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Let's talk about a serious issue... Less serious does not mean less professional. Being less serious. THE false narrative many buy into, "Less serious means less professional." "I won't be taken SERIOUSLY." I DISAGREE. LOOK. I get it. I led global communications and marketing teams in tech for 15 years. And I am also an improviser and stand-up comedian. I trained executives on how to talk to media, respond [...]
Friday the 29th is National Fun at Work Day! Some people think play is frivolous. It isn't. And it's time to change the narrative on play. Play is good for our mental well-being, happiness and for #innovation in #marketing, #products, across the company and your life. It's how you play and whether teams feel #Psychologicalsafety while doing it that matters. Leaders play. They encourage it in others. They take what they do seriously and [...]
Experiments fuel innovation, employee development and organizational knowledge. Why Now? It's a great time to create a culture of experimentation precisely because of what's happening today. People want to bring their creativity to work. And it's an innovation imperative. If we're not nurturing employees' creativity, we're compromising their development and missing out on potentially transformational insights that move creative leadership efforts, products and revenues forward. Employees Want to [...]
And not in that order. Improvisation has changed my world. It's changed everything in 20 years for me. It’s not just about honing your funny bone (and it will, Virginia, I promise!); the true lessons of improvisation are about so much more than being funny. In fact, improvisation makes us better marketers because it makes us better people. (note: this is an update of an older post I wrote and [...]
We fall into ruts all the time. We use the same ways to get out of those ruts. That itself keeps us from seeing things in new ways. So if you want more creative content ideas, here are 6 rules to break now. Don't buy into a template mentality for your content. Your brand's path is different. My interview with Content Marketing Institute. Want More Creative Ideas? Here [...]
Business Storytelling Truth in a World of Fake News I was on a podcast recently with friends and colleagues to promote our StoryCo Conf in LA on Oct 25th (note: still FREE tickets available here at storyconference.info). storyconference.info Over the weekend, someone wanted to argue with the idea that the truth is an important - maybe even the most important part - of business storytelling. Now, we didn't get to [...]
How to Strengthen and Build Storytelling Culture I have written (and chatted) at length about ways to build storytelling culture over the years. In this short clip for my 'Yes And Brand' Show I give 3 specific ways to reinforce a storytelling culture in any organization. Here is a link to my prior article on how Zappos uses storytelling to redefine a story culture around customer service. Enjoy. What do [...]
Interactive Storytelling Lessons from Silent Film Era Physical Comedy Interactive storytelling is not an option today. If you are not doing it, you will be left behind. Harold Lloyd’s silent comedy was story *crack* to my 9-year-old brain. Here was a silent film era comedy stuntman who relied solely on visual comedy and object work to tell these funny and very human stories. I couldn't get enough of it. I [...]
Play Increases Self-Awareness Play increases self-awareness and that is key to leadership. Do you know how you play? Fun at Work Day - Playfulness Matters I love playing. We don’t play enough as adults. That’s what kids do and it matters. We know play is connected with creativity and innovation, and I love using play concepts in my work (because they’re fun!). Play is also connected with something [...]
Humor and Branded Content - How to Show Audiences You "Get it" Humor and Branded Content This month I published a piece on humor and branded content and native advertising in the latest updates for the Native Advertising Institute. It's getting harder to get and keep attention. Well-thought out humor can help. This piece outlines four ways to use humor and branded content (as well in native advertising) [...]
