My Substack

Last week was “show week”: the culmination of a three-month corporate scriptwriting project. I arrived in Chicago (the site of the show), ready for anything. I’ve written enough of these shows now to know that anything can happen. (Anything!)…

I’ve known for some time that I wanted to write this newsletter. Three years perhaps. I had to wait until my rage against Charlie had faded. To be clear, Charlie is a lovely man. Every time I’ve seen him, I’ve smiled, said “Hey Charlie,” and…

Last week, during a storm, lightning struck the power sub-station just a few blocks away. At the time, I didn’t know that had happened. I just knew that our power flickered strongly. When it came back on, I noticed that the fan in my office was running…

It’s the season for baby birds to fall out of nests. On Saturday afternoon, one fell out of the big maple tree in our front yard, right into a patch of creeping jenny. I was outside with my kids when we discovered it, its tiny mouth growing bigger than…

I was having a conversation with a client the other day. We were working on refining the mission statement and brand promise/elevator pitch for his company. He’s been in business for more than a dozen years, so he’s not new to this game. “People…