jay cross

Lots of trash talk

Sat, 08 Mar 2008 19:13:44 GMT

Thursday's garbage post triggered a large (and alarming) amount of mail. The responses fell into three categories. 1. Dozens of you said your city was even worse. 2. DC residents agreed there'd been a change in our fair city, though John Whiteside and others say the change pre-dated Mayor Fenty. 3. And Sven Cahling of Sweden wrote: "A week of garbage? Ha! How about 365 days?"
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The only good news at Reagan National Airport

Sat, 08 Mar 2008 18:53:32 GMT

Today is one of those days when I silently vow never to travel again. Already I've experienced one canceled flight, one multi-hour delay, and one missed connection. And I haven't left Washington.

On days like this, it's nice to get notes like the one below, which I received from Nico Van Der Hoven, of the custom furniture maker Axiometal:

"I read A Whole New Mind last year and I realized we have a great opportunity to differentiate our business through design and by offering products that tell stories. We have a wonderful collection of reclaimed woods available in Ontario that could be up to 100 years old. The wood is reclaimed from old barns, factories, churches, etc.

Recently we used Red Wood that came from a wine vat where it fermented red wines for 80 years. It has now started a new life as an executive desk for the president of a large corporation. The wood is beautiful, but it is the story that makes this desk truly spectacular and the owner who is a wine connoisseur is especially thrilled by its history. Picture attached."
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D.C. garbage

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 00:05:49 GMT

Tuesday is garbage day at the Pink House. The trucks usually rumble through the alley before 8:30am. But this Tuesday, the trucks somehow skipped our house. Since all of us generate a lot of garbage (and not just the rhetorical kind), we faced a long and smelly week.

So yesterday, on a whim, the missus called 3-1-1 -- which had been a phone number for minor emergencies and recently became an all-purpose city services number. Her expectations were low. The District of Columbia, until recently, was renown for having one of the worst city governments in America. But her call was answered. She got a case number. And, lo and behold, this morning a DPW truck picked up our garbage.

This might not sound like much to those of you elsewhere. But here in D.C. it's unprecedented. And appreciated. It's also a sign to organizations of all kinds that it's possible to begin transforming even the most dysfunctional cultures. I'm sure glad I voted for reform-minded Mayor Fenty -- and didn't just buy running shoes from his parents.
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Light posting -- mea culpa

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 23:55:08 GMT

Things have been zooey here at Pink, Inc, world headquarters, so the blog has been rather silent. Sorry. We've been working to redesign this site and to build out another site devoted to Johnny Bunko (which you can see in its embryonic form here.) I'll try to get back in action soon. My calendar isn't updated either, but you can follow me on Dopplr. One of this week's highlights: A visit to SXSW 2008.

A whole new videoconference

Mon, 17 Mar 2008 02:12:26 GMT

Phil Shapiro is the creator of the AWNM group on Facebook and he's looking for volunteers. He writes:

"I'd love to videoconference with other fans about A Whole New Mind -- and then share that videoconference online. I write for PCWorld.com and can give coverage of such an experiment on that web site."

I've offered to help bring the community of fans together. Phil uses a nifty product called ooVoo and he's done this before to some great results. If you're interested, just pop your email address here. We'll conduct this experiment in organizing a distributed video discussion group sometime toward the end of this month or early April.
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Stroke of genius

Mon, 17 Mar 2008 01:59:46 GMT

Everybody and their brother has sent me the video of neuroanatomist Jill Bolte Taylor's recent talk at TED. One morning a few years ago, a blood vessel exploded on the left side of her brain. That gave the scientist an insider's look at how her own brain operates. In particular, she came out of the experience with some fascinating insights into the differences between the left hemisphere and the right hemisphere. It's an 18-minute lecture -- not counting the standing ovation she receives at the end.

Everything of the day

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 22:09:40 GMT

Word of the day: Reproductive outsourcing. (Source: NYT, 3/10/08)

Factoid of the day: "When the fourth season of 'The Office,' an NBC comedy, had its premiere in September, one in five viewings was on a computer screen instead of a television." (Source: NYT, 3/10/08)

Advice of the day: Mark Cuban offers 12 rules for startups. (Number 11 is my favorite).
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Thu, 20 Nov 2008 09:30:26 GMT

Take a Bow ....... By Rihanna.
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Godforsaken (or forsaken God) factoids of the day

Tue, 26 Feb 2008 20:40:53 GMT

"More than a quarter of adult Americans have left the faith of their childhood to join another religion or none at all . . . Sixteen percent of American adults say they are not part of any organized faith, which makes unaffiliated the country's fourth-largest 'religious group.'" (Source: NYT, 2/26/08)

Bunko in your box

Sat, 23 Feb 2008 01:20:22 GMT

If you'd like to be notified when The Adventures of Johnny Bunko is published, sign up through this link.

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BW goes Bunko

Fri, 22 Feb 2008 14:53:55 GMT

BusinessWeek is the first publication out of the gates on Johnny Bunko. Read Susan Berfield's story -- headlined "Career Advice from a Comic Book" -- here.

If it's Thursday, it must be Vero Beach

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 16:19:09 GMT

Just signed up for Dopplr, which several people had recommended. Search my name on the site, share your sked with me, and I'll share back.

Why shouldn't a gas station bathroom be beautiful?

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 16:07:11 GMT

That's not a question I ever asked myself -- until earlier this week when I heard an excellent presentation from John Seifert of Ogilvy. Seifert made the case that without a major overhaul in what they stand for in and how the connect with consumers, many brands are in deep trouble. He described the work he did to rebrand British Petroleum. And in the course of his comments, he mentioned the Helios House, a "green" gas station BP runs in southern California. (You can find more info at the BP site and some good photos at losandjealous.) I'm a tad skeptical of the concept of an evironmentally-friendly gas station, but this is interesting. I especially liked the way they turned one of the skankiest destinations into something more inspired.
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Book jacket sneak preview

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 16:18:18 GMT

Yesterday I had the privilege of serving in the peanut gallery for a Seth Godin teleseminar on his latest book, Meatball Sundae. (BTW, please read this one. The advice on the top of page 185 is itself worth the price of the entire book.) During the call, Seth generously mentioned The Adventures of Johnny Bunko -- which, of course, led to an avalanche of email from Godinites asking for more info. I'll have more to say on this project next month. (And so, I hope, will you.) In the meantime, for those of you who are interested, I've posted a sneak preview of the book jacket here.

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Thu, 20 Nov 2008 09:30:26 GMT

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Seth Godin presentation: how to build a tribe

Sun, 09 Nov 2008 13:59:37 GMT

I mentioned this before, but Tribes is an absolute must-read for 2008. Many of you already know much of what Seth Godin talks about in the book, especially if you have been following Seth and his blog, buying his books, etc. over the years (this is not a how-to book). But there is something special and "sticky" about the way he puts it together in Tribes that reminds us of our mission and our market (tribe) and inspires us to take what we do up to another level. I have the book, but I have listened to the audio version over the past weeks during stolen moments on the train or even while working out at the gym (not easy to do). Seth did a sold-out presentation in New York recently and he put the slides he used up here on Slideshare. But even better than that, Andrew Warner over at Mixergy.com (great website) put up a video of Seth's presentation that night. It's not the highest quality recording of the presentation (tripod!), but it's of good enough quality not to distract... and it's free! It's all good stuff so watch the presentation here on the Mixergy site (there is a free audio download version there too). I was surprised and blown away when at 28:40 into the presentation, Seth used the Presentation Zen tribe/movement as one of his examples. Thanks, Seth. (And thanks to Mixergy.com, too for the video.)

Seth Godin speaks in New York to a sold-out audience.?(Click image to see video on Mixergy.com).

(Note: If you like Seth Godin's ideas, then I highly recommend you follow marketing guru Mitch Joel as well. Joel's weekly podcast is fantastic. I'm a member of the Mitch Joel tribe.)

PZ makes Amazon's Best of 2008
In other news, I just want to take a moment to thank all of you who purchased the book Presentation Zen which went on sale just about eleven months ago now. Thanks to you, Presentation Zen has made a few of the Amazon Best Books of 2008 lists, including Top-10 Business Books (#3), Best Computer/Internet Books for Dad (#1), and the Top 100 Customer Favorites for all books (#45). There has been virtually no traditional media coverage at all and almost no traditional marketing per se, and yet the book has quietly found a large audience (and growing) which includes business people, teachers, students, and professionals of all kinds and from all parts of the globe (surprisingly, I get a lot of mail from medical doctors and scientists; more technical examples coming). The reason, of course, is the tribe. That is, you. I'm grateful for the success of the book, but if the book or the blog, etc. has helped you in even the smallest of ways to be more successful in your work ? your mission ?? well, that's the most rewarding thing of all. That's what it's all about: helping others change the world.

Thanks again very much to all of you for your support and kind words (and suggestions) over the years, especially this past year. I love hearing from you and about your unique situations (and I will try to do a better job answering all your email). I greatly appreciate the work that you do and the challenges that you face; I've learned a lot from you. Through the blog, and the book, and all the presentations around the world, I have received far, far more from "the tribe" than I have ever been able to give. ???????????????(What?)

Get connected with the PZ tribe
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? Posterous
? Facebook

Unbundling Dell's Businesses

Sat, 08 Nov 2008 19:13:16 GMT

Dell made the news recently. The Wall Street Journal reports that it is seeking to sell off a significant portion of its factory network and logistics operations. This is a big step for Dell but it?s consistent with a much...

The Bigger Consequences of the Big Sort

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 15:48:22 GMT

Obama pledges to unite a divided people. A new book highlights the enormous challenge he faces ? and drives home that this challenge is only partially about political division. The Internet as a unifier or dividerWhen the Internet emerged, it...

Innovating on the Edge of Big Waves

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 15:48:22 GMT

On Saturday, January 12, surfers from around the world converged on Maverick?s to challenge each other on the big waves that have made this a legendary surfing destination. The sixth Maverick?s Surf Contest had been announced only forty-eight hours earlier...

Innovation on the Edge

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 15:48:22 GMT

I?ve played on the edge throughout most of my professional career, whether it was doing deals in the Sultanate of Oman back in the 1970s, building a start-up around a new technology called the microprocessor in 1980, building a new...

Fractal Spikes and Global Competition

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 15:48:22 GMT

In my last blog posting, I mentioned the increasing value of place. At a time when information technology is supposed to make location irrelevant, we need to wrestle with the paradox that location is becoming more, rather than less, important....

Pareto Paring - Achieving Strategic Cost Reduction

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 08:36:59 GMT

As secular and cyclical performance pressure mounts, leadership teams wrestle with the appropriate response. Unfortunately, most teams end up taking the easy way out, causing long-term damage to their performance. An old Italian economist holds the key to a much...

Exploring New Forms of Economic Leverage

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 07:54:33 GMT

We watch in disbelief as financial markets retreat and the investment banking industry morphs into something yet to be determined. We are witnessing the dark side of financial leverage. While ?de-leveraging? has become the buzzword du jour, we may miss...

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Thu, 20 Nov 2008 09:30:26 GMT

Listen .......(from Dreamgirls). By Beyonce.
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Shaping Strategies

Sat, 15 Nov 2008 07:37:12 GMT

In times of high uncertainty, adaptation is the winning strategy. So goes the conventional wisdom. But, what if that misses a big opportunity? In a new article just published in Harvard Business Review, I suggest in collaboration with John Seely...

Shift Happens ? The Future of Advertising

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 03:10:05 GMT

In a world of rapid change, shift piles upon shift. One can get thoroughly confused and draw the wrong conclusions by focusing on one change while losing sight of the shifts that are coming up. Advertising is a case in...

The Service Economy Made Tangible

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 03:10:05 GMT

Everyone knows that we now live in a service economy much more than an industrial economy. But sometimes it helps to see some statistics to drive this point home. Here are some that I came across in a recent article...