From the category archives:

Civics' Lessons

“My name is Tiger Woods, and I’m a jerk.”

12.03.2009 Authenticity

Tiger Woods, in his statement, made it sound more as though he were sorry for getting caught rather than for repeatedly cheating on his wife.
Steve Holstein, on what Tiger Woods should have said:
“My name is Tiger Woods and I’m a jerk. For starters, I repeatedly cheated on my wife. For that I have no one [...]

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It’s not too late. Start doing more stuff.

12.03.2009 Civics' Lessons

Sweet Sassafras, this is good. Review Seth Godin’s “Is it too late to catch up?” It’s got bullet points and everything.
I’ve been out on the fringe of basecamp, but I’m going to check it out over the weekend and see how I can practically apply its stuff. I’ll let you know.
I muchly prefer Emma to [...]

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No Greater Gift: Understanding Time vs. Money

11.30.2009 Civics' Lessons

Whooooooooooooooooooooooooosh.
We met in 1993. In 2000, I stood up at his wedding.
Before we could sit down again, life happened.
Sound familiar?

Nearly 10 years, 250 miles and 3.3 kids later, he’s here visiting.
When you get a bit older, time tugs a little harder in the war against money.
They’re two sides of the same coin, you know?
Time and [...]

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Holiday Reading & Following, Part 1

11.20.2009 Books

On Thursday, November 19th, Emily Poore (www.ColumbiaMOChamber.com) wrote:
Hi Tim,
I heard your talk at the Women’s Network luncheon on THE PENDULUM – MARKETING IN 2009 AND BEYOND. I really liked your examples throughout history of the two different sides and how it swings back and forth, and I wanted to learn more about this idea. [...]

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The Love of a Lifetime Customer

11.19.2009 Civics' Lessons

Read a simple-but-startling angle this morning on customer value.
Have you calculated what a customer’s worth over the course of her lifetime?
What if - just one time - you calculated your marketing budget off that amount?
In Embracing Lifetime Value, Seth Godin suggests this simple challenge:
So, a chiropractor might see a new patient being worth $2,500, [...]

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Interview/Giveaway: Currencies That Buy Credibility

11.18.2009 Authenticity

Note: You can maybe win a signed copy of this book. That’s at the bottom, but it’s fun to win stuff, so I wanted to point out the payoff at the end.
“Consumers don’t believe the promises anymore. If the ad says, ‘ninety-out-of-a-hundred people prefer fill-in-the-blank,’ we cynically assume that those 90 are the advertiser’s 90 [...]

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Message Fail: The Sinking Hippies

11.17.2009 Authenticity

Over at IFC’s blog yesterday, Vadim Rizov analyzed why Pirate Radio tanked. The trailer looked fun to me, but I worked in radio for twelve years.
He gives five reasons for the sinking ship of a film. The third one smacked me like a weed-covered shovel:
3. People are tired of self-congratulatory baby boomers.
Remember when “Taking Woodstock” [...]

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What are the 10 Big Boy Bees?

11.13.2009 Authenticity

We could sure use your help today. The boy and I are nearly finished with a project that started last Friday.
His physical therapist - Miss Jennifer - started reinforcing three simple “Be” rules:
1. Be safe.
2. Be kind.
3. Be responsible.
The boy, being an overachiever like his mother, didn’t think these three went far enough. He wanted [...]

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So Shines A God Deed

11.10.2009 Civics' Lessons

Windsor Road Christian Church
Weekend of Service Stats

1 computer
1 dumpster
2 port-a-potties
2 park benches
3 picnic tables
20 new mattresses
500 t-shirts
1000 children’s dental kits
2 project coordinators
8 project sites
8 project site managers
10 months of planning
40 task team leaders
42 tasks
8 First Aid Kits
8 dust masks
10 canisters of Clorox Wipes
11 bottles antibacterial gel
16 pairs of work gloves
20 Safety Glasses
20 pairs of ear [...]

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