In this episode of the Ideas Architect Podcast, we talk with Helen Macdonald, the Corporate Optimist about her plan to create an international community of one million optimists. And, she has just launched the Optimist Foundation. We discuss the challenge of doing what pays the bills and doing what you
One of the struggles of being in business for yourself as a business expert, subject matter expert or thought leader is to establish your reputation and ideally, create a unique market position. By being unique you: Give yourself a greater chance of standing out in a noisy marketplace. Can charge
Recently, I’ve had a few people comment on my blog writing. And, mostly it’s been favourable. Generally, the comments suggest that I write in a comfortable, casual and friendly way. And, the ideal compliment, ‘It’s like you’re talking to me’. This is usually followed up by the question, ‘How can
What are the key things that separate the best from the rest? If you said ‘practice’ then you’re half-right. In his brilliant book Talent is Overrated, Geoff Colvin suggests ‘Deliberate Practice’ is the difference between the top performers and the also-rans. It’s not random practice. In fact, it’s the opposite.
The Obama Poster When Shepard Fairey created the Obama Hope poster he set out to make some money and support his political beliefs. From his initial print run, he sold 350 copies and gave away another 350. By October 2009, he’d printed 300,000 posters and sold only 2000 of them.
One of the core elements of a manifesto is the power of the declaration. When I share this with people I’m often asked what do we really mean by a ‘declaration’? The key to understanding declarations is to consider it as a creative action. They literally create the future. One
How do you attract a loyal customer base who are more than happy to sing your praises to anyone who will listen? The perfect place to start is to create your own brand flavour or theme. Previously, we reviewed Alexandra Watkins’ fabulous little book, Hello My Name is Awesome: How
Ideas Marketing is based on the principle that you start your branding and marketing process based on your big idea – your promise, the cause you stand for, the beliefs you hold dear. Then you build this idea into existence in a range of different forms so people can live
The Book Alexandra Watkins, Hello My Name is Awesome: How to Create Brand Names That Stick, Berrett-Koehler, San Fransisco, 2014. Giving It All Away Alexandra Watkins is the founder of EatMyWords.com – a brand-naming agency. In writing her book, Alexandra has faced the same dilemma that confronts every thought leader
Over the past couple of weeks, the words have just been flowing. I feel like I’ve written some of my best blog posts! Today, I want to add to this list and for me right now it’s just not happening. So, instead of writing about Ideas Marketing, I’m writing about