reach, engage and persuade internal and B2B audiences in a cluttered, fast-moving information world?

With the same kind of fun, interactive content that was once reserved for consumer marketing, ays Tom Yorton, CEO of tThe Second City Communications.

Forget staid. Forget safe.

Inside think punchy. Think edgy.

Re-think.

Just Do It.

Today's affirmations from www.thedailylove.com seem especially apt:

I create when I don't want to.

 

I exercise when I don't want to.

 I create now and no longer wait for inspiration.

 

But Then You Already Knew That, Right?

Good writing requires clear thinking. That's why it's so hard. Author David McCullough

Write Your Novel--In a Month.

Completing a novel in just 30 days sounds like an impossible task, right?

The folks behind National Novel Writing Month challenge you to rethink your timetable with tips, tools and timelines. You can also meet fellow writers online and in your community.

Good luck!

http://www.nanowrimo.org/

Out of Alignment?

When it comes to hospitality, I think of the South, not the Southwest.

Which is why, even though the folks are Sky Harbor in Phoenix are perfectly pleasant, the airport's tagline "America's Friendliest Airport" doesn't ring true.

Phoenix is my home and I'm a city booster, but the alignment is off. As a result, the slogan is not believable.

Most associate Arizona with sunshine and golf and sunsets and cactus.

Should someone in city marketing rethink our brand?

http://skyharbor.com/customerservice/americasFriendliestAirport.html