Tom Ruwitch

Categories

Great Cold-Call Email

By Tom Ruwitch

I was planning to send a different email to you today.  …until I checked my inbox this morning and opened one of the best cold-call emails I’ve ever received. I wanted to share it with you because it’s sooooo good and you can learn so much from it. It begins: “Hey Tom, Curious if you’re…

Read More

Email Marketing Works, Man Walked on the Moon and Other Conspiracy Theories

By Tom Ruwitch

When I was a kid, I treasured my poster of Neil Armstrong standing on the moon. I wanted to be an astronaut. Armstrong was my hero. Last week, I saw a picture of Armstrong’s spacesuit. Some guy posted it on Facebook next to a picture of a lunar footprint. The spacesuit boot had no treads.…

Read More

How We Were “Liberated” from Formal Work Clothes

By Tom Ruwitch

I was cleaning out some old files and found the “Dress Code Policy” for one of my early jobs. Coat and tie required. No jeans. Closed-top shoes. No sneakers. Etc. Etc. Etc. Blah blah blah. That was 1998. Times have changed. I remember the first time I worked at a place with “Casual Fridays.” It…

Read More

Ben Franklin Effect

By Tom Ruwitch

When Ben Franklin was a young man, he turned a rival into a fan with a brilliant, counterintuitive move. Ben had co-founded a literary and debate society and served as clerk. When he ran for reelection as clerk, the rival ripped Ben in a long, hateful speech. Rather than counterpunch, Ben asked the hater for…

Read More

Frozen in The Cereal Aisle

By Tom Ruwitch

I nearly had a nervous breakdown in Aisle 8 at the grocery store on Sunday. There I stood, in the cereal aisle, reading the shopping list my wife created. Item 15 on the list: “Healthy Cereal.”  I marched up and down the aisle, scanning the shelves.   Should I buy the Kashi or the Kellogg’s? Barbara’s…

Read More

Tim Dean Life Coach

By Tom Ruwitch

When I asked Tim Dean to describe his ideal client for me, his answer blew me away. Tim is a life coach whom I ran into at a networking event. His ideal client: “Parents of a millenial son or daughter who is living at home.” We’ve all heard the old adage about finding a niche…

Read More

Niagara Falls

By Tom Ruwitch

In 1911, Bobby Leach went over Niagara Falls in a barrel. On purpose. He broke a few bones and spent a few months in the hospital. But that was OK with him. He survived… …and then he cashed in on his fame. He wasn’t the first person to survive that fall. A woman named Annie…

Read More

Ear Doctor Normalizes Waiting

By Tom Ruwitch

I caught a radio ad recently for an ear doctor who encouraged listeners to get their hearing checked. She said most people will rush to the eye doctor if they have fuzzy vision. But when people notice their hearing get fuzzy, many will put off a checkup. Sometimes they’ll wait for years. Don’t wait, she…

Read More

Jacob and United Airlines

By Tom Ruwitch

I got a call last month from my son, Jacob, who declared, “I’m never flying United Airlines again!” Here’s why he was so upset… Jacob was at the Denver airport, at one of those self-serve check-in kiosks. It was crowded and hectic. There was a long line to get through security. He was frazzled. He…

Read More

The #1 Reason Albert Pujols and Your Customers Break Up With You

By Tom Ruwitch

Baseball great Albert Pujols got his 3,000th hit earlier this month.  I’ve rooted all my life for the St. Louis Cardinals. So it broke my heart when Pujols broke up with the Cardinals in 2012 to join the Anaheim Angels. The heartache reminded me of my ninth-grade girlfriend, Susie Wallace. Susie and I had just…

Read More