Let’s say your kid comes home one day and shows you this report card. Anything jump out at you? Well, if you’re like most parents, all you really see is this. And you’d hire a tutor, and your kid would ...READ»
I got a broadcast email one day from TripAdvisor. I was just about to delete it when I noticed the subject line: The Dirtiest Hotels of 2009. That gave me pause. I read some of the quotes from people who’d ...READ»
I want to tell you about a statistic that changed my life and afterwards give you some thoughts about making your own data more life-changing. The stat was authored by my colleague Charles Fishman at Fast ...READ»
How do you get people to believe your ideas? Well, there’s something we can learn from really sleazy ideas that catch on. For years, Snapple struggled to fight rumors that it supported the KKK. The idea was ...READ»
About 10 years ago, my brother Chip ran a study on what motivates people, and I want to run it on you now. So imagine that a company offers employees a $1,000 bonus if they meet certain performance targets. ...READ»
What's more interesting, that Subway offers seven sandwiches that are under six grams of fat or that those sandwiches helped a guy with a 60-inch waist get off the fast track to heart attack station? Answer: The story of Jared, of ...READ»
How do you talk about your business's strategy so that your employees
get it? Well, you've probably heard the phrase "Keep it simple, stupid."
And often the subtext of that is: "Keep it simple, because your people
are stupid." ...READ»
I want to show you why most mission statements are so terrible.
Let's say you founded a pizza parlor. And your first idea for a mission
statement is something like this: "Our mission is to serve the tastiest
damn pizza in Wake ...READ»
You probably compete in a crowded marketplace. You might have to compete with bigger companies who have more established brands. So how do you stand out? Let's take some inspiration from a shop called Voodoo Doughnut in Portland. READ»
So you've got a great innovation on your hands--a new product or service
that is going to change everything. Well, soon you'll face your first
battle: How to explain the thing. If it's new, it's going to ...READ»
Dear Dan,
I'm frustrated. My firm just paid for a market-research study and one of the findings was that the customers in our market can barely tell my firm apart from any of our rivals. It's humbling because we've always prided ...READ»
Dear Dan,
After 15 years of marketing for Fortune 500 companies, we're going to publish Diamond's Dog Dish®, a series of free postcards delivered to dog-lovers' inboxes bringing them a daily dose of "creature culture" with the goal ...READ»
I'm a home inspector, and I'm looking for ideas on how to generate more business and outflank my competitor who has copied me (flattered?) in so many ways. Two of my competitors (partners) promote themselves like this: "Why hire one ...READ»
Dear Dan,
Everybody on my team is required to submit a monthly report. Always have been, always will be. Every single month, though, I have to chase some people down to turn it in, like it's a surprise to them that it's due. I've ...READ»
Dear Dan,
My daughter turned 16 about six months ago, so naturally I am terrified of her getting in a wreck. To make matters worse, I rode with her recently and she started texting while she was driving! I gave her an earful but ...READ»
Dear Dan,
Maybe you can help my colleague and me settle a disagreement. We are making a presentation soon to our regional SVP, who could approve or disapprove our plan. In essence, what we are proposing is to streamline our ...READ»
