Elizabeth Kanna
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  • Playbook in Practice: Joe DiMaggio and Jeff Walker

    Playbook in Practice: Joe DiMaggio and Jeff Walker

    Is it possible to give it all to everything you do?

    A few months back I wrote a blog post to mark the anniversary of Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak. In the post, I shared what I consider to be the key elements of Joe DiMaggio’s Playbook: a “Give It All” mindset, a commitment to excellence, creating a streak/consistency, and the importance of grace in both your behavior and contribution to others.

    The post resonated with a lot of my readers, friends, and associates. That wasn’t a surprise because, after all, it was about one of the most iconic figures in our cultural history. What did surprise me was that I got the same two questions again and again:

    1. How do you give it all to everything you do?
    2. How can I pull these ideals into my life and take action on them? Especially in today’s complex and over-committed world?

    (more…)

  • Learning, Creating, and My Lifelong Revolt Against “Self-Help”

    Learning, Creating, and My Lifelong Revolt Against “Self-Help”

    Far too often in my younger life, I would eagerly share something I’d just discovered — maybe it was a new book, an innovative idea, or even just a different way to approach something I was already doing — only to encounter eye rolls from older family members. I was talking about “self-help” and they didn’t want anything to do with it.

    Even my immediate family members reacted as though learning was a fixed target that they’d already reached: They’d completed the required curriculum for adulthood and a career, graduated, and had no need to go even one step farther. And so my ideas were rejected with a simple “Why would I need that now?”

    The message I received? People that kept looking for new ways to improve themselves weren’t happy with their lives. The underlying belief was that “self-help” equated whining. Personal growth was part of the nefarious self-help category — a new-age pursuit at best. And the notion that we should always pursue learning sounded like a great way to get out of chores. Even at a young age, I knew I fundamentally disagreed with their definition.

    I decided that brand of thinking would stop with me.
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  • The Streak and the Legacy: The Joe DiMaggio Guide to Becoming a Dominant Player

    The Streak and the Legacy: The Joe DiMaggio Guide to Becoming a Dominant Player

    Mud made Joe DiMaggio mortal on July 17, 1941.

    It was only six blocks from the hotel to Cleveland’s Municipal Stadium, but Joe DiMaggio and Lefty Gomez knew they’ve never make it through the crowds on foot, so they hailed a 20-cent taxi ride to the ballpark. The stadium was packed with 67,000 fans. All of America—from rural countryside to the big city, in roadside diners and five-star restaurants, ranch hands, store owners, executives, and homemakers—was caught up in Joltin’ Joe DiMaggio’s hitting streak and anxiously awaited to learn via newspapers and radio broadcasts if “he got a hit.”

    It had rained all morning, and the ground was muddy. Joe had to knock the mud from his cleats.

    “Ground’s still wet,” he told himself. “Footing isn’t the best.”

    It was game 57 of Joe DiMaggio’s hitting streak. A streak that had captured the nation’s collective attention during a very dark time in history. A streak that would transform the young New York Yankee into an American Icon.

    In the eighth inning, Joe stepped to the plate, and even the Cleveland fans cheered. He was 0 for 2 on the day, having already sent two shots down the left field line and into Cleveland third baseman Ken Keltner’s glove. This at-bat would be Dimaggio’s last chance to keep the streak alive. After taking two balls and a strike, Dimaggio hit a grounder to shortstop Lou Boudreau. Despite a last-second hop, Boudreau grabbed the ball and threw Joltin’ Joe out at first to end the 56-game hitting streak that would be etched into baseball history. 75 years later, one of the most famous records in sports remains unbroken.

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  • A Tuft Story

    A Tuft Story

    When a company makes you feel that you do, in fact, matter to them and that your issues are their issues, you feel valued. It’s as if you are their biggest client or customer. It’s hard for most large companies to treat customers and clients as though they’re VIPs and make them feel valued, but the great ones find a way. Here’s an example of one that did.

    We decided to purchase a mattress from Tuft and Needle. I had high expectations, both of the company that was disrupting the mattress industry and of the mattress itself: American-made using quality fabric from a 90-year-old textile mill; proprietary adaptive foam; free shipping directly to your home in a box so small that it provided a bit of fun theatre in and of itself. All that and a 100-night trial.

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  • There Is No “Go Viral” Button

    There Is No “Go Viral” Button

    We live in a connection economy, where trust and attention are both scarce and sought after. “Going viral” is today’s equivalent of striking gold, and tips for how to do it are heralded by clickbait promises such as, “Blog Post Formula That Will Guarantee Your Post Goes Viral”; “The 10 Keywords That Will Make Your Tweets Go Viral”; or The 5-Step Program to Going Viral on YouTube”.

    With articles like these becoming ubiquitous, it’s not at all surprising that otherwise rational people who aren’t digital marketing or brand-building professionals ask their marketing team to “make something go viral”. Read More