I read a LinkedIn question the other day that asked whether companies should spend more time focused on their core business--and less, perhaps, on social media. While I don't think this is really an "either/or" question (you have to do both), I also think it's pretty...
Bling only gets you so far. You can own a big house, but you still have to mow the lawn. You can buy expensive china, but your food still has to taste good. You can put on an Armani suit, but your product still has to wow the customer. My first experience at an Apple...
Guy Kawasaki is a born marketer. But he's also an entrepreneur who's smart, personable, answers his own mail (and his tweets too), and is at times utterly enchanting. Kawasaki came through Washington last week on his Enchantment book tour, dropping off books for...
Deborah Brody wrote a terrific blog post last week about the role of engagement. She said in part: In social media, people talk about engagement all the time. You have to “engage” with your followers. What does this really mean? Why are you engaging? The answer is...
Pricing can be tricky. Aim too low, and people wonder what's wrong with your product (or think your service is second rate). Price too high, and you might have few or no takers. I'll pay a premium for value. Great customer service, beautiful design, and reducing...
I once heard a guy with a software product he was trying to sell tell a gathering of entrepreneurs that his audience was "anyone who has a computer." Huh? Everyone is not a strategy. It's a bad business idea in desperate need of a plan. Everywhere isn't a strategy...
Rework is a deceptively simple manifesto for entrepreneurs that is all about challenging conventional wisdom and the way that business ought to be done. It’s written in brilliant one- and two-page bursts of ideas held together by big-picture business themes, much as...
There was an interesting discussion on the SoloPR tweet chat last week about discounting services. Specifically: As a new SoloPR [pro], would you give a big discount to a client who offers to or does actively help you grow your business? If you read this blog...
Many years ago, I set up a joint venture involving the Russian real estate market. My partner Philip Bay had a successful business in Russia and Bulgaria catering primarily to foreign companies looking to expand into these emerging markets and foreign governments...
Should business schools teach the arts? Consider this, from an article in The Economist: "Studying the arts can help business people communicate more eloquently. Most bosses spend a huge amount of time "messaging" and "reaching out." yet few are good at it... Many of...