All things in-house
Posted in Fuel INjected IN-house, Sam Harrison on May 27th, 2013
by Sam Harrison Jack Nicklaus designs golf courses all over the world – and in some countries, such as India, there’s limited land. Traditionally, golf courses have been built on 100 – 200 acres. But in India, Nicklaus was approached about building course on 50 or 60 acres. So how did he ...MORE
Posted in Featured, Fuel INjected IN-house, Sam Harrison on Mar 28th, 2013
by Sam Harrison “People change their minds all the time, even about very important matters. It’s just hard to do when the stakes are high. That’s why marshaling data and making rational arguments won’t work. Whether you’re changing your own mind or someone else’s, the key is emotional, persuasive storytelling.” Maggie Koerth-Baker, BoingBoing.Net science editor ...MORE
Posted in Fuel INjected IN-house, Sam Harrison on Mar 22nd, 2013
By Sam Harrison “The primary story told over and over again I call ‘Man In A Hole.’ It goes like this: somebody gets into trouble and then gets out of it. People never tire of this.” - Kurt Vonnegut . In my idea-selling workshops, we discuss how a successful pitch is typically a mixture of ...MORE
Posted in Fuel INjected IN-house, Sam Harrison on Mar 2nd, 2013
by Sam Harrison Before shooting Contagion, film director Steven Soderbergh sat down with his team and made a list of disaster-movie clichés to avoid. “We had a list we refused to do,” he told New York magazine. “Can’t show the president. No helicopter shots. You can’t go somewhere and show people suffering where our ...MORE
Posted in All Posts, Fuel INjected IN-house, Sam Harrison on Dec 26th, 2012
by Sam Harrison Several years ago, I was sitting in the New York offices of a professional sports organization, trying to gain a brand licensing agreement for products being developed by my in-house team. The room overflowed with attorneys, CPAs and marketers – all with conflicting agendas. Negotiations were stalling, and the organization’s vice president ...MORE
Posted in Fuel INjected IN-house, Sam Harrison on Nov 8th, 2011
Four Cs to Appraise Your Pitch. by Sam Harrison You and your team have generated a great idea and are preparing a presentation for decision makers. So before placing your idea’s life on the line, how do you step back and evaluate the planned pitch’s effectiveness? Try overlaying four Cs and answering these questions: CONTENT ...MORE
Posted in Fuel INjected IN-house, Sam Harrison on Nov 1st, 2011
When Selling Ideas, Sticky Situations Sometimes Call for Some Sugarcoating by Sam Harrison After a “Selling Ideas” workshop I presented to an in-house team, the creative director pulled me aside. “We’re about to pitch a great trade-show concept to our marketing VP,” she said. “But to truly demonstrate the idea’s value, I need to first ...MORE
Posted in Fuel INjected IN-house, Sam Harrison on Oct 28th, 2011
Four Cs to Appraise Your Pitch. by Sam Harrison You and your team have generated a great idea and are preparing a presentation for decision makers. So before placing your idea’s life on the line, how do you step back and evaluate the planned pitch’s effectiveness? Try overlaying four Cs and answering these questions: CONTENT ...MORE
Posted in Fuel INjected IN-house, Sam Harrison on Sep 19th, 2011
Five Ways to Make Readers Like What You Write by Sam Harrison Earlier this month, Andy Epstein posted an entry about the need for writing skills. Words, not pictures, are the currency of communications in the business world, he wisely wrote, so the better in-house creatives write, the higher their likelihood for success. Tagging ...MORE
Posted in All Posts, Fuel INjected IN-house, Sam Harrison on Jun 1st, 2011
If your pitches are tanking, fine-tune your timing. If you’re striking out when selling ideas to bosses and clients, maybe your timing is off. Timing is everything when selling fresh ideas. To understand its value, look at Apple. Steve Jobs has an exquisite ability to time his most innovative introductions for widespread approval and remarkable ...MORE
