It’s a truism in social media circles: brands should be more human. Of course, humans have a full range of emotions — they can be angry, not just nice or funny. Do we really want angry brands? Brands like Amazon that attack people on social media are going to find out they’re making a mistake….
I don’t normally take partisan positions. And this space will continue to analyze — and criticize — political speakers of all types. But much as newspaper editorial pages endorse candidates, I will do so now, on the eve of the New Hampshire Primary. I am endorsing Elizabeth Warren. I want our next president to be…
What follows is a transcript of a secret recording of the meeting last week of the New York Times Editorial Board as it discussed who it will endorse for President in 2020. Moderator: Okay, everyone, settle down. We have a momentous responsibility today. As you know, all the best people who are deciding who to…
Elizabeth Warren disclosed that she made $1.9 million since 1985 doing legal work for companies like Travelers Insurance. To put this in context, you need to understand what consultants and lawyers do and who they do it for. My experience as a consultant and analyst — an illustration When you work for a law firm,…
I have two simple questions for you. Is Elizabeth Warren the most likely democratic candidate to win the Democratic nomination? Is Elizabeth Warren more likely than not to win the Democratic nomination? One way to analyze these questions is to look at the odds on a site like PredictIt. As I write this, you can…
According to Monday’s Monmouth University poll, there’s now a three-way tie in the Democratic presidential primary: Warren, Sanders, and Biden. This has been reported as a “surge.” In fact, it says more about polls and media than it does about Elizabeth Warren or Joe Biden. The Monmouth University poll reports three front-runners: Elizabeth Warren 20%,…
John McCain has an aggressive form of brain cancer. After 31 years of high-visibility leadership in the Senate, he’s due a lot of sympathy. The sincere and personal notes that his colleagues have written impressed me. The prognosis for McCain’s cancer is poor. Like many Americans, I’ve admired him for years. His heroism as a…
Visions statements inspire. Wells Fargo’s inspired fraud. A close read of the company’s Vision & Values Statement reveals how the bank’s employees took some of the statements in this vision too far, ignored others, and created a corrupt scheme to meet quotas and violate customers’ trust. Elizabeth Warren mentioned the Vision & Values Statement during her withering…
Politicians (and other people) often can’t or won’t answer a question. How they respond says a lot about who they are. If they were honest, they would say “I won’t answer that” and then say why. But instead, they just take the airtime and answer some other question they’d rather talk about. For example, Mediaite recently…