
How Cow Trails Expose Design Flaws
A school official complained to us about the problem of unsightly “cow trails” on an otherwise beautiful university campus in Florida. These were trails of dead grass created from people repeatedly walking over the same area. He blamed the inconsiderate student population for refusing to use the sidewalks. They defiantly walked from building to building over his well-manicured lawn. The question was asked, “Why don’t you pave the cow trails?” To which the official blustered,

Data Analytics: The Pandora’s Box Of Marketing
According to Greek mythology, Pandora was the first woman created. Zeus, the king of the Greek gods, asked Hephaestus to make her out of earth and water. She was given many gifts by the mighty Greek gods, but not all of these gifts were considered “good.” (Note: the Greek gods were a bit mean-spirited) One such gift was curiosity. Zeus, knowing of Pandora’s curiosity, gave her a locked jar (later mistranslated as a box) full of all the world’s evils. This present came with a

Surviving Rejection (The Pickup Artist Experiment)
I told my friend Jay Freshwater this story over twenty years ago and just learned that he’s been sharing it with his sales teams ever since. It’s my sincere hope that you’ll find the embarrassment and misery of my constant rejection as helpful as Jay’s sales teams. Enjoy! I was devastated after a bad breakup in college. My ex-girlfriend broke my little heart. With my confidence shattered, I walked around sulking for months. I couldn’t bear another rejection, so I simply stopp