Posts Tagged ‘innovation’
Think big. Now think bigger.
If there’s one thing I wish I could shout into every credit union marketer’s ear, it’s this: “THINK BIGGER!” With every project. Every product, every campaign, every thing you do, every step of the way. It will make all the difference in your results, your experience, and your success. Think about the biggest possible picture…
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Innnntroducing…Rent-a-Brain!
Are you responsible for too many initiatives, an overabundance of priorities, an excess of tasks at hand with way too few fingers to get it done? Are you a slam-packed, schedule-smacked, shell-shocked, docket-pocked shell of your former self, trying your best to appease particularly pesky purveyors of arbitrarily outrageous deadlines? In short, has the fun…
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How to manage creatives without crushing them
Creative people are some of the most frustrating, talented, nerve-wracking, and amazingly wonderful people I know. And I should know, having worked with, hired and managed a whole bunch of them over my career. So when a CEO recently asked me how I was able to get them to do such great work over so many…
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Emotional escalation
Long ago (but not so far away) I worked at a mental hospital while I was finishing college. And I loved it – the job was incredibly interesting and challenging. Endless variety every day, and a lifetime of great stories. Of course, I learned a lot of things doing that job that I still use today, one…
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Brainstorming brainstorming
It’s time for yet another loan promo and you’re stuck looking at a blank piece of paper. You’ve got nothing. Nada. Zilch. Zip. You could really use the collective input of multiple minds, riffing on anything that pops in their heads, all focused on a single subject. You need a brainstorming session. But everyone else around the office seems…
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How will you change the world in only 5 years?
I’ve always been amazed at how the Beatles completely changed America’s taste for music in just 5 short years. It was a culture shift that hasn’t been equalled since. Now, I admit I’m a huge Beatles nerd. I was just a kid when they were in their heyday, but I discovered their music in college and still listen to them…
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Here’s a stat for your CFO at budget time
We’ve been preaching for years that Marketing should drive the bus, not just go for a ride in the back. Now there’s a statistic that may actually get your CFO and CEO to pay attention: Ten years ago, if you had invested $10K in design-centric corporations you would have outperformed the S&P Index by 228%. That’s right. According to the Harvard…
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Go find some weirdos
Quick, tell me about your members. No, not the average members. They’re boring. And you already know plenty about them. And so does everyone else. Find some weirdos. People out on the fringe. The ones who were in New Guinea last week, and are currently somewhere in Kazakhstan. The family thinking seriously about what kinds…
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Would your members pay for your marketing?
What’s that you say? Pay? To receive our direct mail, emails and statement inserts? Uh, I don’t think so. Okay, then let’s look at this a different way. Would your members be willing to pay, say $5, for some information that would teach them how to save $50/month on a car loan? Absolutely. Over the…
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How ideas happen: eureka! or slow hunch?
People love to tell stories, so it’s no wonder that most describe how ideas happen as an epiphany, a brainstorm or “Eureka!” moment, a brilliant flash of insight that seems like a “bolt from above.” Even the famous scientist Charles Darwin attributes his theory of natural selection to one such moment, and even described the…
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