Beloit College recently released their Mindset List for the class of 2015.  This year’s list contains 75 items that provide a look at the cultural touchstones that have shaped the lives of this fall’s entering class.  Most of this year’s freshmen were born in 1993, just for fun; take a look at the world through their eyes:   ·         There has always been an Internet ramp onto the information [...]

It’s springtime and that means my weather alert radio will soon be broadcasting storm warnings:  “The National Doppler Radar System has indicated that local conditions are right to produce severe weather.  High winds, damaging hail, and flash floods are likely products of this storm.  Seek immediate shelter moving away from doors and windows.” Why do I often reject the alert advice by running to the front door to see what’s happening [...]

It’s Army vs. Navy this weekend. It’s an annual football game between the United States Military Academy and the United States Naval Academy. A national championship is not on the line; but pride and inter-service bragging rights are always at stake.  Over thirty years ago as a Midshipman I pledged my loyalty to the Navy blue and gold. Then my son came along and decided to join the Army. He’s [...]

I have a new electric stove with turbo-boil. The manufacturer calls this feature “America’s fastest speed-to-boil” element. In fact, it heats liquids in a snap. Are you currently feeling pressure from your sales organization to use the turbo-boil feature? You know, turn up the campaign heat in order to snap the prospect through the sales funnel. Turbo-boil is great for making hot tea; but in my opinion it can backfire [...]

As soon as I bit that piece of candy I knew it was trouble.  Yes, I chipped a tooth and that meant a trip to the dentist.  The process of getting a crown wasn’t that bad though.  Then again, I used noise cancellation headphones to drown out the sound of the drill.  I also asked the dentist to use both Novocaine and Nitrous Oxide.  In short, you could say that [...]

You look marvelous!  Have you lost some weight?  Well, not really, but thanks for looking at me through your waist reduction glasses!    Did you read about the men’s pants waist size investigation conducted by Esquire? Esquire’s investigation found that several men’s pants brands are making waist sizes appear smaller to make their customers feel better. For example, pants from The Gap that say they are 36 inches are actually [...]

Generally speaking, spotting tourists or newcomers doesn’t require a particularly keen eye.  They just have that out-of-place look.   Speech patterns, vocabulary and accents can also give a person away because there is something in language that often times shouts out that you are not a local.  Are you a local?  I recently Googled “local search” and received 1,410,000,000 results.  That number suggests that quite a few of us are not [...]

Beloit College recently released their Mindset List for the class of 2014. This year’s list contains 75 items that provide a look at the cultural touchstones that have shaped the lives of this fall’s entering class. Most of this year’s freshmen were born in 1992, just for fun; take a look at the world through their eyes: 1.  Few in the class know how to write in cursive. 2.  Email [...]

  A recent article in the Wall Street Journal (Recovery Losses Momentum) stated that consumers have seen little growth in their wallets and remain skittish about the economy’s prospects.  Of course, if you own a business that depends on people having jobs and disposable income you didn’t need research from the U.S. Commerce Department to tell you that consumer spending is sluggish.  Economists are currently cutting forecasts for the second [...]

  There is a story that is told of Henry Ford about a breakdown in his assembly line that no one on his staff could fix.  As the story goes, his production lines were down for hours; hours turned into days, and Henry was frustrated.  In desperation he called an electrical engineer friend whom he trusted to come to his plant, diagnose, and repair the problem.  His friend promptly arrived [...]

I’m fortunate to be able to reflect on the role of marketing as both a CMO and educator. In my role as educator my student’s first assignment is always a short interpretive paper in which I ask for their personal definition of marketing; as well as their perspective on marketing’s importance in helping organizations achieve success. Over the years, I’ve discovered that these papers provide a glimpse into the mindset [...]

My post “Using Marketing Booth Babes” sparked some lively discussion. The original post asked marketer’s for their opinion on the practice of using booth babes (scantily clad women … or men) to attract attention to their organizations booth at conferences and trade-shows. The use of sexual tension to create a direction for a movie plot or to sell products is an age-old strategy. However, many readers agreed that using sex [...]