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In my office at home is a picture of Abraham Lincoln and a motivational quote. The quote details how big a failure Abe was, especially early in life. Any historian can tell you about the failures Lincoln suffered in business, in politics, with his love life and his marriage. And yet he remained persistent in…
If I randomly asked someone to label the newspaper industry, some of the words they would say might be: old, dying, not relevant, boring and stuck in the past. As much as those words hurt, there is some truth to them. But on the flipside, I see a lot of innovation going on that is…
I grew up more of a Burger King fan as a kid, in part because my oldest brother used to be a manager at one and would con me into mowing their lot in exchange for a Whopper, fries and a Coke. As I’ve gotten older and with a child of my own, McDonald’s has…

It isn’t everyday that you get to spend the day at a Hoosier icon’s house. And while officially it wasn’t the actual house of Barbara Bradley Baekgaard or Patricia Miller, I did get to spend the day at the corporate headquarters of Vera Bradley near Fort Wayne and learn about their legendary business.
Everything you read about Jeff Bezos leads you to believe he is a business mad-man. Cutting edge technology and business thinking that he has been the driving force for has created Amazon, which is disrupting the entire retail business eco-system. And it all originating from the Bezos way of thinking. But is his approach all…
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I found myself with a longer than expected commute today, and got to spend some time with ESPN’s Mike & Mike program. Being from Indiana, basketball is a big part of the fabric of growing up. So when the guests announced were former Butler University coach Brad Stevens and basketball legend Oscar Robinson, I was…

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Every marketing and advertising person has faced the question from an account. “How do I reach the next generation of my customers?” It is an ever moving target. Finding that next wave of customers is often elusive, no matter how much money you throw at it for marketing and advertising. And with the latest release…
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“He’s allergic to mediocrity.” When asked by an ESPN host why Nick Saban is so good at his job as the University of Alabama’s football coach, that is what Ryan Clark said.
Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos are all inspiring business leaders. They are icons of the business world that have shaped, reshaped and adapted to the digital era in which we live. And yet it has been a couple of quotes from a different person from a different era that has been on my…
This time of the year in most cities and towns is when your local United Way kicks off their campaign to raise money for local charities. The United Way helps support great organizations that do all kinds of wonderful things to make a community all it can be. From helping the local homeless shelter to…