Category Archives: Random Thoughts by Mark L. Fox
Two Gay Balloonists
KISS

Not Gene Simmons and friends, I am talking about the way overused cliché: “Keep it Simple, Stupid” • Instructions • Quick start guides • Checklists • Commander’s Intent in the military Yes there are many places where simple is better, like cooking instructions for a Pop Tart. (if you are receiving this via…
Orange Elephant
Power of Play
Sell in Unusual Places
Seth Godin and Fractals
I wonder is Seth has ever heard of a Fractal. As most of you know, I almost never post articles one day right after another on Tangent Time. I am always trying to be respectful of your time. But I want to make an exception today because I think this…
Facebook and Fractals
I’m kinda new to Facebook and learning about social media the way most of us are; diving in and skinning our knees along the way. I think it is really interesting the way such a simple concept like Facebook can be so viral. You start out by simply signing up…
Antennas Up
“Always be on the lookout for opportunities” We have all heard some version of that more than the name Michael Jackson since June 25th, 2009. Yeah we get it. We all understand the basic concept: keep your eyes and ears open. (I wonder why “nose” never made it into that…
Arbitrary Rules
Apollo 13
Communication is a funny thing; it requires both a sender and a receiver. And both ends have flaws. Both lack clarity. In the case of human communication the flaws are countless; more flaws than a Microsoft product. They’re almost always there, even though we don’t realize them. Going to the…
Cowboy Frank
Cell Phone Drivers
“Why does every woman have to talk on her cell phone while driving?” “That’s pretty chauvinistic, don’t you think?” “Why do you say that?” “Because just as many men talk on their cell phones as women do.” I thought I was right, but I have been known to be wrong…
Rental Car Retards
The backend of the Jeep Cherokee hydroplaned 45 degrees to the right. Despite our driver’s severe height challenge, my friend “Corn” managed to keep his cool and recover our 4-wheel coffin from extinction. This tragedy would have resulted in holding up traffic for minimum of 2-1/2 hours. However from his…
Profitable Persuasion
Most salesmen do not know how to sell. Steve Clark does. In his new book Profitable Persuasion, Steve has condensed nearly 30 years of selling experience into one simple, easy to read “How To” book. He has distilled down all of the successful strategies and tactics and thrown out everything…
Go Where They Ain’t
Guerrilla Thinking
Nude Confidence
Homes Showcased Like Rock Stars
Malcolm Gladwell is Wrong
I am not sure Malcolm Gladwell got it completely right this time. I have always enjoyed his books and his unique perspective on things. But his latest book makes the following argument; There is a story that is told about extremely successful people, a story that focuses on intelligence and…
What Else? What Next?
Four words that can make you a lot of money. These are two simple questions you need to ask yourself when you are developing or improving your products and services. When you have a pending sale with a customer, what else besides the basic product or service can your offer?…
Ballooning Business
The gentle winds have blessed us The sun has welcomed us with its warm hands We have flown so high and so far, God has joined us in our laughter And sent us gently back to the loving arms of mother earth Amen This is the Hot Air Balloonist’s prayer.…
Uptake.com
One of the TRIZ lens in my book “Da Vinci and the 40 Answers” is called Merging. It is where you take multiple products, services, and entities and merge them together to make something new. The Internet is ripe with examples of merging. “Mashups” are the merging of two existing…
Marketing Sprinkled with Magic
“If you don’t want to be average, why do you insist on being normal?” My friend and colleague Roy Williams made that statement to me about 6 years ago. It is one of the most powerful, thought provoking statements I have ever heard. I use the principle behind it everyday…
Bridge from Nowhere
Death of the Realtor
Lime in the Coconut
Last week in my “Da Vinci and the 40 Answers” class we stressed the importance of play. Being a stuffed shirt 24/7 helps no one, especially you. It is unhealthy. You need to give your self time to play. Why? Well for one reason it has been shown that historically…
Zero Budget
The TRIZ methodology has an arsenal of innovation and creativity tools you can use, and we recently used one with a client of mine that I wanted to share. The F35 Joint Strike Fighter is the most advanced fighter aircraft that we have. The Air Force recently put out a…
4 Questions
In business there are really only 4 questions you need to ask yourself. This is especially true when you are considering launching a new product or service. The 4 questions are; What problem are you trying to solve? How many people have that problem? Why is your solution better than…
Autism Improves your Bottom Line
How Autism can Improve your Bottom Line? Temple Grandin’s book, Animals in Translation: Using the Mysteries of Autism to Decode Animal Behavior, explores the idea that autistic individuals can better relate to and understand the way animals think and feel because of similarities in their brain development. She argues that…
Pre-Crumpled Letter

“This letter has been pre-crumpled to assist you with a more efficient disposal process” This is the opening line of a recent letter I wrote to some of the top business book publishers in the country; • Barron’s • Bloomberg • Doubleday • Gotham • McGraw-Hill • Penguin I know they get tens of thousands of…
Da Vinci Parachute
People, Places, and Activites
It doesn’t happen by accident, it happens by design. What people, places, and activities do you indulge in to stimulate your creativity? Your current hobbies don’t count. You need to experience things that are foreign to you and you need to do it on a regular basis. It won’t just…
Tiger Woods – He’s not Perfect
American Idol
Roger Von Oech
A Few Good Men. They’re still out there. It seems like it is hard to find them these days with the likes of Bernie Madoff, AIG Morons, and the bunch. But I sure talked to a Good Man last night. Roger Von Oech has been the leading pioneer in Creativity…
Safe
When someone says…. “Is it safe?” What does that mean ? Webster defines safe as; 1. Secure from harm, danger, or evil 2. Free from injury or danger 3. Free from riskEvery one of these definitions are horribly wrong. When you say to someone, “Yes it is safe”, it…
Where have all the Cowboys Gone?
Did this country secretly assassinate all of the business leaders? The ones with balls I mean. Obviously something happened. I am not sure what. I don’t remember hearing about it on the news. Paula Cole’s hit song my never have been intended to be targeted at the spineless corporate leaders…
Ms. South Carolina
“Brains times Beauty equals a constant” (B X b = K) In college, I was actually brave enough to say that to two ladies in a bar one night. One was good looking and the other one was not. The not so good looking one said; “That’s not funny….asshole” The…