Branding Blog

Milk Carton Ads: Not Just for Missing Kids Anymore

My daughter was laughing as she ate her breakfast. It was this sticker on the milk jug. It's a fun ad and a great tie-in.

Out to Lunch: Part 2

What if you want to move from the realm of passive observation to active manipulation to test someone?

Less than 24 hours after my "Out to Lunch" story posted, Tim Ferriss posted an in-depth method for REALLY testing someone's mettle. I like reading Tim's blog. He's of the "build my own river and craft the rapids" mentality. I'm more of the "grab the inner tube and a case of beer and let's see what happens" sort.

Most people spend more time planning their weekends than their relationships. Don’t make that mistake. You are the average of the 5 or so people you associate with most.

Choose wisely.

What do you think? Too Machiavellian? Not enough? Would you go this far?

Out to Lunch: Would this Person Make a Good Client, Boss, Employee?

What clues do people give off when you are in the courtship phase of a new relationship?

A simple shared meal at a restaurant with table service is a great place to pick up clues about how YOU will soon be treated if you enter into a relationship (business or otherwise) with your dining partner. Watch how your guest treats the staff at the restaurant. Watch especially closely when something goes wrong, or a waiter makes a mistake.

Now, use your empathy to decide if you would like to be the waiter at your table. Mentally, put yourself in the shoes of the waiter and imagine what it would be like as a person to serve your guest.

If your potential client treats the wait-staff as servants, you're in for the same treatment after the honeymoon period wears off. If she treats the waiter with warmth and talks to them as an equal, you can likely expect the same.

As a Myers-Briggs ENFP, I have no problem with the empathy part. What usually trips me up is giving the person the benefit of the doubt, over and over. We ENFPs often make the mistake of thinking we can have a nice human relationship with the most un-human of people. If we would only follow our intuition when it says "warning!" we'd be able to easily avoid some of life's drama!

What other clues should we watch for? What's been your experience?

Free Rice for Hungry People

I've idled a bit of time playing the never-ending-movie-quiz-game on Facebook. You get nothing back but a score.

Bryan Eisenberg IMd me a link to Free Rice. Now, instead of wasting my time trying to remember obscure movie facts, I can improve my vocabulary AND feed hungry people. It's a win-win! You should try it!

A Tour of Tigers

By Roy H. Williams

TIGER ONE:

Are you trying to Grow a business, Build a career, Overcome an obstacle?

"Those who expect moments of change to be comfortable and free of conflict have not learned their history." – Joan Wallach Scott

Ferocity is a wondrous tool.

STOP. Read no further
1.    if you are proud of your passivity,
2.    if you are offended by reading a vulgar word (as opposed to seeing it represented by a first letter and a series of dashes,)
3.    if you are angered by your own mortality.

TIGER TWO:

"When the stars threw down their spears and watered heaven with their tears, did he smile his work to see? Did he who made the lamb make thee? Tyger! Tyger! burning bright in the forests of the night, what immortal hand or eye dare frame thy fearful symmetry?" – William Blake, (1757-1827)

Yes, Blake was right. He who gently made the lamb made the tiger also.

Ah, ferocity is a wondrous tool.

Pursue your goals with ferocity and singularity of purpose.

[There's a lot more...continue reading at MondayMorningMemo.com]

Vess Barnes is Paving the Driveway! Right on Vess!

All of the Cognoscenti have met Vess Barnes at some point or another in their forays to Austin. He's a staple at Wizard Academy. He drives down from Amarillo in his 'vette faster than I can get there from Denver on United Airlines.

He's stepped up and bought a bunch of concrete, and we couldn't be happier! Vess Barnes says Hello!

Bathroom Blogfest: How Did I Miss it? Doh!

A bunch of bloggers held a Bathroom Blogfest, and I missed it! I'm so mad at myself right now that I'm seriously considering never using a public bathroom again. (I'll get over it.)

So, what could I have offered? Do you seriously think that I travel the world without snapping pictures of bathrooms? And, these women didn't even have access to the tiled and stainless steel coolness of some men's rooms.

Here are a few samples: (click to ridiculously enlarge)

Howard Johnson hotel near LAX (in the guest room)

No basin. The countertop is sloped to the back where the drains are.

A urinal in Sydney

It was nearly impossible to use the urinals at the Queen Victoria Building in Sydney because of the tourists taking pictures!

And, here's the urinal. There are 4 of them in the center of the room. Note the QVB in the porcelain.