Do Something They Can’t Or Won’t Do Because It’s Hard

“The trick to brand strategy is to do something others can’t or won’t because it’s really hard.” -Scott Galloway The questions: what won’t others do, what do they think is really hard, what would really separate us from someone else in a comparable position or field? Some examples: Apple making a delightfully usable and intuitive … Continue reading Do Something They Can’t Or Won’t Do Because It’s Hard

Podcast Of The Week: Exponent Remembers Clayton Christensen

If unfamiliar with Clayton Christensen and just how important he was to the worlds of technology and management, there may be no better people to explain his contributions and eulogize him than his co-author James Allworth, and the respectfully critical blogger Ben Thompson. Allworth was a student and research associate of Christensen‘s at Harvard Business … Continue reading Podcast Of The Week: Exponent Remembers Clayton Christensen

Podcast Of The Week: Revisiting The Experience Economy

Joseph Pine explained (over twenty years ago!) how experiences are the link between modern companies and the customers. His work is still incredibly relevant today. He coined the idea of "mass customization," built a framework for turning services into experiences, and explained the role authenticity plays in the best run businesses of the 2000s. This … Continue reading Podcast Of The Week: Revisiting The Experience Economy

The Power Of The Preference-Model-Product Loop

In order to understand the context of how our products and services fit into the ever-changing world, we can picture a continuous cycle between preferences, models, and products.* People have preferences: what do we want? Visionaries model those desires: “this” is a proxy for “that,” or “this preference” can be met with “that” idea, etc. … Continue reading The Power Of The Preference-Model-Product Loop

Podcast of the Week: Understanding the China, Tech, and Trade Drama

Exponent episode 171, "An Intra-West Debate," asks if the central debate of the trade war is to get more favorable terms for the west, or to fundamentally undo the east-west integration? If tech itself is fundamentally free of values (think of it as a tool), while cultures inherently have values that they use tech for, … Continue reading Podcast of the Week: Understanding the China, Tech, and Trade Drama

Business Lessons from an Apple Design Demigod

Ken Kocienda is your typical history major turned motorcycle repairman turned Apple design demigod. Kocienda helped put together Apple’s first browser (Safari) in the early 2000s, and then to develop the original iPhone and operating system (iOS). Recalling the intensity of those days in an a16z interview about his book, Creative Selection, he was asked to describe Steve Jobs. … Continue reading Business Lessons from an Apple Design Demigod

What Can Blueface’s Rise To Fame Teach Us About Marketing? A Lot.

Blueface was relatively unknown in early 2018. By early 2019 he had a top ten song on Billboard and was seemingly everywhere. What makes him most interesting is how his musical fame is only modestly tied to music, or about “25%” by his own estimate. The rest? “Marketing, promotion, being yourself.” This isn’t just a … Continue reading What Can Blueface’s Rise To Fame Teach Us About Marketing? A Lot.