Redefining Value in B2B Marketing

Are B2B marketers sadists? You’d think so from all the talk about pain points. But no, B2B buyers are not usually in pain. At least not for any reasons you’re hoping for and fetishizing. Even worse, your offering is not a painkiller. Sorry. You wish. But it’s just not that addictive. On the plus side, […]

Caviar Dreams on a Champagne Diet

“But I don’t want to go to the Polo Lounge. I’m tired of bumping into my accountant and my lawyer while they’re spending all my money.” — From a private conversation with a famous widow and actress, same first and last initial… I always think of that comment and the sad sigh accompanying it when […]

How Content Sours Creativity

This “content thing” is making me into a mean monkey. The mean level of discourse about quality and creativity is making me sneer at ideas that probably deserve better. Mean aspirations beget meager outcomes that I read about and snort at. The need to say or do something, even when you mean nothing, is sharpening […]

The Shift from Filling Spaces to Creating Meaning

Once you start thinking about “content,” it’s over. You’re already in a world of bottomless, numberless containers that need to be filled for their own sake. You’re already shouting messages no one wants to hear into holes no one wants to be in.

A Plea for Purposeful Creation

Once you start thinking about “content,” it’s over. You’re already in a world of bottomless, numberless containers that need to be filled for their own sake. You’re already shouting messages no one wants to hear into holes no one wants to be in. You’re creating meaningless tokens that have no value outside of a game […]

Old Habits, New Tech!

Most content has been algorithmic since well before AI. It’s just that the algorithms were sloppy mantras. Humans applied them rather than GPTs. We’ve always had… – Empty dictates– Pseudoscientific findings from ill-conceived studies– Pointless rules-of-thumb– Best practices disconnected from context– Emphasis on production over meaning– Relentless twaddle Now we’ll just have more.

Embracing the Diamond Rule

You have a responsibility to yourself to treat other people well. You have a responsibility to other people to treat yourself well. You = yourself, your family, your team, your organization, and your local and national governments.

Living the Diamond Rule

You have a responsibility to yourself to treat other people well. You have a responsibility to other people to treat yourself well. You = yourself, your family, your team, your organization, and your local and national governments. It’s kind of a variation on the Golden Rule but with more facets. Maybe it should be called […]

Balancing Attention with Integrity

I don’t have to be popular. I know it’s alienating to talk about marketing through the lens of ethical philosophy. But the reality is that occupying people’s attention gives you responsibility for doing it with care. If you’re not doing it with human dignity in mind, you should be. And care for dignity should inform […]

Guiding Key Decision-Makers Effectively

Attention is boring. But you have a choice. Instead of being a “thought leader” with tens of thousands of social media engagements per post, what if you were a thought leader trusted by the top few decision-makers in your field? Wouldn’t you rather be the person they are likely to call when they have a […]

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