Month: September 2010
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Stories Sell
I critiqued Starbucks earlier in their approach to launching Via, their instant coffee. I don’t know how well it’s done, but if signs like this are any indication – people still think they are samples: Consider their problem: they have trained their customer to experience a rich, if not expensive, tradition — they enter a…
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The Stress Blinders
Imagine trying to drive a car while looking through binoculars. You’d be able to read that bumper sticker in the distance, but you might not finish it before running into something. Several books that I’ve read recently all point to this effect of stress – it causes a narrowing of our perception. We want this…
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The Art of Trimming
Walking home from my spinning class this morning, I noticed a man trimming a tree. Not an extraordinary event, but it struck me: Here was a pile of vibrant green leaves on the ground and when you looked at the tree, it was still full of the same verdant leaves. After the gardener cut the…
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Dealing With Injustice: Swallowing Poison Pills
There is almost nothing more frustrating than someone taking advantage of you. I was reminded of this yesterday when I boarded a bus and received improper change. I didn’t notice until I was back in my seat and started obsessing about the injustice. Then I sat back and realized that the bus driver may have…
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State of Energy & Change
You’re taking a pleasantly hot afternoon stroll with a little time on your hands, and you come across a table with a couple of people offering you a free beverage if you’re willing to help them out with a small survey. You see the survey is only a few questions and is anonymous, the juice…