Posts under ‘Leadership’

Which stranger would you go with?
There at the end of the pier stand two men. On the left is the wizened old man, white beard, sun toughened face, calloused hands. 
To the right stands the expert.  He oozes sophistication, education and professionalism. 
Again, which one would you go with?  The old man or the […]

I spoke to the ACCA - PHCC conference last week.  That is the Air Conditioning Contractors of America and the Plumbing and Heating Cooling Contractors.  They had a trade show that I wandered around.
One vendor had nifty key chain flashlights and screwdrivers that were their “giveaways”.  I suggested that they might want the screwdrivers that […]

As a marketer I found the accolades given to the Obama campaign interesting a year ago.  From a purely scientific viewpoint they did put together a great win given his historical leanings and how those match up with the population at large.  They went into his presidency with a powerful brand with a lot of […]

Are you tired of competing on price?
Introducing the Bankruptcy Gap.
Remember when there was only one Tide laundry detergent?  I counted last week, there are now over 70 sizes, types and smells of Tide at the supermarket.  There are versions for top load washing machines, front loaders, for smelly clothes, for whites and even a […]

Variety is the spice of life.  Because I am the curious sort I continue in my search for the perfect hot chocolate getaway.  I continue to work on the next book each morning and thought my Starbucks and McDonalds forays might be helped with a journey to the other two A.M. eating establishments.
Cracker Barrel.  Pleasant […]

With a ratio of  9 to 1 the answer is . . .  (the suspense builds, but more on that in a minute).
It was the late 60’s and Fred Smith was listening to the conversations of the other Jet Jockey’s.   Fred was flying charter flights out of a the Tweed New Haven airport.  The […]

My friend Carol had to go back and see the Imax version of Avatar in 3D a second time last Saturday.
Carol, Glenn and I had gone to the morning show and it was awesome.  I think it represents the future of entertainment.  It is a true TransBrand.
A what?
Turn the clock back one hundred years.  Farmer […]

Don’t get me wrong.  I think Wal-Mart provides a great service for America.
Today I needed to pick up some prescriptions at my local Wal-Mart.  When I called to inquire on availability they informed me that the price was higher than I had been buying down the street at a K-Mart store.
“Why don’t you match the […]

He was my mentor and teacher in developing the artistry of “the  boil”. 
I blame Jim Dixon. He taught me.    
I had a day job of marketing $200 million dollars of personal computers a year.  But at night I would dawn a white apron and become. . . .Wait for it. . . […]

Who the heck is Jim Kilts?  
My oldest brother is friends with Jim Kilts. 
Mr. Kilts was the Chairman of the Board of Gillette before it got sold to Procter and Gamble.  It was at Gillette that Kilts developed a relationship with Warren Buffett and where they came to know each other’s strengths.   When […]

I was giving a workshop and someone raised their hand and asked, “Kordell, where do we buy a copy of that material?” 
I responded with a little too much flippancy, “just call 1-800-Kordell and I will get it for you.” 
After the session one of the workshop participants approached me and asked the […]

Since 37.843% of all statistics are made up, how do you know what you should be measuring? (grin)
This is a rant on numbers.  Not just any number but one particular item and how it impacts your world.
These are the days of eliminating the number of commas in your world.  What?  Commas.  You know those […]

Like any hang glider knows, it is hard to control the wind. 
What about Reed Hastings and Netflix?  A decade ago he was embarrassed to tell his wife about late fees on a video rental he forgot to return.  A trip to the gym had him thinking, “why can’t I make renting a […]

Don’t ask.  I can’t tell.  Her name will stay anonymous.
She was on cruise control as she readied herself for the daily grind.  With an aspirin sized headache she looked around for liquid to help down a couple of Tylenol.  She spied the small glass of liquid, threw back the pills and washed […]

Wanna raise?
There is an online retailer called The Pearl Outlet.  Now who buys pearls?  Especially on line?  Well that is something that they wanted to know.  If they did a marketing campaign that said, “Say you are sorry with pearls” would that work? 
So they commissioned a study of 8,000 customers and a […]

Kraft Mac & Cheese, pantyhose, and Apple iPods. 
When times get tough, we see the emergence of true leadership and vision.  The choice is to wallow in pity, self doubt and second guessing or - to act and charge ahead, WITH COURAGE. 
It is during hard times that we most need […]

It has been ten years.  That is what the celebration is all about. 
Ten years ago Jim Gilmore and Joe Pine wrote the book, the Experience Economy.  If you have not read it . . . you probably ought to consider it.  More about that in a moment.
I met Jim for the first time when […]

A month ago we had the arrival of our third grandchild.  Of course he is gorgeous.  How do we know?  We have pictures of him.  His mother and father were the recipients of a new Flip Video camera for Christmas, a gift from Grandpa Norton.  This neat little device allows the less than competent […]

I don’t know how the virus got through, but attack it did.  I had a computer that had a mind of its own, and was as ill behaved as a college freshman away from home for the first time. 
As I discovered the name of the virus, the prognosis did not look good.  As […]

We are addicted.  There, I said it. 
I remember one of my most powerful mentors (he has since passed beyond this cacky coil) was so miffed when he found out that each box of Tide soap had an allowance for Soap Box operas. . . daytime TV.   He was so incensed that he was […]