Business and Leadership

The End of the Beginning

Since mid-2017, I have been working to build my creative skills into a self-sustaining, and ultimately profitable, business. I spent a lot of that initial time refreshing my knowledge of how to be self-employed. Regulations, taxes, legal structure, manufacturing costs, global distribution options, royalties, streaming, performing rights organizations, licensing opportunities, and a gazillion other things that musicians and creatives should know about running a business, but often don’t. My consulting practice, which I’ve had off-and-on since 2003, gives me a leg up in many ways, as does my MBA. Over the years, I’ve developed deep domain knowledge in IT and … Continue reading

Shiny Object Syndrome – Are You Ignoring Talent?

Shiny Object Syndrome. We all get it. A new pair of shoes. The fad diet. That super-cute garden gnome. In my case, probably a new synthesizer. We’re all susceptible to Shiny Object Syndrome, but when corporate or departmental leaders get it, they’re in danger of making a huge blunder – ignoring or demotivating the talent they already have on staff. A client I worked with needed deep expertise and new ideas in an area where it had been stagnant for a decade or more. They found a consultant who came in and dazzled everyone. So much, in fact, that they … Continue reading

How will we build The Digital Society?

Tomorrow, I head to Florida for Gartner Symposium/ITxpo. I’ve attended this amazing event for the last few years, and it’s always energizing, thought provoking, and challenging. As a side benefit, I always get my 10,000 steps in each day. The opening keynote this year is titled “Building Platforms for a Digital Society” which is timely for many of the things I’ve been contemplating lately. How will we transform our cultures to address the new technological realities never before faced in human history: machine intelligence, economics of abundance, disruptive and exponential advances in nearly every discipline? How will we rectify increasing lifespans and … Continue reading

Marketer, Brand Thyself!

Much of my career has consisted of helping companies develop, establish, promote, and maintain their corporate brand. I love branding! It’s a complex and nuanced subject, equal parts psychology and design. It all reduces to a fairly simple concept, though: reputation. When you see a logo or hear a product name, what do you picture in your mind? How does it make you feel? A key thing about branding: you aren’t in control of it. The brand exists only in the mind of the recipient. You can do things to influence it, but ultimately, the best way to do that … Continue reading

What are you looking for?

In April, I let my boss know that I was going to start looking for the next challenge in my career. It was a difficult decision – I work at a great company and with great teams. However, when I looked objectively at what the company most needed, my personal growth and career goals, and the likely opportunities in the next five years, it became clear that the next chapter was upon me. When you tell someone you’re engaged in a job search, the inevitable question is, “what are you looking for?” Part of my success has been the ability to see many options and … Continue reading