Messaging

Clear Superpowers Win

    Originally published in the Boulder Daily Camera and the Longmont Daily Times-Call.

    I was once told that to win, I needed to be very clear about my superpower. I also needed to be able to make that superpower clear to others. Isn’t that what marketing is about? But what if you only have an elevator ride’s worth of time? What is your
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    Holiday Sales

      Originally published in the Boulder Daily Camera and the Longmont Daily Times-Call.

      Mom always began the sell early. A casual word dropped around Thanksgiving, secret smiles directed my way in early December. Perhaps a few bars of “White Christmas” hummed under her breath. Next, holiday songs would ring through the air and the full-scale sale began. “Wouldn’t it be fun to go
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      Maybe You Had To Be There

        Originally published in the Boulder Daily Camera and the Longmont Daily Times-Call.

        I found myself doing it again.  Staring at a shelf trying to decide what to buy.  The clock was ticking in my head as I tried to make a decision, any decision. Recognizing that I wasn’t getting anywhere I spun around only to find another person right behind me. Also
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        Choose the Wrong Words At Your Own Peril

          Originally published in the Boulder Daily Camera and the Longmont Daily Times-Call.

          Bobby was full of information when I was in elementary school. He was the Google of our time. He told me how babies were made (it made me cry), why our teacher had bad breath (lint in her dentures), and about the monsters living just under our feet in the
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          The Art of Persuasion

            Originally published in the Boulder Daily Camera and the Longmont Daily Times-Call.

            Most of us engage in some form of persuasion multiple times every day. Relationships require persuasion, as do politics, Santa letters, and of course advertising and marketing. Ideas are the currency of the twenty-first century. The ability to persuade, to change hearts and minds, is perhaps the single greatest skill
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            It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown, Or Is It?

              Originally published in the Boulder Daily Camera and the Longmont Daily Times-Call.

              “Each year, the Great Pumpkin rises out of the pumpkin patch that he thinks is the most sincere,” Linus Van Pelt famously says each Halloween. “He’s gotta pick this one. He’s got to. I don’t see how a pumpkin patch can be more sincere than this one.” Every year Linus
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              Beware the Communication Death Spiral

                Originally published in the Boulder Daily Camera and the Longmont Daily Times-Call.

                My roses have wilted, my violets are dead. Demons run circles round and round in my head. In my case, demons don’t sport pointy horns. They don’t hold pitchforks. No, they are businesses that simply won’t provide a way to talk to a real, live, person. We are all frustrated
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                Communicate As If Your Life Depends On It

                  Originally published in the Boulder Daily Camera and the Longmont Daily Times-Call.

                  By now you’ve probably expressed what you are thankful for. It’s that time of year. As Thanksgiving rolled around, each of us was encouraged to take a moment to pause and reflect. We are, in fact, prompted time and time again throughout the entire holiday season to embrace gratitude and
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                  They’ll Remember How You Made Them Feel

                    Originally published in the Boulder Daily Camera and the Longmont Daily Times-Call.

                    Growing up I heard my Dad say, “INAM” a lot.  He meant, It’s Not About Me.  That’s how he ran his life, and he tried hard to impress this on me, and others.  I’ve been thinking about this lately.  Seems like a lot of people tend to believe “IAM”, It’s
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                    The Art of Persuasion

                      Originally published in the Boulder Daily Camera and the Longmont Daily Times-Call.

                      I took a break from social media recently. I grew weary of the divisiveness and vitriol contained in many messages. Rather than seeking to persuade, propaganda was ruling the day. Social media provides great platforms for reaching many people, and properly done, it can greatly impact businesses and organizations in
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