Insights from Nebo

This time of year is a beautiful reminder of the power of gathering around a table and unplugging from technology, even if only for a brief period.

Thanksgiving is centered on the idea of feasting and giving thanks for the bounty. Not all holidays are so centered on consumption (not to say we don’t indulge for other holidays), but Thanksgiving is the epitome of putting the stresses and distractions of daily life on hold to appreciate family and friends over some quality food.

This idea even holds true in an office setting.

Atlanta is poised to be the Florence of the Digital Age.

There’s a rumbling of chatter and growing excitement about Atlanta and its future. You hear it at every marketing event. Every digital conference. You hear it every time a local politician speaks. You see it on billboards and in blog posts written by community leaders.

And I suppose everybody wants their city to be the best. To believe their city is the best. But in Atlanta, that feeling doesn’t come from a place of default hometown pride. It doesn’t come from a place of hubris or lack of worldliness.

It comes from experiencing, first-hand, exactly what it is that makes Atlanta so special. A feeling you can only understand once you’ve lived here. Worked here. Grown your career here or started a family here.

“Our revolutionary product will allow your company to cut costs by increasing efficiency and boosting ROI to entirely new levels!” – Sound familiar?

If you’re purchasing in the B2B sector, you probably hear this all the time. Companies are offering you an abundance of abstract benefits that sound great, but don’t actually speak to you. The worst part is that company X offers the same low prices and “innovative technology” company Y does, and you’re left trying to find a company that will actually solve your problems as a buyer.

The problem is that the core of B2B marketing consistently focuses on pushing product benefits instead of aligning with customers’ goals. This approach to marketing makes sense if you’re envisioning yourself selling a product to an entire company all at once. But the fact is, as a B2B marketer, you’re still selling to a person, and that person has needs and goals they’re trying to accomplish. Needs and goals that typical product benefits simply don’t address.

Lately, it seems like we’ve been bombarded by terrible news. Every time I turn on the TV or even glance at Twitter, there’s a barrage of horrifying stories. UVA student Hannah Graham went missing, and last week they found her remains. ISIS continues to terrorize innocent people. Violence rages on in Syria.

It’s like a constant gut punch, and I shouldn’t even be surprised that it’s coming. But I am. Every time, I am.

I can’t escape it, and I can’t change it.

For the longest time, I had no idea what the Director of a movie actually does.

Think about it. He doesn’t come up with the story (that’s the Screenwriter). He doesn’t operate the camera (that’s the Director of Photography or one of his crew). He doesn’t go into the raw footage and edit himself (that’s the Editor). He doesn’t hold the boom mic (that’s the guy that holds the boom mic). Sure, in some cases, the Director is the screenwriter, or the DP, or the editor, but typically, he delegates the majority of these tasks. 

So what DOES he do? And why does he get all the credit when the film wins awards? Why does he take the fall when it flops?

The answer, it turns out, is because he or she is actually the most important person on set.

Fall is well upon us, which means one thing:

Fantasy Football.

Despite being a huge football fan, I never understood the appeal of the Fantasy phenomenon. “Wait, you play a virtual game with NFL players… you mean like The Sims?”

Yet every year, I felt like I was missing out. Something huge was happening that I wasn’t a part of and I wanted in. So this season, I joined a random Yahoo league, named a team, and boom! I’ve become part of the craze.

Turns out, everything I thought about Fantasy Football was wrong. Sure it’s like The Sims…. The Sims on steroids.