JetBlue hit major turbulence in 2007, when an enormous ice storm forced flight cancellations across the East Coast. Surely the airline couldn’t be blamed for this “act of God,” right? Wrong. While its competitors canceled flights promptly so their customers could wait out the delay comfortably at home, JetBlue dragged its feet. This resulted in passengers sitting on the tarmac for hours and snarled operations that lasted nearly…
By now, marketers understand that members of Generation Z aren’t just younger Millennials. The latest generation to join the workforce has its own unique preferences, and brands that fail to acknowledge those differences will struggle to connect. Research from McKinsey found that Gen Zers prioritize individuality more than their older peers. They don’t see differences between the people they meet online and the people they meet in person.…
Imagine spending decades building a team, turning it into a national brand, moving it to another city — and then a hurricane blowing the whole thing to pieces. That’s exactly what happened to George Shinn, the former owner of the Hornets basketball team, when he moved it from Charlottesville to New Orleans. “Growth means change and change involves risk, stepping from the known to the unknown,” Shinn famously…
It doesn’t matter the industry, niche, size, or budget — all clients are ultimately looking to work with businesses they can trust. If you can find a way to cultivate trust with new clients consistently, you’ll be successful. 6 Ways to Cultivate Trust Trust was once an expectation in the consumer-business relationship. But today, it sometimes seems like an optional bonus. Many businesses unwittingly adopt a posture that…
Last Summer I surveyed my Idea Lemon audience the following question, When you ask to meet someone for the first time (this could be a professional connection, a friendly encounter, or even a date) what do you typically suggest? -Let’s Grab Coffee -Let’s Grab A Drink -Other (Lunch, tea, Let the person pick) The poll results showed coffee coming back at 49%, followed by an alcoholic libation at…
Recently my business, Idea Lemon, celebrated its 4 year anniversary. I use the word ‘celebrated’ loosely because really that meant Linkedin notified me it had been 4 years since I first added Idea Lemon to my profile, and I looked up at my Cofounder, Martin, and said, “Hey, apparently its our 4 year anniversary today.” He replied with, “Oh really? Cool,” and we got back to work. While there…
If you’re reading this right now, and it’s during the work day, there’s a preeeetttyy good chance it’s because you’re bored and searching for distractions. You know the boredom feeling well–You’re mindlessly scrolling Facebook on your phone, and then you open a new browser tab and type in “Facebook” only to realize you’re accessing Facebook in two places at the same time! It wasn’t always like this, though.…
In 2009, Joshua Glenn and Rob Walker decided to put a price on storytelling. The pair would buy “junk” worth little to nothing and then re-sell it for 300 times its original value. All the proceeds were donated to charity. Why did they do this? Simply put, making a killer profit wasn’t their point. I believe the point was to reveal the value of StorytELLING in the process…
Hiscox Courageous Entrepreneur Interview Series This is part one of the ten part series. Follow the Hiscox Courageous Entrepreneur interview series on Under30CEO.com. Interview Series Sponsored by Hiscox Small Business Insurance. Hiscox specializes in protecting IT/technology, marketing, consulting, health and beauty, photography and many other professional services businesses, tailoring coverage to the specific risks in your industry. It takes courage to be the founder of a business. It also often…
This isn’t the first time I quit my job, but it will be the last. Honestly, saying goodbye to Google was supposed to happen a year ago. And six months before that. If you ask my friends, they’ll tell you that I’m kidding myself and Google is too good to let go. They’re right, but I promise you that this is it. On October 3rd I quit. Is…