Stop beating your head against the wall trying to conjure up great, new products and services. Get your customers into the act!

Take a tip from Twitter, who has found a number of ways to access -- and execute -- their users' cool ideas.

Explains Twitter co-founder and CEO, Evan Williams, "Most companies or services on the Web start with wrong assumptions about what they are and what they're for. Twitter struck an interesting balance of flexibility and malleability that allowed users to invent uses for it that weren't anticipated."

Complete NY Time article here. (Thanks to Tim Moore for the link).

Want to help your customers generate great ideas? Give them this.

Image.

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 01:09 PM | Comments (0)

Most artists hate marketing. This I understand. After all, painting is their passion, not business. That's why they accept commissions. Instead of painting on spec, there's a paying client in the wings.

Historically, most commissions have been for portraits.

Ho hum. Not very innovative.

Today, I am happy to announce, my beautiful wife -- Evelyne Pouget -- is putting a spin on things and offering you and the rest of the known universe an opportunity to commission a nature scene or landscape.

It's simple. You choose one of Evelyne's photos from the slide show below and she'll paint it for you. Voila!

Choose from these (or email her a photo of your favorite landscape).
Examples of her work

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 08:02 PM | Comments (0)

Need a break? Looking for a relaxing weekend in a beautiful setting, with mountain views, just a 10 minute walk from the center of Woodstock? Come to the Blue Pearl, just two hours north of NYC. See the flowers bloom. See your spirits rise. Have fun. Breathe deep! Renew!

Includes free copies of Awake at the Wheel and Free the Genie.

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 10:11 PM | Comments (0)

Hallelujah! Finally an airline gets it right! I am definitely flying Southwest sometime soon. (What can YOUR business do to spice up it's communication -- delivering an old message in a new way?)

A different kind of FAQ

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 12:52 AM | Comments (0)

A sales rep, a clerk, and their manager are on the way to lunch when they find an antique oil lamp on the side of the road. They rub the lamp and a Genie appears.

"Thank you for releasing me!" exclaims the Genie. "In return for your kindness, I will grant each you a wish."

"Me first! Me first!" says the clerk. "I want to be in the Bahamas, driving a speedboat, without a care in the world."

Poof! The clerk is gone.

"Me next! Me next!" shouts the sales rep. "I want to be in Hawaii, relaxing on the beach with my personal masseuse, an endless supply of Pina Coladas, and the love of my life."

Poof! The sales rep is gone.

"OK, your turn," says the Genie to the manager.

"Hmmm..." replies the manager. "I want those two back in the office right after lunch."

Moral of the story: Always let your boss have the first say.

Consult our online genie

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 02:43 PM | Comments (0)

OK. Here's a clue. If you want to create a product or service that makes a difference in the world, consider making it more FUN.

"The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect, but by the play instinct arising from inner necessity. The creative mind plays with the object it loves." -- Carl Jung

Fun way to get out of the box

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 07:36 AM | Comments (0)

"It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change." - Charles Darwin

We can help

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 06:35 PM | Comments (0)

Think you're in the "4th quarter" of your life? Getting down to the wire? Feeling like you'll never get your big break (or your big breakthrough)? If so, have heart... and take a cue from an autistic basketball player named Jason McElwain.

PS: You can do it! All you need to do is take your best shot!

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 03:42 PM | Comments (0)