Scalable Offers For Scalable Clients

Want to give your work away for free to broke clients?  That’s the power of charity.  And the reason it doesn’t scale without proper donors.  If your business requires donors to give free work to broke clients, you might actually be running a charity, and you probably need to think about scale in a non-traditional … Continue reading Scalable Offers For Scalable Clients

Podcast Of The Week: Rick Rubin And Rory Sutherland

How many times have I talked about Rick Rubin? Click here. One of my favorite producers of all time. The guy knows how to LISTEN. What about Rory Sutherland? Click here. One of my favorite marketers. Modern David Ogilvy. And a source of so much behavioral economics and evolutionary psychology - I so adore him. … Continue reading Podcast Of The Week: Rick Rubin And Rory Sutherland

Alternative Data’s Alternative Music Moment

As a 90s teen, I grew up on the joke “Alternative ___ is so everywhere now. Alternative to what? Sure seems like mainstream to me.”  Alternative Data has been having one of those moments in the 2020s and music’s a good reminder of the way mainstream evolves is by alternating what’s hot and what’s not.  … Continue reading Alternative Data’s Alternative Music Moment

Fred Armisen On How To Niche Down

All the marketing people will tell you to find your niche. Which is fine. It’s good advice and you should take it. I’ll find mine eventually. Maybe. But in the meantime, I’ll admire people who have already figured it out. Especially in a way that doesn’t feel so infinitely narrow. Like Fred Armisen. Here he … Continue reading Fred Armisen On How To Niche Down

Social Media Status (via Eugene Wei)

Status is probably one of the most useful things to understand. It’s how we see the relationship between two people in any transaction. It’s how we know if somebody has the upper hand, or if they had it but just lost it, or if it’s ending in high-fives or fisticuffs.  Status measurement techniques also change … Continue reading Social Media Status (via Eugene Wei)

People Will Do Anything For Those Who…

A Blair Warren quote on persuasion: People will do anything for those who encourage their dreams, justify their failures, allay their fears, confirm their suspicion, and help them throw rocks at their enemies.  I’ll reformat this, because it’s a useful framework before you ask someone to do something (and an extremely useful framework before you … Continue reading People Will Do Anything For Those Who…

How Mic Jagger Answered, “Who’s Better, You Or The Beatles”

Irish TV, 1965, the reporter asks Mic Jagger, “How do you compare your group with the Beatles?” Watch the video and hear Mic’s “diplomatic” take, It’s a massive lesson in why “different” beats “better” (that’s for you marketing/brand people).  h/t Cole Shafer for sharing, who summarized it well in an older blog post with: “you … Continue reading How Mic Jagger Answered, “Who’s Better, You Or The Beatles”