The Sun Will Never Set

The Sun Will Never Set

Jul 12, 2025 | Spoken Poetry

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There is a world inside every song experienced in every heart within the souls of those who live on planets that spin inside galaxies that turn, dreams that burn within the hopes and fears of lost men at sea, always searching for the elusive ‘me’ within the me that cannot change because it must not die nor must we try to decipher because there is space in every time, time in every space, love in every trace of what once was alive and real, tangible and could feel the wind, the fire, the earth, and the sea that churns beneath the sky, the dome, the envelope, the home, the beauty amidst the fear behind the smile, perched on the tear of the woman who holds and carries the sphere, the here beyond the now, past the how, outside the known, beneath the love, outside thought, before yesterday and tomorrow exists a universal sorrow that once one is, one eventually will not, and yet galaxies will spin and light will travel and the sun will never set.

Self-Reflection in Marketing

Self-Reflection in Marketing

Aug 20, 2023 | Leadership, Marketing, Strategy

Marketing is a business domain not only for promoting brands, products, and services but also as a platform for organizational self-reflection, engaging the entire staff in the process.

Why the need for self-reflection? Frankly, Western society shies away in general from genuine self-reflection, which I contend cannot be captured in a social media self-post curated in a local Starbucks. Maybe it can, of course, but let’s assume it cannot happen there.

The kind of self-reflection to which I am referring–at either the personal or organizational level–begins with simple questions, such as, “Why are we doing this?” Honestly, I have sat in many conference calls during which it occurred to me that several key elements were not clear to me (and obviously to others, too).

Let me use a specific example. Staff have developed what they believe is an incredible program, priced it according to what they feel is its value, and now present it to the marketing “guy” or “gal” to promote it.

The incredible part of this true story is that the marketing person was never consulted during program development or in any discussions related to its hypothetical value. Yes, I said “hypothetical,” because “value” is not something that exists “out there” in space and time, independent of our perceptions, preconceived notions, or cultural framework.

In many cases, value is quite arbitrary. Why can one museum charge $20 admission, whereas a seemingly similar institution cannot move anyone’s proverbial needle at half that price? Perception is reality.

While I am not a big fan of the word, “should,” I believe it applies here in that marketing should never be the final step in any process where revenue is concerned. When done well and from a systems perspective, marketing can invite deep self-reflection BEFORE (as opposed to after) money and time are spent.