our thinking for March 2007…

1. March 13th, 2007

   Coffee Change-up and What Else Is There?

   (photo referenced from portlandground.com)Mixing it up a bit here to make sure you’re all paying attention… going back to our roots and meeting at Stumptown (downtown) on SW 3rd, Friday, March 16th, 8:30am. Want to make sure some of the older-timers can still make it occasionally. Hopefully we’ll be able to find an open table.I was also passed along the…

   posted by Stephen Landau

   thinking about… Events

2. March 13th, 2007

   Leaders and Vision

   I just finished reading Zag, by Marty Neumeier. Really enjoyed it, and highly recommend it. There’s a quote in his summary at the end that relates to the post a few days ago about designers as leaders… “The leader’s job is to shape and articulate the vision, making it palpable, memorable, inspiring. True vision leads to commitment rather than compliance, confidence rather…

   posted by Stephen Landau

   thinking about… Brand Strategy, Inspiration

3. March 11th, 2007

   Coffee Coffee (the drink so nice I drank it twice)

   Had the opportunity to have two coffee mornings this week… the first one on Friday with Dan, Collin and Brent. Dan had spoken a few days before at a Search Engine Marketing (SEM) conference here in Portland. The thing he was excited about was OpenID, which is the idea that you can have one “identity” for all your online accounts:…

   posted by Stephen Landau

   thinking about… Events

4. March 8th, 2007

   Aces

   If you’re going to have a private investigation agency, you gotta have a cool name. And you need it on a glass door. I bet the shades are drawn inside and there’s an old wood desk with a typewriter on it. And the air is thick with cigarette smoke. Is playing to the stereotypes good or bad in this situation? (sorry for…

   posted by Stephen Landau

   thinking about… Inspiration

5. March 7th, 2007

   Coffee, Friday, March 9th (and Espressomap.com)

   Hope you can join us for coffee on Friday, March 9th, 8:30am (I’ll try to be on time). Tiny’s, at 2031 NE MLK.Related, my wife sent me an article from OregonLive about a Portlander who has started mapping some of the best coffee across North America. So if you’re not in Portland, or you’re traveling, check out Espressomap.com to find…

   posted by Stephen Landau

   thinking about… Events

6. March 7th, 2007

   Storytelling by Ira Glass

   I’ve seen this on a couple blogs, but just in case you missed it… a great series of videos with Ira Glass (from This American Life) talking about storytelling and other things. PART ONE: Storytelling applies to more than just broadcast… it applies to presentations, websites, brands… anywhere you need to communicate.Parts Two (how to kill stories and failure equals success, Three…

   posted by Stephen Landau

   thinking about… Inspiration

7. March 6th, 2007

   Designers as Leaders

   An interesting essay on designers (and feel free to substitute “creative person” to cover all of those who are in creative fields) as leaders…http://www.wbsi.org/farson/com_design_leaders.htmSome quotes that jumped out for me (slightly edited)…”…Early in his career George [Nelson] worked for a time with Frank Lloyd Wright. One day when George and the great prairie architect were taking a walk and talking,…

   posted by Stephen Landau

   thinking about… Inspiration

8. March 6th, 2007

   Eating the Big Fish: a Haiku

   Challengers aren’t first, Second or third to market. They invent markets. Eating the Big Fish by Adam Morgan Buy it at Powell’s / Buy it from Amazon

   posted by Stephen Landau

   thinking about… Inspiration

9. March 1st, 2007

   Let’s Get Noisy in Boise!

   Last Thursday, Friday and Saturday, I had the pleasure of going to Boise, Idaho to judge the Boise Ad Federation’s Rocky Awards. Had a great time in Boise… from beer and pizza at The Front Door (ratebeer.com? Why have I never heard of this before?), to going to a Boise Steelheads hockey game, to doing some shopping and enjoying…

   posted by Stephen Landau

   thinking about… News