Author Archives: Roy H. Williams
Anything Too Stupid…
Voltaire is often quoted as having said it, but he never did. It was actually Pierre de Beaumarchais in 1775, just a few months before Thomas and George and Ben and the boys wrote their scathing letter to England’s king. Beaumarchais was working on the second scene in the first act of The Barber of &hellip Continue reading
Time is a Solvent
An auction house is an island of cast-offs and misfits where the rejected and broken feel finally at home. I am speaking of the merchandise, of course, not of the people. Perhaps I am speaking of the people, as well. From the age of 18, Pennie and I have searched for buried treasure in auction &hellip Continue reading
Wise Men and Fools
A wise man sees both sides of a matter. The fool sees only one. The origin of the word “wizard” is wise-ard. It means wise man. Nothing more. The wise-ards of the Christmas Story followed a star, had an adventure, made a discovery and leaped onto the pages of history. What did they talk about &hellip Continue reading
How Radio Ads Must Change
We can listen much faster than we speak. Consequently, a listener’s mind will wander when we take too long to make a point. This isn’t new. What is new, however, is the current trend toward voluntary, rapid distraction. Defenders of this practice call it ‘multi-tasking.’ But brain-imaging studies reveal that ‘multi-tasking’ is merely the switching &hellip Continue reading
Success and Significance
Everyone wants to make the same three things,” the Princess said, “money, a name, and a difference. But our actions are dictated by the one we want most.” You can make a name for yourself – become famous – or you can make a lot of money in complete obscurity. Either way, people will consider &hellip Continue reading
Intersection of Ways
Most people believe in The Way Things Ought to Be. Others embrace The Way Things Are. Arguments, terrorism and war happen at the intersection of these Ways. “Here’s what you ought to do.” “That’s just not going to happen.” “Okay, then we’ll fight.” An even weirder, three-way intersection happens at The Way I Remember It, &hellip Continue reading
Pendulum 451
Pennie and I were at the airport in San Francisco about to board a flight for home. I needed a book to read. I’d been thinking about the halfway points in Pendulum theory as well as pondering a phenomenon I’ve decided to call Information Saturation. Both are heady topics. I needed to take a break. &hellip Continue reading
Friends, Family, Staff and Customers
How Much Are They Holding You Back? The pervasive fantasy in business today is that you can tweak your way to success. Tweakers believe you need only “monitor your metrics” to ratchet your way to the top of the mountain. “Hold your position, then make a tiny change and click up to the next level.” &hellip Continue reading
Radio of Tomorrow?
Travel agencies were eliminated as a business category when the Digital Age arrived. Likewise, encyclopedias found they were no longer needed. Soon we were opening the newspaper each morning to read headlines we already knew about. Newspaper doubled over in pain and fell to its knees. The Yellow Pages got dusty and catalogues quit arriving &hellip Continue reading
20,000 Years of Advertising
More than 1,000 businesses will be featured in this book. Each will have fewer than 100 employees. On average, they’ll have been operating for at least 20 years. We’re going to ask them about their advertising. Research tells you what ought to work. We’re going to ask these businesses what actually worked. Actual experience is &hellip Continue reading
