Terrible Rebranding Reminds Us Staring At Your Navel Doesn’t Cost A Thing
So. Comcast, perhaps having just seen their 100th consecutive consumer research study showcasing their lack of customer service (Hey. All cable companies are in this boat. So it’s not just them) and massive customer dissatisfaction scores, had an inspiration (some may call it a brain cramp) and announced that it plans to change the name of its cable TV, Internet and phone services to XFinity.
Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Okay.
Comcast EVP, operations David Watson tells us the brilliance behind this re-branding maneuver:
“XFINITY represents the future of our company and it’s a promise to customers that we’ll keep innovating. When we launch XFINITY in a market, we’ll rebrand our products: XFINITY TV, XFINITY Voice and XFINITY Internet (our company, of course, remains Comcast). This transition is already well underway across the country. [On February 12], XFINITY will roll out in 11 markets including: Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington D.C., Chicago, Portland, Seattle, Hartford, Augusta, Chattanooga, parts of the Bay Area and San Francisco, with more markets to come later this year.”
I read a blog today that compared this spiel to the infamous Howard Dean speech. (I laughed out loud)
This is the kind of crap that makes everyday consumers crazy and drives those of us in the marketing world to drink heavily (Ok. More heavily then we may normally do).
Dear David at Comcast,
I don’t want you to promise me you will keep innovating I would like you to promise me you will show up at 10 when you say you will fix my TV so I can watch Oprah.
Sincerely,
XCustomer.
I have the utmost respect for Jeff Goodby and Goodby Silverstein (Comcast’s ad agency) but this is kind of nuts. I guess I can take some solace in that a Comcast representative confirmed that this is actually a Goodby, Siegel+Gale, and other agencies brain trust endeavor. (although I would tend to blame Siegel+Gale as having been paid a boatload of money and arriving at some unbelievably “insightful in presentation but unrealistic in practicality” conclusion)
Well. I guess if they spend enough money it will work. Spend enough and people will forget Comcast and only remember XFinity. But. Here’s the deal. Every day they will still be delivering the same ole same ole (which ain’t so hot). Therefore, in the end they will have spent gobs of money on this new “brand” and achieve exactly the same results.
Some would tend to believe this is a definition of insanity. Anyway.
And wouldn’t it have been cheaper if they had all sat in a conference room contemplating their navels?
Heck.
Same result. Less expense.
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what is management?
May 21, 2012 - 11:12 am
Tags: a full life, a human defect or a flaw, a severe shortcoming, accountable decision making, actions today make who i am tomorrow, aligning perceptions and behavior creates satisfaction, alignment, analysis paralysis, analyzing actual behavior, anything that can go wrong will, architects of fate, astonish people, at some point you are accountable, attacking doubt, attaining levles of good, attitudes and behavior, averting chaos, avoid the gray, be who you are, behavior management business, being accountable, being distinct, being honest to yourself, being soft in business, believe, bell curve, big mistake big succcesses, big mistakes, black or white, boundlessness of friendship, brand, branding, breaking life decisions down, breeds an aspect of complacency, bull in a china shop living, business, business is messy, Business Thoughts, can someone really give 110%, capacity of the human mind, change begins in the head, change forces prioritizing, change is easier if you simplify, change takes remarkable effort, changed behavior, changing objectives to make change, chaos, chaos control methods, chaos creates opportunities, character, choice between alternatives, choice by numbers, choice cannot be made with statistics alone, choices, choices leading to full life, choices we make or do not make, choosing to be true, collaboration, collector of moments, committed to showing up everyday, communication, complex simplified, concept of chaos, consensus, consistency, consistency is underrated, consistency of character, consistency of character is underrated, consistency of values, consumer attitudes, consumer buying system, contribute to society, controlled chaos, courage and faith, courage doesn’t always roar, courage is about resiliency, cowardly decision making, creation means destroying something, creativity, creativity process, crushed by doubt, cynicism, days of thunder and chaos, dealing with adversity, dealing with everyday life, dealing with extenuating experiences, death is a forever nap, deceiving others, deceiving yourself, decision making, decision making under uncertainty, decision utility, defining happiness in moments, depth of character to face everyday life, designing perfect systems, desire everything at the same time, destroying the personal baggage you carry, differentiation, difficult to discern good guys from bad guys, difficult to manage expectations, disappointment created by expectations, disappointment in yourself, discerning the difference between attitude and behavior, discipline but freedom, disciplined chaos, discovery is messy, diversity of measures, do not go gentle, do not go quietly, do whatever you need to do, doing the right thing, doing the right thing is hard, don’t worry about people stealing an idea, doubt, doubt resides between certainty and uncertainty, doubt something, doubt something once unquestionable, doubts of words, dreaming is not just for kids, drucker new realities, easier to quit, ee cummings, effective communication, embellishment, embracing failure, employees, energy, enlightened conflict, enlightened people, every minute is another chance, every moment counts, every one is an architect of life, every one plays a role in fate, extraordinary cruel logic, facing overwhelming responsibilities, facts and truth, failure is a reflection of a flaw, faith in oneself, fear, fear of choices, fearlessness, few words, fight the hardest battle to be yourself, finagle, finagle’s law, finding the right words to say, finding what is possible from impossible, finding your way is tough, flame inside, follow the truth, freedom of, gain some new identity aspects, generalist, generating ideas, generations changing behavior, geting thru chaos unscathed, getting a grip on life, getting a new start means destroying some old things, getting kicked in the gut, getting kicked in the gut by questioning, gobs of poor management skills, good people, groups, growing up is tough, guilt and obligation, happiness, hard choices, hard decisions, having a personal defect, heightening value in life choices, hiding behind statistics, hope, i am fine, i am fine is the biggest lie, I fail, i like numbers, I think opinions, identifying who you are, ignorance, illogical decision making, imperfection implies opinion, in chaos we found safety, inability to manage expectations, inaction, increasingly popular words, individuals, inefficient processes, informing a decision, inserting myself into tangled moments, inside an enterprise are only costs, intentions, investing energy when appropriate, is anything back or white anymore, isolating variables using statistics, it is okay to fail, it isn’t process it is the work, judgement, judging failure needs context, judgment is not easy, juggling versus balancing, just this once, kindness in words creates confidence, knowing what is right is not enough, kodak, lack of responsibility, lack of self confidence, lacking hope, lazy decision making, lazy way to outline expectations, leadership, learning, lessons, letting go is difficult, letting go is not simple, lies, life, life formulas, life gives you a bazillion second chances, life is a string of minutes, life is a struggle, life is a winding road, life is about making choices, life is complex, life is not a mission, life is not a straight line, life is not as simple as it seems, life is often not lived best gently, life is tough, life lessons, life not defined by meeting objectives, life thoughts, Life truths, life’s white lies, listening, little failures versus big failures, live life to the fullest, living life backwards but still question, logical decision making, logical versus illogical, lying to your friends, lying to yourself, make weaknesses irrelevant, making changes personally, making choices, making the hard choice, management, management be accountable, management is about human beings, managing perceptions, marketing, Maslow, maslow and decisions, maybe it is better to admit we failed at something, maybe life is not that complicated, measurement of failure, measuring life, messaging, moments are like a balance sheet, moments of passion, moral fiber, most things in life are not black or white, motivated by a desire to achieve, murphy and finagle, murphy’s law, no one says you failed any more, no one wants to trust chaos, no substitute for judgment, not a quantity of words person, not meeting an objective is not failure, nothing is original, numbers are facts, numbers are facts nonsense, numbers show possibilities, numbers will confess anything, obligation to do, obligation to do the right thing, once doubt enters it takes on huge proportions, ongoing search for the right words, only few find the way, ordinary life with extraordinary responsibilities, ordinary people don’t think they are remarkable, organizations, organizations are living orgamisms, organizing chaos, original ideas, original ideas are typically nuances of existing, people confuse process and disciplined thinking, perfection is crap, perfection is the thief, personal creative destruction, personal thoughts, perspective can help with the complex, power of words, prioritizing actions, process is a means to an end, productivity, providing perspective, pursuing the way, put failing in perpsective, questioning the unquestionable, quotations, quotes, randomness of life, reason for being, relationships, resiliency, resiliency and character, respect, responsibility, results, results achieved, results is management criteria, right is right, right words, safe, say it is happening when it isn’t, say that something is happening when it is, saying it is fine when it is not, scared, see your own reality, seek truth, seeking the way of truth, self actualization, self doubt, self esteem through problem solving, self truth, self worth, shades of gray, shortcomings leading to consequences, simplicity in life, simplicity seems too chaotic, simplifying to make choices easier, six impossible things before breakfast, slippery slope, slippery slope of despair, slippery slope of I am not fine, slippery surface of irrelevant brilliance, small gestures in trivial looking moments, smallest actions contribute, soft choices, something more important than fear, sometimes systems work that should not work, sorting out the truth, soyoufailed.com, speaking, specialist, stand for something within yourself, standing on the uncertainty pedestal, standing up every time we fall down, statistics cannot make the decision for you, statistics getting in the way of a good decision, stimulus reponse, stop and think, straight lines, straight lines are rare in life, strategy, strength against adversity, strength of character, strength of character to make change, strip away the undoable and identify the doable, struggle between energy and indolence, struggle between vitality and decay, Stuff I Like, stumble upon doing it right, stunning grace in the face of overwhelming life, subconscious influences behavior, swallowing nonsense, symbolic dynamics, systems remain stagnant, take revenge on doubters, talking, tangled ball of string, tangled up people, teens, that i will be tomorrow, the answers are within you, the butterfly effect, the grocery shopper, the most powerful weapon in life is not a mission, the myth of original, the myth of the proprietary process, the subconscious, the word failure is tough love, there is no formula for good choices, thinking, thinking impossible things, thinking is good, this i am today, thomas jefferson, thoughts, to be sure of you, to slay a dragon you need to believe in dragons, torturing numbers, training is woefully lacking, training means results, trivial moments, trivial moments in bigger life, trust, truth, truth and expectations, truth goggles, truth is rarely simple, truth is what really happened, truth or lies, truth or nothing, truth to oneself, trying to preserve will lead to stagnation, tween strength, uncertainty is a bitch, uncertainty takes on geometric proportions, unintended results, unquestionable, untangling people, use your imagination, we all fail, what I know opinions, what is management, what is management drucker, what is the alternative, what is the place of words, what looks like chaos, what we have is not what we need, what we need is impossible to get, what we need to get us through, what we want is not what we need, whatever it takes, whatever it takes to cross that dark bridge, words, words that become deeds, words worse than nothing unless they do something, work is often up to people, work nevertheless, worry about implementing a great idea versus protecting it, yhprum’s law, you are not a failure because you fail, you cannot dwell on every moment that slipped by, you fail
Posted in Business Thoughts, Rants and Observations | No comments
“Responsibility for one’s impacts is the oldest principle of the law” – Peter Drucker (New Realities, 1989, p. 87) To me, in today’s business, manager management training is woefully lacking. Training simply equals “results” <with an additional emphasis on doing it while being politically correct and appropriately sensitive – to avoid litigation>. And, no, I [...]
life on a new scale
May 20, 2012 - 10:52 am
Tags: accommodating cultural differences, accommodating cultural differences in advertising, advertising, agency, brand, branding, Business Thoughts, communication, could have been different, depicting women in ads, each region culture has nuances, elevtae the brand to a whole new level, enlightened advertising, enlightened communication, even great ideas need nuance in final execution, for life on a whole new scale, global advertising, good idea, good idea behind campaign, i like the imagery, korean air advertising, learning, managing perceptions, marketing, non visual cues & quirks, nuances matter, our own antics & quirks, something seems slightly off, the people here like this, world does not revolve around american culture
Posted in Business Thoughts | No comments
I have always recognized that sometimes advertising is tough to evaluate because of cultural differences. and possibly because I just finished an international project I am even more aware than usual. Local culture, or even regional culture, has a variety of visual and non visual cues & quirks that if you are not from that [...]
even Sweden is embarrassed
May 18, 2012 - 4:51 pm
Tags: a real clinical study, advertising, being embarrassed, business, Business Thoughts, embarassed advertisers, even sweden is embarrassed, lack of respect, marketing, swedish diet, swedish diet bad advertising, truth, tv commercials, who approves these things, world's worst advertising, would a professional do this
Posted in Rants and Observations | No comments
This is about advertising. Well. I am actually hard pressed to call this advertising. Although I can clearly call it embarrassing <to those in the marketing profession>. There are times I wonder who the heck actually thinks something is good enough to share with the general public. And who actually approves it to be seen. [...]
catching culture
May 18, 2012 - 8:58 am
Tags: actions today make who i am tomorrow, adidas evrybody runs, Adidas is doing a good job, adidas new world in my view, advertising, advertising focused on women, authentic statement, badge worthy, being cool but functional, brand, branding, brings together diversity, business, Business Thoughts, capture culture and peformance, capturing culture without losing performance, catching cultre in advertising, catching culture, character, communication, consumers are fickle, consumers are illogical, consumers are inconsistent, crating attitudes, creating buying behavior, dificult and elusive ideas, enlightened advertising, enlightened communication, enlightened execution, good job adidas, good use of song in ad, hitting critical sales mass, holy grail of advertising, katy is wacky, katy perry adidas, leadership, learning, managing perceptions, new world in my view, nike has lost their way, performance is not enough, relevant in a non stupid way, respect, sending a positive message, smart planning and assessment, smart wacky, Stuff I Like, superior athletic performance, truth
Posted in Business Thoughts, Rants and Observations, Stuff I Like | No comments
Ok. The holy grail of advertising and marketing is to capture culture and performance at the exact right moment. Just catch culture and you are cool <but no one buys your shit>. Just catch performance and you aren’t cool enough <or “badge worthy” enough> to hit sales critical mass. Performance is easy … although many [...]
ordinary extraordinary sports fans
May 13, 2012 - 4:22 pm
Tags: advertising, avoiding the trite, believe espn tv, best espn commercials, branding, brilliant in simplicity, business, Business Thoughts, easy creative work, enlightened advertising, espn commercials, espn ordinary michael jordan, life, marketing, not just for sports fans, ordinary dealing with extraordinary expectations, ordinary guy, ordinary person with famous name, relevant to many not just few, smart advertising, Stuff I Like
Posted in Business Thoughts, Stuff I Like | No comments
Ok. Creating good espn television commercials is sort of an easy task in the scheme of things <in the world of creating good advertising>. It’s not like having to explain how my detergent is somehow better then another detergent <that is 25cents less and claims to do the same thing>. Anyway. As long as you [...]
life formulas
May 9, 2012 - 10:50 am
Tags: a full life, a human defect or a flaw, a severe shortcoming, accountable decision making, actions today make who i am tomorrow, aligning perceptions and behavior creates satisfaction, alignment, analysis paralysis, analyzing actual behavior, anything that can go wrong will, architects of fate, astonish people, at some point you are accountable, attacking doubt, attaining levles of good, attitudes and behavior, averting chaos, avoid the gray, be who you are, behavior management business, being accountable, being distinct, being honest to yourself, being soft in business, believe, bell curve, big mistake big succcesses, big mistakes, black or white, boundlessness of friendship, brand, branding, breaking life decisions down, breeds an aspect of complacency, bull in a china shop living, business, business is messy, Business Thoughts, can someone really give 110%, capacity of the human mind, change begins in the head, change forces prioritizing, change is easier if you simplify, change takes remarkable effort, changed behavior, changing objectives to make change, chaos, chaos control methods, chaos creates opportunities, character, choice between alternatives, choice by numbers, choice cannot be made with statistics alone, choices, choices leading to full life, choices we make or do not make, choosing to be true, collaboration, collector of moments, committed to showing up everyday, communication, complex simplified, concept of chaos, consensus, consistency, consistency is underrated, consistency of character, consistency of character is underrated, consistency of values, consumer attitudes, consumer buying system, controlled chaos, courage and faith, courage doesn’t always roar, courage is about resiliency, cowardly decision making, creation means destroying something, creativity, creativity process, crushed by doubt, cynicism, days of thunder and chaos, dealing with adversity, dealing with everyday life, dealing with extenuating experiences, death is a forever nap, deceiving others, deceiving yourself, decision making, decision making under uncertainty, decision utility, defining happiness in moments, depth of character to face everyday life, designing perfect systems, desire everything at the same time, destroying the personal baggage you carry, differentiation, difficult to discern good guys from bad guys, difficult to manage expectations, disappointment created by expectations, disappointment in yourself, discerning the difference between attitude and behavior, discipline but freedom, disciplined chaos, discovery is messy, do not go gentle, do not go quietly, do whatever you need to do, doing the right thing, doing the right thing is hard, don’t worry about people stealing an idea, doubt, doubt resides between certainty and uncertainty, doubt something, doubt something once unquestionable, doubts of words, dreaming is not just for kids, easier to quit, ee cummings, effective communication, embellishment, embracing failure, employees, energy, enlightened conflict, enlightened people, every minute is another chance, every moment counts, every one is an architect of life, every one plays a role in fate, extraordinary cruel logic, facing overwhelming responsibilities, facts and truth, failure is a reflection of a flaw, faith in oneself, fear, fear of choices, fearlessness, few words, fight the hardest battle to be yourself, finagle, finagle’s law, finding the right words to say, finding what is possible from impossible, finding your way is tough, flame inside, follow the truth, freedom of, gain some new identity aspects, generalist, generating ideas, generations changing behavior, geting thru chaos unscathed, getting a grip on life, getting a new start means destroying some old things, getting kicked in the gut, getting kicked in the gut by questioning, good people, groups, growing up is tough, guilt and obligation, happiness, hard choices, hard decisions, having a personal defect, heightening value in life choices, hiding behind statistics, hope, i am fine, i am fine is the biggest lie, I fail, i like numbers, I think opinions, identifying who you are, ignorance, illogical decision making, imperfection implies opinion, in chaos we found safety, inability to manage expectations, inaction, increasingly popular words, individuals, inefficient processes, informing a decision, inserting myself into tangled moments, intentions, investing energy when appropriate, is anything back or white anymore, isolating variables using statistics, it is okay to fail, it isn’t process it is the work, judgement, judging failure needs context, judgment is not easy, juggling versus balancing, just this once, kindness in words creates confidence, knowing what is right is not enough, kodak, lack of responsibility, lack of self confidence, lacking hope, lazy decision making, leadership, learning, lessons, letting go is difficult, letting go is not simple, lies, life, life formulas, life gives you a bazillion second chances, life is a string of minutes, life is a struggle, life is a winding road, life is about making choices, life is complex, life is not a mission, life is not a straight line, life is not as simple as it seems, life is often not lived best gently, life is tough, life lessons, life not defined by meeting objectives, life thoughts, Life truths, life’s white lies, listening, little failures versus big failures, live life to the fullest, living life backwards but still question, logical decision making, logical versus illogical, lying to your friends, lying to yourself, making changes personally, making choices, making the hard choice, management, managing perceptions, marketing, Maslow, maslow and decisions, maybe it is better to admit we failed at something, maybe life is not that complicated, measurement of failure, measuring life, messaging, moments are like a balance sheet, moments of passion, moral fiber, most things in life are not black or white, motivated by a desire to achieve, murphy and finagle, murphy’s law, no one says you failed any more, no one wants to trust chaos, no substitute for judgment, not a quantity of words person, not meeting an objective is not failure, nothing is original, numbers are facts, numbers are facts crap, numbers are facts nonsense, numbers are not accountable, numbers can play a role, numbers have a role, numbers show possibilities, numbers will confess anything, obligation to do, obligation to do the right thing, once doubt enters it takes on huge proportions, ongoing search for the right words, only few find the way, ordinary life with extraordinary responsibilities, ordinary people don’t think they are remarkable, organizations, organizations are living orgamisms, organizing chaos, original ideas, original ideas are typically nuances of existing, people confuse process and disciplined thinking, perfection is crap, perfection is the thief, personal creative destruction, personal thoughts, perspective can help with the complex, power of words, prioritizing actions, process is a means to an end, productivity, providing perspective, pursuing the way, put failing in perpsective, questioning the unquestionable, quotations, quotes, randomness of life, reason for being, relationships, resiliency, resiliency and character, respect, responsibility, right is right, right words, safe, say it is happening when it isn’t, say that something is happening when it is, saying it is fine when it is not, scared, see your own reality, seek truth, seeking the way of truth, self actualization, self doubt, self esteem through problem solving, self truth, self worth, shades of gray, shortcomings leading to consequences, simplicity in life, simplicity seems too chaotic, simplifying to make choices easier, six impossible things before breakfast, slippery slope, slippery slope of despair, slippery slope of I am not fine, slippery surface of irrelevant brilliance, small gestures in trivial looking moments, smallest actions contribute, soft choices, something more important than fear, sometimes systems work that should not work, sorting out the truth, soyoufailed.com, speaking, specialist, stand for something within yourself, standing on the uncertainty pedestal, standing up every time we fall down, statistical decision theory, statistics, statistics cannot make the decision for you, statistics getting in the way of a good decision, stimulus reponse, stop and think, straight lines, straight lines are rare in life, strategy, strength against adversity, strength of character, strength of character to make change, strip away the undoable and identify the doable, struggle between energy and indolence, struggle between vitality and decay, Stuff I Like, stumble upon doing it right, stunning grace in the face of overwhelming life, subconscious influences behavior, swallowing nonsense, symbolic dynamics, systems remain stagnant, take revenge on doubters, talking, tangled ball of string, tangled up people, teens, that i will be tomorrow, the answers are within you, the butterfly effect, the grocery shopper, the most powerful weapon in life is not a mission, the myth of original, the myth of the proprietary process, the numbers told me what to do, the subconscious, the word failure is tough love, there is no formula for good choices, thinking, thinking impossible things, thinking is good, this i am today, thomas jefferson, thoughts, to be sure of you, to slay a dragon you need to believe in dragons, torture numbers, torturing numbers, trivial moments, trivial moments in bigger life, trust, truth, truth and expectations, truth goggles, truth is rarely simple, truth is what really happened, truth or lies, truth or nothing, truth to oneself, trying to preserve will lead to stagnation, tween strength, uncertainty is a bitch, uncertainty takes on geometric proportions, unintended results, unquestionable, untangling people, use your imagination, we all fail, what I know opinions, what is the alternative, what is the place of words, what looks like chaos, what we have is not what we need, what we need is impossible to get, what we need to get us through, what we want is not what we need, whatever it takes, whatever it takes to cross that dark bridge, woefully inadequate data, words, words that become deeds, words worse than nothing unless they do something, work is often up to people, work nevertheless, worry about implementing a great idea versus protecting it, yhprum’s law, you are not a failure because you fail, you cannot dwell on every moment that slipped by, you fail
Posted in Personal & Nonsensical, Stuff I Like | No comments
Life is not as simple as it seems. Or maybe it isn’t as complicated as it seems. Shit. Maybe its both … at exactly the same time. I cannot remember where I found all these awesome “life formulas” but I love the way they take complex life things and simplify them into basic equations (note: [...]
advertising beer
May 4, 2012 - 3:48 pm
Tags: advertising, agency, alex from strohs, bad beer advertising, beer fetching dogs, bland advertising, bland beer advertising, blandly innocuous, brand, brand personality, branding, bulls refuse to fight him, business, Business Thoughts, campaign, character, charm, charm in advertising, cinco de mayo beer ads, communication, dos equis, good thoughtful marketing, great ad writing, his pinatas fight back, I don't drink beer all the time, immature humor, learning, lessons, marketing, messaging, most interesting man in the world, rant on beer advertising, silly advertising, stay thirsty, stay thirsty my friends, strategy, Stuff I Like, taught a german shepard to bark in spanish, truth, when I do I drink dos equis, words
Posted in Business Thoughts, Stuff I Like | No comments
“his piñatas fight back.” – the most interesting man in the world Cinco de Mayo brings out the beer advertising and my annual rant about beer advertising. And how bland it is … not bad … just bland. Bland. I continue to think once a year all the beer company marketing people sit around a [...]
finagle’s Law
April 30, 2012 - 4:34 pm
Tags: a human defect or a flaw, a severe shortcoming, actions today make who i am tomorrow, aligning perceptions and behavior creates satisfaction, alignment, analyzing actual behavior, anything that can go wrong will, architects of fate, attacking doubt, attaining levles of good, attitudes and behavior, averting chaos, avoid the gray, be who you are, behavior management business, being distinct, being honest to yourself, believe, bell curve, big mistake big succcesses, big mistakes, black or white, boundlessness of friendship, brand, branding, breeds an aspect of complacency, business, business is messy, Business Thoughts, change begins in the head, change forces prioritizing, change takes remarkable effort, chaos, chaos control methods, chaos creates opportunities, character, choices we make or do not make, choosing to be true, collaboration, collector of moments, committed to showing up everyday, communication, concept of chaos, consensus, consistency, consistency is underrated, consistency of character, consistency of character is underrated, consistency of values, consumer attitudes, consumer buying system, controlled chaos, courage and faith, courage doesn’t always roar, courage is about resiliency, creation means destroying something, creativity, creativity process, crushed by doubt, days of thunder and chaos, dealing with adversity, dealing with everyday life, decision making, depth of character to face everyday life, designing perfect systems, desire everything at the same time, destroying the personal baggage you carry, differentiation, difficult to discern good guys from bad guys, disappointment in yourself, discerning the difference between attitude and behavior, discipline but freedom, disciplined chaos, discovery is messy, do whatever you need to do, don’t worry about people stealing an idea, doubt, doubt resides between certainty and uncertainty, doubt something, doubt something once unquestionable, dreaming is not just for kids, easier to quit, ee cummings, effective communication, embellishment, embracing failure, employees, energy, enlightened conflict, enlightened people, every one is an architect of life, every one plays a role in fate, extraordinary cruel logic, facing overwhelming responsibilities, facts and truth, failure is a reflection of a flaw, faith in oneself, fear, fear of choices, fearlessness, fight the hardest battle to be yourself, finagle, finagle's law, finding what is possible from impossible, finding your way is tough, flame inside, follow the truth, freedom of, gain some new identity aspects, generalist, generating ideas, geting thru chaos unscathed, getting a grip on life, getting a new start means destroying some old things, getting kicked in the gut, getting kicked in the gut by questioning, good people, groups, growing up is tough, having a personal defect, hope, I fail, identifying who you are, ignorance, imperfection implies opinion, in chaos we found safety, inaction, individuals, inefficient processes, inserting myself into tangled moments, intentions, investing energy when appropriate, is anything back or white anymore, it is okay to fail, it isn’t process it is the work, judging failure needs context, just this once, kindness in words creates confidence, lack of self confidence, lacking hope, leadership, learning, lessons, lies, life, life is a struggle, life is a winding road, life is about making choices, life is tough, life lessons, Life truths, little failures versus big failures, living life backwards but still question, making changes personally, management, managing perceptions, marketing, Maslow, maslow and decisions, maybe it is better to admit we failed at something, messaging, most things in life are not black or white, motivated by a desire to achieve, murphy and finagle, murphy's law, no one says you failed any more, no one wants to trust chaos, nothing is original, once doubt enters it takes on huge proportions, only few find the way, ordinary life with extraordinary responsibilities, ordinary people don’t think they are remarkable, organizations, organizations are living orgamisms, organizing chaos, original ideas, original ideas are typically nuances of existing, people confuse process and disciplined thinking, perfection is crap, perfection is the thief, personal creative destruction, power of words, process is a means to an end, productivity, pursuing the way, put failing in perpsective, questioning the unquestionable, quotations, quotes, randomness of life, reason for being, relationships, resiliency, resiliency and character, respect, responsibility, safe, scared, see your own reality, seek truth, seeking the way of truth, self actualization, self doubt, self esteem through problem solving, self truth, self worth, shades of gray, shortcomings leading to consequences, simplicity seems too chaotic, six impossible things before breakfast, slippery slope, slippery slope of despair, slippery surface of irrelevant brilliance, small gestures in trivial looking moments, smallest actions contribute, something more important than fear, sometimes systems work that should not work, sorting out the truth, soyoufailed.com, specialist, stand for something within yourself, standing on the uncertainty pedestal, standing up every time we fall down, stimulus reponse, stop and think, strategy, strength against adversity, strength of character, strength of character to make change, strip away the undoable and identify the doable, struggle between energy and indolence, struggle between vitality and decay, Stuff I Like, stumble upon doing it right, stunning grace in the face of overwhelming life, symbolic dynamics, systems remain stagnant, take revenge on doubters, tangled ball of string, tangled up people, teens, that i will be tomorrow, the butterfly effect, the grocery shopper, the myth of original, the myth of the proprietary process, the word failure is tough love, there is no formula for good choices, thinking, thinking impossible things, thinking is good, this i am today, thomas jefferson, thoughts, to be sure of you, to slay a dragon you need to believe in dragons, trivial moments, trivial moments in bigger life, trust, truth, truth goggles, truth is rarely simple, truth or lies, truth or nothing, truth to oneself, trying to preserve will lead to stagnation, tween strength, uncertainty is a bitch, uncertainty takes on geometric proportions, unintended results, unquestionable, untangling people, use your imagination, we all fail, what is the alternative, what looks like chaos, what we have is not what we need, what we need is impossible to get, what we need to get us through, what we want is not what we need, whatever it takes, whatever it takes to cross that dark bridge, words, work is often up to people, work nevertheless, worry about implementing a great idea versus protecting it, yhprum's law, you are not a failure because you fail, you fail
Posted in Business Thoughts, Rants and Observations | No comments
Well. I imagine I am way behind the rest of the cool people <who already know what finagle’s law is> but I just discovered it. Maybe because I had always known it as Murphy’s Law. The generalized or `folk’ version of Murphy’s Law, fully named “Finagle’s Law of Dynamic Negatives” and usually rendered “Anything that [...]
the flaw in creativity collaboration
April 26, 2012 - 6:32 pm
Tags: action and consequences, actions today make who i am tomorrow, addressing your business situation, advertising, affecting organization thru actions, agency, aiming high, architects of fate, art is an I business, art is I science is We, bell curve, booker washington, brand, branding, builders versus renovators, business, Business Thoughts, change begins in the head, character, collaboration, collaboration is not good with creativity, communication, company of adventurers, consensus, creating positive touchpoints, creativity, creativity process, decision making, depth of character to face everyday life, differentiation, discipline but freedom, disciplined chaos, discovery is messy, don’t worry about people stealing an idea, dynamic beyond our own purposes, employees, energy, enlightened conflict, enlightened creativity, enlightened thinking, events are meant to be commanded not feared, every one is an architect of life, extreme situations demand extreme solutions, Favorite Quotes, fear, fearlessness, finding your way is tough, flaw in creative collaboration, generalist, generating ideas, george bernard shaw, greatest danger is aiming too low, groups, ideas generated from an individual, individuals, individuals provide the spark, it is not an easy discussion, it isn’t process it is the work, john kenneth galbraith, keep your mind open to solutions, lack of consensus, leaders and character, leadership, learning, lessons, life, life is a winding road, life lessons, logic, making hard decisions, management, managing perceptions, marketing, messaging, michelanglo, Moscow, most things in life are not black or white, Napoleon, no one wants to trust chaos, nothing is original, one foot in history one foot in future, only few find the way, original ideas, original ideas are typically nuances of existing, overcoming optimism, people confuse process and disciplined thinking, process is a means to an end, productivity, pursuing the way, quotations, quotes, reach for the stars, relationships, respect, responsibility, risk, Russia, safe, scared, seek out events without fear, Shakespeare, simplicity seems too chaotic, smallest actions contribute, so what do we do, specialist, strategy, Stuff I Like, that i will be tomorrow, the myth of original, the myth of the proprietary process, this i am today, thrive on dreams and possibilities, tough decisions are tough, transformational people, truth, unpopular point of view, unreasonable, what do you do when you get what you want, worry about implementing a great idea versus protecting it
Posted in Business Thoughts, Favorite Quotes, Rants and Observations | 4 comments
Ok. This is not a popular point of view these days. I am a firm believer, that in the creativity business, collaboration isn’t good. Well. “isn’t good” is like saying “never” or “it always sucks” or something like that. Let’s just say creativity isn’t about collaboration. And I found a quote that says it perfectly: [...]
that I have not been
April 25, 2012 - 5:39 pm
Tags: 37 seconds well used is a lifetime, a full life, a good idea is a good idea, a scared organization, a swinging organization, accountable decision making, actions today make who i am tomorrow, advertising, alignment, alignment has dimensions, analysis paralysis, architects of fate, astonish people, at some point you are accountable, attitudes and behavior, autonomy, avoiding the business pendulum, be who you are, behavior, being accountable, being fearless in a room of fear is frustrating, being scared as a leader, being soft in business, being the person you want to be, big ideas, big ideas are crap, bookending alignment, breaking life decisions down, Business Thoughts, can someone really give 110%, cannot be happy and scared, capacity of the human mind, change begins in the head, change forces prioritizing, change is easier if you simplify, change takes remarkable effort, changed behavior, changing objectives to make change, character, choice between alternatives, choice by 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Posted in Favorite Quotes | No comments
“’pray for nothing, say every night in bed, I have been a king, I have been a slave, nor is there anything, fool, rascal, knave, that I have not been, yet upon my breast a myriad of hearts have lain.” Mohini Chatterjee by Yeats If I had not known that Yeats was enamored with mysticism [...]
February 14, 2010 - 4:32 pm
Saw this post title and was SO hoping you’d pound on comcast!