Three months ago, I wrote about the need to understand the power of incentives. What I forgot to mention that all bets are off if you don’t know how to communicate those incentives to the right people. Here is a recent request to participate in a survey. The target audience is people who are maintaining… Continue reading →

One thing that comes with size and scale is that it definitely opens up new possibilities. Buying Innovation is one of them. Here are some ways companies approach innovation: 1. Internal Research and Development (R&D) This is the most common form of innovation within a company. A separate division within the company is dedicated to… Continue reading →

The Team It was the lack of oxygen. Jane collapsed just when the team was a few hundred feet away from the summit. Two out of the other three volunteered to return with Jane. Rob could continue the climb with another team.  He thought for a second and decided to turn back. — Note: 1…. Continue reading →

The Goal He turned sixty and it was a time for reflection. Last thirty five years, he was very busy. He had reached almost every career goal. He was successful, rich and famous. The only problem – he was alone and he knew that money couldn’t buy the kind of relationship he longed. — Note:… Continue reading →

Giving Back That particular book had changed his life. He checked the price again. Thirty dollars! “It’s a steal” he thought. He wanted to give back something to the author. After thinking for a while, he decided to buy ten of the same books and sent one to each of his friends. — Note: 1…. Continue reading →

The Choice The guy at the store showed me all sorts of phones – sliding, flipping, PDA phone, camera phone, slim phone and more. There were too many good phones there. I needed to do some more research before I buy. Two months have passed and I have not made a decision yet. — Note:… Continue reading →

The deal The sales team in a startup was jazzed after a great customer presentation. The startup VC had a prior relationship with the customer. He called the customer and asked if he would buy the system from them. The customer politely responded “No way. The meeting was only for market research” — Note: 1…. Continue reading →

You can have the cake and eat it too. The other day I ordered a couple of books from Amazon. I got a shipment notice from them yesterday. Of course, being Amazon, the notice had every detail that I was looking for including an USPS tracking number Since I was reading this email from my… Continue reading →

Love at first sight John was a regular in that train. Today seemed different, probably because of Sally who was in New York for work. They started the conversation casually but both became very close in less than thirty minutes. They exchanged phone numbers, of course. John promptly called a day later – “Wrong number!”… Continue reading →

The Airport He was running late. Very late! That was the last flight and he didn’t want to spend the night at the airport. He ran as fast as he could. There were only thirty minutes left. When he reached the gate his panic turned to a smile – his flight was delayed. — Note:… Continue reading →