John Lennon was right about so many things. This morning it was instant karma.

On my way to work I stopped at the farmer’s market for a single tomato and two ears of corn for dinner. Short on time and low on space in my bike bag, I was determined to keep it at that despite the irresistible bounty of mid-summer. As I passed a pile of peaches, I wavered. They were a deep orange red, plump, and I could tell they were soft before I even touched one. I quickly chose two for dessert.

As I was walking away from the stand, an old man stopped me. He appeared to be homeless. The calm in his manner made me hesitate. As I looked into his sad brown eyes I saw they were cloudy with cataracts. He asked in a soft voice, “Could you help me out please and buy me a peach? I’m a little hungry.” Continue Reading »

The way some marketers talk about “consumers” you’d think they were talking about a different breed altogether from human beings.

My partner and I had a phone call recently with a brand manager at a major consumer goods company. We’re planning to do some in-home research interviews for this company and we were on the phone explaining to her our process.

At one point we could tell we’d lost her. She was quiet in a way that suggested she was chewing on something we’d said earlier. Figuring it was a question related to the deliverable or the process, we paused for a check-in.

Her major concern? Where ever will you find these people?

At first we didn’t understand the question. Then we realized that the gulf between her understanding of the “consumer” and the idea of real people moving through their daily activities was so enormous it was stopping her in her tracks. Continue Reading »

Not long ago, I threw in the towel. Somewhere between Bloc Party and Cold War Kids, I lost the plot of popular music. Once I was able to navigate the changing soundscape with ease, if not arrogance. I read Fader cover-to-cover. I streamed radio from the UK. I was on the guest list. Plus one.

Now most of the music I hear is in yoga class. Continue Reading »