Do You Have A Marketing Mentality?

By David Eissman, founder of Guaranteed Growth Systems

Most small business owners and independent professionals start their business primarily because they have knowledge and skills that are in demand. While they understand intellectually that they have to market and sell, often it does not translate on an emotional level. Many business owners tend to look at marketing as a necessary evil, and in many cases, have negative beliefs toward it. They could not stand to be hounded by those pesky salesman in their previous jobs and do not want to “become on of them.” As a result, the tendency is to focus on the aspects of our business that were the reason we chose to go into business in the first place, the actual application of our knowledge or skills.

What is a marketing mentality and how is it developed? There are three components that all link together:

1) The first component is belief. What are the underlying beliefs that affect our mentality? It encompasses our attitudes, thoughts, fears, expectations, and lack of experience. Our actions are shaped by what we think about, what we assume to be true and where we choose to focus. If the thoughts are negative or avoidance minded then we will see marketing as undesirable and in some cases unethical. It will manifest in self talk such as: I don’t deserve referrals, my marketing won’t work anyway; I will look desperate; if my service or product is good the market will know that; I don’t like networking; etc.

2) The second component is behavior which is generally driven by our beliefs. The decisions we make every day are critical and negative beliefs about marketing affect the decisions that are made. For example, how often do we plan for the week and tell ourselves that on Tuesday we will focus three hours on marketing. Tuesday morning rolls along and we receive a client call or an issue or problem with an employee and then rationalize that the marketing must be put off because these issues must be dealt with immediately. The question is how often this is really true. In my experience working with clients the answer is rarely. Although we know that the marketing is important, we let our negative beliefs affect our behavior. Before we know it the pipeline is dry, and then some type of marketing activity is undertaken in an unplanned haphazard manner.

3) The third component is relationship. In order to have consistent lead generation and sales there must be a relationship cultivated with an adequate amount of prospects. This is the main function of marketing. It is the adage of people to do business with those they know, like and trust. Without a consistent and systematic marketing plan, there will not be a sufficient lead generation process.

The linkage is very powerful. The beliefs affect the behaviors and the behaviors affect the ability to develop the relationships. The connectivity between these elements is extremely leveraged in both a positive and negative direction. When they are aligned, the results are extraordinary, and when they are not, the results can be devastating.

So, if you are in this quandary, what can be done about it? First, sit down and make a list, and inventory what your beliefs are about marketing. Be honest and list as many as you can. Then ask yourself about whether these beliefs are really true, or just simply a personal bias. Second, are you absolutely sure what you believe is true, or is it possible that it is not? Next, evaluate how this belief affects your behavior and what would happen if this belief is changed. Try to reconstruct the thought to a more positive mindset. The next step is to translate those new thoughts into new behaviors. One of the best techniques for doing so is to block out time on your calendar and treat it as if it were an appointment with your best client. You surely would not miss an appointment with your best client to deal with a task that was short of an emergency, would you? After a short time, these new behaviors will become habits and the rewards will follow.

If marketing is a struggle, it is absolutely critical to engage in this marketing mentality process. Many companies with great services and products go out of business because they could not implement a consistent lead generation system. Most often that failure starts with the lack of a marketing mentality. The great news is that the necessary mentality can be developed with effort, focus, and an open mind. You will be amazed by the impact on your business.

Source: Reprinted from John Jantesh’s Small Business Articles Duct Tape Marketing (www.ducttapemarketing.com).

Using Social Networks To Support Learning And Training

My friend and co-worker wrote this great article on the use of Web 2.0 technologies and their support of training and competencies. You really need to read this!

By Rod Ford

In a previous post, I asked the question: How can social network environments be used to support competency models that include attitudes and behaviors?

With the variety of social network environments (SNEs) available in today’s Web 2.0 milieu, the possibilities for leveraging them in the support of competency models and training initiatives may be infinite. In this post, I will focus on two or three of the SNEs and may choose to write about some of the others later. That said, I would encourage you to comment to this post about your ideas for these and other SNEs.

Weblogs and Blogging
Weblogs (blogs) are easy to implement but are challenging to leverage in support of competency models and training initiatives. I say “challenging” because blogging requires an individual or small group of knowledge experts to write content and keep it up to date. I think they are a very valuable tool, but when using them to support training initiatives, it is important to:

* Identify potential authors
* Create a writing schedule
* Remind authors when its time to write
* Link relevant courses to the blog
* Encourage readers to comment
* Assign someone to identify comments that need a response from an expert

Wikis
I’ve personally worked with at least 9 different wiki tools. Some of them I’ve simply written inside of, others I’ve implemented for clients or simply for my own understanding of their usefulness. While these tools are a bit more challenging to implement than a blog, I believe they are enormously important for supporting competency models and training initiatives.

Read more…

Big Buck Bunny - Buy Or Download

Given the look on Big Buck Bunny’s face, you’ll want to buy this DVD and add it to your animation collection.

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Quotable Quote - Mark Twain

Don’t let school interfere with your education.
- Mark Twain

Becoming a Precisionist

By Dan Coughlin

In the midst of the media frenzy over our current economic condition, it recently dawned on me that those who are experts will no doubt survive any recession. People who become experts in their fields have harnessed the power of precision. And this is available to everyone, including executives, employees, and entrepreneurs alike. Achieving precision is the most effective way for any individual to succeed, especially during tough economic times.

The Noble Calling to Be a Precisionist

In Webster’s School & Office Dictionary, the word precision is defined as “the quality of demanding exactness.” A precisionist is a person who has mastered the art of demanding exactness. The precisionist operates among the very best performers in the world within a given area of focus and constantly works to improve his or her performance.

When customers and employers are hit hard in the wallet they become extraordinarily discerning about where they place their dollars. They become highly selective both in terms of what area they invest in and who they invest in. They develop a laser focus about only going after the type of people they absolutely need. This results in recruiters seeking out only the best of the best within that target.

If you want to fall into the extremely small slice of professionals that others will always seek out, then I challenge you to become a precisionist.

The Challenge We All Face

Finding examples of precisionists is not very hard to do. So why does becoming a precisionist remain such a great challenge? Well, we get a little busy with our lives and before we know it today is over with and we’re on to tomorrow. Needless to say, we haven’t exactly made very much progress in becoming more precise in what we’re doing. In other words, our high–paced agendas take over our best intentions.

I think it’s time, especially in such a tough economic period, for us to step off the train of constant activity and make real progress toward becoming true precisionists within one area of focu

The Process of Becoming a Precisionist

There are four steps to mastering the craft of precision:

Step One: Select an Umbrella

Your umbrella is the area of focus you’ve decided to achieve precision within. This is the area you’re committing to operate in over the long term.

Walt Disney was not a great golfer and Tiger Woods never made great family films. They each operated within their own umbrella: Disney in family entertainment and Woods in golf. However, within each umbrella there was plenty of room to maneuver and create.

Walt Disney made family films and television shows, he created theme parks, he licensed products, and he started amazingly popular communities like The Mickey Mouse Club. Tiger Woods plays in professional golf tournaments, he designs golf courses, he promotes golfing products, he hosts his own professional golf tournament, and he created a foundation that has introduced golf to millions of kids who otherwise may never have played the game. Having one area of focus isn’t a limiting factor; it’s actually a freeing factor. It allows you to operate with extraordinary freedom within a given umbrella and that enhances the synergy between everything you do.

What is your umbrella? What is the area of focus that you are going to consistently work within to become a true precisionist? Answer these questions carefully.

Step Two: Maintain a High Degree of Focus for at Least 15 Years

Tiger Woods played competitive golf at age seven and won his first Masters golf tournament at age 21.

Walt Disney started making animated shorts at age 19 and made his first full–length animated film at age 35.

Steve Martin did his first stand–up comedy routine at age 18 and began selling out major venues at age 33.

Harrison Ford set out at the age of 22 to become a great character actor. He received his first major part in 1977 at the age of 34 as Hans Solo in Star Wars. He became Indiana Jones in 1981 and now at the age of 65 he is starring in the fourth Indiana Jones movie. He’s a precisionist.

If you want to be a precisionist in any field, remain committed to constantly improving within your umbrella for at least 15 years. It doesn’t matter whether your focus is to be a great entrepreneur, singer, executive, leader, writer, or manager.

You might be wondering how pursuing precision can help you slice through a recession if it takes at least 15 years to become a precisionist. Here’s how it works. The moment you commit yourself to a specific umbrella, a specific area of focus, you begin to attract people and opportunities that help you hone your craft within that arena. In doing so, you become more attractive to people outside the field. They know what you are focused on and they admire you for pursuing excellence in that field. They may not say that to you, but that’s what happens. You probably won’t make a million dollars, at least not right away, and that’s ok. You are on your way to becoming a precisionist in a field that you have passion for and that sense of adventure is worth a great deal.

Step Three: Leverage Technology

I used to think that technology meant computers, software, and electronics. I wasn’t even close. In Webster’s School and Office Dictionary the definition of technology is “science used in a practical way.” The definition of science is “systemized knowledge obtained by study, observation, and experiment.” Consequently, technology means “systemized knowledge obtained by study, observation, and experiment that is used in a practical way.” I LOVE that definition. That’s exactly what precisionists do.

Tiger Woods is a student of golf: the history of golf, the great players from the past, and the different holes on the different courses. He experiments with different types of shots until he’s able to use them in a practical way during a professional golf tournament.

Walt Disney constantly observed people and experimented with different ways to tell entertaining stories in practical ways. He was one of the first to use color in films, he embraced television when others ran away from it, and he created the first ever theme park.

We all have the ability to leverage technology in order to increase the exactness with which we perform. The key is to constantly study, observe, and experiment within our selected umbrella, and then use what we have learned in practical ways that add value to other people.

Step Four: Embrace Simplicity

Over the past 11 years, I’ve noticed that highly paid, intelligent, and hard–working individuals often times subconsciously make their work infinitely more complicated than it needs to be. In order to justify their salary and prove their commitment to the organization, they put themselves through the ringer. They work 80 hours a week on ridiculously complicated processes that generate small increments of improvement.

If that statement applies to you, I have one piece of advice: stop doing that.

Instead, I encourage you to embrace simplicity. Hone your processes until they contain three to seven steps that you can execute within a reasonable number of hours a week. (And 40 hours a week is a good place to max out at.) And then be ok with achieving great results with simple processes. Don’t fall into the trap that says, “If this simple process generated great results, then a really complicated process would generate even better results.” It doesn’t work that way.

Last year I bought an $1,800 computer that required five steps to assemble. I also bought an $18 toy for my daughter that required assembling hundreds of pieces with dozens of steps. Which company do you think provided me with the most value?

Select your umbrella, maintain focus at learning and experimenting and observing and improving for at least 15 years, leverage your body of knowledge in practical ways, and embrace simple ways to deliver value to other people. With this method, you’ll be well on your way to becoming an expert – a true precisionist.

Dan Coughlin is a business keynote speaker, management consultant, and author of “Accelerate: 20 Practical Lessons to Boost Business Momentum”, which made it to #4 on the Barnes & Noble Business Bestseller List. He has been quoted in USA Today, the New York Times, and Investor’s Business Daily. Dan’s clients include Coca-Cola, Toyota, Boeing, Marriott, McDonald’s, AT&T, American Bar Association, the St. Louis Cardinals, and more than 100 other organizations in over thirty industries. He speaks on entrepreneurial habits, quality, leadership, branding, sales, and innovation

CMO Guide to Brand Management Using Social Media

By Dan Schawbel

In 2005, Jeff Jarvis made every company think twice about customer service and brand management with his famous “DELL Hell” blog post. In his blog post he stated “I just got a new DELL laptop…the machine is a lemon and the service is a lie.” It is now 2008 and the conversation has been buried inside the social media playground, where citizen journalists carry a company’s reputation, more than any CMO, and customer service influences brand reputation more than ever. A recent survey by the Society for New Communications Research shows that almost 60% of participants view social media as a place to vent about customer support experiences. Although most CMOs would view this as a threat, the report also explains how 81% view blogs, online rating systems and discussion forums as places where customers gain a greater voice.

With millions of blogs and thousands of social networks, a conversation that once existed behind a locked door, now opens with social media. Thirty–seven percent of the US adult population uses social networks and there will be $1.2 billion spent on advertising on social networks this year alone (eMarketer). Even podcasting shows potential, with an audience that is projected to increase to 65 million in 2012 (eMarketer). Corporate messaging has decentralized and is made available through various channels of communication such as Twitter, blogs and Facebook. CMOs have no choice but to listen and learn.

Authenticity Matters

“Every CMO should know that not every brand is a brand people want to socialize with. You need to understand the limitations and opportunities of your brand within the audience’s mind and out in cyberspace,” says Laura Ries, President of Ries & Ries Focusing Consultants. Brands that have real values, emotions and meaning will be revered by customers and therefore will be spoken about. CMOs should strive to manage their brands so that their audience pays attention and turn customers into brand champions.

There are many new and exciting opportunities for CMOs in this web 2.0 world. John Moore, of BrandAutopsy.com fame, says, “Social Media helps small companies look bigger and helps big companies get smaller. Meaning, a small company can have a big presence online with customers through using social media. Conversely, a big company can get ‘smaller’ because social media connects companies to customers on a very personal level.” Social media places personal brands, that are tied to companies directly, in front of those who can impact their future. Some believe this is risky, but the smart CMOs will empower employees to carry forth the corporate message in an authentic manner.

Tips for CMOs:

Spend more time learning about social media before actually engaging.
This can be done by subscribing to many popular blogs in your space, which you can find through Technorati, Google Blog Search or by asking your PR agency or contacts. Learn who your new stakeholders and influencers are and identify ambassadors in your company that could interact with them to start conversations.

Become visible in the industry.
Whether it’s you or your direct reports, attendance at new media conferences will provide insight and best practices.

Take risks.
There are very few real social media success stories in corporate America because companies are in experimentation mode. Whether it’s a viral video, a blog, a wiki or a discussion forum, companies are looking to see how others react to their tools and strategies. The Blog Council was formed to help companies, such as Coca Cola, share failures and successes.

Command respect by being transparent.
Companies that connect with customers the same way they do with The New York Times or BusinessWeek will have a rude awakening. If you take anything from reality TV, you know that people care about authenticity and not acting. You need to start treating bloggers like real people and not press release submission services. The people that will succeed will tell bloggers exactly who they are and what their intentions are immediately.

Don’t be just another logo on a website.
Just because you brand yourself visually doesn’t mean people will care about you. I think podcasting is one of the key tactics to really connect with your audience these days. Make your business come to life and have your employees tell their stories. People remember faces and stories more than anything.

Realize that there is a shift in brand management control.
Brands have been swallowed by the end user. Now they have the privilege to spread the word, with or without an editor. Outside of the Web 2.0 bubble, social media is still relatively new. Enter at your own risk and always monitor your brand for feedback.

Dan Schawbel is a leading personal branding expert for gen-y. Dan publishes Personal Branding Magazine and Personal Branding Blog. He is also the first social media specialist at EMC2 and has seven years of experience in marketing.

Weird Week In Review - April 11

In case you missed last week, here is your one stop review of all things from WeirdGuy blog. Have fun!

Quotable Quote on Creativity

E-Learning Strategies: People Are Still Your Biggest Asset

Quotable Quote - Arthur Koestler

What Do You Think About The 90-100-95 Rule?

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Quotable Quote - Arthur Koestler

Creativity is a type of learning process where the teacher and pupil are located in the same individual.
- Arthur Koestler

E-Learning Strategies: People Are Still Your Biggest Asset

By Kevin Moore | TiER1 Performance Solutions

In developing a learning strategy, a critical aspect is how engaged the people are, and how they will play a role as the strategy builders and as the recipients of the strategy successes. People simply are the driving force behind every part of the strategy. Basically, as learning and performance professionals we state that the development of programs, courses, lessons, and knowledge objects is for the overt use of an individual who has a specific need to learn, refresh, or teach while engaged in a performance-measured task or function. This individual is our end user. A focus on the principles “Simple is better and less is more” is one over-arching objective when developing a learning or an e-Learning strategy. When faced with the building of a strategy, selection of key people from across the organization will be the most important decision to ensure success. For this reason a teaming approach seems to be best when developing a learning strategy.

Why involve people from Accounting, Operations, or even Sales for that matter? It’s simple, really… they are the people who will bring focused attention and a level of importance to the rest of the organization. This is an organization-wide strategy, and, as such, needs to have key people across the organization and within the executive level involved. Executive level sponsorship, ownership, and understanding are the single greatest assets for successful development and implementation of a learning strategy, as well as an e-Learning strategy. It is how you allocate resources, and it will enable
access across the organization.

In the past it has always been apparent that development and implementation of a learning strategy is established largely through a push from the top down, rather than from a user-focused, bottom-up approach. The reason for the top-down push has been for cost reduction, human capital realignment within the organization, large technology purchases, or to capture knowledge and information before it leaves the organization. Any learning and performance systems approach will begin to show significant return on value when the process is user-focused.

The job roles and functions of individuals and groups within the organization drive this approach. Learning and performance content developed from the users will have a significant impact on how work, and workers, are perceived and valued in the decisions they make and their role in the organization. This focus is directly associated with involving people from across the organization in developing the learning strategy.

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Rethinking Life and Relationships With Web 2.0

This video from Digital Ethnology demonstrates the changing paradigm of content/information transfer and their inter-relationship with our shifting lifestyles.

After watching it, tell me what you think will be our greatest challenges over the next 10 years. Comment below.

Creative Parent Training

By E. Brown

While at dinner last night with some friends the topic of children came up. I have two children and love them both dearly. The couple we were dining with are newly weds and have been thinking about having children. I wish I had seen these books prior to last night. From Wry Baby comes two hilarious parental training books: Safe Baby Pregnancy Tips and Safe Baby Handling Tips. The authors, David and Kelly Sopp, use creativity and illustration to equip expecting and new parents with the do’s and dont’s of child raising. Grab your own copies today and start learning!

Oh yes, remember - have fun!

Peter Pan and Willy Wonka On Creative Thinking

I just saw this slide show on Communication Nation. As I have stated before, you do not have to be an artist to be creative and exercise your creativity. The author, Kelsy Ruger of PopLabs, explores many of the popular myths about creativity in the workplace and how to overcome them.

Have fun and enjoy!

| View |

How To Create A “Best Of” Widget From Your All Time Top Posts On WordPress

By E. Brown

NOTE: This is for those hosting their blogs for free on WordPress. If you are not sure, you can check your URL. It will read something like name.wordpress.com

Like you, I frequently monitor the Blog Stats page on the WordPress Dashboard. It’s a barometer of audience participation and whether articles are of relevance. To make it easy for my readers to find the “Best Of WeirdGuy” I would manually go through the posts and note the lifetime views until I had a list of 10-20 articles. Then I would load the links into a Text widget. Needless to say, this process was cumbersome and time consuming. I emailed WordPress and after some back-and-forth correspondence Alex and I found the statistics pot of gold. Now creating a “Best Of…” widget is much easier.

I have had several bloggers comment on the “Best Of…” widget in my sidebar and some have asked me how to do it. For posterity, I decided to create this How-To so that you can share your best-of-the-best with the world. Enjoy!

Step 1 - Gather Your Data
From your Dashboard > Blog Stats Admin page, click on Top Posts & Pages.

From Top Posts & Pages you can view summaries of top posts from the last week, 30 days, 3 months, or year. For this exercise we want to click on the line Summarize: All Time. This will give you a summary of the top posts for the life of the blog.

Collect your data here for your top 10+ articles and posts.

Step 2 - Format Your Widget
I like to open a second window, or if you use Tab Browsing, another Tab. Navigate to your Presentation > Widgets Admin page. Use an extra Text widget and title it, Best Of… (or something else snappy).

You will need to know some simple HTML for this next part. You can create a bulleted list or numbered list — the choice is yours. I like to use a bulleted list, or in HTML, an unordered list <ul>. Here you will move back and forth between your two Tabs or Windows. Return to your All Time stats page and Copy the link location (PC: right mouse click or Mac: CTRL click). Move back to your widget and Paste the URL for the article within your <a> tag. Type the article title, close out your tag and move on to the next link. Copy the next link location from the stats page and move back to the widget until you have added all your links.

Your HTML Code should look something like this:

<li><a href=”Link Location Here”>Article Title Goes Here</a><br>

The <li> tag is for each List Item and the <br> tag puts a Break after the line.

Step 3 - Save Changes
Finally, close your widget and Save Changes from your Admin page. Click View Site to review your handy work and make sure it looks the way you expected and is placed on your blog where you want. If you need to tweak it or add/change more, just repeat Step 2 — That’s it!

What I have outlined here is “one way” of doing this. If anyone has used another method please feel free to share in the comments section below. Thanks.

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The Power of Enthusiasm

By E. Brown

One of the questions I often ask speakers is, “Are you enthusiastic about your topic?” Whether it be a professional speaker, teacher, manager, or CEO the power of enthusiasm has a remarkable effect on people. When you are enthused and excited about a topic or project the people around you get excited too. When you are not enthusiastic about a topic or project — guess what? Yep, the people around you pick up on it and are not interested either.

The power of enthusiasm affects us all. Henry Ford said it well:

You can do anything if you have enthusiasm. Enthusiasm is the yeast that makes your hopes rise to the stars. Enthusiasm is the spark in your eye, the swing in your gait, the grip of your hand, the irresistible surge of your will and your energy to execute your ideas. Enthusiasts are fighters, they have fortitude, they have staying qualities. Enthusiasm is at the bottom of all progress! With it there is accomplishment. Without it, there are only alibis.

Are you enthusiastic about…

- where you are in your job?
- the place that you work?
- the position you are in?
- your particular role on the team?
- where you are headed in your vocation?
- your personal relationships?
- what you are studying?
- the direction your life is headed?
- what will happen tomorrow?

As you can see, enthusiasm touches all aspects of our lives. Don’t settle for mediocrity. If you’re in a place that you are less than enthused about, what options or opportunities do you see around you? Can you get excited about what you’re doing or do you need a change of place and pace?

Life is and can be fun! Take a look around, assess the situation, and choose today what kind of enthusiasm you are going to show and teach. Enthusiasm is a powerful thing.

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Bring Back The Word “Sticky”

By E. Brown

I was telling a friend about the various projects I consult on. When I brought up online learning and performance management, I used the word “sticky”.

“Wow, now that is a word I haven’t heard since the early days of the Web,” my friend exclaimed.

I knew what he was referring to. Sticky was a word used to describe a Web sites combination of architecture, UI, and content. If a site was sticky it kept the attention of visitors and kept them coming back often. In essence a site retained it’s audience.

Today I use the word sticky in regard to learning. Learning is sticky when:

1. It is fun and enjoyable.
2. It captures imagination and stirs creativity.
3. It engages the learner through interaction and team work.
4. It excites and drives the learner to know more.
5. It encourages the learner to apply “fun approaches” to work and more.
6. It creates a positive and practical experience.
7. It increases mental flexibility and agility.
8. It is a fresh and new approach to common learning methods.
   

Ultimately, when a person retains and applies what they learn, then the learning content is sticky. If you are in the business of teaching, training, and development don’t be satisfied with only spreading information. Look for creative, out of the box, and fun ways to make learning…well, Sticky.

Let’s bring back the word “Sticky.”

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WeirdGuy Blog Makes It Into The Top 10 Blogs To Boost Your Learning

By E. Brown

Amir Ahmad from Passion-Based Learning, recently posted The Ultimate List of 50 Kick Ass Blogs To Boost Your Learning Experience of which this blog was part of the top ten. Amir says:

I’m a huge blog junkie and truth be told, I spend a minimum of 10 hours a week feeding my ferocious appetite. In doing so, I have gone through hundreds of blogs related to the simple philosophy of “passion-based learning”.

The following categorized list contains the cream of the crop. Go through them and check out those that are relevant to your needs. Then add the ones you like in your RSS feed and enjoy!

Thanks Amir for selecting WeirdGuy to be part of the list. Keep blogging, learning, and above all — having fun!

New Children’s Book Idea - Creative Learning is Fun!

By E. Brown

Here is a project I have worked on for a children’s book. The book is for the Pre-K through Kindergarten markets. It covers character development while also teaching about fireflies. The idea spawned from a friend and fellow writer who saw her young children reading either books for entertainment or books to learn, but nothing that bridged both worlds in this younger demographic.

For the illustrations I used a mixed media approach. I liked the bold and textured style of Chinese painting techniques over watercolor backgrounds and color pencil. I used a few digital enhancements on some of the drawings, but for the most part I wanted the energy of the drawing and painting to come through.

The main character’s name is L.B., short for Lightening Bug. He narrates the story and gives background information about fireflies, glow worms, and lightening bugs. He talks about the special characteristics and talents of his species and how, like him, children have special abilities and talents too.

At this time no publisher has shown interest. We may look at creating an eBook of L.B.

All the focus group information shows this to be right on target. It is fun, entertaining, and captivates the attention of children while teaching them at the same time. I recently presented the book (in story board format) to my son’s kindergarten class. All the kids loved it! Too bad I didn’t have plush dolls of L.B. to give away afterward. Maybe some day, huh?

Let me know your thoughts about L.B. in the comment section below. Enjoy!

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Weird Week In Review - Feb. 1

Your one stop to review all things on WeirdGuy. Have Fun!

Steve Jobs vs. Amazon’s Kindle
Is Steve out of touch with reality or is he onto the next “insanely great” idea? Read for yourself. Read More

Can Starbucks Come Back?
Wise up Starbucks! You are no longer the only player in this space. Read More

USA Today and Creative Learning — About Time!
Hmmm…sounds vaguely familiar. How can we use these tools to creatively teach and communicate? Read More

Designer Chair For Dr. Evil? (PIC)
OK, this made me laugh. I mean, it is a legit design and I am sure it is very comfortable, but… Read More

Eco Friendly Creative Learning Game
Here, from Sust, is another creative learning game. Teach your child how to build an Eco-Friendly house and more… Read More

Creative Ways To Make Complex Information Simple
I applaud the creativity used and out-of-the-box presenting of complex information. Take this for instance — an org chart. Typically they are presented… Read More

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Creative Ways To Make Complex Information Simple

I applaud the creativity used and out-of-the-box presenting of complex information. Take this for instance — an org chart. Typically they are presented in a linear fashion from top-down (pyramid) to left-to-right (flow). This circle is another way to present the information that communicates in a unique way both emotionally and philosophically.

Others, like Common Craft, are using video and illustration to communicate complex issues in a simple to watch and understand format. Interestingly, the creativity and innovation used to create this kind of content is by no means simple. It takes hard work to find the right method and format to communicate complexity.

clipped from www.visualcomplexity.com

Eco Friendly Creative Learning Game