Lone Buffalo is a perfect fit for me. I would like to think I am the perfect fit for Lone Buffalo as well. Dave and Peggy Farrell, the founders, ran it as a family business for 22 years. I hope to match their tenure and maintain the culture they established…

While pitching Target HQ on how sophisticated media measurement could help build its brand, a store security guard reminded me that the most powerful brand builder is direct experience, right in the store. Chicago’s State Street Target opened in 2012. At the same time, I was preparing a proposal for…

While reading or listening, I am often struck by phrases that seem to articulate enough truth in them that they can stand alone, outside the context of the author’s larger work. “The hyper competitiveness of the insecure” is just such a phrase. This summer I came across that phrase in…

My first capital investment was a Coke machine. My first captive market was on a coach bus. My first attempt to corner a market was on Gatorade. I admit it — money is fun. I like making money. My father likes money. He likes working with it, being close to…

To Be Rather Than to Seem — I just moved to South Carolina. To many people, that’s fairly indiscernible from North Carolina. As a native Tar Heel, though, this is a bit of an identity struggle. When I hear the word “Carolina” I fully anticipate the next word to be “blue.” That isn’t just a reaction to…

Barbers Creating Brands, Not Content Being A Commodity — The British contend that spying is the second oldest profession, but I think it’s cutting hair. I draw the line between visiting a place and passing through it with one activity — getting my hair cut. If I’m not in a city or country long enough to warrant a haircut…

In honor of the Shark Week, here’s a little family story with no strong message or takeaway, but somehow the experience worked for us on a few levels. In the fall of 2015 my wife was traveling for several days. …