Tom Ruwitch
During my down time last week, I read this essay by Ann Patchett, published in the January 2021 issue of Harper’s Magazine. Ann Patchett is a writer whose books I like. And she’s a business owner whose bookstore I love. She opened Parnassus Books on the south side of Nashville in 2011… …because the city’s…
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I was browsing through some of my favorite old marketing training discs the other day and came across one by Dave Dee… …whom I still listen to today. Back in 2007 Dave offered some unconventional advice about how to write better emails: Watch Regis Philbin on television, Dave advised. I don’t recall what I thought about…
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The war between the Superpowers has begun. Not a traditional war with guns and tanks and airplanes, mind you. This is a war between two digital Superpowers — Facebook and Apple. Apple fired the first shot when it announced recently that iPhone owners will soon have to give explicit permission before apps can track their…
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I woke yesterday at 5 a.m. because I had to finish a proposal that I’d promised to send to a prospect by start-of-business Monday. I was knocking it out steadily when… …Google broke. You probably heard the news: Around 5:30 a.m. CST, Google suffered a worldwide outage. Google Drive stalled. Gmail gave out. YouTube tanked. …
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My business is growing so I’m hiring. Last night I posted a job opening for a software developer to assist with several projects. I described the projects, but only in vague terms. Applications flooded my inbox. Most applicants told me they had EVERYTHING it takes to tackle the projects. One applicant, Noah, said this: “Let’s discuss more…
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I was eating breakfast the other morning and nearly choked. It wasn’t the spinach and salsa omelette that did it (although that jalapeno salsa made me sweat a little). No, it was the email that landed in my inbox… …with yet another breathless, over-hyped, meaningless statistic… …about yet another can’t-miss digital marketing channel. Here’s the…
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When my daughter suggested last night that we order delivery from Shake Shack… …rather than have yet another night of leftover turkey for dinner… …I thought, “That’s the greatest idea EVER!” Red meat, topped with bacon and orange cheese. Yum. But what really had my mouth watering was the thought of that shake… …that sweet,…
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Every so often, I browse my junk email folder to see what the spammers are up to. I always come across something that makes me roll my eyes and chuckle… …like this one from a lender: Subject line: Equipment Financing That’s it. No website address. No call to action. No benefits. No story. No nothing…
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A few years ago, I regularly posted “Gratitude Snippets” on Facebook. They were short posts. Expressions of appreciation for people and things… …a beautiful day… …a restaurant server who went the extra mile… …a mail carrier who braved snow and rain to make the delivery… …a song that brightened my mood… …a colleague who offered…
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For three years, I never opened my mouth when I smiled. That was from 1978 through 1980. Those were the Braces Years, the period when my mouth was full of metal hardware and my parents’ checking account was shrinking. It’s tough being a 13- to 16-year-old — especially when your pearly whites are covered with stainless…
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