Uncorking A Story

How important is curiosity in business? Andy Greenfield has a point of view.  In 1996 I was a 22-year-old kid working in the new field of digital marketing while Andy was pioneering new ways of conducting business online.  By that point in time, he was already a successful entrepreneur although he would never use that term to describe himself back then. In his words, he was simply a guy who had the ability to put his thoughts into action. In this interview Andy discusses the impact his upbringing had on his successes later in life and the role that curiosity played in it.  He discusses how this curiosity was nourished by his parents, who would serve as role models for how to treat other people with equality. Andy’s path to running and selling two of the world’s most successful research firms, Greenfield Consulting and Greenfield Online, was not what you might call linear (or traditional). He dropped out of college, started a tennis court lighting business, moved to Colorado to build houses, and then had a

Should qualitative researchers be thinking about adding mobile to their qualitative toolbox? Richard Owen, founder and CEO of Crowdlab says, without hesitation, yes! Who is Richard Owen? Well, Richard has been in the market research business for over twenty years and has worked at prestigious firms such as Millward Brown, Copernicus, and Hall &  Partners.  Frustrated by the pace of change (or lack thereof) in the market research industry, Richard founded Crowdlab as a company designed to field high quality research empowered by bleeding edge technology to amplify the wonders of traditional research thinking and doing.  If you want to know exactly what that means then you will have to listen to this podcast! Now I know what you may be thinking – how can this help me as a qualitative research consultant or a buyer of qualitative research? Here are a few thought starters; what if instead of walking behind a shopper on a shop-a-long you empower participants to keep a shopping diary using their mobile phone to a

Jim Bryson is the founder and CEO of 2020 Research; a Nashville based qualitative research firm with facilities in Nashville, Charlotte, and Miami. In addition to traditional facilities, 2020 is a leading provider of online qualitative solutions including both asynchronous and real-time interviewing solutions.   In this interview, Jim talks about the irony of hating his research classes while in college while seconds later discussing how he helped to develop a very successful research business. We discuss the bet he took on online qualitative research early on, his time as a state senator in TN, and his motivations for starting a school in Haiti.   We end our conversation with a discussion on where the business is going and what qualitative research consultants must keep in mind to be successful in the future.  Listen up as there is more to Jim Bryson than meets the eye, or in this case, the ear. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When I was 21 years old I thought I knew it all and that my parents knew absolutely nothing. By the time I turned 22 and was working in my first job with real bills to pay, I was amazed at how much my parents learned in just 12 short months.  Since becoming an adult and starting a family, my appreciation for the sacrifices they made for me has only grown. One such sacrifice was giving me a Catholic education; while I did not appreciate it at the time, I have come to understand that the foundation such an education provides has made me every bit of who I am today. I was fortunate to have been taught by many wonderful teachers during my lifetime but there is one high school teacher of mine who stands out for many reasons and his name is Ernie Bourcier; otherwise known as Mr. B.  At 70 years young, Mr. B. remains a full time teacher at Trinity Catholic High School where he has taught for the past 46 years.  This amazes me to no end because I have been unable to sit still in a job for more than 5 years at a clip

In 1996 I was barely 22 years old when I started my career in advertising.  I worked for a company called FCB direct, which was owned by a holding company known as True North Communications.  No offense to Brian Rafferty, my boss at the time, but the job kind of sucked.  I was estimating call volume for a large telecommunications client who was using long format commercials to advertise their One Rate calling plan.  My primary task was to calculate the estimated number of calls the client's telemarketing center could expect to receive after one of these commercials aired. We had to know the gross rating points of each program that the commercial was aired during and then provide estimates back to our client so they could staff up their telemarking center with the optimal number of representatives.  I was commuting into NY and still living at home with my parents and barely making enough money to get to and from Manhattan. Then one day in late 1996, a memo came across my desk announcing that True North "did a

When I woke up this morning, I never could have predicted that one of my elementary school teachers, a Catholic nun named Dorothy Collins, would be introducing me to a post-op transexual named Cynthia.  Let me explain. There are people in our lives who have a profound impact on us.  Sr. Dorothy was one of those people for me.  My family moved to Connecticut when I was 9 years old which meant my twin brother Jimmy and I would be starting the 1983-1984 school year in a new school.  I was entering 4th grade and I was nervous.  My nervousness turned to fear when I found out a nun would be my teacher because my prior experiences with nuns was not so good.  My first grade teacher, Sr. Peter Marie, made Joe Pesci's Tommy Devito character from Goodfellas seem like a nice guy.  Luckily for me, Sr Dorothy was nothing like I expected; she had a big smile and an even bigger heart (and she never asked if she was there to amuse me). We re-connected recently at a reunion and I asked to interview her for my podcast. She ac

I first met Shelley Zalis when I was working for Unilever and she was invited to speak at an offsite meeting.  She broke two rules during her presentation; 1.  She divulged her age and 2. She quoted Yoda.  Most women don’t do those kinds of things; then again, most women aren’t Shelley Zalis. I was excited to catch up with Shelley in the private lounge of the Ritz Carlton hotel overlooking Central Park. Today she is the CEO of Ipsos Open Thinking Exchange; a product of Ipsos' 2010 acquisition of her former company OTX Research (listen to the podcast to learn how this came full circle for Shelley). If I could use only one word to summarize Shelley, it would have to be passionate.  When Shelley has an idea stuck in her head, she pursues it until it becomes a reality. If someone tells her it can’t be done, that only motivates her more to make it happen.  Listen up as Shelley discusses her career path and the lessons she has learned along the way (like how to speak EBITDA). I will forewarn you that there is a

Michael Carlon interviews Michael Carlon. Have I finally lost my mind? Should they come and take me to South 1 (the psychiatric ward of Stamford Hospital)? Don't judge me too quickly! In this episode I interview my cousin who also happens to have the same name as me; although he goes by Mick and I go by whatever name anyone in my family is willing to call me at any given time (unfortunately, my mother typically calls me Jimmy but that is another story). Mick Carlon has written two novels based on the lives of famous Jazz musicians; Riding on Duke's Train involves a fictionalized slice of Duke Ellington's life and was published in 2010.  Mick's followup, Travels with Louis, was published in 2012 and involves a story around, you guessed it, Louis Armstrong. Musicians who played with both Ellington and Armstrong have reached out to Mick to let him know how closely he channeled the essence of each musician. Listen up as we discuss where Mick's love of Jazz came from, how he was able to capture and portray with

Bryan Mattimore is one of America's top experts in applied creativity, ideation facilitation and innovation management. In his career, he has facilitated more than 1500 marketing and business strategy ideation sessions.  Listen up as Bryan discusses his transformation from rational, Ivy League scholar to one of the world's leaders in creativity processes. In his new book Idea Stormers Bryan explains the how, what, and why of successful innovation and ideation. He presents a diverse selection of easy-to-learn idea-generating techniques such as “brainwalking,” turning your worst ideas into surprising solutions, wishing your way to real results, and many more. He also provides a framework for how anyone tasked with getting creative results from a group—what he calls a “facilitating leader”—can put these techniques to work. Stick with the interview and you will hear Bryan's take on the role marketing research should play in the fuzzy front end of innovation. Also, be sure to listen up for a Red Dawn reference

This guy is the real deal - he's the guy that Chuck Norris is afraid to Google! Listen up as Mike and Manny talk about the importance of accountability, why you don't always want to be your child's "friend," and why you need to plant your seeds before you eat your vegetables. Also, enjoy a little hair metal trivia!   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Listen up as Mike and guest co-host Wendy talk to Sirius XM Radio Personality Dave Dwyer about his early days at MTV, his time at Comedy Central, and what can best be termed about his higher calling. This episode pairs well with a nice crisp white! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices