Serving Up Success
Not every content strategy you read about is healthy or nutritious. Sometimes, it’s just gross—chewed-up scraps that won’t make anybody feel good. You might think you’re being thrifty or efficient by serving up your leftovers with some chips, but it’s not often all that appetizing. Or nourishing. Regurgitation often just makes people gag (just like […]
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.
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 […]
The Anti-Intellectual Cult of Writing Advice
Too much writing advice is just good old-fashioned tent-revival anti-intellectual crap. Writing experts intone their points with the cynical piety of anyone who broadcasts truisms—cynical because it positions those experts as having the solution to redeem people from their doomed attempts at thinking. I’m old enough to remember when dogma dictated we should write for […]
Lead With Why: How to Position Yourself as a Thought Leader in Your Industry
Founders, innovators, product managers: When you’re building something new, it’s easy to start ignoring the why. It’s even more likely that you forget to be vocal about why. Then you finally have something ready for investors or the market—but you feel like you’re starting at zero again. Your idea of what is new and better […]
Authenticity in a World of Thought Leadership
Nothing is new. Nothing is true. This dictum may seem strange when advocating for thought leadership, but hear me out. Let’s take the Pythagorean theorem, for example. In one sense, what better “thought leadership” than having a fundamental principle named after you? But: Back to thought leadership, what does this all mean? If becoming a […]
The “Graceful” Approach to Thought Leadership
The “Graceful” Approach to Thought Leadership Thought leadership is a challenge. Both people and companies get lost when trying to find meaningful ideas, focus on making them relevant, and figure out how to share them in compelling ways. It becomes awkward and uncoordinated. To overcome the challenge, you can approach thought leadership with ease and […]
Cultivating Grace in Thought Leadership
What does it mean to talk about graceful thought leaders? What could thought leadership have to do with grace in the first place? And what would it look like to step away from spamming, pitching, shouting in crowded places? Your thinking and attention might just feel…better I’ll be writing about the why, what, and how […]
Balancing Innovation and Advocacy
Startups in B2B are justifiably very focused on being in “build mode.” But they shouldn’t lose sight of how to be in “communicate mode” as well. Many founders are not even naturally inclined to be vocal advocates. But when you’re innovating, you also have to be a clear voice on why the problem you are […]
Embracing Playfulness, Flexibility, and Resilience
Be an octopus. No, not putting your (unwanted) arms and hands everywhere. But like this: The octopus is PLAYFUL. They have been observed short-circuiting their tank lighting, spraying water at people, and throwing items. They are masters of mimicry. They even seem to prank other animals. The octopus is FLEXIBLE. They can unlock cage doors […]