Before Jerry Lorenzo founded his luxury streetwear brand Fear of God, he was a party promoter in Los Angeles. I can relate to that because for a time I was a party promoter in New York.  It is a label I try to avoid, but it follows you.  Even as I am now a father,…

When I graduated college and commenced my professional journey I quickly realized there was a lot I did not know.  While I lightly considered continuing my education, I was earning good money and was tired of traditional schooling. I wanted to get to work.  So I began to round out my skill set and teach…

Galileo Galilei was born in Pisa in 1564. His father wanted him to become a doctor and sent him to study medicine at the University of Pisa. While there he discovered a natural talent for math, and eventually left medical school to pursue mathematics. In 1609, Galileo learned about the spyglass, a new invention helping…

My son likes to play with Band-Aids.  I think he believes they are stickers or at least something he can stick them on things and he likes that.  Yesterday when we took our weekly pilgrimage to Target he insisted on getting a new box.  As I pushed the shopping cart alongside the bandage section as…

Entrepreneurship is not easy.  I know this may sound like a cliché, but creating a successful, sustainable business is hard. We have a tendency to romanticize things.  We like to tell stories and we focus on the good bits, the entertainment.  But it’s important that all potential entrepreneurs acknowledge and accept this truth about the…

Uber recently reorganized its entire marketing team. After letting go of its first CMO alongside a group of other senior executives, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi laid off 400 people from their marketing department, representing one-third of the employees with marketing responsibilities. I feel for those laid off, as I think a lack of understanding of exactly what marketing is and how it is best practiced often makes marketers easy…

There is a lot of noise made about the end of retail.  How Amazon and the digital world will put an end to the need for traditional retailers.  While there is no doubt the retail landscape is inexorably being altered by digital, is it possible that understanding digital will make us better retailers?  Let’s discuss…

We all have two options when things get hard.  We can bring people closer and depend on them or we can push them away.  Self-preservation often leads people to isolate and protect themselves.  We do this to cut off negative stressors and threats, but in the process we also eliminate the positive inputs and opportunity. …

Someone once told me that I had big desire.  I was proud. It was a compliment.  I want to accomplish a lot, see a lot, do a lot, and have a lot.  Therefore I am ambitious.  Does that mean I am unhappy with what I have?  That I am unhappy in the moment?  Technically it…

Humans are tribal beings.  We organize ourselves in groups.  These groups include families, companies, sports teams, and many other assemblages.  From a young age we tend to take on roles within these groups.  Some people are leaders, some are followers, some are rebellious, some silently seethe, and others spend their days loudly celebrating the success…