When I was a child, my father spent two years going back and forth between underemployment and unemployment. I still remember those times. They were hard. They were so hard that they left a mark on me. Not repeating his story was my biggest motivation to get an education and start a career. But that [...]
Note From Erik: I met Harris Davis during a January screening of “Lemonade” in NYC and we instantly connected. He believes there’s a place for ethics and integrity in advertising as well as advertising schools. So do I. What do you think?
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Back in November 2003 in NYC, an art director friend of mine found himself [...]
Ever hear the Hindu story about the tree that grants wishes? It’s a good one.
An uncle tells a group of kids that a banyan tree will grant any wish that they desire. They rush outside to the tree and excitedly make their wishes. But unexpectedly they find that the tree also gives a wish’s opposite. [...]
Note from Erik: This guest post was originally submitted on April 23rd…which will be relevant in the next sentence.
Today, April 23rd, is my fifth wedding anniversary with the most beautiful woman who ever walked the face of the earth. But that’s a different story.
I also find myself in the same position [...]
Since leaving my employer last June, I have often wondered if it was time for the traditional full-time job to end.
For large corporations, the 40-hour week makes sense. The employer gets a monopoly on your time and skills, and you become dependant on the paycheck. Because your entire income derives from one source, the company [...]
I admit it. I’m a frequent visitor to advertising websites. Like the one you’re reading now. Then there’s Agencyspy, Adage, Adweek, Stuart Elliott’s New York Times ad column (yes, it’s still relevant) and George Parker’s rant-filled Adscam. I make the rounds several times a day. This also means I read the growing comment sections that [...]
The following is the second of two posts by Michael Bungay Stanier, senior partner at Box of Crayons and author of Do More Great Work
Four questions
I start almost every workshop I run asking the participants to score themselves between 1 (low) and 7 (high) on these three questions:
How active and engaged do you plan to be today?
How [...]
The following is the first of two posts by Michael Bungay Stanier, senior partner at Box of Crayons and author of Do More Great Work.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve always been pretty much a Good Boy. Without wanting to delve too much into my psychological underbelly, it’s probably got something to do with [...]
Thursday, February 25, 2010
You may or may not remember my first “Huzzah! I was unceremoniously laid off, too!” guest post here at PFTA back in April, ‘09. No worries if you don’t; feels like thirty years ago. Which would have made zero sense, considering I would have been twelve…and, let’s be honest, why should a pre-teen have expected [...]
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Tell me. When you have a killer idea, who do you trust more to get it through? An ego-driven, bombastic leader? Or a group of individually sound-minded, patient people who believe everyone should get a say? There are pros and cons to both approaches, but I’d bet any future award show money that the ego-driven [...]
