My wife said “You don’t need Public Speaking 101, you have been speaking for 30 years now! I’ll be shocked if you learn anything you don’t already know.” But I knew better, this is the Wizard Academy. I could only stay for ½ the class before catching a flight, but…
What would you do if the direct sales from your top selling product tanked tomorrow? Well it’s gonna happen. It may not be tomorrow, but the death of your star will come some day. It’s a fact, so why not assume it is going to happen sooner than later? One…
My friend Roy Williams told me years ago that the best way to develop a killer advertisement is to follow these steps in this order of priority: 3 – Start with the end first. What is the Last Mental Image (LMI) you want your audience to have stuck in their…
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…
“There is no way they haven’t rented this room for 6 days.” That is the 1st thing I said to Barbara when we opened the door to the hotel room. There were six restaurant menus spread on the floor. You know those paper flyers folks slide under the…
Freedom is actually a bigger game than power. Power is about what you can control, but freedom is about what you can unleash. But what about the Power of Play? What good could possible come from all this screwing around? Brooks Lambert and friends were lounging in the back yard…
“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…
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…
My colleagues have been after me to read Blue Ocean Strategy for some time now. Yesterday was the 14th day in a row of steady rain, so I spent the day getting to know this International Bestseller. It is a good book, but it would have been just as good as…
It is the most beautiful thing in the world and at the same time the most horrid. Nuclear energy. Have you ever tried to think about something that sparks two infinitely different emotions at the same time? The fact that mankind found a way to take a shovel-full of dirt…
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?…
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.…
“The human body is only comfortable when contorted” Yeah…you read that right. That’s kinda a weird statement isn’t it? And that’s the point. If you want to get someone’s attention in your advertising and marketing you can’t serve them vanilla every time or just a plain old “black” Model T.…
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…
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…
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…