Missions Category
“Common sense is a little man in a gray suit who never makes a mistake at addition, but it’s always someone else’s money he’s adding up.” – Raymond Chandler
Let’s hear it for uncommon sense: that inner itch that inspires you to stray from the herd, ditch the training wheels, and leap into the fast lane. As we all know, it’s the risk takers who get their faces on magazine covers and their interviews on news radio. No one ever remembers who won “honorable mention.”
So in this section you’ll find uncommon sense — and our 2 cents — about careers, management, and the economy at large.
Editor’s Note: We first met Rachel Brookhart on Twitter, where her wit, devotion to smart marketing, and love of both cats and whiskey caught our eye. We also share an academic connection: Rachel received her M.A. in Nonprofit Management from Antioch University L.A., where Atomic Tango Founder Freddy Tran Nager used to teach. Now she’s published her first book, Start Your Engines: Nonprofit Management Made Simple, which we found both entertaining and insightful. It combines realistic advice (no naive idealism here) interwoven with a parable of a racing team tryingRead More
by Freddy Tran Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango + Creative Who’s Sat On Both Sides Of The Table; photo by Samuel Yongbo Kwon on Unsplash… I occasionally help my clients find and interview other marketing agencies and professionals, since I speak the lingo and know what to look for. My B.S. detector can sense a snake-oil seller after just a few words, and I relish rejecting posers to create opportunities for truly talented and ethical professionals. So it’s a shame when I find an honest, earnest young professional and haveRead More
by Freddy Tran Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango + Heavy LinkedIn User… Of all the social networks out there, LinkedIn has delivered the best return on my time — as in actual gigs that come with actual money. That doesn’t mean I love the site — the user experience appears designed by inebriated spider monkeys — but I’ve managed to make it work for me. So I put together this list of suggestions to improve your LinkedIn profile, particularly if you work in marketing or other creative professions. (This adviceRead More
by Freddy Tran Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango + Veteran Of The Career Wars; photo by davide ragusa on Unsplash… Yes, you found a job opening you think you could fill perfectly. You have the skills, the education, a lofty employment record with glowing recommendations, and genuine enthusiasm for both the company and the opportunity. So you apply and wait for the employer to contact you. And you wait. And you wait. And weeks go by, making you think they hired someone else. Then you see they’re still running theRead More
by Freddy Tran Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango + Guy Who Hires Skilled Professionals… From his bio, Simon Sinek sounds like an amazing person: author, TEDx star, military innovation adviser, supporter of nonprofits. So I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt and assume that this quote was taken way out of context. But that’s how the quote is being shared, in its entirety, in that source of infinite dubious wisdom, the LinkedIn wall. “You don’t hire for skills, you hire for attitude. You can always teach skills” is aRead More
by Freddy Tran Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango + Partner To Some Awesome People; photo by Albert Kok via Wikimedia Commons… In the animal kingdom, a fish called the remora attaches itself to larger creatures like sharks to eat scraps of their food while enjoying their protection. In the human kingdom, a creature called the freeloader attaches itself to more established professionals to eat scraps of their business while enjoying their brand equity. Today, these freeloaders frequently describe themselves as “partners” — a word that once referred to someone whoRead More
by Freddy Tran Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango + LinkedIn Purist… The neighborhood is slowly deteriorating. Not my physical one in L.A., which is gentrifying so fast even the pigeons have to take out loans to eat.Read More
by Freddy Tran Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango + Marketing Professor; photo by Beatriz Pérez Moya on Unsplash… Q: Dear Freddy: What’s a good length for my copywriting portfolio? Right now it’s 20 pages, which feels long, but it’s 6 writing samples, and most are multiple pages. Is that too long? – K in L.A.Read More
by Freddy Tran Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango + Guy Who’s Been There, Survived That; note that this article contains affiliate links, and buying through them helps support the Atomic Tango martini fund… So you just emerged from your academic shell, armed with a degree and a wealth of textbook knowledge. And now you want to enter marketing or a related field, like advertising, design, or feral-cat herding. To help you progress — and avoid my missteps as a fledgling marketer — I compiled these tips based on my discussionsRead More
by Freddy J. Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango, MBA, and Professor of Communications… A point that really stood out to me in an overall fantastic article by Philosopher and Business Consultant Matthew Stewart: “Next to analysis, communication skills must count among the most important for future masters of the universe. To their credit, business schools do stress these skills, and force their students to engage in make-believe presentations to one another. On the whole, however, management education has been less than a boon for those who value free and meaningfulRead More
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