Live By Design Not By Default.
Brand better and thrive in business and life!
Positioning statement, YAY or NAY?
Positioning - the unsung hero of creating a brand that customers absolutely need and love. The thing that separates you from the competition. The…
Forget Brand Archetypes! Try this…
Let's talk about brand archetypes! (And why we don't use them.) You see, some shmo invented them at some point and somehow they became the pet……
The ROI of Brand Strategy
The ROI of brand strategy you ask? The short answer: INFINITY. But that’s not why you’re here, is it? There are lots of articles touting the ROI of…
Is it worth it to create a Brand Experience?
No matter how hard I try to help people understand, it feels like an uphill battle sometimes. Sure, it’s a battle I’m willing to fight, but it’s…
The Three Absolutely Unbreakable Rules of Great Branding
Do you know how many rules there are in branding? Three. Ok, actually there are thousands, but only three that if you break I will send Gino my…
What will you BECOME?
What will you BECOME? So this is a question I’ve been thinking about deeply over the last couple of weeks as I work on my new brand. Yes, Brand…
Your Online Story and The Line of Trust
So there’s something that’s been on my mind lately: Trust. Building trust as a business is exactly like building trust as person. It’s about…
Why Yellow Is By Far the Best Color For Your Logo
Yellow is an amazing color. First it’s the color of the sun - a color we associate with energy, daytime, vibrancy, heat. Van Gogh used yellow often…
Be Specific. Impact Lies in Concrete Language.
The theme for this week is concrete language - language that creates a very clear vision in your audience’s mind. Businesses - especially service…
Practice Creativity with These Book Recommendations
A friend asked me yesterday for some resources on creativity. He was looking to strengthen his own skills at creative problem solving at work.…
Creating Urgency by Tapping into your Audience’s Larger Vision
I think one of the problems I've noticed creatives run into when trying to sell their work or services is a lack of urgency on the part of their…
10x Creativity by Not Judging Your Own Ideas
Creativity can only exist in a judgement free environment. As soon as judgement takes hold, particularly from our own mind, creativity is stifled.…
Go from Reactive to Proactive and Write Your Own Future
Where do you see your business in 2 years? 5 Years? Where do you see your business in 10 years and what kind of lifestyle do you want to be living by…
Forget Content. Context Is How to Get People to Remember You
The human mind is a context machine; we think in context. Context is what allows our minds to make meaningful connections that persist. If you look…
Why I Spent Three Days Alone in the Wilderness
Last week I did my first solo trip into the wilderness for three days and in the process moved closer to a life dream. First let me begin by saying,…
The Power of Storytelling Beyond Sales
Every business or enterprise has a story and when told well, it's one of the most impactful ways to communicate your message. In business, we tell a…
Using Simple Ideals to Create Powerful Communication
I love the work of Jim Stengel, brand consultant, educator and former Global Marketing Director for Proctor & Gamble. In his book "Grow" Jim…
Just to Clarify, Branding is NOT Just Your Logo
I've had several conversations this week that have led to this post... It seems several people I've spoken to recently mistakenly equate branding…
A Small Step to Failure
We hear a lot these days about the idea of failing fast and often. And as long as you're able to learn from your failures it actually is a great…
It IS Important
I used to be very scared of making something "important" to me because I was scared of failing at it. I used to say "Money isn't important to me." or…
The Clarity of Purpose Brand Strategy…
Ok, so obviously there is incredible nuance to brand strategy, marketing and messaging. But sometimes the simplest approach is the most elegant. If I…
Go for No…
I don't remember where I heard this - But over the last few months I've had sales success using the motto, "Go for no." What's it mean? Glad you…
Being productive doesn’t mean being a machine…
I don’t like the word “productivity”- Not that I don’t like being productive, I do. But I’d love to challenge the notion that productivity is some…
Minimum Viable Product isn’t just for tech startups…
Yesterday a friend asked me for some advice. Upset by everything that’s going on with police shootings in the US, she wanted to encourage people to…
