Author: Jeff Tobe

Coloring Outside the Lines

Why you should consider your business an enigma [read more]

Lessons from a gas station...

Lessons from a gas station attendant: A full-service lesson learned along life’s [read more]

Customer service on the fly

Customer service on the fly: What a flight attendant taught me about knowing your customers [read more]

Are your bagels hot?

Are your bagels hot? What are you doing to make sure you’re reaching your customers via all their senses? [read more]

A tale of perspective

A tale of perspective: A modern fairy tale about why you should learn to deal with customers and others from their perspectives, not yours [read more]

When different is good

If you’re feeling the heat of new competition, you’re probably doing something right in your efforts to stand out.

The committed entrepreneur

10 ways to stay on top of your entrepreneurial game

When the world’s a play …

How to get your customers actively involved in your business

Should’ve, could’ve, would’ve

Nobody cares about the ideas you haven’t put into action. Here’s why you shouldn’t put off your ideas — and what happened when I did.

Marketing the Florida Keys

What a TV ad campaign for vacationers considering the Florida Keys teaches us about segmenting your market

What this means to you is…

Why it’s not just who you are, but what you can do to make their lives easier that matters most in attracting new business

Step into my office …

How a saleswoman in the back seat of a red Mercedes-Benz shattered a car sales stereotype

The Harvey Principle

How to see creative opportunities among the invisible

On seeing Harvey

Five steps to overcoming innovation deficiency and seeing your "invisible Harvey"

Field trip

What are you doing to change your employees' and customers' environments to promote creativity and innovation? Try a field trip.

Tips from an unabashed self-promoter

Like it or not, marketing and self-promotion are all-the-time activities. So says "Get What You Want" author Patricia Fripp, who talks about what business owners could -- and should -- be doing to spr

Don’t 86 the onions

Too often, businesses are too quick to discard ideas before they have a chance to develop. What you need is an opportunity to really brainspark. Here's where to begin.

Igniting the brainspark

Six ways to coax creativity from your employees

What’s your value-added?

Why you should help your prospective customers quantify -- in dollars -- the added value that you bring to their bottom lines.

Frequent flier pointers

What an observant ticket agent from an alternative airline taught me about luring prospective customers away from the competition.

Vendor vs. vending machine

Why you should put a human face on the vendors, suppliers and customers around you

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