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Hi, I'm Jeph. I love helping people make smarter business decisions. I help companies stand out. I consult, speak, facilitate and do project work on new marketing strategies (word-of-mouth, customer service, and social media). My consulting company is JephMaystruck.com Research & Consulting. The marketing industry is changing very rapidly and the only way to stay on top of it is by a philosophy of continuous learning. Do you have an information strategy? Are you learning faster than the world is changing? If not, we should talk. Learn more here: http://jephmaystruck.com/marketing-strategy/ Follow me @JephMaystruck

The Riskiest Thing We Can Do

June 18, 2013 0 comments
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From Mitch Joel’s new book CTRL ALT DELETE he uses this quote from Seth Godin. I love it. Being more average isn’t going to get you anywhere. Being like everyone else won’t work. You must be different.

Seth-Godin-Quote-You-don't-win-by-being-more-average-than-other-people-in-your-industry

“You don’t win by being more average than other people in your industry.
You don’t win by being more compliant than your fellow co-workers.
Being more obedient at what you do every day is not going to make you more indispensable.
What makes someone indispensable is that they do something that other people can’t do.
We go to work every day trying to not do that. We go to work trying to be just like everyone else, because that feels safe. In today’s economy, and for the foreseeable future, that’s the riskiest thing we can do.”

For more quotes check out this post here:

17 Lessons (Quotes) on Strategy, Leadership, and Advertising
Best Business & Marketing Quotes of 2012
11 Facts You Need To Know About Your Brain

 

 

 

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6 Parables of Business Strategy

May 13, 2013 0 comments
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beautiful women

I found these a while back, I didn’t write them but they are gems of business advice.

Parable 1:
A man is getting into the shower just as his wife is finishing up her shower, when the doorbell rings. The wife quickly wraps herself in a towel and runs downstairs. When she opens the door, there stands Bob, the next-door neighbor.
Before she says a word, Bob says, “I’ll give you $800 to drop that towel.” After thinking for a moment, the woman drops her towel and stands naked in front of Bob After a few seconds, Bob hands her $800 and leaves.

The woman wraps back up in the towel and goes back upstairs. When she gets to the bathroom, her husband asks, “Who was that?”
“It was Bob the next door neighbor,” she replies.
“Great!” the husband says, “did he say anything about the $800 he owes me?”

Moral of the story :

If you share critical information pertaining to credit and risk with your shareholders in time, you may be in a position to prevent avoidable exposure.

Parable 2:
A priest offered a Nun a lift. She got in and crossed her legs, forcing her gown
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How Many Security Guards Did Your High School Have?

April 01, 2013 0 comments
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This American Life LogoI was listening to a This American Life podcast when a special came on about Harper High School in Chicago, Illinois. Last year 27 students were shot at Harper High School. A startling statistic. This American Life asked to put three journalists in Harper for five months, an entire semester, the school agreed.

This two-part series is two hours of heart-wrenching stories and a sick realization of what some people go through daily. You should listen to these stories, it’ll give you perspective and an absolute appreciation for where we live.

With 16 security guards for 550 approximate students Harper High School is still understaffed when it comes to security. How many security guards did your high school have?

Everyone in this neighborhood is in a gang. You can’t avoid it. Whatever street you live on signifies what gang you’re affiliated with. If you don’t want to have any part of the gang interaction you have to stay in. Literally. They talked to one boy who hadn’t left his house at night for several years. Could you imagine going through high school without leaving your house at night?

By the sounds of it, This American Life picked the worst
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How To Think Like a Superhero by Robin Sharma

January 27, 2013 0 comments
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How to think like a superhero

 

I found this video that Robin Sharma had Tweeted the other day. It really is worth your time to watch. It’s called How To Think Like A Superhero.

Robin Sharma wrote one of my favorite books The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari and the best selling The Leader Who Had no Title.

In the video he talk about thinking like a superhero. His thesis is that super successful people, CEOs, celebrities etc. aren’t more special than you or me but that they have a far superior work ethic than the average person. He says at one point that these successful people he’s interviewed and worked with can accomplish in a day what most people do in a month.

The secret to success is that there is no secret to success, there’s no way around it, you have to work hard at it. But if you do work hard, and focus on a goal, you will accomplish it.

You should pick up some Shwarma and sit down and read some Robin Sharma.

(Photo credit: http://fullmetalcynic.wordpress.com/2008/01/17/when-real-life-becomes-a-superhero-action-movie/)

 

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The Most Difficult Thing to Explain to Someone From the 1950′s

January 20, 2013 2 comments
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In a recent Six Pixels of Separation podcast, Mitch Joel tells Seth Godin about a question with an amusing answer he saw on Reddit that week.

If someone from the 1950s suddenly appeared today, what would be the most difficult thing to explain to them about life today?

“If someone from the 1950s suddenly appeared today, what would be the most difficult thing to explain to them about life today?“

One of the best answers was:

Reddit - I possess a device, in my pocket, that is capable of accessing the entirety of information known to man. I use it to look at pictures of cats and get in arguments with strangers.

Really makes you think about how far we’ve come and yet so many people never really use the internet to its full potential.

What do you think?

 

 

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I am your greatest helper or heaviest burden…

January 14, 2013 0 comments
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Who am I?

I am your constant companion.

I am your greatest helper or heaviest burden.

I will push you onward or drag you down to failure.

I am completely at your command.

Half the things you do, you might just as well turn over to me and I will be able to do them quickly and correctly.

I am easily managed, you much merely be firm with me. Show me exactly how you want something done and after a few lessons, I will do it automatically.

I am the servant of all great men and women and alas of all failures as well. Those who are great, I have made great. Those who are failures, I have made failures. I am not a machine, thou I work with all the precision of a machine, plus the intelligence of a human being.

You may run me for profit or run me for ruin, it makes no difference to me. Take me, train me, be firm with me and I will place the world at your feet. Be easy with me and I will destroy you.

Who am I?

Your habits.

-Anonymous

When I first read this I instantly loved it. In life
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