Last week I had the opportunity to hear David Rosenblatt speak about his time as CEO of DoubleClick (he came to talk to us as an AppNexus guest speaker). I loved the talk. It was a rare glimpse behind the
What value does the financial industry provide to the world?
I’ve spent my entire career working in the advertising and technology fields, but the finance industry has always fascinated me. From the time I was in high school it was clear that finance was firmly the “it” profession for the
The Seductive Appeal of New Ideas
There are few things more appealing than a truly novel idea. A new way of working together, a new product to buy, a new initiative to launch – “new” certainly gets lots of attention, and rightly so. Thinking about novel
The Brain-Computer Analogy
Have you ever thought that the computer is the perfect analogy for the workings of the brain? Even if you haven’t, doesn’t it just feel right? Short-term memory is like memory in a computer, both can only hold a limited
There are no “Bad Guys”
I took advantage of this holiday week to catch up on a little beach reading. I just picked up Mistakes Were Made, But Not by Me by Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson. Although I’m having a little bit of trouble
The Number One Most Important Customer Service Principle
I believe that the way a business interfaces with its customers is one of the most important determinants of success. Sure – product, management, strategic direction, corporate citizenship – it’s all important. But every business has customers and when it
The Key to Selling Ideas at Work
This week I’ve been reading The Art of Woo: Using Strategic Persuasion to Sell Your Ideas by G. Richard Shell and Mario Moussa. Overall I thought the book was just fine, but it did get me thinking a lot about
Introverts, Extroverts and Human Limitations
One theme for my blog that has developed over time is the way in which human limitations affect the way we conduct business. The link below will lead you to some examples of my thoughts on the subject. http://www.andreweifler.com/category/human-behavior/ This
Why is instant gratification so enticing?
There is no doubt that saving money, eating healthy, and exercising are things we should all do to lead happy productive lives. On the other hand – eating fast food and spending money frivolously are things that we shouldn’t do.
The Problem of Induction
Over the last few weeks I have enjoyed reading Nassim Taleb’s Fooled by Randomness. The core premise of the book is that randomness plays a larger role in our lives than we think – and if we’re not careful we