Monthly Archives: December 2013

2013 in review

Posted on Tuesday, 31 December 2013 8:31 am by markpilip

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2013 annual report for this blog. Here’s an excerpt: A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 2,800 times in 2013. If it were a cable car, it … Continue reading →

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They still publish phone books

Posted on Tuesday, 24 December 2013 8:07 am by markpilip

Yellowbook has a strange business model. It goes like this: you sell ads to companies that don’t fully realize the Internet has been invented, then chop down trees and pulp them into little books. Then, waste a lot of gas … Continue reading →

Posted in Analysis, Communications, Marketing | Tagged | 2 Comments

Lost on the Shelf? Build a Category of One.

Posted on Friday, 13 December 2013 11:55 am by markpilip

When I start a consulting engagement, I ask my new clients “what’s a Company X?”  This is shorthand for “what do you stand for, how do you do it, and why should anyone care?” When I hear “Uber for pet … Continue reading →

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Leaders Eat Last

Posted on Friday, 13 December 2013 6:41 am by markpilip

“The cost of leadership is self interest.” Says Simon Sinek in his remarkable talk “Why Leaders Eat Last” at a recent Behance conference. The talk is based on his upcoming book Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and … Continue reading →

Posted in Leadership, Organization, Philosophy | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

“I Think” vs. “I Know”

Posted on Thursday, 12 December 2013 5:25 am by markpilip

We need to be alert to avoid the logical fallacy of “I think… therefore I know…” and use the rigorous and challenging “I know… therefore I think…” The former is comfortable and easy on the ego and so easy to … Continue reading →

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A Bitcoin for Identity

Posted on Wednesday, 11 December 2013 12:04 pm by markpilip

I believe that Fred Wilson from Union Square Ventures is a smart investor and astute observer of technology trends. His talk at LeWeb Paris is timely, because a lot of us are looking forward to 2014 and trying to figure … Continue reading →

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The Three Rs of the Lizard

Posted on Wednesday, 11 December 2013 5:01 am by markpilip

Review, rewrite, reconsider. Those are not actions associated with getting things done. It is the lizard talking. I made the notes above a few months ago while sitting in a conference call listening to endless variations of “Let’s just review … Continue reading →

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