A friend of mine teaches graduate students at a prestigious university. He also has a second grader at home. One day he was making a little presentation on storytelling to his little daughter’s class. To get their attention, he started by yelling, “Be a lion!” Immediately, the children started growling. Some waved their hands like […]
For The Unsure
May 5, 2023 by Leave a Comment
It’s July 1966. And it’s sweltering hot in Austin Texas. Claire Wilson and her boyfriend Tom Eckman are taking summer classes at the University of Texas. Hot as hell They just got out of an anthropology test. So they head over to the Student Union, to hang out for a while. They’re just starting to […]
To The Dreamkeepers
February 5, 2020 by Leave a Comment
Neil Gaiman is a sage of storytelling while he’s awake. And one of the most interesting people alive. But there’s something you may not know about him. He is also a masterful weaver of whimsical, intensely interesting stories while he’s asleep. But dreams are fleeting So, over the years, his wife, musician Amanda Palmer, has […]
To Towers Of Tenacity
June 11, 2019 by Leave a Comment
It was a hot and humid August day. One of those days when you start to sweat the minute you open the front door. It was also the first day of the long-awaited family reunion. That’s a problem In hopes of avoiding the merciless heat, grandma and grandpa got out the wooden blocks for the […]
We’re Asking The Wrong Question
January 9, 2018 by 3 Comments
Whether we like it or not, our future depends upon the questions we ask. Whether we accept it or not, the wrong question can take us in the wrong direction. Or in an old direction that wanders about and wastes our time and effort and creativity. Alice stood at the crossroads Before her floated the […]
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 […]
Positioning A Purpose
December 20, 2014 by Leave a Comment
How do you position an organization in the rapidly changing branding world? Find your tribe, Pilgrim. Find a tribe of marketing change agents at business-to-business firms who see the world the way you do. Then, it might be wise to define your purpose in a way that resonates with them. In this case, it’s a […]
On The Road To Transformation
September 13, 2014 by Leave a Comment
The route to your organization’s true purpose (the one that doesn’t have to do with making money) is seldom straight and never smooth. If it was, just anyone could do it. And then it wouldn’t be transformative. Status without the quo Organizations that are driven by purpose are special because they change people, they overturn […]
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 […]
