Thinking With Mitch Joel

Welcome to episode #495 of Six Pixels Of Separation - The Mirum Podcast . The book Madison Avenue Manslaughter - An Inside View of Fee-Cutting Clients, Profit-Hungry Owners and Declining Ad Agencies , has been sitting - front and center - on my desk since it was released in June of last year. I've been reading it slowly. Very slowly. Trying to deconstruct and define the path for both my agency, Mi...

Welcome to episode #494 of Six Pixels Of Separation - The Mirum Podcast . The last time that I saw Misha Glouberman was in the mid-eighties. We went to high school together (he was three years older than I was). I had not heard his name until the other week, when our Executive Creative Director at Mirum , Jon Finkelstein , asked me if I ever read the book, The Chairs Are Where the People Go: How t...

Welcome to episode #493 of Six Pixels Of Separation - The Mirum Podcast . Ian Chamandy (along with his business partner, Ken Aber ) recently published a business book titled, Why Should I Choose You? The book is based on their strategic planning methodology that helps brands define who they are... in seven words or less (not a typo). Their unique methodology (known as Blueprinting) help businesses...

Welcome to episode #492 of Six Pixels Of Separation - The Mirum Podcast . Simon Sinek created something much bigger than a splash when his TEDx Talk in 2009, How Great Leaders Inspire Action , garnered over twenty-five million views (and continues to grow). Around this time first business book, Start With Why , took hold and more recently, he published his second book, Leaders Eat Last . He's an o...

Welcome to episode #491 of Six Pixels Of Separation - The Mirum Podcast . It takes quite a bit to get my attention when it comes to business and non-fiction books. Make no mistake about it, I'm no book snob, but rather a huge reader (almost two books a week). You get to a point (decades in), when you begin to wonder if you will ever read something new, delicious, fascinating and exciting. Then cam...

Welcome to episode #490 of Six Pixels Of Separation - The Mirum Podcast . It's hard not be impressed with the work and thinking of Josh Bernoff . For over twenty years, Josh was a key player at Forrester Research , where he wrote about, edited papers and studied companies involved in the future of technology. His work there was a key destination to better understand the players, what they were doi...

Welcome to episode #489 of Six Pixels Of Separation - The Mirum Podcast . How many brands truly deliver extraordinary experiences? Not the kind of rare stories you read about on Mashable , but the ones that do it day in and day out... for all of their customers? When it comes to brands doing things right - constantly and consistently - I think of the work that Denise Lee Yohn  has done over the ye...

Welcome to episode #488 of Six Pixels Of Separation - The Mirum Podcast . Strategy. More than any other component in what makes a brand successful, strategy is at the core. What does a good strategist do? How is their work delivered, and then injected into a company? How do companies take that strategy and turn it into a valuable part of their culture. It seems like corporate mysticism. It is not....

Welcome to episode #487 of Six Pixels Of Separation - The Mirum Podcast . I was searching for a book to ignite my creativity (or access new areas of thinking). A book that would help me think in a different way. I just wasn't "feeling it." I turned to Seth Godin , and asked him what I should be reading. I think he was disappointed to learn that I had never heard of Lewis Hyde and his book, The Gif...

Welcome to episode #486 of Six Pixels Of Separation - The Mirum Podcast . Joseph Jaffe is widely regarded as one of the top marketing bloggers ( Jaffe Juice ) and podcasters (both Jaffe Juice in audio and Jaffe Juice TV in video). He is the author of four excellent books ( Life After The 30-Second Spot , Join The Conversation , Flip The Funnel  and  Z.E.R.O .) and his latest business venture is, E...

Welcome to episode #485 of Six Pixels Of Separation - The Mirum Podcast . Blogging has changed. Blogging is changing. As I experiment and think differently about the value of blogging (see: The End of Blogging ), I thought it would be interesting to discuss blog, writing for the digital channels and what people want/think they want when it comes to content with Mark Schaefer . Mark is still an avi...

Welcome to episode #484 of Six Pixels Of Separation - The Mirum Podcast . Like many people in the marketing industry, I have been paying a ton of attention to the ad blocking world . The growth of this technology, and Apple's recent news , has created a stir of emotions and the recognition for change . Even famed marketing thought-leader, Seth Godin , weighed in on the issue with his blog post, Ad...

Welcome to episode #483 of Six Pixels Of Separation - The Mirum Podcast . Sometime, you pick up a book that you can't put down, and realize that you've never really heard of the author... and, you're embarrassed. That's the exact feeling I had after reading The Science of Why by Dr. David Forbes . He's a clinical and cognitive psychologist, who was a member of the faculties of Harvard Medical Scho...

Welcome to episode #482 of Six Pixels Of Separation - The Mirum Podcast . Passion just isn't enough anymore. Some might argue, that it doesn't even really matter all that much, because you don't have to tell someone to do something that they're passionate about... if they're passionate about something, they would already be doing it. There's no doubt that digital has brought forward a myriad of wa...

Welcome to episode #481 of Six Pixels Of Separation - The Mirum Podcast . Some people come into our lives in the strangest of ways. I first heard of Jeffrey Hayzlett after his appearances on The Celebrity Apprentice . He was the CMO of the fledging Kodak company, and trying to re-invigorate the brand. His approach was larger than life. While the company did file for bankruptcy, he managed to trans...

Welcome to episode #480 of Six Pixels Of Separation - The Mirum Podcast . I have read loved and re-read every little book that Marty Neumeier  (he's also the Director of Transformation at Liquid Agency ) has written. You should too. I use the word "small" in a physical way (it has nothing to do with his content). Marty writes books that you can read in a few hours. They are small and beautifully d...

Welcome to episode #479 of Six Pixels Of Separation - The Mirum Podcast . The challenge with any business (the ones that are digital... and the ones that are not) is getting a consumer to not only pay attention, but to become a customer. Even then, getting someone to buy from you once is not the same as getting them to buy from you frequently. It's a busy world, and the push for a consumer to try...

Welcome to episode #478 of Six Pixels Of Separation - The Mirum Podcast . "Marketing is about telling great stories. Living a happy and successful life is about the stories we tell ourselves." This is how I started a post back in 2010, after reading Donald Miller 's book,  A Million Miles In A Thousand Years (at the recommendation of Chris Brogan ). I loved the book and, long before it became en v...

Welcome to episode #477 of Six Pixels Of Separation - The Mirum Podcast . It's hard to deny that podcasting is really coming into its own as a media format. Everyone is jumping in. From amateurs to the biggest media companies in the world. I've been creating this podcast - on a weekly basis - since 2006. Almost a decade of shows. But, the first podcast that I ever appeared on, was the one from Don...

Welcome to episode #476 of Six Pixels Of Separation - The Mirum Podcast . I won't miss a beat when asked what the best book title is when it comes to creativity. Todd Henry called his second book, Die Empty . Brilliant (and the content matches the quality of the title). Die Empty came after his incredible debut, The Accidental Creative ( also the name of his very popular podcast ). Well, Todd is b...

Welcome to episode #475 of Six Pixels Of Separation - The Mirum Podcast . Joseph Jaffe is widely regarded as one of the top marketing bloggers ( Jaffe Juice ) and podcasters (both Jaffe Juice in audio and Jaffe Juice TV in video). He is the author of four excellent books ( Life After The 30-Second Spot , Join The Conversation , Flip The Funnel  and  Z.E.R.O .) and his latest business venture is, E...

Welcome to episode #474 of Six Pixels Of Separation - The Mirum Podcast . I came across Mike Masse on YouTube . He was doing an acoustic version of Toto's massive hit Africa . I didn't believe anybody could do this song justice. I was wrong. That one video led me down the YouTube rabbit hole of all things Mike Masse. Now, three years later, this video has over five million views, Masse has quit hi...

Welcome to episode #473 of Six Pixels Of Separation - The Mirum Podcast . Where is the best place to work? It's easy to rattle off some of the hottest companies coming out of Silicon Valley or by just looking at the cover of Fast Company . Don't confuse a great product or service with its work environment. And, we're not just talking about the brands that offer up free food and massages to their e...

Welcome to episode #472 of Six Pixels Of Separation - The Mirum Podcast .  Michael Port is often called into organizations to talk about marketing. Sometimes, he's called in to speak about how to increase sales. Other times, he's the guy that big corporations call in to build better lead generation and networking strategies. With that, he's a former professional actor, and bestselling business aut...

Welcome to episode #471 of Six Pixels Of Separation - The Mirum Podcast . When I think about what the Internet means to me and to business, I often think of David Weinberger . As one of the co-authors of the seminal book, The Cluetrain Manifesto , his thinking, his words and his presentations have shaped my own ideas about what brands can do to connect in our Internet-driven society. I'm still ama...