Musings, Scribbles & Screed
The music was still ringing in Marty’s ears as he headed from the ballroom towards the elevator and his room. He was riding a post-show high, having closed out a big night with the anthemic “The Future is Now!” jingle performed by members of Styx and Mötley Crüe, fronted by that guy from Sugar Ray. … Continue reading Back to the Future! Events Edition
As before the pandemic, I still don’t want to see or hear your kids. But please bring your dogs, I want to see all the dogs.
Snaking our way into the Ralph’s market in Santa Barbara that Thursday I realized the world was changing. It was chaos. Stressed employees shouted orders at frantic shoppers pressed shoulder to shoulder in checkout lines that meandered in every direction. For the first time I saw entire aisles of empty shelves – my introduction to … Continue reading The Last Weekend
I am so ready to get back on the road. It'll be weird but it will be the best kind of weird. Here are a few things on my back-to-travel bucket list: Arrive at the airport five hours early, making time for breakfast, shopping, a few hours in the bookstore, and lunch before my flight.Check … Continue reading Ten Things I Will Do When I Travel Again
I’m rarely at a loss for words. That’s changed during this, um, “time” we’re in. Know what I mean? Since last spring, whenever the topic of, er, “this situation” arises in conversation with clients and colleagues, I find myself grasping for the right – polite -- term to use. In my mind’s eye I can … Continue reading What Do We Call It?
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.
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.
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
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.
