Small Talk: A Blog
Small Talk: A Blog
-
Anyone Can Use the Tools. It’s About the Outcome.
I recently had a conversation with a colleague who admitted he was feeling a bit uneasy about the rise of artificial intelligence. He mentioned seeing an impact on his business because, in his words: “Anyone can do what I do now, and the need for people like me is diminishing.” I told him I completely…
-
Why Your Business Doesn’t Need an App (And What You Should Do Instead)
Nearly twenty years ago, I was attending a malware conference and had the privilege of listening to Walt Mossberg, the legendary lead technology columnist for The Wall Street Journal. This was right at the dawn of the first modern iPods and the very beginning of the smartphone era. Mossberg was addressing the rapid proliferation of…
-
The Big Three: Why Your Great Idea Doesn’t Care About Your Feelings
Back when I was working for a massive corporate enterprise, management religiously preached a framework called “The Big Three.” At the time, it was pitched as the ultimate sales script to convince skeptical business owners why they needed to buy advertising. The formula was deceptively simple: Prove that a market exists. Prove that the market…
-
The Prompt That Changed My Mind (And My Marketing)
AI moves fast enough to make anyone feel like a beginner. Socrates famously put it best: “I know that I know nothing.” Just when you think you’ve mastered a tool, a new shift proves how much room there is left to grow. AI is redefining itself by the second. Over the past few months, my…
-
Accountability Matters
Our garbage disposal unexpectedly died Saturday night. We noticed a burning, metallic odor when we came home from an evening of shenanigans and traced the offending scent back to the kitchen sink. After disabling the disposal at the breaker, I did what most middle-aged people do in situations like this: credit card in hand, I…
-
The Pay-to-Play Trophy Trap: Why Fake Awards Are Killing Your Credibility
We’ve all gotten the emails. Or the glossy direct-mail postcards arriving with all the subtlety of a leg lamp in a crate. “Congratulations! You’ve been selected as a Top Professional!” It feels like a scene straight out of A Christmas Story. You’ve won a major award! Except there’s one tiny catch: to claim your shiny…
-
Are Business Cards Really Dead, or Just Evolving?
Over the past month, I attended two trade shows of considerable size. Trade shows are always a fascinating experience for me. As a marketer, I not only get to learn from what other companies are doing, but I also get to interact with marketing managers, hear their perspectives on industry trends, and share a few…
-
Why We Ditched Fancy Job Titles for Real Results
Fifteen years ago, when I left a long career in corporate America to found The Small Marketing Agency, I knew I wanted to build something fundamentally different. In the corporate world, I was constantly vexed by the traditional “I-Thou” hierarchy. I’d meet a Vice President of Marketing, a CMO, or another senior executive with an…
-
The Revenge of the Writer: Why the Next Era Belongs to the Wordsmith
We’ve all watched the tectonic shifts of power over the decades. There was an era when the world was run by physical presence-the jocks, the commanders, the imposing figures who dominated through sheer weight of authority. Then came the digital revolution, and power shifted overnight. The nerds inherited the earth. Software engineers, data analysts, and…
-
Habits feel safe. Habits are not strategy.
Twenty years ago, I worked for a company that had a list of five core guiding principles. If you asked me to recite all five today, I’d probably give you a blank stare. But one of them stuck. In fact, it didn’t just stick-it became a cornerstone of how I view business and leadership: “There is always a better way.” It’s easy…
Go Small, Grow Big.
info@thesmallmarketingagency.com
407-753-7577
