Pete McDowell's Page

“Innovation is going to be more intense in 2010.” Jean-Laurent Poitou, Accenture LLC

Now, that is something I totally agree with and something we’ve been seeing. In spite of the recession, the amount of innovation that is happening right now in the marketplace is astounding. I see this especially in the various technology sectors but it’s happening elsewhere as well.

What does this mean for you? If you don’t think big, different and even radical then you won’t see the burst of creative energy… Continue

I subscribe to a number of blogs and e-newsletters. One of them is Frank Kern- really fun, smart and creative internet marketer. Sometimes, very irreverent- which I like. One of his segments was on the learning he received from Jim Rohn and Earl Shoaff, both wonderful men who are now deceased. Here’s what I picked up from Earl and Jim, via Frank: “What you earn is all that people are willing to pay you. It’s not what they pay. It’s just what they pay you. You don’t have to work on a company or a… Continue

The folks in Punxsutawney , PA have a lot of fun with this harmless hoax every year. Two things strike me about it: (1) they’ve built a great brand in terms of being the one place in the U.S. where this takes place (2) it’s the same thing every year.
Building a great brand takes years to do. It’s not something that happens overnight. That’s true for any organization, whether for profit, non-profit or even a government entity. It’s also true though that a brand’s equity can collapse frighteningly… Continue

I’ve been in southwest Florida for the past nine days, seeing my parents and in-laws and helping my mother who recently had rotator cuff surgery. At eighty, she’s doing pretty darn well. I’m blessed to still have my parents and my wife’s parents still living, all in their eighties. I just returned today to Seattle. I was pretty busy with family things and doing what I could to make sure good ole’ mom didn’t overdo it.
Although I brought my laptop, I found it hard to be connected online. When you… Continue

Why is it so darn tough for us to listen? We all know certain people, very few unfortunately, who are actually very good listeners. I admire their ability to not only listen, but to listen deeply and seek real understanding. There are two traits or behaviors I’ve seen in good listeners: (1) they usually ask good questions (2) they really do keep their mouths shut- they don’t have an urge to have to speak. Most people are not good listeners, including me.
Rather than write about how to listen bet… Continue