Carl Richards (@behaviorgap) made the comment, We’re more interested in being seen as creative than being creative. We’re more interested in being seen as contrarian than being contrarian. If you want to know what it’s like to be contrarian, watch “The Big Short” up until the point where it works. It’s a lot easier to … Continue reading Just Do It
Tag: movies
How A Lost Wallet Led To A Hit Song
The story behind the hit song “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In” is better than the song itself. That’s not intended to be a hot take, but it is intended to remind us to look for silver linings, because when the world starts throwing funny twists and turns under our feet, following the path of our own … Continue reading How A Lost Wallet Led To A Hit Song
Imagine You’re Running For President (Arnold Schwarzeneggar’s Career Advice To Will Smith)
At the grand opening of Planet Hollywood, business partners Bruce Willis, Sylvester Stallone, and Arnold Schwarzeneggar were hanging out alone. Poised like gods on a superhero mountaintop at a backroom table, they’re approached by a young upstart actor named Will Smith, who jumps right in with this question: What’s it take to be the biggest … Continue reading Imagine You’re Running For President (Arnold Schwarzeneggar’s Career Advice To Will Smith)
How The “Scream” Movies Perfectly Balance Customer Service And Fan Service
Sometimes, the bigger an organization gets, the worse its service becomes. The clientele they start out serving changes from people into numbers. The standards at the beginning are reduced to statistics. And it doesn’t have to be this way. Kevin Williamson, the creator of the Scream movie franchise, gives us a template for how to … Continue reading How The “Scream” Movies Perfectly Balance Customer Service And Fan Service
Breaking A Born Loser Mindset (Via “The Hustler”)
You can be a winner and still feel like a loser. Just ask Fast Eddie. The problem is staying a loser. Here’s how he worked his way out of the mindset via two great quotes from The Hustler. The first comes from Bert, the man who briefly becomes his mentor. Bert tells Eddie he didn’t … Continue reading Breaking A Born Loser Mindset (Via “The Hustler”)
How To Take A Stand (A Sidney Poitier Pep-Talk)
Here’s how you take a stand when the stakes demand it. The 1967 movie, In the Heat of the Night, is a story about a black detective from Philly who gets unexpectedly thrust into a murder investigation in a southern (and still racist) Mississippi community. In the original book and the screenplay, there’s a scene … Continue reading How To Take A Stand (A Sidney Poitier Pep-Talk)
Podcast Of The Week: It’s A Wonderful Podcast (And Life)
Pop Culture Happy Hour takes a look at the holiday classic, It’s a Wonderful Life. I’ve already watched it once this year and had my cry, so hearing the whole lot of them go back and forth is delightful. Come for Glen Weldon’s sarcastic panning of the entire movie (it’s brilliant, even if you love … Continue reading Podcast Of The Week: It’s A Wonderful Podcast (And Life)
Turn It Up To ELEVEN
As Rory Sutherland would say, it doesn't have to make logical sense, it just has to be psychologically effective. I use this expression all of the time and it's come to my attention that not everyone knows what I'm talking about. So, if I'm sending you this, it's because I created this note for future … Continue reading Turn It Up To ELEVEN
The Power Of “I Don’t Get It”
I did all the work, ran all the numbers, made the presentation look pretty, got dressed up, and… they didn’t even want to look at it. The whole conversation went somewhere else. I called the audible, focused in on what I should have been focused on in the first place, and got it done. Been … Continue reading The Power Of “I Don’t Get It”
When It Rains, Get Wet
RZA said one of the best pieces of advice he ever heard came from Quincy Jones: “When it rains, get wet.” If something good is happening, partake. And not “good” meaning perfect, or positive, or not confusing, but… natural. Don’t grab an umbrella, don’t run inside, don’t hide from the tide - if it starts … Continue reading When It Rains, Get Wet