There must be more to life. Than chasing shadows. Than clutching at emptiness. Than images and illusions. Than seeing yourself in others. Than craving for possessions. Than music and moods. Than pleasures of the senses. There must be more to friendship. Than associations of convenience. Than empty hellos and forced smiles. Than mundane conversations. Than superficial masks, hiding a selfish core. There must be more to religion. Than blindness and blood. Than symbols and sermo

As companies think about how to get more for their marketing dollars, I believe they need to approach the problem systemically, by looking at the taxonomy of their marketing spend (people spend, program spend and infrastructure spend), and by identifying different “value levers” that can increase the efficiency and effectiveness of marketing. I’ve come up with 7 Value Levers that I believe can help in this process: 1. Rationalization of Products and SKUs 2. Simplification of

Most companies spend an enormous amount of time and effort in seeking out best practices from their business or from companies they admire. Whenever I am asked to speak on a topic to a senior executive audience, they want to know about best practices they can learn from. While best practices are valuable, the single-minded focus on best practices misses an important insight – success is a lousy teacher compared with failure. We learn a lot from failure, because failure makes

This is a poem I wrote for a friend’s wedding yesterday: Today in your hand I place my hand Today in your arms I place my body Today in your lips I place my smile Today in your songs I place my voice Today in your music I place my beat Today in your dreams I place my hopes Today in your sorrows I place my tears Today in your decisions I place my trust Today in your heart I place my soul #poetry