Think back to your birthday morning as a child… That rush of anticipation as you leap out of bed and run towards the living room, your brain cycling through all the possibilities of what your Mom and Dad may have brought you. And as you turn the corner and catch your first glimpse of the presents in all their glory, what’s the first thing you do? You take inventory: how big are the boxes and which ones should I open first? As far as children are [...]
"I find it touchingly poetic to think that as our technology grows more advanced, we may grow more human." (Diane Ackerman, The Human Age) Remember when robots couldn't walk? I do. Yet, very few of us would be impressed or even scared by a walking robot today, not when we've seen one execute a backflip. Remember when the idea of A.I. face recognition would have overwhelmed most? I do. Yet, now, A.I. can generate deep fakes that are so convincing, we've built entire corners of the internet dedicated [...]
I'll never forget the first time we met. (Like any good Disney story, there always must be a great "Once upon a time" intro, right?) He was a young Senator at the time, and I was lucky enough to give him his first pair of custom Mickey Mouse ears. Little did I know that this interaction would be the first of many wonderful stunts that we would collaborate on. And now, again we are about to add another event to our list! President Barack Obama [...]
Imagine yourself backstage at a theatre. The Production Assistant has just finished clipping on your microphone, and the Stage Manager has given you the one-minute warning. Beyond the curtain, you hear the muffled sounds of the audience taking their seats. Pacing back and forth, you review your opening line over and over in your head. But this rehearsal doesn’t last long. Before you know it, the house lights dim, the stage lights go bright, and you’re given the cue. You walk out, face the crowd, [...]
If I were to approach you with two different seeds and ask you to show me which one is a weed and which one is a flower, how would you know which is which? Do you think you’d be able to tell simply by looking closely at each seed? Of course not! The only way to tell is by planting both seeds and allowing them to grow. Initially, both will break the surface with a tiny sprig of green, and likely look very much the [...]
Anyone that’s seen me speak or has read my blogs knows that there is a universal truth when it comes to creativity: we are all born creative. Though many may want to tell themselves that they’re not a creative person, or that creativity is best left to the “Creative Departments”, the truth of the matter is that we all have creativity inside of us. The problem is not lack of creativity. The problem is the lack of time to access our creative minds. Have [...]
If you’re like most, you spend a lot of time thinking about what you say at work… Did my question make sense? Was that email worded properly? What’s the best way to pitch this new idea? It makes sense to worry about language. Words matter. And in the context of your work life, they can sometimes mean the difference between being heard, and being ignored (or worse). But what about the flip side of all this? With all the time we spend thinking about what [...]
Why is Mickey Mouse still alive? While I start off with the title "Why Marketing Will Be Dead In Less Than 10 Years" let's skip back to one of the worlds most iconic successes in marketing... Mickey Mouse. Sure, as a fictional character his life is much more resilient than us flesh and blood mortals. But still, how is it possible that 91 years after his introduction to the world in Walt Disney’s Steamboat Willie, that Mickey Mouse remains as popular as ever? Snoopy? He [...]
This week, one of the most iconic, successful film franchises of all time debuts its latest (and perhaps final) feature: Toy Story 4. I’ve written at length about the success of Pixar, and how they leverage the power of storytelling to create hit after hit, after hit. So, it should come as no surprise that I am a massive fan of the Toy Story franchise. In fact, for this Toy Story fan, the last few weeks have been a wonderful trip down memory lane. During [...]
The "What Happens Tool" - Using random stimulus to get new ideas Every day you are inundated with stimuli. Various people, places, and things of all shapes and sizes coming in and out of your life millions of times a day. More often than not, your brain filters out most pieces of stimuli as irrelevant to your immediate needs and/or the task at hand. This is evolutionary. How could you possibly focus on every little single thing that crosses your path each day? You couldn’t! [...]
