Newsweek’s cover story on “The Creativity Crisis” caused me to reflect on the forces that have shaped my own approach to creativity. Here’s my top-five list with a touch of psychoanalysis: Self esteem from Mom and Dad: Hate to start on a syrupy note, but my parents stayed on message until I moved out for college: “Anything is possible with hard work.” …more
I’ve decided to live on the edge. By eschewing a SEO-friendly headline, I run the risk of attracting readers researching salmonella in poultry. When this post actually reflects a rumble through the KFC website where I came across a section called “Picnic Planning.” At this point I’m thinking this could make a terrific mini case study on …more
I’ve noticed a spike of recent attention devoted to building relationships with bloggers. One of the better ones came from Gini Dietrich and her interview with Mickie Kennedy from eReleases. With this in mind, I’ve dusted off a previous post that addresses this very topic: Robert Scoble, the poster child for escaping corporate cubedom for the virtual pulpit, penned a post titled …more
Are we really at the midway point of 2010? In honor of the milestone, I’ve captured my personal eight – lucky in Chinese numerology – favorites from the first half of the year. 1) Communicating with Fresh and Compelling Language This was my first edition of “Moes Takes,” a vehicle to call out clever quotes in stories …more
I got the SlideShare religion because the platform simplifies the blending of words and visuals in storytelling. But there are a number of ways to bring visuals to the fore, such as the infographic. I was particularly impressed with the savvy displayed from a company called Infegy in creating an infographic on the vuvuzela, those pesky horns providing the “lovely background music” …more
The BP oil rig explosion just hit the two-month milestone. At last count, I was one of 10,332 writers (my horseshoe-far number) who weighed in with a perspective or two on BP’s crisis communications. Make that 10,333, with the BBC highlighting BP boss Tony Hayward’s gaffes. A byproduct of BP’s PR nightmare involves the resurrection of the Exxon Valdez …more
We’ve talked about the star power of the anecdote in storytelling. Here’s yet another example. Sarah Needleman at The Wall Street Journal sent out the following query on HARO: I’m seeking small-business owners who struggle or used to struggle with reprimanding employees for poor performance or bad behavior. But I need more than just someone …more
I noted earlier in the month that we got the SlideShare religion, using the social media site to tell our story through an unconventional credentials deck. After evangelizing SlideShare as an ideal platform for storytelling, it occurred to me that we should develop a deck on the power of storytelling in business. So that’s what we’ve done. Taking …more
The Innovation Journalism (InJo) Conference at Stanford kicked off yesterday. Gathering 100+ journalists, academics and the like to scrutinize the telling of the innovation story makes for a lively dialog. The opening session featured David Nordfors, founder of InJo, interviewing Krishna Bharat, the creator of Google News. Dubbed a “fireside chat,” I’m pleased to report both …more
