Our Blog

I'm just back from two weeks away in Argentina.  Fabulous place, and we had a great time.  The only issue was that one of our bags was stolen.  Augghhhh...  Now off to deal with insurance companies to replace the stuff that was taken. ...

Mike Arauz posted an interesting metaphor connecting brands to desire paths.  Here's how he describes it: This is a desire path (lots more here). Desire paths are the walking paths that get traced across the ground when groups of people, over time, leave the...

Several weeks ago, my friend and excellent Salon participant Sean was inspired by Saul Kaplan's article about The Passion Economy. Sean decided to put forth a challenge to several of us to write a short article on what the idea of the passion economy...

There is a lot of information out there about creativity; how to develop it, how to harness it productively, and how to nurture it within a company.  What I see far less often, is how to hone critical thinking skills. As I've said before, I define innovation...

Today GM and Chrysler are approaching the US Treasury for more aid. They have been preparing their case to prove that they need more money to survive in the current economy, and that they are being responsible in cutting costs, headcount, and negotiating with the...

I find that people who use consumer research tend to fall into one of two camps.  Those who look to the consumer for answers, and those who look to the consumer for problems. People who look to the consumer for answers will spend a lot of time setting up research...

As long ago as 2003, when Michael Silverstein's book Trading Up was published, we've been acknowledging a shift in consumer spending.  Wealthy consumers will trade down to less expensive items when it makes sense, and the middle class will trade up to...

It's important to evaluate new offerings with consumers before launching them into the market.  I don't know of many companies who would disagree.  Yet I am consistently amazed by how many companies will be satisfied with the statement "100%...

There's something I need to get off my chest. It's about newspapers. I know the newspaper industry is in the tank. I know that they need to find new ways to deliver and monetize the content they provide. I also know that the current state of their...

I've been inspired by Jeff Jarvis' post in the HBP Davos Diary about Journalism's Crisis to become a bigger pain in the butt.  In his post, he argues that journalists failed to be persistent enough to get people to pay attention to the issues that led to the...