Self Help

Want to spend less time on your computer during the pandemic and beyond? Here are five productivity tools I use every day along with some tips on how to get the most out of them. Continue Reading →

Have you ever used the famous "P&G Memo" format to build a business case? If you have, I'd love to hear about it. Continue Reading →

The velocity of data is increasing and will always increase. Therefore, the need for data literacy is increasing and will always increase. All other things being equal, there is a significant difference between being literate and being fluent. To create value for your business you need to think strategically about sources and uses of data and understand how data is turned into action. Let’s review. Continue Reading →

The New York Times did a wonderful set of articles last week titled OOO. The articles cover the spectrum of issues we are all facing working from home (WFH). Some of the writings were based on a survey they took of 1,123 remote workers. And because of the polling methodology, the results were unsurprising, so much so that I decided to do our own poll so we could compare responses. The results of our poll were surprising, to say the least. Continue Reading →

There’s a wonderful set of articles in the NYT this morning about working from home. They polled 1,123 remote workers, got some unsurprising results, and wrote about it, which made me wonder… what do you think? Continue Reading →

I miss meeting new people. I miss bumping into people I know. So, necessity being the mother of invention, my team has been experimenting with different ways to gather our community – and we have a plan. Introducing the Shelly Palmer Online Networking Salons. They are free, category-specific, weekly, 20-minute, super-curated, small, Zoom meetings where you will introduce yourself, meet some new people, bump into old friends, learn something, hang out for a bit, and then get back to work. Here’s how we tested the theory and why we know it works. Continue Reading →

The pandemic is teeming with known unknowns. How will we assess the risks? What impact will new consumer preferences have on our business? Will we have inflation or deflation? A recession or depression? As hard as these questions are, we’ve helped our corporate clients reframe and answer them in multiple ways. You can too. Here’s how. Continue Reading →

Unified brand messaging and a well-defined brand personality are among your business’s most valuable assets. It all starts with a statement of the organization’s vision and mission (sometimes combined into a brand purpose) and a statement of brand values. Continue Reading →

SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) may be the most famous strategic planning technique. What I love about SWOT is its flexibility and adaptability. This framework is a great way to aggregate the information you need to continuously improve and adapt your areas of focus. If you’re in business, you’ve probably been in many SWOT sessions. But have you run them? If not, here’s how. If you’re an expert in the SWOT process, here’s the variation I use as a prerequisite to creating a brand playbook. Continue Reading →

Like California, Massachusetts has sued Uber and Lyft to force the ride-hailing companies to classify drivers as employees (as opposed to independent contractors). On the surface, it looks like the states are trying to do right by workers, but these two lawsuits don't do any carve-outs for other kinds of gig workers. Continue Reading →