Artwork by Dan Lacey

Finally, justification for my obsession with the royal wedding (or is it the Royal Wedding?) – from the Harvard Business Review, no less.

Clearly I’m no CEO, but…I’m going to roll with it. I love reason 1 best: “The soft stuff can attract even bigger audiences and higher revenues than the hard stuff.”

There’s no rationale behind my desire to get every detail of the wedding. It’s purely sentimental. I remember so clearly waking up early 30 years ago to watch Diana and Charles’ wedding, and I’m trying to recapture some of that feeling of being swept away in the pomp and romance of that moment. I know the monarchy is irrelevant and such lavishness is probably inappropriate with so many serious issues circling the world, but let’s try to forget being serious and cynical for a while and see how it goes.

Maybe it’s time to get a little more squishy about sales and marketing in our businesses. Stop trying to find the next big thing or be the smartest guy in the room, and just be nice. Remember to ask about your prospect’s kids, or take someone to lunch without an ulterior motive. Stop looking at your phone and check in with your motivations.  Leave the data behind for a moment and go with your gut.  Authenticity speaks loudly and makes a big impression.

Softness shouldn’t take the place of data, measurement, systems, or processes but it’s a path worth pursuing that may lead to a greater sense of connection with those you do business with.  The HBR piece sums it up nicely: “The joy factor — hope and unity — is a better business theme to emphasize than the fear factor.”

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COLUMBIA, S.C. — Recording artist Prince makes a $250,000 donation to a nonprofit group that aims to make sure all children in a Columbia  University neighborhood graduate from college.

Prince’s drummer and Columbia-area  native John Blackwell Jr. made the announcement on Tuesday, 4/4/11,  to Eau Claire Promise Zone officials.

The 501c3 Eau Claire Promise Zone is a 12-neighborhood area that is part of the nationwide “Promise Neighborhoods” movement, modeled after the initiatives of Geoffrey Canada and his Harlem Children’s Zone.

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