Z Blog

Pitching for the business? New business meetings can be a delicate dance between agency and prospective client. Pitches usually are a combination of an agency’s capabilities mixed in with recommendations for the prospective client, delivered in a way to showcase the agency’s expertise, personality and passion for the work. But these meetings are more than just a showcase for the agency; they’re a chance for both parties to interview each other to see if the relationship is a good fit. Here are three questions you should consider asking the prospective client to ensure the work works for both parties. ###What did you like/not like about...

There’s a show I’ve been watching on PBS called *How We Got to Now*. Each week, the series tells stories of small inventions by often unheard of and seemingly crazy pioneers that lead to the major innovations that forever changed our lives and society. In examining early technological revolutions like keeping time, manufacturing cold and recording sound, the show makes it abundantly clear that every one of these advances — which in history books appeared to happen all at once by a few well-know inventors — in fact occurred in painfully small and slow increments by a long list of forgotten heroes. What I found...

Brands can learn a lot from journalism. My background, which includes freelance jobs at community newspapers and a six-month collegiate fellowship at USA TODAY, helps mold the inventive messages I create for brands big and small. So I’m happy that something intrinsic to my process has now become a bit of a fad. Sure, brands will never be completely free from objectivity or bias, and they probably won’t be the watchdogs a democratic society needs to keep people honest. However, what they can do – what they should do – is identify their audience and give them great, engaging pieces that tell impactful stories; even...

We recently had the opportunity to partake in a team-building workshop led by Sherpa Executive Coaching, which was centered on the DiSC profile assessment. For those of you who are not familiar with the DiSC profile assessment, it is a personal assessment tool that helps understand behavioral tendencies. The assessment name represents four behavioral types: dominance, influence, steadiness and conscientiousness. Each employee was asked to complete the assessment prior to our team-building workshop. During the workshop, we learned about our own DiSC results as well as our coworkers’ results. We learned how to effectively communicate with each other based on our behavioral styles. Here’s a...

Are you still using the same password you’ve had since 2005? Are you using it across multiple sites, logging into your email with the same password as your bank? If you are, shame on you. With over 552 million identities exposed in online security breaches in 2013, and that number only rising, managing your online security has never been more important. Fortunately, you don’t have to write all your passwords on post-it notes, keep a Google doc full of them, or follow whatever crazy method you have to remember them anymore. There are quite a few tools and methods out there that make it easy...

As Thanksgiving passes, Black Friday fades and Cyber Monday extends into a newly founded “Cyber Week,” I find myself digging out of the clutter and chaos that seems to grow during the holidays. Hear me out: I am a HUGE fan of the holidays (my husband says I would make a great Elf, although I’m a bit too tall). However, even while I research for this very blog, I find myself sifting through a plethora of ads on every web page. Those shoes I looked at once are now following me, a mountain of emails and schedule requests piling up, and just like that, I...

I’m a huge fan of archetypes, the monomyth and other ways our culture is based on deep-rooted psychology of the human condition. One particular interesting instance is the recurring archetype of an emotionless, untouchable leader in fiction. These depictions of leaders perpetuate a myth that to be successful in the workforce, one must strip themselves of emotion and become a ruthless stoic that is virtually untouchable. This theme of a fearless, transcendent leader – while attractive to those in or seeking power – makes most uncomfortable on some level. Again and again, research on emotional intelligence shows that the best leaders are those with whom...

‘Tis the season to be grateful. This time of year, we’re often thinking of the things, and people, for which we’re thankful. I’m fortunate to have a long list: my children, my husband, my family and our home, just to name a few. But what does it mean to be thankful in our careers? Do we stop to take the time to appreciate the lessons we’ve learned and the people who taught us along the way? This time of year has me thinking about, and being thankful for, just that. Here are my top five lessons that I’m thankful for learning so far in my...

I remember my first lesson on the meaning of leadership. The day I learned the tough lesson that “life is not fair.” I was seven and at a summer league swim meet. I was excited because I had just won my race and was showing my mom my first-ever blue ribbon. As I basked in the glory, I noticed a friend in the same race and her mom approaching us. Her mom looked directly at me and said, “Wendy, you know that Susan won that race – you need to give your blue ribbon to her.” I looked at my mom, and without exchanging words,...

The term innovation is everywhere these days. Seems like no one can write a business article without including at least one reference to innovation. My experience, over a good number of years, is making me a little dubious of all this innovation talk. I can't help asking some questions like: > What does innovation really mean for most businesses, and is that what they really need? Is innovation the holy grail-path to success in business? It seems that I am not the only one questioning this unwavering belief in the power of innovation. This Fast Company article talks about innovation as business driver, yet it starts to raise questions...