Clarity Compressed with Paul J. Daly

This is one you won’t want to miss as I had the chance to sit down with one of the most uniquely gifted entrepreneurs we’ve ever had on the show. It’s the customer-experience wizard author of Find Your Yellow Tux: How to be Successful at Standing Out and the founder/owner of the wild Savannah Bananas Baseball team in Savannah, Georgia. It’s hard to explain, but it involves an all-grandma dance tea...

I’m standing in the middle of a dump of a building for this week’s episode. Who would own a dump like this? Me. My wife and I just bought this building and have really big plans to renovate it into the new Intergalactic Headquarters of Congruent. Growing is very, very hard work. I’m reminded of a season in my first business where growing almost killed us. That’s when I really learned that growth i...

This episode comes from the middle of a big week, and also while standing directly in front of the Atlantic Ocean. I talk about the fear we all face if we are going to move forward in life. Just like there’s no way to run a marathon without getting tired, there is no way to move forward without fear. I had the mixed emotions of fear and excitement. Afraid, because like any artist, I’m wondering ho...

I’ve been working on getting some more variety with our guests lately and today is no exception. We’re talking with Alex SanFilippo who has a very successful podcast, has created his own social platform, and is also an aerospace executive. What could go wrong? We get into the nitty-gritty of the brand buzzword wars going on and how great brands actually deploy not only externally, but also as a to...

It’s an awesome week on the show because I got to sit down with long-time marketer and EVP of the breakout agency 97th floor, Paxton Gray. If you pay attention to where others are paying attention (aka, a business owner or marketer) then I know you will benefit from Paxton’s experience and insights. You know how I believe the best marketing is HUMAN. Well, Paxton agrees and we get into some strate...

Somebody had to be one of the people responsible for marketing Apple’s Macintosh line back in ’84. This is the guy. Well, more directly, this is Guy Kawasaki, my guest on this week’s show. Guy was gracious enough to give me some time while we were both speaking at the CarGurus Navigate event in Boston a few weeks back. We talked about the early days at Apple, his upcoming podcast launch, Remarkabl...

You’ll hear it in my voice… I was pumped to be shooting the podcast in my hometown of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This week I’m all about getting out and meeting other people. This is such a critical aspect of gaining objectivity and growing. It has also been an extremely important component of my success in business and life. Believe it or not, I benchmark as an introvert… so there is hope for yo...

I just finished filming the soon-to-be-released Brand Is Gravity workshop and I’ve been thinking non-stop about what it means to bring people closer, because I believe that is what brand is all about. Making money isn’t the point of a great business, its a byproduct. When you do the work to define your “why” as best-selling author and thought leader Simon Sinek puts it, you can begin to find and c...

Life is full of relationships. Romantic ones, friendships, work relationships, and our businesses are constantly in relationship with consumers and employees. They all start with some sort of attention which eventually leads to a level of connection. But life changes. Situations change, needs change. This is why at some point, what worked at one time, no longer works, and the relationship breaks....

This week I’m sharing a little inspiration and encouragement I found from our old friend Tommy Edison, the man who invented the lightbulb, as I push through the 99% of perspiration it takes to follow through on that one great idea. I’m in the throes of the deep work it takes to follow through on one of those inspiring moments I had a couple of months ago. It’s a full blown digital workshop that te...

I heard a brilliant interview on the CMO Podcast on which the guest, NYU Stern School of Business clinical professor Scott Galloway said that the sun is setting on the “brand-era”. What-the-whaaaat??? His premise is that the time between World War 2 and Google was the golden era of brand because that is when companies could add huge amounts of value by building “brands” around normal products. Thi...

Being present is not the same as hearing. Being present, doesn’t equal hearing, and hearing doesn’t equal understanding, and understanding doesn’t mean implementing and implementing doesn’t mean succeeding. I’m recording this podcast in Chicago in the space between 2 conferences. And doing things like this is bittersweet. The more I go to these events, the more I see the real but silent danger in...

A two-star review just came in for my recent book, “The Automotive Manifesto”. It actually got me excited. It came from Amy. Not only am I honored that she, bought, read, AND took the time to review, but she also had some valid perspectives. I thought it would be good to talk about it head-on in this weeks show. If you are going to create content to any extent, you are going to come face to face w...

Everyone gets ‘stuck’ in life. I just did in a MAJOR way. The new site we launched for Congruent took about 10 times longer to develop then if we had been building a site for a client. Why? Because it was ours. Because we were too close to it. Because that’s what happens when objectivity leaves the room. On this week’s podcast, I dive into the nature of getting stuck in business, personal growth,...

If you’ve been confused, disheartened, suspicious and/or frustrated with your branding and marketing spend, there is probably good reason. This episode might provide clarity. This is the third part of my recent series on the broken agency model and what you can do about it. (You can check out the first part here and the second here ) BE WARNED, it’s a logical and human approach, so I won’t be nerd...

I’ve been getting myself into a little trouble lately. I just don’t understand how the conflict of interest in the current agency model has lived on for so long. Charging clients fees which are based on a percentage of ad spend just seems crazy to me. Some of the metrics justifying that spend seem even crazier. Most of them aren’t even tied back to meaningful measurables. All this talk about the b...

Would you rather spend your marketing dollars on ads, or on content that’s created to optimize lasting brand connection? There is an existing conflict in the ad world that is forcing many organizations into ad spend that is out of balance. Because the economy is good right now, I feel like no one is paying attention and I want to start the conversation. We all know that conflicts of interest are n...

A lot has changed in the business world since I first ventured out to start my own business with a few thousand borrowed dollars and a rusty 1984 Chevy Astro. In the 17 years since there are so many things that 2019 Paul would have been able to teach 2003 Paul. I guess that’s why experience really matters. Mentors also matter and I didn’t have nearly then as I do now. As I’ve racked up a little ex...

I recently visited Bergstrom Automotive, a dealership group out in Wisconsin, and a thought came to me. Are you doing something because it’s relevant to the culture, or are you being authentic with yourself in what you do? A lot of different businesses wear suits and ties at the office… But is it because it looks cool? Probably not. Is there something more to it? In most cases, I hope so. For Berg...

Is mental agility the new indicator of how successful a leader or organization will be? Maybe so. You may think of “ mental agility ” as the ability to switch tasks quickly or, to use a trendy word ‘pivot’. However, this week's guest, Dr. Nicole Lipkin, brings the focus to something I believe to be more potent. She defines mental agility as working to adopt a mindset and approach that is as o...

I remember a popular self-help book back in the late 90’s called “Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff”. If you’ve been in business since then, you probably remember it too. It proposed a way to position all the problems and situations in your life so they didn’t overrun your thoughts and cause you anxiety. Even though I agree with some of that thinking, my years of experience have taught me that it all ma...

There is a dark side to visionary leaders that often gets lost in the midst of the allure and appeal of progress. It’s like many relationships in life where we overlook the downside because the upside is good. In reality, BOTH sides of behaviors are effecting your ability to move forward and grow. So, who showed up for work today? The visionary or the arsonist? On my recent vacation I read a book...

I’m dating myself when I tell you that, as a kid, I played a game called “Mike Tyson’s Punch Out” on the original NES (Nintendo Entertainment System). In real life, Mike Tyson was an insane boxer to watch. Full of power and antics. A real entertainer out of the ring and straight-up vicious inside the ring, often knocking out opponents in seconds. “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the...

Have you ever chopped down a tree with an axe? I have! Swing after swing, I became tired, exhausted and almost had to stop. One of the worst moments was when I stood there breathing heavily with two thirds of the trees diameter cut out and the tree seems just as solid as it did when I took the first swing. It was crazy! I kept swinging and finally heard a “crack”. That was encouraging. One or two...

It’s not easy to walk through an airport backwards, recording a podcast … ESPECIALLY when everyone else’s eyes are glued to their phones! But then I thought to myself: there’s a daily opportunity that your brand DOESN’T want to miss. Think about it. There are 1,000s of people in an airport staring at their phones, consuming news, entertainment, or sending messages. What else is there to do in an a...