1960-2032
I was born in Michigan, but lived in San Miguel Acatán, Guatemala with a tribe of Mayan indians until I was eighteen years old, after which I moved to the United States. I spent six years in graduate school, earning an advanced degree in ancient languages and theology. I’ve taught at the undergraduate and graduate level, primarily in modern and ancient languages, as well as applied history. (I wish I had majored in anthropology rather than learn 10+ languages.) More of us, it seems, are bringing expertise to areas not closely associated with our majors!
I managed a publisher and mail order book house (Eisenbrauns) from 1983-1988 and then owned and ran a marketing firm in Warsaw, IN, from 1988-1994.
I live in Nashville, TN with my wife Julie. We have two grown boys: Jonathan (with his wife Sarah and daughter Addie and son Nash) lives in Atlanta and is a partner at Monday Night Brewing and Nathan (with his wife Colby and daughter Emme and son EJ) lives and works at Chess.com in Nashville.
I am a fan of fine woodworking, teaching racing to already expert motorcycle racers, and flying 25 different types of airplanes and helicopters. Most of all, though, I express myself primarily through photography.
I speak to, write for, and consult with the expertise marketplace via Punctuation. I’ve worked with 1,000+ firms under that umbrella, and tens of thousands of others have been through our seminars or attended a speaking engagement. About 13,000 firms get our email with a new insight article every week.
I have been a featured speaker at nearly every marketing industry conference as well as nearly every association that serves this field. I have spoken at three different TEDx events.
I have been a frequent contributor to nearly all the major publications that serve the marketing industry (Critique, Communication Arts, HOW, Rough, Creative Business, PR Intelligence Report, Creative Planet, In-Review, Graphic Artists Guild, Agency Insider Report, Post Industry, Internet Professional Publishers Association, etc.). I edited Persuading for its entire tenure of six years, earning accolades from subscribers all over the planet.
My work has been discussed in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Fast Company. Inc. Magazine, Forbes, MarketingProfs, and BusinessWeek. I have also contributed to other major publications.
In total, I have written seven books. The most recent ones are:
- Financial Management of a Marketing Firm
- Managing (Right) for the First Time: A Field Guide for Doing it Well
- The Business of Expertise: How Entrepreneurial Experts Convert Insight to Impact + Wealth
- Secret Tradecraft of Elite Advisors: Covert Techniques for a Remarkable Practice
- Selling Your Professional Service Firm: A Primer
Finally, I am the co-host, with Blair Enns, of the most listened to podcast in the creative services space: 2 Bobs, named after the two consultants in that underground cult classic movie, Office Space.