Tradeshow marketing expert Rich Westerfield has signed off on his TSMI blog. His voice, his thoughts, and his continual pushing against the boundaries of tradeshow business as usual will be missed, but I appreciate that he feels it’s time to move on.

As Rich says in a comment on the Tradeshow Blues Blog:

It’s time for me begin putting those principles into practice on an actual event instead of tossing pebbles at the bedroom windows of the big media show organizers hoping they’ll wake up and notice me standing outside in the dark.

There are two offers I’m currently considering, both of which give me oversight of events and community. One’s an established association, the other would be a launch in a market that’s long overdue for my particular brand of electroshock therapy.

When the time is right for me to re-enter the blogosphere, it won’t be a secret. But for now, it’s time to let go of TSMR and move on.

Here’s to new directions and electroshock therapy—and to making change happen. Now if I want to hear Rich’s ideas, I guess I’ll have to trek to Mt. Lebanon, Pa., and visit him in person at Aldo Coffee, which I hear is the place to be. Good luck and godspeed, Rich.

I just read about a terrific technique for getting unstuck when you’re facing a seemingly insurmountable problem: Ask five “why” questions. From Fast Company Now:

5 why’s exercise:
1. Identify an issue with which you’re currently struggling (e.g. I need to let this person go, I need to increase the sales on this product).
2. Form it into a “why” question (e.g. why haven’t I let this person go yet?, why do we have trouble selling this product?)
3. Brainstorm answers with others (inside and outside your organization).
4. For each answer ask another why question (e.g. we have trouble selling this product because the price point is too high - leads to - why have we kept the price point so high?)
5. Continue this process until you’ve asked (and satisfactorily answered) at least 5 why’s.
6. Obvious answers are often the easiest to miss.

Anyone who’s ever dealt with a little kid has probably been through this routine a bunch of times (and had our ignorance over stuff like why the sky is blue laid bare), but how often do we ask the “why”s behind our work? How often do we do this when we’re in a brainstorming session, or any kind of session, for that matter? This sounds so simple, but it works amazingly well. Why? Funny you should ask…

According to Technorati, $15,807.12. But to me, if it helps just one person, that’s priceless. Have I told you lately how much I appreciate your stopping by? If not, I’ve been remiss. Thank you.