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Epiphany Series
Epiphany 43: Perceived Value Shouldn’t Require an Activity Tracker
I had an interesting discussion this week with a brilliant team leader at an advisory client about client value or the perception of all of the work being done. This was the actual response from a team leader: This is now the third client for which we have received questions…
Epiphany 42: The Value of Active Listening
There is a classic scene by actor Chris Tucker in the movie Rush Hour where he asks: “Do you understand the words that are coming out of my mouth?” The movie reference is about a language barrier, but the business version is often a listening barrier. People hear the words….
Agency Management
Overall Partnership Quality Is Not a Soft Metric
In this third article of our series, following “How Attention Shifts Before Replacement” and “Agency Denial,” we examine the underlying question clients…
Agency Denial
In the first installment of this series, “How Attention Shifts Before Replacement,” I showed that clients don’t begin…
How Attention Shifts Before Replacement
The Moment Clients Become Open to Something Else Most agency relationships don’t unravel because something breaks. They begin…
Rants
Then Just Don’t Do It
Over the past several weeks, I have found myself repeating a phrase that, at first glance, sounds dismissive….
Stop Adding Friction: Make It Easy for Me to Give You Money
Companies frequently discuss digital transformation, automation, AI, and “streamlined operations.” But most can’t get the basics right. You…
PMC v. Google: When your Business is Built on Borrowed Traffic
On September 12, 2025, Penske Media Corporation (PMC) filed suit against Google in the U.S. District Court for…
Travel
Don’t Ask AI to Plan Your Trip. Teach It How You Travel!
Over the past few months, I’ve written about frustrations with travel planning online. The volume of ads makes…
How to Write Content AI Can Retrieve (What a Trip to Porto Taught Me)
Most content doesn’t fail because it’s wrong; it fails because it’s vague. AI systems don’t read or process…
Achieving a Dream: Hiking to Tiger’s Nest
Today, December 28th, 2025, I finally achieved a bucket list dream: visiting Tiger’s Nest in Bhutan. This monastery,…
