Gallery

So what I’ve done over the years professionally looks a lot like the pictures shown here.  Once you execute a style and find the work methods that work for you, I guess you stay with them.   I present these pictures both as entertainment and as a snapshot of some of the things I do as a marketing leader and as a human being.

Anyway, have a look, enjoy and let me know what you think!

Photo Shoots

Thought I’d comment on and give a shout out to the photographers who I’ve worked with for my professional photos.

I recently made the realization that I needed new photos for my blog and social sites, when I stopped wearing contact lenses and replaced them with glasses. So I went over and saw my friend Steve Giraud at Steve Giraud Photography  who took these great shots.  I’ve worked with Steve a few times and he’s the ultimate professional and has a great studio by JWA.

 

I’ve also done some work with my good friend Brett Werner, from Brett Werner Photography.  Aside from helping with head shots, etc., Brett did a unique photo shoot with me a few years ago that featured a couple of my guitars. The photos were for an article about me in Musical Merchandise Review.  (More info on that in the articles section!)

Leading the Team

These shots cover me doing what I do at work.  From the looks of the notes on the flip charts here, we’re planning out the marketing for the next year.  The more planning you do, the better the execution goes.

As you can see from the charts behind me, I am making a good use of color on the charts. I’m sure they are color coded to some carefully-concocted scheme, but of course I can’t remember that now some years later.

I really enjoy the planning process, because it starts off the execution process and all marketers live for executing marketing programs.  You also get to visualize and talk about “how great it’s going to be.” So, as you can see in these pictures, I grab the pen and go to the board and let’s plan this thing out.  I also really like the participation from the team; we’re all in this together so make sure you get your ideas heard!

Trade Shows

I think we’ve covered this in some of my blogs, but I really enjoy trade shows.  I think they are the purest form of marketing.  A trade show, industry conference or whatever you call it is a place where you put the buyers and the sellers of the industry in one room, put the industry leaders and observers in smaller rooms to discuss issues and then you party with old friends every night.  I personally enjoy doing the shows and always learn a ton.

The show in these pictures took place in Birmingham, UK, at the famous “NEC” complex.  I enjoyed visiting Birmingham as you get a very different view of English life than you do in London, where I have spent more time.

The interesting thing about this show for me was that my homogenized California-American-FM Radio voice carried well in the hall and I drew big crowds when I gave my presentation 7-8 times a day.  So much so that on the final day of the show, when we were all exhausted from the vendor party the night before, I didn’t start very early with the presentations.  The folks in the booths around us came and asked me to please start doing the presentation because it drew people to our section of the hall.  Like Hasslehoff in Germany, the Brits love me.

 

Commuting to Work

Now these are some very old photos!  In fact this shot to the left of me in the navy blue suit is a picture from my first day going to work in a tie!

I worked for IBM in White Plains New York.  As you can see, I got the memo about the IBM dress code and brought out the navy suit, white button-down oxford shirt and red tie.  It was really a great place to work and certainly a place I considered a longer career at.

I worked in the IBM’s competitive intelligence department analyzing the personal computer market.  It was a very exciting time in that market and to work at IBM.

In the picture by the car, you can see I am wearing my IBM employee badge, which I think we all did with great pride.

Oddly enough, the car in the picture was a rental that I had for over 7 weeks and 3500 miles while my car was being fixed from an accident I had in Scarsdale, New York.

Working at IBM was a great experience and really helped get my career going quickly.  I often wonder how different my career would have been if I had stayed at IBM.

Visiting Exotic Places

I think if you ask my family what I did for a living they might be tempted to tell you that I flew all over the world and visited exotic places.  While there is some truth to that, your family gets spared from the real stresses and the real goings on of business trips and instead hear about the interesting places and strange meals you get while traveling.

Certainly visiting the Great Wall in China was a highlight.  It was quite hot and humid when we visited the wall and it was quite a trek to even get to the wall.   I wondered at some length what it was like to have built this wall way up in the hills in this hot and unfriendly place.  The scale of the wall is breathtaking and gives you such an insight to China’s leaders that had it built.

Another place I found particularly interesting was Australia.  While it is a long way from the United States, I found them to be very Westernized and lacking in some of the issues I sometimes find in Europe.

As you can see from the picture, I particularly liked Sydney and was able to visit the Harbor area on a Friday night during their summer.  It’s a beautiful and very clean city with food and culture from all over the world.  The Australians are hard working people who enjoy having a good time.  There’s also a growing critical mass of technology companies there.