I recently finished reading Jim Collins latest book, Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos and Luck – Why Some Thrive Despite Them All. I like Jim Collins and think that he does excellent work, however I tend to be somewhat of
Sapiens and the Recent Events in Charlottesville
I recently finished reading Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Hurari and it has safely earned a spot on the list of my favorite books. The story follows a rough historical timeline starting millions of years ago
How Price Sensitive is Your Customer
One of the biggest differences between successful and struggling businesses comes down to one question: has price sensitive is your customer? It seems like common sense, but I didn’t fully understand what caused price sensitivity until recently. Here are some
Why is Diversity and Inclusion Important?
Last week Uber CEO Travis Kalanick resigned over a litany of diversity and inclusion (D&I) related troubles. I’ve read a lot of the coverage (including the blog post by Susan Fowler that started it all) and it’s pretty bad. Fowler
Well, We Didn’t Die
Last month, I spent a weekend down in Florida on Clearwater beach. The occasion was somewhat of an impromptu high school reunion – 14 friends joined, many who I hadn’t seen since we graduated from high school in 2003.
Keep Innovating After You’re Big: The Benefit of the Roaming Architect
Why do small businesses innovate quickly and big businesses innovate slowly? Those who are familiar with the work of Clayton Christensen will quickly point to the Innovator’s Dilemma – a theory that involves bias in the resource allocation process of
Napoleon’s Secrets to Success: Hard Work, Break the Rules, and Esprit De Corps
I’ve recently started reading Andrew Roberts’ new biography of Napoleon titled Napoleon: A Life. For those considering picking it up – be warned: it’s quite an undertaking. At just under 1000 pages, the book is long and very detailed. Said
The Rebirth of the Integrated Agency
Eleven years ago, two advertising agencies merged: Draft Direct Worldwide and Foote, Cone, and Belding (FCB). Draft was a successful direct marketing agency specializing in direct mail advertising. FCB was more of a traditional ad agency that specialized in creative
Thanks Very Much for Your Opinion, Unfortunately It’s Useless to Me
As a product manager for a technology company, people come to me all the time with suggestions for things we should do. “We should build X new feature!” “We should change Y process!” “We should pay more attention to Z
How I Explain Ad Tech to My Parents
Like many people who work in the field of advertising technology, I have a really hard time talking to my parents about my job. They know I work with computers and they understand that my work involves advertising – but