by Hugh MacPhie | Jan 10, 2019 | Leadership, Strategy
How to Say “No” to Bad Ideas “I’ve figured it out! I know what we need to do to set our company back on track! Allow me to introduce… the Pontiac Aztec.” No. No. No. A thousand times no. Now, we weren’t in the room when the Aztec got a green light, and the...
by Hugh MacPhie | Jan 3, 2019 | Marketing, Strategy
The Secret to Holiday Campaigns In 1931 the Coca-Cola company employed illustrator Haddon Sundblom to draw a friendly Santa for their Christmas campaign. At that time, Santa was a known story, but he hadn’t quite reached the same level of brand recognition that he now...
by Hugh MacPhie | Jan 2, 2019 | Strategy
New Year, New Habit Do you notice how crowded the gym is in January? This may be because people are returning from holidays, or couldn’t resist themselves at family feasts, or – what is most likely – following through on their New Year’s resolutions. The New Year...
by Hugh MacPhie | Dec 19, 2018 | Culture, Leadership, Strategy
Leadership Lessons from Santa Claus For centuries, Santa Claus has been the leader of one of the largest not-for-profit operations in the world. Despite the constant societal, economic and technological changes that he has experienced since the 4th Century, he has...
by admin | Nov 28, 2018 | Marketing, Strategy
Living ‘Me to We’ It’s not yet 6am as I join the mob of neon-clad, self-proclaimed “Shameless Idealists” gathering at the Air Canada Centre for this year’s ‘We Day’ event. It’s a moving scene as teens from across the country reunite in warm embrace, reminiscing...
by admin | Nov 27, 2018 | Marketing, Strategy
Know Your Tribe I have to admit, it was a pretty cool idea for a birthday present for my wife Michelle.She was turning thirty, and I had heard somewhere that Duran Duran was on tour. When Michelle was a teenager, she had been a huge Duran Duran fan, in the way that...
