I remember the first time I designed a workshop for a client who wanted to encourage his team after re-organization. The company was poised for a renaissance, he said. If only he could make the new team configuration gel. A few jobs had been eliminated, so people were touchy. Teams...
Author Archives: Patricia Martin
The Road to Eureka!
It happens fairly often as I’m researching social trends. I’m faced with moments when I’m desperate for that really big eureka. I’m not talking about a run-of-the-mill “aha” moment. I’m talking about the kind of insight that blows the ceiling off a client’s conference room. When I need inspiration sometimes,...
5 Nitty-Gritty Social Trends That Impact Sales
Day in and day out, you put products or services in front of prospects. You may be starting to notice that it’s tougher to close the deals you really want. Perhaps that’s because you‘re relying on a few tactics that no longer have currency in the digital culture. When your...
As Simple Step to Better Thinking
Escapism. It’s a precious thing to be able to clear the mind. To sit quietly by yourself, in a place outside your comfort zone (by that I mean, not your local coffee shop… you know, the one with the free wi-fi, where you sit in that same spot by the...
How to Influence Change: 3 Lessons I’ve Learned
After 20 years of helping companies and influential nonprofits compel change, I’ve learned valuable lessons about what it takes to get people to take action. Chief among them is that it’s not about the issue–it’s about what the issue means in people’s lives. Despite our passion for the causes we...
The Wisdom of Self-Doubt
I’m writing a book. It’s taking forever. As I gaze across my writing studio, I see my stack of notes, a little over 3,000 pages last time I counted. Why is it taking so long? Well, I’m busy with client work, international travel, and, well, life. Excuses, excuses–the primary barrier...
Reading list: Taking Your Vital Signs
For months, I schlepped a weighty hardcover book in my suitcase entitled, Vital Signs, by Greg Levoy. Finally, a long delay at LaGuardia had me cracking it open. Once an expert on finding your “calling” Levoy’s recent book is about finding your passion. In an over-hyped world, it’s hard to...
We Are What We Wear
We like Worn Stories, Emily Spivack’s fascinating collection of profiles about notable people through the lens of their clothing. It’s a study in identity expressed by fashion choices. We started following Spivack when she started the fashion blog for the Smithsonian. She has a knack for giving us nuggets of...
Future Trends: How Millennial Cultural Consumers Buy Travel, Culture and Luxury
Cultural consumers share traits of luxury consumers. They are educated and economically advantaged. In a recent report from Deloitte, luxury brands will need to up their game in technology if they are to remain competitive with the emerging Millennial consumer. When I read the Deloitte’s second annual Global Powers of Luxury...