Month: March 2016
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Comparing The Effectiveness Of 3 Metro Ads
The D.C. Metro is running this ad campaign designed to boost recruitment. The tagline is: “Admiration. It’s part of the job.” I completely hate these ads. In this example from the series, we see a “Metro employee” displaying a crayon drawing of himself that a little girl has apparently done and given to him. I…
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Hope Is Not A Strategy
In a recent post I talked about trying to lose weight. Well, it sucks. Because unfortunately, it turns out you cannot just imagine your way to slimness. If you actually do throw out your scale, eat two avocados at a time, end your night with a pack of Moon Cheese and refuse to do any exercise, you will become…
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Here to Learn
One time I had to do a presentation about branding. I sat down with my little slide deck and someone yelled out, “I’m very familiar with all this from my own experience at X company.” Keep in mind this is just the beginning of the presentation…like we are literally only on Slide 1. I mistook…
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some reflections on a friday
Not every post has to be full of weighty thoughts. Isn’t it a relief sometimes, when we give ourselves permission not to think them? Today is a beautiful almost-spring day here in Washington, D.C. The flowers are in bloom all over the place. People are standing around outside. Bicyclists are running everbody over, as usual.…
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What Bad Leaders Have In Common
They seriously think the show cannot go on without them. For example, Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer is known for her “tight-fisted,” “controlling” management style.Apple’s Steve Jobs was known to be a tyrant.It’s a turnoff. Most people know instinctively that large, top-heavy organizational hierarchies are both costly and wasteful – but it is hard to imagine what…
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Don’t Leave
He was talking to his boss – frustrated. “I don’t see how I can stay here any more.” “Why not?” said his boss, already knowing the answer. “Because they’re a bunch of dumbasses, that’s why.” The man was pacing now. His voice gathered steam with every utterance. “Every decision they make is wrong!” He was…
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Take Control From The Beginning
Do you want to know where your brand got messed up? That day, when you had the very first meeting. And they were looking at you and you declined to assert your power: nakedly, openly, without any artifice or pretense. You pretended that it was all about collaboration, but really you had something in mind,…
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Follow The Customer Wherever
Trending on Facebook yesterday was a story on porn search terms. Apparently, this now includes three states in the USA where the most popular search term is “cartoon.” Hm, whatever but the point is that porn purveyors have something to teach the rest of us: Don’t judge. (Obviously, unless someone is getting hurt.) The other day…
2016 Diary - Dannielle Blumenthal 