This recent Gartner article surprises me only in that they seem to find it a new idea that we should focus on how people FEEL about work when defining the employee value proposition (EVP). This shift from FEATURES to feelings … Continue reading Feelings > Features: An Employee Value Proposition Journey.
The last category design case study is about ourselves – the story we tell to others about our particular genius, the promise we make for others to say “YES!” The right people want you (to work with them, for them). … Continue reading Category Design Case Study VII: Your Personal STORY.
I am a generalist. A slice of talent and a dollop of white male privilege has created a monster that can move around in various institutional environments adding value here, there and everywhere. Being a MarComms professional means I can work … Continue reading Personal Journey Mapping
Stretch Towards Everything. This is the second case study of seven, reviewing how category design can generate outsize organizational outcomes. This post, we discuss how we can dissipate boundaries inside an organization, and with external stakeholders. We are all on … Continue reading Category Design Case Study II: Get In The FLOW.
The single biggest challenge for the legal cannabis industry is surely LPs’ inability to brand their products, such that consumers seek out BRAND X, rather than strain Y or THC value Z. The Health Canada restrictions are so intense that … Continue reading Cannabis Diaries Week 39: The Unknown.
Last week I wrote about the need to move through the gears, using a manual transmission – we need to be more in (micro) control, more discerning than usual, in COVID times. I have been scouring the interwebs for new learning, … Continue reading The power of three – #COVID19 edition
Serendipity Attack! I was invited to a webinar using the Hopin video tool – similar to Zoom. The webinar itself failed miserably due to wifi connectivity issues of the presenter, but there was a happy, serendipitous interlude while they tried … Continue reading COVID19 Diaries: Week 7
I found a piece of content I wrote in 2011 to my team, explaining my design approach needs. Although it is slightly dated in its examples (the iPhone app grid), it is remarkably relevant 6 years later. We are currently, … Continue reading Deep Design: Helping The Brand Define Itself
I recently read about Morioka Shoten Ginza, “a tiny bookstore of “a Single Room with a Single Book” in Tokyo. It sells only one book; more precisely, multiple copies of one title that changes weekly…” Wow. The bravado, the chutzpah! … Continue reading What Book Would You Sell In Your (Autobiography) Bookstore With A Single Book?
For all the petrolheads out there, you may have shed a tear at the sad demise of the Saab brand a few years ago. Esoteric and uncompromising, Saab pursued their own furrow. And they won hardcore fans, mainly architects. I … Continue reading We Need To Turn This Thing Up To 11. A Sad Saab Story
I believe that work is…necessary, worthwhile, boring, time killer, inspirational. When I think my current work I feel…ambivalent, one step removed. And I wonder…why? Do you ever wonder why? That work is a disconnect, that there could be more? Around … Continue reading I Was Born Ready. I Was Born For Today. It Just Took Me 15 Years To Realize It
I am tired of resumes / CVs. Such a lame-ass mechanism for enabling me to say “Yes!” to someone. For every applicant I had recently for the opening in my team, I scanned the documents for relevance, then went online to check for social channels – and the real/big reveal… And the biggest reveal? That most (MarComms!) people are still invisible online. Or, close but still no cigar, their channels have been set up for the purpose of securing this very job. No. Do it like this. Set up your channels. Live your life. Share, as you see fit, with … Continue reading Build Your Personal Brand NOW. Ask For Help Later.
This Much We Know 