Musings, Scribbles & Screed
Dear Las Vegas, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for all the things I said about you. I’m sorry for saying how much I dreaded visiting you for work. I’m sorry for what I said about how fake you were, how crowded and expensive you’d become, how uncomfortably hot you were. Yours is a dry heat, and … Continue reading Dear Las Vegas, I am sorry.
Announcer Doug: Welcome to the 2020 Doug & Ruckus Halftime Show, sponsored by “Take Me Out and Shoot Me” now streaming on WhoTF Cares Anymore. Announcer Ruckus: Well, we did not see this coming. At the midway point, 2020 is a total bloody smackdown, a big stinking pile of poo (and you are welcome). It’s … Continue reading Doug & Ruckus: Our 2020 Halftime Show
Disruption, Transformation and especially Innovation: words that should elicit goosebumps reduced to nickel notions. As marketers and communicators, we spent the last few decades tossing these terms like confetti in order to glorify minimal, incremental upgrades and to flog feel-good platitudes. I’ve spent as much time trying to convince clients and colleagues to reserve usage … Continue reading Disruption: I Finally Get It!
Look for new ways to engage and “touch” audiences and communities. Ironically, that’s more important now than ever.
It's been a tradition since I moved to New York City in 1994. Back then I'll admit it was a bit of a marketing tool and perhaps an ego-stroker. It instantly became an annual obsession, with the process beginning as early as July. Finding the right tone and topic is tricky. Inspiration comes (and goes) … Continue reading Happy Holidays: The Card!
Nearly every year since 1994 I've scribbled out a Christmas card that attempts to convey my situation and mindset at the time. Planning begins in the early fall, and I typically go through several complete iterations, along with hours of panic, hopelessness and renewed focus. Since 2006, Mary has served as partner and editor, and … Continue reading ART!: A Christmas Tradition
Every morning for the first few months I lived in New York City, I mapped out my destinations for the day. That might involve lunch with a friend at the Boat House in Central Park, followed by some reflection in Strawberry Fields or a peek into the Delacorte Theater during a rehearsal. If drinks were … Continue reading The Walking Man
Your innovation is not fucking innovation. You adjusted, adapted, tweaked. You haven’t fucking innovated anything. Oh hey, Toyota, you upgraded your sad old fucking Prius to go an extra ten fucking miles. It’s still got four fucking tires and a steering wheel, so save the innovation bullshit. Wow, Taco Bell, you made your fucking taco … Continue reading F**k Your Innovation
My quest has been a challenging one: to inspire my colleagues and clients to become better storytellers. Over the past few years, I've coached and cajoled peers, clients and executive teams to respect the essence -- and the power -- of real storytelling. I want them to become better communicators by becoming better storytellers. I … Continue reading Storytelling in Business: It Should be a Little Scary
I enjoy customer service encounters. Especially the bad ones. I consider such situations sport, like predator and prey, with the prey not recognizing me as a natural predator until it’s too late. Which is a nice way of saying: I worked on the front lines of customer service at Walt Disney World. Nobody does the customer service, or customer experience (CX), better than Disney Parks, and … Continue reading Ankle-Deep in Customer Service.
Binderama 