Posted in Advertising, Automobile, Behavior, Culture, Education, Parenting
This past weekend three young women between the ages of 13 and 16 died in a car crash in my home state of Minnesota. They weren’t wearing seat belts. (On Sunday another six died in a separate accident. They also weren’t wearing seatbelts). If you still don’t wear a seatbelt, please watch this emotionally powerful…
Posted in Advertising, Business, Creativity, Culture, Innovation
Earlier today, I had the opportunity to give a presentation on "Unlearning 101" to 100 or so professionals in the Minneapolis area. Afterwards, as commonly happens, I received a thank you gift from the event's sponsors. Unlike every other such gift I have ever received (and I've received plenty), I will not only proudly display…
Posted in Advertising, Creativity, Culture, Health Care, Hospitals, Humor
Posted in Advertising, General, Marketing
Tomorrow morning I will be giving a presentation on unlearning, the topic of my edmeds24.com book, to the Executive Marketing Guild in Minneapolis. As a hint of what I'll be saying, here are 10 things marketers should consider unlearning: #1: The "Tipping Point" or the idea that marketers can "influence the influencers." (See "Unlearn the Tipping Point.)…
Posted in Advertising, Business, Marketing
In Fast Company a while back there was an excellent article entitled "Is the Tipping Point Toast?” by Clive Thompson. I’d strongly recommend that marketing executives and anyone else interested in the idea of unlearning read it. What I like about the article is that it challenges conventional wisdom and provides further evidence that…
Posted in Advertising, Architecture, Creativity, Education, Future, Games, Innovation, Marketing, Quiz, Unlearn Strategy
"Every mile you go in the wrong direction is really a two mile error. Unlearning is twice as hard as learning." — Unknown Question: Imagine the Roman Numeral equation below is made out of ten toothpick sticks such that “I” equals one stick and the “X” “+” and “=” all represent two sticks: XI +…
Posted in Advertising, Automobile, Business, Culture, Education, Future, Health Care, Human Resources, Internet, Marketing, Philosophy, Politics, Science, Transportation, Unlearn Strategy
Fellow blogger and change agent, Seth Godin, has an excellent post today entitled "When data and decisions collide." In it, he recounts numerous examples of people ignoring data because it doesn't line up with their "hunches" — or what people think they know but "just ain't so." Godin is pessimistic about the time it will take most…
Posted in Advertising, Culture, Current Affairs, Humor, Innovation, Music, Transportation
Unlearning is simple. Sometimes, as this hilarious video demonstrates, it is as easy as walking. Other times, however, it requires a little more creativity. For a wonderful example of how society might want to unlearn our heavy reliance on the escalator, I invite you to watch this short video:
Posted in Advertising, Business, Current Affairs, Education, General, Politics, Psychology, Unlearn Strategy
Writing in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Mark Bowden has an excellent commentary entitled "The lost art of influence." At one point he writes, "Being persuasive is hard, because it demands you consider that you might be wrong. To refute opposing points of view capably (and winningly) you must first really hear opposing points of view." Admitting…
Posted in Advertising, Agriculture, Automobile, Black Swans, Books, Business, Creativity, Current Affairs, Education, Energy, Future, General, Innovation, Internet, Marketing, Newspaper, Publishing, Unlearn Strategy
In my 2008 book, Jump the Curve: 50 Essential Strategies to Help Your Company Stay Ahead of Emerging Technologies, one strategy I encourage people to employ from time to time is that of reading the newspaper backwards. Why? Because it can help you more clearly see where the future is headed. This, in turn, will…
