Archives: Newsletters

The silence was palpable when Gartner’s Brent Adamson challenged a group of otherwise upbeat B2B CMOs, "How are you preparing for the recession?" Until that moment, these CMOs, who hailed from a wide range of successful enterprises, simply hadn’t considered that either a downturn was imminent or that the possibility merited serious preparation. Nor had I.

But because “a crisis is a terrible thing ...

As the sloppy mid-November snow broke many a branch on the leaf-laden trees on our block, my wife dialed 311 to secure help, while I imagined myself racing down Aspen Mountain, trying to earn a gold medal (for my age group) on the NASTAR course. It’s not a hopeless cause, but let’s just be clear—I’m no Lindsey Vonn.

I bring up Ms. Vonn, the ...

I’ll let you in on a little secret: I listen to audiobooks and podcasts at 1.25x speed. I’ve tried 1.5x—the speed one friend swears by—but that hurt my brain. At my preferred pace, most narrators sound like an expeditious New Yawker, accelerating to the punchline intelligibly yet well-ahead of the average. With this approach, I’m also able to power through business books, leaving my ...

Way back when, I used to dread the elemental ritual of sharing what I learned from my summer vacation. It wasn’t just that my vacations were relatively uneventful. In truth, even if I’d been interested in gleaning insights from day camp or Little League (which I most certainly wasn’t), I simply didn’t have the perspective to do so. But now, lucky readers, insights seem to ...

You may have already heard about the new privacy provision from the European Union called GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation). It goes into effect on tomorrow, May 25 in the EU. This law is designed to provide European Union citizens with more control over and transparency around personal data that’s collected about them online. However, it would be a mistake to assume that this regulation is only something that ...

Chances are you know the old story about the woodcutter who hacked his way across the forest day and night. Lamenting that his work was increasingly difficult, a passing stranger asked, “Why don’t you take a break and sharpen your saw?” The devoted laborer quickly dismissed this suggestion, explaining, “I simply don’t have the time!”

Last week I witnessed more than 190 senior marketing execs sharpening ...

I take refuge in history. It’s not so much an escape as an exploration fueled by an optimistic search for precedents, good or bad, that could shed light on current challenges, big or little. Currently engrossed in Doris Kearns Goodwin’s Team of Rivals, I’m struck by the remarkable leadership skills of Abraham Lincoln that, in the face of perhaps our country&...

Presented with a big spending request in the heat of the Civil War, General Ulysses S. Grant surprised an underling with the speed of his response. When asked how certain he was of his decision, Grant responded, “In war, anything is better than indecision. We must decide. Not to decide wastes both time and money and may ruin everything.” Grant, as most know, was one of the most effective ...