Ideas for good can be very powerful. They can grow and spread at a surprisingly rapid rate. But not without a purpose, a tribe, a story, and a movement. Like Blake’s big boom It was finally time for a little fun. He needed it. Running four startups was getting to him. So he decided to […]
To Those Who Leap
February 23, 2016 by 2 Comments
One day, Bill Klann took a trip to Chicago. Of all the wonders that he could see there, Bill found himself in the midst of the Union Stock Yards. In a slaughterhouse, of all places. The world’s capital of butchery There, he was immersed in a model of industrial butchering efficiency. Animal carcasses moved by […]
The Great Idea That Isn’t
December 3, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Larry’s business was in trouble. The market he served was in trouble. The public infrastructure he supplied was in trouble. It was literally crumbling. And as a result, everyone was simply reacting to emergencies instead of thinking ahead and adding real value. For Larry, it was a death spiral of commoditization, drowning in a red […]
To The Big Uneasy
September 16, 2015 by 1 Comment
You’ve probably been here before. In fact, there’s a really good chance you’re here right now. Feeling uneasy. With that queasy little flutter in your stomach With that voice in your head questioning if what you are doing is worth all the extra time and effort and pain. Wondering if you’ll ever break through. Because […]
To the storytellers
July 13, 2015 by 4 Comments
Once there was a man obsessed with making complex, highly technical things easy for the common, everyday person to understand. And, in the process, he hoped to change the world. But his well-defined cause, burning passion, elegant design sense and tyrannical obsession with execution were not enough. Then he discovered one thing that changed everything. […]
Finding The Remarkable
June 8, 2015 by 3 Comments
I was in the middle of writing a post about why it’s important for purpose-driven brands to stand out instead of blend in. I’d just battered into submission the point that standing out doesn’t start with telling people things. It starts by making something remarkable. The remarkable is something that is worth sharing. Something people […]
To The Imperfect Journey
May 27, 2015 by 1 Comment
At the end of the dock there is a boat. But in the side of the boat there is a hole. That hole is never going to be fixed. And it’s never going away. So, get a new boat, right? You can’t get a new boat. Because this is your boat. All you can do […]
“Honor Your Creative Vomit”
September 20, 2014 by 1 Comment
There once was a king named Hiero II who had been given a gold laurel-leaf shaped crown. As is the want of kings, his gratitude was quickly replaced by doubt. Then anger. Then obsession. Then retribution. For this crown couldn’t possibly be 100 percent gold? Enter Archimedes Archimedes was the go-to guy for all your […]
To Insightful Soles
September 16, 2014 by 2 Comments
Your fancy-schmancy, revolutionary innovation is going to take you a long way, my friend. But it will be a long way in the wrong direction without one vital component. A peek into people’s souls Fifty years ago there were only two kinds of shoes: street shoes and running shoes. Then a guy by the name […]
To The Trail Less Traveled
July 28, 2014 by Leave a Comment
It’s a shame, but you won’t find the path to being truly unique in the hallowed and often hollow halls of corporate America. In fact, you’ll find it in the most unlikely places. Places where people see things differently, think differently and do things differently. Like at Larry’s place Larry fixes bikes. For every bike […]
