One thing is true, cities are defined by great architecture.

From Denver to Dubai, Milwaukee to Bilbao, structures and venues, continue to evolve from cornerstones of economic development to astonishing innovations that are at once transforming.

Our place, is  a beautiful natural amphitheater, uniquely situated on the river front, yet underutilized and undervalued as a center city asset. While the bones exist, inefficient use displaces potentially significant economic and cultural tourism opportunities.

Driven by strong support in principle, our Concept + Analysis leads us to the next step of funding a feasibility study. In concert with with talent of Allied Works, Walker-Macey and ECONorthwest, we’ve set forth to demonstrate the value of a mixed use venue for the benefit or our community and our guests.

In the spirit of Chicago’s Millennium Park we’ve set forth to create a defining destination – a lively center of world-class art, music, architecture and landscape design – a vital and sustainable gathering place that better connects with downtown, provides improved water access and delivers an entertaining, enriching and diverse experience.

We are at a juncture of tremendous opportunity. Now is the time to embrace and support with renewed enthusiasm the value of Waterfront Park as integral to the life of our city: timeless, alive and transforming. Spread the love.

Sometimes things are not always as they appear. When I took this shot I didn’t realize that my result was going to reveal something I hadn’t seen. In marketing, especially now, you cannot afford to “shoot in the dark” and risk results that you hadn’t anticipated. Marketing in a recession requires a hard look at every aspect of your brand and the customer value that you deliver. Attitudes have changed, buying behavior has changed and unless you’re delivering a value proposition that delights your customer, you risk loosing them to someone else. And worse, in today’s connected economy, they can take others with them. Do you really understand your core customer and is your 80/20 strategy being maximized? Are you measuring every aspect of your marketing mix to ensure that your marketing and promotional dollars are specifically targeted to yield the greatest results? Dig deep, look closer, and measure everything. Delivering that unique, relevant and meaningful customer experience will set you on your way to replacing customer satisfaction as a benchmark – with customer delight.

We recently took a road trip to Shasta to visit friends who have a wonderful little cabin in the heart of fly fishing country. Even better they have twin daughters who are about the same age as our twin boys and they certainly hit it off. Great times were had by all but what impressed me most was the enthusiasm of thier young girls to jump in their waders, grab their rods and head out into the river with a strategy for catching fish. And catch they did! Their dad has been a wonderful mentor and he was a patient and effective instructor for my family as well. We all caught fish, learned the proper handling and release back into the water and while the fish took our bugs, we caught the fly fishing bug! It’s a great family sport and we’re all looking forward to getting back on the water!

Summer’s here and time again to plug one of our favorite places for outdoor adventure, great music, stunning scenery and the best micro brews around! With the mighty Deschutes River running right through town, beautiful golf courses, tons of COTA mtn bike trails, Blue Ribbon waters, Mt. Bachelor and the Sisters Wilderness a stones throw away, great shopping, eating and relaxing – Bend, Oregon has something for everyone. And thanks to an epic winter, you can even ski this summer – Bachelor opened for the July 4 weekend and skiers can surely backcountry through the end of the month. If you haven’t experienced Bend – then book a weekend now and if you have – well, we’ll see you on the water, or the course, or Phil’s Trail, or…

Well I just returned from two glorious weeks in the UK with my wife and two of our children, they live there during the school year. And I must say, nothing quite beats springtime in the English countryside when the weather is good! And April was stellar, the Brits were out enjoying a favorite past time – car camping.

The four of us jumped in Gilbert, our ‘72 vw camper van that we got from our friends Julian and Claire and headed south from our place in Forest Row (40miles south of London) following the bank holiday.  What a trip. We had our pick of sites, peaceful, quote beautiful and bird songs galore! We hit the beaches, hiked the countryside and thoroughly welcomed the convenience of Gilbert after an active day.

I’d never done the camper van thing – in the UK is central to the culture, and what a wonderful thing! I wish the US could figure this out – but somehow it just wouldn’t be quite the same. Perhaps it’s the zen of the British way that make the experience so nice – that or the fact that we were virtually alone in these beautiful fields.

Next time you’re planning a tour of England – let me know and I’ll hook you up with Julian and Claire!

This has been a week of outdoors – first a visit to Beddis Farm on Salt Spring Island in Canada where we’re helping the Grant Callagari Woodland Workshop ramp up for its first season of classes in traditional crafts. Grant is one of the most creative guys I’ve ever met – a wealth of knowledge when it comes to sustainable living. Check out Grant’s website at http://woodlandworkshop.blogspot.com/

Spent a day on Hood skiing terrific conditions – it snowed all day and was just spectactular, then to Bend where I skied a foot of fresh on Mt. Bachelor – snowing in the morning, clearing to blue bird in the afternoon! Wow – what a day.

I now leave for Sun Valley to participate in the National Ski Hall of Fame festivities where all of us old freedoggers will be recognized as the founding mothers and fathers of the sport! Should be a lot of fun and looking forward to seeing many old friends who I competed with and have not seen for years!

Two entirely disparate stories about what can be done.

Greg Mortenson’s book, Three Cups of Tea, is the story of how one man’s failed attempt to summit K2 – to honor the memory of his sister – led to a life changing mission to build schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan. After 70 days on the mountain, Mortenson is separated from his porter on the descent and staggers, exhausted into the small village of Korphe. As a gesture of gratitude for their display of humility and compassion, Mortenson promises to return to Korphe to build a school – and he does. Seventeen years later, Greg’s Central Asia Institute has built 171 schools providing education to over 64,000 children including 54,000 girls where few opportunities existed before.

U2 by U2 on the other hand, is the story of absolute dedication and commitment by a band of boys who would become the biggest band on the planet. A self-narrative by Bono, Edge, Larry and Adam – from their humble beginnings, literally knowing not a chord between them, to their their slow but steady rise to super stardom. Like no other band in history, U2 has revolutionized the way we experience live performance, challenged us to toward social activism, rallied against injustice and defined the age we live in. The message is the music and the music the message.

Two different stories on the surface, but at the end of the day what Greg Mortenson and U2 bring to bear is a commitment to use their skills to make a difference in the world, to do the right thing, to create a life’s work for the greater good.

As consumers remain tentative, proactive retailers are creating relevant in-store experiences that have lasting impact on brand equity.

Shopper marketing is the next evolutionary stage in strategic retail marketing, and a mandatory component of effective consumer marketing in general. Retailers who are serious about building stronger relationships with shoppers cannot avoid the inevitable: the strongest relationships are personal.

Retailers exploring in-store shopper marketing events should consider how properly staged events will reinforce the brand/store/customer relationship, elevate brand perception and drive incremental sales across multiple categories.

And a cause related element will gain even more traction – a recent study surveyed more than 1,000 consumers online and found that 58% of respondents would be “very likely” to participate (or buy a product that benefitted a cause) if there is in-store signage explaining the charity and why the cause is important; 64% are “very likely” to participate if a product is branded with a cause. Conversely, the study found that respondents are “indifferent” to large advertising campaigns surrounding a cause and that a celebrity endorsement on in-store materials doesn’t impact consumer participation with a cause. Additional findings include:

• Nearly 80% of respondents are likely to participate if a company matches the donation.
• Only 38% are likely to donate when asked at the register.
• Nearly 70% are willing to travel up to 11 minutes to a specific store that champions a cause they believe in.

These points clearly underscore the value of retailer/manufacturer collaboration and transformative effect that a well defined shopper marketing strategy can have on profitability.

Successfully integrating customer engagement with path to purchase is based on one simple truth – Elevating the customer experience to a new, higher level – the human level, will effectively heighten appeal at the first two moments of truth: store and product.

Watch this – At the end of the day, it’s about perspective…

For Keen Footwear, HybridLife has been their brand platform – defining the outdoors as anywhere without a ceiling and encouraging us to create, play and care. Here’s a company that has, from the beginning, been guided by doing the right thing – the outdoor lifestyle runs in their blood, yes it’s a part of their DNA, but hasn’t the whole DNA thing become a bit overused? I’ve been close to Keen for awhile, I know the people who run the business and we’re proud of their contribution to what makes Portland great. Up until the other day, I couldnt’ quite put my finger on what I thought the zen of Keen really was. Sure, everyone’s getting greener, reducing their footprint, contributing to their communities but when I met with them the other day – it came clear. It was the word humility. A guiding principle that’s not a shout out. Google humility in business and you’ll find, well not much. Maybe it’s time to take a lesson from Keen.