During a recent interview on SiriusXM, Howard Stern asked Lady Gaga if she listens to what the “kids are into these days” so that she knows what to do next, if she’s calculated and preplanned each phase of her career. The answer? No. Sure, she likes to listen to music and know what’s going on—in…
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Your Job is to Be a Magician (Like This Guy, Kind of)
READ MORE: Your Job is to Be a Magician (Like This Guy, Kind of)It’s not every day you have your mind blown. I was in Vegas last week giving a talk to a group of (very) sober HR execs about why HR needs a serious brand overhaul (admit it, it does). And at the cocktail party they had this magician who blew my fucking mind. None other than…
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Stop Trying to Get Paid What You’re Worth
READ MORE: Stop Trying to Get Paid What You’re WorthYou and I have fallen under the sway of a misled idea: that in order to advance our careers, we must persuade people to recognize our worth and then convince them to pay it. When negotiating salary or figuring out what to charge for a service, the first question we often ask ourselves is: What am I…
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3 Wrong-Headed Ideas You Have About Your Brand Voice
READ MORE: 3 Wrong-Headed Ideas You Have About Your Brand VoiceYour real-life voice is distinctly you: I know it’s you because of how you sound when you walk into a room, answer the phone, laugh. I know your sense of humor, tone, volume. Your voice is who you are with my eyes closed. You have a way of speaking and interacting in the world that…
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3 Signs Your Brand Is Having an Identity Crisis
READ MORE: 3 Signs Your Brand Is Having an Identity CrisisYour struggle with branding yourself or your business comes from two conflicting fears: You don’t know who you are; You don’t want to ruin what you already did/created/have This places you at the crossroads between ignorance and fear. A lousy place to be (and we’ve all been there). As a result, you are hesitant to put a…
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Stop Searching for Your Passion (Do This Instead)
READ MORE: Stop Searching for Your Passion (Do This Instead)There’s tremendous pressure to “find your passion” lately. Too much pressure, if you ask me. It’s also misleading: If I tell you to “find your passion,” we must presume that it’s been lost, like a set of keys or that coupon for a free burrito at Chipotle. Not only is it lost, it’s now a…
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3 Rules of Thought Leadership (by Someone Smarter Than Me)
READ MORE: 3 Rules of Thought Leadership (by Someone Smarter Than Me)Daniel DiGriz is so smart that after a few minutes of listening to him, you can actually feel yourself getting smarter. Now that is a gift. (Let’s hope it worked.) The founder of Madpipe, author of All Marketing Is Dead, and self-titled “digital ecologist” (a term he’s had trademarked) has lots of titles, and believes everyone should have a bunch,…
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Passion is Not a Business Plan: Why Mission Trumps It, Every Time
READ MORE: Passion is Not a Business Plan: Why Mission Trumps It, Every TimeYou’re passionate about what you do. But is anyone else? I mean really—are they? Everyone loves to talk about how pivotal passion is: find your passion, live your passion. But the fact is, passion itself is not a business plan, nor an imperative for anyone else. Your job is to make me care about a thing,…
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How to Get Past Your Fear of Self-Promotion
READ MORE: How to Get Past Your Fear of Self-PromotionYou can’t run a business, even the smallest of businesses, if you can’t promote that business. And if you’re like many people, selling yourself can feel…icky. Like, so icky you don’t do it. This doesn’t bode well for your business. Sure, you think it’s pushy, rude, obnoxious. And it’s doubly hard because when you own…
