These Invisible Blind Spots Can Completely Derail Your Work “Here, stand up against the wall,” said the optometrist. “I’m going to measure your blind spot.” I wasn’t sure what he meant, but complied willingly enough. “Let me know when the eraser disappears. There? Cool. And reappears there? Excellent.” I looked at the marks he had made on the paper. They defined a circle about the size of a golf ball -- a circle that represented an area of such total invisibility I hadn’t even known it existed. When I look around, the world seems contiguous to me, but that’s …

We talk all the time about what the future will look like, and this past week I heard some fascinating conjecture about the future of smart devices and the "Internet of things" during a jaunt across the pond to London for an IAB UK event. That kind of discussion is what fuels most of us in this business because we feed on the promise and excitement of what's coming. But the question remains whether or not each of us will be ready for it when it arrives. To embrace the future requires a change in behavior, and that's not always …

There is art and science that goes into branding and rebranding. The best, authentic branding reflects a company's purpose, its culture and the attributes that make it unique and better than any other in the world. Here's the nuance that gets the least attention but matters the most: You can come up with a brilliant brand strategy in your laboratory, with deep insights, deliberation and all the best intentions. But if your closest stakeholders -- especially employees -- don't buy in, the whole effort won't matter.

What generation comes after the Millennials, the massive generation that is now swamping the U.S. workplace with people born between 1980 to 2000? The Homeland Generation. Born after 9/11, the oldest members of this generation are now entering middle school. I have two Homelanders living under my roof, boys aged 9 and 11. They are unique compared to other generations that have come before them. Here's how:

In just a few short hours, the curtain will go up on our fourth major TEDx event in my home city of Christchurch, New Zealand. I've been working with our speakers for months now, to make sure they shine as brightly as they possibly can on our stage, and there's something I've noticed: the first idea is generally not the best. Often it's not fully formed and needs evolving. That's to be expected. But often in the process of evolution, the idea changes altogether, taking an unexpected turn and morphing into something wholly unrecognizable from the starting point.

I think the ability to react or "proact" in real time is a worthy -- and aspirational -- goal, but it's pretty much elusive for about 99% of the entire market. Instead, brands should focus on being more agile in general. Real-time marketing is a philosophical and cultural imperative, not a tactical checklist.

I envy a good salesperson. A good salesperson is an entire set of specific skills and some unique personality traits all rolled into one enviable package. You have to be able to read people and understand their motivations, and be smart enough to customize your pitch to them based on their motivations. You also have to be confident enough to hear "no" quite a lot, even multiple times from the same person who may eventually say "yes."

I'm in a new marketing leadership role, and am quickly building the team. I prefer to hire proven stars that I've worked with before. Their probability of success is higher, and you cheat time by avoiding the laborious recruiting process, while activating someone intimate with your playbook. When hiring former star colleagues is not possible, I scrutinize potential hires based on 10 criteria, no matter the role. These criteria do a good job of surfacing truth to make a good decision in the least amount of time:

Given the demand for engineers and salespeople, recruiting plays an essential role in the media and technology industry. Finding great people can be difficult, and recruiters can help. But there are some recruiters - especially the younger, more aggressive tech recruiters - who act unprofessionally. Here are some examples:

Have you ever tried Mailchimp? It's pretty awesome, right? It feels good to use: the clean interface, the sensible reports, the cheeky copy ("Prepare for launch! You're about to send a campaign... This is your moment of glory.") Mailchimp is one of the most widely used email service provider around, and they've always had a quirky, delightful approach to both their product and their service. A few years back I logged in to see a message that they wanted to send me a T-shirt, randomly, for no reason. That's the kind of thing they do, but not on autopilot -- …