Scale it Up
TEDxIndianapolis Recap To scale or not to scale? That’s a question I’ve devoted considerable time pondering. Having spent the past eight-ish years in highly customized, service-oriented agencies with processes and creative inquiry that are challenging to scale, there...
The Magic of Experience Mapping
Whether you realize it or not, you’ve already designed an experience for your audience. If you didn’t plan for it, you may have some unintentional interactions. Those accidental experiences might end up being good, but could also be chaotic, confusing, frustrating......
3 Powerful Meeting Tricks
Running a great meeting takes a lot of things: planning, a solid agenda, the right space, supplies, and people. But even with the best plan in place, you may need a few facilitation tricks up your sleeve to keep your meeting on track. Here are a few of my favorites! ...
Speaking with Students
Last week I had the chance to visit the campus of Anderson University to speak with a group of seniors in the English department. Deborah Miller Fox invited me to share my story because I have a degree in Creative Writing, a meandering career path, and at least so...
Defining Brand Voice and Tone
Imagine yourself stuck in a conversation with someone with zero personality. The small talk has dried up. Suddenly you need to freshen your drink, hit the restroom, check in with so-and-so… anything you can muster for the quick getaway. It’s no different for brands...
Challenging Values
Core values can help people make key decisions, align with peers, and do their best work. When considered during the hiring process, values serve as a great lens for whether people will be a good culture fit. And they can be an essential glue for organizations in...
What’s the Word?
Despite the plethora of words we have available to us, sometimes there just isn't a suitable term to describe or define something. Rather than stumbling around looking for the right words, sometimes the best (and most fun!) option is to go off script and make up...
Scoping Your Rebrand
You have a sense that your brand is not resonating, now what? It's not always easy to determine the scope of a branding project. You need to weigh a variety of factors, like the depth of research that may be needed to learn about your audiences, the equity built into...
Tips for Audience Interviews
This week Julie Heath from Boardable (a.k.a. YAY's first client!) and I started conducting audience interviews. We're gathering info from current customers, prospects, and experts in the nonprofit industry on things like their brand perception, pain points and...
Design a Compelling and Effective Retreat
Retreats can rally a team, solidify a new direction, move an idea forward. When well-designed, they can be fun, productive, and knock out multiple goals at once. Yet with all of this potential, bad retreats, where people leave feeling confused, deflated, or like they...