I've read many explanations lately about why people are not convinced by debate. Fortunately, James Clear points the way toward persuading people: treating them as friends. JamesClear.com: Why Facts Don’t Change Our Minds, 2018-Sep-10 by James Clear Be Kind First, Be Right Later The brilliant Japanese writer Haruki Murakami once wrote, “Always remember that to argue, and win, is to break down the reality of the person you are arguing against. It is painful to lose your reality, so be kind, even if you are right.” When we are in the moment, we can easily forget that the goal is... Continue reading

Mistakes are a chance to collect information. Plan them carefully. New Statesman: It’s impossible to live in a state of error-free perfection: the trick is to make the right mistakes, 2019-Jan-29 by Ian Leslie On an individual level, it can be liberating to accept that the whole trick of life is deciding how, not whether, to screw up. A student may do better in an exam once she feels that nobody is expecting her to answer every question correctly. Every day, somebody starts a new business, fully aware that it may go kaput, having weighed that possibility against another error:... Continue reading

We actually can't change someone's values by talking with them. We could possibly affect their values by doing things with them. But more immediately we can show them that the values they currently hold are consistent with more options than they realize. Stumbling and Mumbling: Conservative arguments for radical ideas, 2020-Jan-03 by Chris Dillow ...we don’t persuade people by telling them that their worldview is wrong and by demanding that they change the ideas of a lifetime. We are more likely to succeed by showing them that their ideas are consistent with things they might not have considered. Here are... Continue reading

These days our emails are so complex, and our email sending platforms put out a firehose of data. If we could only get one piece of data, what would it be? For most of us, it's whether the email we're sending is delivering our target audience to the web site. If 3% of the emails we sent resulted in a link-click. Then we're performing as well as can be expected. Email Optimization Shop: From the Boards: CTR or CTOR? 2020-Feb-1 by Jeanne Jennings CTR gives you a good read on how interested your recipients are in your message. That’s pretty... Continue reading

Sputnik ATX: What Entrepreneurs Really Need (and It Isn't Funding), 2019-Nov-19 by Joe Merrill What you think holds you back: Startup Funding (from investors) Bug fix (make it work better) Design (make it easier to use and pretty) What actually holds you back: Launch (get product to market) Design (make it easy use and pretty) Pricing (create consumer surplus) Remember, high growth covers a multitude of sins. Short on cash? Sell more. Product buggy? Get code fixes to market now. Alternatively, Failory did a study that patterned start up data to identify why some fail and some succeed. The 4... Continue reading

For years I've helped companies send hundreds of newsletters to active customers. However, the newsletter that I'm working on now will serve a community. A much different approach is required. You don't want people to click to order--you want them to engage in a conversation. Person-to-person recognition is required, and if the community will really grow, then we have probably have to staff employees to members at around 150-to-1. The total audience can be larger, but not the active community. Local News Lab: Journalism’s Dunbar number: Audience scales, community does not. 2019-Mar-4 by Damon Kiesow To succeed, local media have... Continue reading

Since I've started joining startup communities, I've be deluged with opportunities to hear how founders "made it," as well as offers of mentorship from people with a lot less experience than myself. Granted, I'm not a successful entrepreneur, but I have a deep and flourishing understanding of how businesses succeed. And it's not by imitating someone else's success. Farnam Street: Survivorship Bias: The Tale of Forgotten Failures, 2019-Dec by Shane Parrish Considering survivorship bias when presented with examples of success is difficult. It is not instinctive to pause, reflect, and think through what the base rate odds of success are... Continue reading

I enjoyed reading this article in Entrepreneur, and I decided to dig a little deeper into the concepts discussed. In particular, the article referred to ROAS, or Return On Advertising Spend. A Google search provides the following automatic answer: The formula is quite simple. You simply divide the revenue that is produced by advertising by the dollar amount that is spent on that particular advertising to arrive at your ROAS. Unfortunately, as the author of the article noted, the marketing challenge is never that simple. ROAS is frequently used to select advertising channels. In the real world, ad channels don't... Continue reading

Tristan Harris has some recommendations for us. See his video from Nov. 14: https://humanetech.com/principles-for-humane-technology/ Continue reading

Alex Pentland, author of Social Physics, is one of the under-recognized leaders of sociology research. He recently shared his work on distinguishing two kinds of social capital: Bonding capital is built by sticking with your tribe Bridging capital is built by exploring and building connections outside your tribe. Quartz: A pioneer of wearable technology explains how it can connect instead of divide us, 2019-Dec-17 by Jenny Anderson There is tension between the two types of capital. “This is one of the fundamental conflicts of the human nature,” he says. “People need that tribe that reinforces them, but new opportunities and... Continue reading

We have the mistaken impression that people trust us because we do what we say. Actually, they trust us because we ask what they do. Trillion Dollar Coach, by Eric Schmidt, Jonathan Rosenberg & Alan Eagle, 2019 by Harper Business When you listen to people, they feel valued. A 2003 study from Lund University in Sweden finds that “mundane, almost trivial” things like listening and chatting with employees are important aspects of successful leadership, because “people feel more respected, visible and less anonymous, and included in teamwork.” And a 2016 paper finds that this form of “respectful inquiry,” where the... Continue reading

I think we often forget to PLAN on building trust and sharing our stories. Seth's blog: Making your case, 2019-Dec-20 by Seth Godin How it actually works: Earn attention from precisely the right people. Gain trust. Tell a story. Create tension. Relieve the tension by gaining commitment. Deliver work that’s remarkable. They spread the word. Continue reading

Email marketing guru Dela Quist has a very good point about inactive email subscribers. They are labeled 'inactive' because the email server can't detect any activity, but that tells you NOTHING about the person and what they've read or done with the information you sent. I am friends with a lot of IT professionals who block systems from collecting information from them. I, myself, read some emails with the images turned off because I know that I'll get slammed with needless follow-up emails if I don't. Segment inactives. Review the names as much as possible. You may find people you... Continue reading

A great email subject line is valuable, but targeting your message to the interests and preferences of your audience is even more important. If you can get someone who trusts and supports you to forward a message, that's worth more than a list. Quora: What is a good way to start promoting a church or business? 2019-Dec-4 by Paul O'Brien of MediaTech Ventures Where once, a message sent was likely received by all (or at least most), now the two way relationship between communicator and receiver has changed; with the receiver being empowered to decide HOW and WHEN they receive.... Continue reading

One of my favorite Houston bloggers is Robert Boyd. The recent surprising death of Houston art icon Michael Galbreth hit him pretty hard but stimulated a couple of amazing posts on his blog "The Great God Pan Is Dead." Michael Galbreth was one-half of the internationally famous "Art Guys" who introduced thousands of Houstonians to performance art, and caused us to question the conventional way of life: drive around, consume a lot of things, take your friends for granted, etc. Jack Massing is the other Art Guy. The Great God Pan Is Dead: Tod and Verklarung, 2019-Oct-25 by Robert Boyd... Continue reading

In the future, I want to commit to making this blog more and more about dispensing loyalty and recognition to others. Zabar's delicatessen represents so much of what I love about New York. It's a symbol more than a store. It turns out the most recent heir (of many) to this family business is also a Columbia Business School student. I feel even more connected to this company. Read more here. Continue reading

Charming Charlie is reviving. Social media has been activated. The new store locations have been announced. A new web site collects together all the positive press that founder Charlie Chanaratsopon has had in the past, but the e-commerce web site is not available yet. The projected launch date for both physical retail and online sales is early 2020. A few months ago, Chanaratsopon did an interview with the Houston Chronicle after he was approved to buy the intellectual property and customer database at the bankruptcy auction. He stated that online sales will be more important, and physical storefronts will be... Continue reading

I've decided to spend more time concentrating on newsletter and trying to find consulting gigs in the newsletter arena. So I'm trying to find role models, and Tom Critchlow has an amazing approach. The Strategic Independent: Yes! and... 2019-Nov-18 by Tom Critchlow Who’s been in a meeting and been disgusted with people spouting things that are half-true, made-up or masks over the real truth? There’s a fine line between reacting to a situation in the room and bullshitting. As a consultant this is especially hard to avoid. Your default mode of operating is the liminal space between industries, businesses and... Continue reading

I've known Amy for a long, long time, although I haven't seen her face-to-face in years. She used to send the most fabulous emails--she probably still does--but I see her on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram now. What I enjoy about following Amy is that her use of social media has evolved over the years. If I had faced what she faced a few times, I'd have thrown in the towel. I'll never be as outgoing and open-hearted as she is, but I hope I follow her in using social media to enrich our lives. Go follow Amy somewhere: https://www.instagram.com/realtoramyhouston/ https://www.facebook.com/HoustonRealtor... Continue reading

Yesterday I attended a networking meeting at a hotel in downtown Houston called "C. Baldwin." Since the massive renovation, the space and furnishings are quite beautiful. I really enjoyed meeting everyone with Sesh. However, the hotel disappoints me in several ways. It makes me feel cheap. Everything seems over-the-top expensive. At The Houstonian, I can see value in the money I might spend, but at "C.Baldwin," I feel pressured to throw money around for show. The name is from an important woman in Houston's history, Charlotte Baldwin Allen, the wife of one of the city's founders. When her husband left... Continue reading

When I was just a kid, I was eager to buy art. For me, that meant getting cheap junk at the county fair, as long as it was attractive and handmade. My mother usually bought reproductions at home furnishing stores, but I preferred the real thing, even if it was lower quality. Many people see art as unaffordable, but if you open your eyes to everything 'handmade' (even if made on a computer or in a machine shop), you'll see so many opportunities to support artists. Most of these pieces are functional. And if they get a little tattered or... Continue reading

Here's a really good trick for making sure that you're chasing the right dream. Think about something you'd love to do, but ALWAYS ask does it solve a problem? Whose problem? How would that work? Tanvir has a cool new company called Dunyha, an innovative real estate firm that integrates home sharing and home ownership. Check it out: https://dunyha.com/ Kivo Daily: Movers and Shakers Interview with Tanvir Aman, 2019-Nov-1 by Dillon Kivo Kivo: What piece of advice do you wish someone had given you at the start of your career? Aman: I wish someone had told me that rather than... Continue reading

I usually photograph the flowers and trees, but last weekend I spotted this while walking in Hermann Park. Continue reading

The work of Alex Pentland has been valuable to me, and I once carried a copy of his book Social Physics to a meeting of technology innovators, including Austin Fatheree. Most of the people in this meeting had degrees and experience in math, science and engineering. They were repelled by the idea of 'social physics.' They thought it was blasphemous to put the two words together! I have never been sure of their issue because their reaction was clearly emotional. I assume they saw physics as reliable and social interactions as unpredictable. And that is true, as this article by... Continue reading

Since I'm thinking of building up a community around the new Creative Houston newsletter, I'm fascinated by this information about scaling communities. This research suggests to me, that for my purposes, I should probably plan on keeping the community below 150 people, as I don't have the resources to manage a bigger one yet. One Man & His Blog: Engaged journalism, membership models and communities under attack: important new research from the Reuters Institute, 2019-Oct-25 by Adam Tinworth ...one thing we’ve known for a very long time in community management is that scale does break community. It always breaks community.... Continue reading