Uncategorized

Virtual Meetings Done Well Zoom fatigue. It’s become a real thing. I can remember a Simpsons episode from my childhood where Homer got a new fangled wall phone that had a video screen in it. At the time I thought it was preposterous and that there was no way we’d ever be able to talk…

Emergency Rebrand Six weeks. That’s how long it took to bring two businesses together and create a new brand. One of our Board members, Abbey Friend-Vienna from the Friend Team, said “If you can pull this off in six weeks, you need to open a marketing company!” While we won’t be creating a marketing company,…

Benefits of the Black Death This article is not about Covid-19. This is about the bacteria Yersinia Pestis, also known as the Plague/Black Death and its effect on wages, rights, and innovation. In 14th century Europe, the majority of the population was made up of peasants. Many were relegated to working as tenant farmers, or…

The Grit Myth At a glance you can tell certain people have a strong personal brand. With shined shoes, a crisp bowtie, and a smile worthy of a toothpaste commercial, it’s obvious Michael Mills has put thought and time into his presentation. And he makes it look effortless. That’s exactly the feeling you want to…

Social Entrepreneurship: Where Commerce Meets Community   Sam Viggiani cares about his business. I could hear it in the tone of his voice. When talking about his landscaping business, Sam was confident and self-assured. He knew the business, his customers, and his employees well. While physically demanding the work they did had a visible impact…

Remote, or Not Remote, is That Even the Right Question?   I opened a letter recently that looked like a routine address update. The following line caught my attention: “As we adapt to new ways of doing business, the Seneca Lake Wine Trail will close its brick and mortar office in Watkins Glen, and our…

Networking Doesn’t Have to be Hard!   “It’s all about who you know.”    ∙   “Your network is your net worth.”    ∙   “Six degrees of separation.”   These phrases all point towards the importance of having a personal and professional network. They also point to networking’s ugly underbelly: self service.   We recognize that people who…

The Real MVP of Business In sports, the term MVP refers to a team or organization’s “Most Valuable Player.” That person of unique talent and ability that helps to elevate the team and can be counted on when the game is on the line. In business, MVP means something very different. In this context it…

Something Old, Something New Dark, dingy, and crowded. Overworked managers attempted to navigate a deluge of tasks with a skeleton crew. In these neighborhoods it was wise to make myself scarce after sunset. That was my life as I went from back room to back room, a salesman slinging soda. I remember meeting a chain…