I respect people who can keep the scent of the trail. Fellow storytelling evangelist Brad Marley approached me back in April 2019 to answer a handful of questions on my second-favorite topic. The plot took some twists and turns (naturally), but I answered Brad’s questions a couple of months ago. For those who don’t subscribe …more
I decided to republish this post from a couple years age when our younger son Elliot got married. While today is Father’s Day, not “Parent’s Day,” I still seems to fit the scene. Here goes … Let’s start with the marriage of Marv and Ruth Hoffman. The photo above shows my parents on their wedding …more
With Mother’s Day around the corner, I’m reminded of learning the basics of interviewing from my Mom. She perfected what I came to term the where-what-who method of questioning: Where you were last night? What did you do? Who were you with? Fast forwarding to today, I’ve conducted well over 500 interviews. I love the …more
Is there a task more mundane than doing laundry? It is the ultimate in dullsville. Yet, a podcast by Malcolm Gladwell called “Laundry Done Right” shows that indeed . I first wrote about Gladwell in 2009 when he told a David vs. Goliath type story that used a 12-year-old girls basketball team as the frame. …more
This has nothing to do with communications. Then again, it has everything to do with communications. The demands on my time these days has made it tough to squeeze in time to write for my blog; hence, the dusting off of this Trade Joe’s post. Let me set the stage. My wife and I decided …more
By my back-on-the-envelop math, I’ve conducted over 500 interviews. It’s one of my favorite parts of the job. The cajoling and probing of a source to get to the good stuff offers a sense of discovery. With Mother’s Day around the corner, I get to dust off an interview that makes my top-five list. But …more
I’ve avoided clickbait for nearly nine years and 1,096 posts … until now. The headline for this post definitely qualifies as clickbait. You’re not going to find a video on Kim Kardashian dissing her mom. With that said, watching my mom share her unfiltered insights on the business of public relations does offer …more
This has nothing to do with communications. Then again, it has everything to do with communications. Let me set the stage. My wife and I invited our two sons, daughter-in-law and grandkids over for a BBQ last Saturday thinking spring had arrived (not quite). After shopping for burgers, buns, condiments, etc., we decided to make …more
I’ve lamented the lack of storytelling in job descriptions, with everyone seemingly depending on the same HR 101 handbook. I’ve also showcased killer job descriptions like this one from Medium. Now comes a job description on LinkedIn like none other (h/t to Burghardt Tenderich for the flag). The creator was determined to leave nothing to …more
