Please don’t think that I’m suggesting that you should offend small groups of people. That’s not it at all.I’ll bet the point becomes obvious as you read these examples.Example Number One:Everyone has heard the fable of the six blind men and the elephant. It’s a...

Suppose that you had 50 people in a room, and asked each of them to flip a coin. Those whose coins came up “tails” were instructed to sit down, and those who had “heads” flipped again.The law of averages suggests that twenty-five of your people would flip a second...

“Twenty years ago this used to be so easy,” he said. “When sales were slow we’d put up the big tent, put a bunch of boats in the tent, set up a prize registration box, grill some hotdogs, and invite a radio station. We’d sell half a dozen boats easily.“Ten years ago...

Marketing consultants love to tell you their success stories. Listen to them long enough and you’ll believe they never make mistakes. Ask them about their failures. Oh, we all have them. They’re universally embarrassing. The good consultants have fallen on their...

A good art instructor takes her students through a number of different “schools” of painting in the course of their education. Does she do this to give them a broader appreciation of art? No. That’s a side benefit.She does it so that they can learn specific techniques...

Every business creates its own professional reputation. Sometimes we refer to it as "word of mouth." Given enough time, a positive reputation may be all that's necessary for a business to become successful.But even word of mouth reinforces either a relational or a...

Americans are just so gosh darn optimistic.*Ask ‘em. Ask ‘em what they intend to buy in the next year. Then compare those results to what they did buy last year. Everyone intends to purchase major appliances, a new car, or a Caribbean vacation next year.But somehow...