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Ideas at Work – How to Be Discerning With Disruptive Technology
People often associate me and my football career with scrambling. But what people might not realize is that’s not how I played in high school or college; I developed that style when I arrived in the NFL, and it came from a very specific need. In my rookie season, the inaugural season for the…
Ideas at Work – NFTs and Intellectual Property
I learned very early in my life that I don’t know everything. When I want to learn about something, I seek out someone who is a real expert, I ask questions, and I listen. It’s a simple formula that’s proven successful. During my NFL days, I tried my best to be a sponge for learning—and…
Ideas at Work – Developing a Deep Bench
In the 2000 NFL Draft, the New England Patriots decided to select a quarterback in the 6th round. That late in the draft, they weren’t looking for a starter; they already had former #1 pick Drew Bledsoe. They didn’t even need a backup; they had two other quarterbacks on the roster, too. But head…
Ideas at Work – AI: Hope or Hype?
One of my favorite parts of being an NFL quarterback was getting to install the offense every year during training camp. Football is a constant chess match between offenses and defenses, and there were some truly exceptional defenses during that era, so it was a real challenge to find ways to beat them. During my…
Ideas at Work – It’s Time to Be a Front-Facing Leader Again
On the wall in my office I have a framed picture of one of the great mentors of my life: Sam Walton, the founder of Walmart. He was one of the greatest business leaders to ever live, and I had the great fortune to get to know him and see how he did things. Everything…
Ideas at Work – Six Ways to Make Your Marketing Budget Go Further in a Recession
My first NFL coach was Norm van Brocklin and he was a Hall of Fame quarterback. But he was a pocket quarterback. It was 1961. Nobody was a scrambler. I came up and I was a mobile quarterback. I would buy myself time running back and forth or up and down and so forth. I…
Ideas at Work – Marketing to Gen-Z Business Owners
When I was drafted into the NFL, just 21 years old, I wanted to learn, and that meant making connections with other quarterbacks. When we were playing the Bears, I requested a meeting with the legendary Hall of Fame quarterback Sid Luckman, who had won several championships in the 1940s. He took the time to…
Ideas at Work – Doing More With Less
It’s the off-season for the NFL, what some folks call “the business season.” That’s when owners and general managers have to make some really tough choices on which players they can afford to keep—and which ones they have to let go. Businesses across the country are facing a similar problem. Even the largest, most successful…
Thinking About Trends
Tarkenton partner, and Helpfully CEO, Zach Pousman, gives insights into how an effective innovation team can discover trends and take advantage of timely market opportunities.
Innovation in the Businesses Services Industry
Watch as Zach Pousman, our research, strategy, and design partner, takes us through how Tarkenton uses innovative strategies to help enterprise partners reach and serve small business clients.