Joel Gross's Blog

Successful brands are instantly recognizable anywhere.

If you hear any snippet of the McDonald’s jingle, you know what it is.

If you see The New York Times from a distance, you know what it is even though you can’t read the title.

If you walked into your favorite bar blindfolded, you would know it just by its smell.… read more “Branding: Recognition in One Second”

Practice being a leader.

Do you want to be a better boss at work? A better parent to your children?

Practice, Practice, Practice!

How do you practice being a leader?

• Start a ___ group
• Coach a kids football or basketball team
• Throw a big party

But how do you know if you are becoming a better leader?… read more “How to Be a Better Leader”

Many businesses that we interact with have a lot of information on who we are and what we like, but never use it.  The businesses that do use the information they have about us are greatly appreciated.  Examples:

1. The waiter who when you walk into the restaurant says, “Hi Joel, Welcome back to Quinn’s! I know you love dark beer and I have a new one on tap. 

… read more “Human Connection in Business”

The brand formula is:

(Expectation) * (emotional power) = Brand

Some brand formula examples:

Google:

(Expectation of answers to questions) * (very consistent & useful)= Very powerful brand.

Seattle Times:

(Expectation of news) * (pretty consistent, decent news writing) = Solid brand.

Wells Fargo:

(Expectation of banking services) * (random fees, too many upsells) = Weakening brand.… read more “What is a brand?”

According to Malcolm Gladwell, it takes roughly 10,000 hours of focused practice to become a world-class expert.  His findings show that this holds true regardless of whether your area of expertise is chess, business, dancing or athletics.

So how long is 10,000 hours?

3 hours of practice every day for 10 straight years.

Sound overwhelming? It is.… read more “Want to be a World-Class Expert?”