Shoot the Donkey Archives

Why Good Companies Go Bad
How Great Leaders Remake Them

November 8, 2012 Steve Kayser

You know the company. It’s yours, or may have been. An industry leader. Once. Competitors emulate it. Analysts preach the company gospel. The CEO’s mug is on every magazine cover. Stock prices soar above the Milky Way. Then

CRASH.

Why? Donald N. Sull, Harvard Business School Press author of “Revival of The Fittest: Why Good Companies Go Bad and How Great Managers Remake Them” answers that question in an easy-to-read “Shoot the Donkey” – style interview format, combining theory, real-life examples and practical advice.

How NOT to Stand Out in Any Crowd

January 20, 2012 Steve Kayser

You, your product, your service, your company, is good … maybe great. It’s different, unique, totally rad, awesomeroo and bloggerific. It even (occasionally) delivers real business value; makes an authentic difference in business or life. But … no one has heard of you. You haven’t even heard of you! Here’s how to get your message out – or not. Featuring an interview with Sam Horn, author of “POP! Stand Out in Any Crowd.”

A Bad Burro

February 12, 2012 Steve Kayser

Google+

The Heroes Journey for Sales … Sorta

July 3, 2011 Steve Kayser

Can you tell your story – or the story of your business? Tell it so it moves someone – moves them to action? Tell your story so it treads well-worn neural pathways achingly familiar to the human mind and spirit? Time-tested pathways … open, and indeed looking for, great stories? Stories populated with saints, sinners, sorry sad sacks, winners – all, at the core – fighting for their space and place in time?

What Does “Shoot the Donkey” Mean?

July 31, 2010 Steve Kayser

The term “Shoot the Donkey” refers to a classic scene in the movie “Patton” (based upon a true life event) where the Third Army gets critically held up in battle on a bridge, by a cart-pulling donkey that had stopped and refused to budge, totally blocking the bridge. Life and death are at stake. An MP struggles with the donkey and the owner, trying to get them out of the way. But with no success. Then …

The End of Marketing and PR?

February 10, 2009 Steve Kayser

It’s not PR.

It’s not Marketing.

It’s the evolution of business communications.

It’s a revolution in business communications. And it’s …

Shooting the Donkey in the Complex Sale … Hollywood Style

December 30, 2008 Steve Kayser

What is this thing called the Complex Sale that makes seasoned salespeople tremble at the mere mention? That causes two-to-three-year sales pipeline nightmares? What could it possibly have to do with a donkey and Hollywood? prolific Hollywood author, Skip Press, will help put it in perspective.

The Power of STORY in the Complex Sale

November 25, 2008 Steve Kayser

Robert McKee, the best-selling author of “STORY” and legendary guru of Hollywood storytelling, explains in a down-to-earth, easy-to-understand interview, how STORY principles can be used in business presentations. Learn from the man that wrote the book on story (literally) – how to stun, dazzle and leave your audience craving for more.

But what does “Love” have to do with it?