marketing minute

I went to a small private Catholic school until 4th grade back in the North Hills of Pittsburgh. I remember walking up hill both ways

I think we all remember the story of one especially snowy night when Santa needed someone to step up and lead his group of talented

  Everybody beats to a different drum, and we really are all victims of our upbringing. For instance, my kids, who were born in Indianapolis,

I’ve not been able to substantiate that those words were ever said about Arland D. Williams, Jr. back on January 13, 1982, but rumor has

Jeff Pinyot My 26-year-old daughter, Caroline, (she’s single guys, and beautiful) has introduced us to something I vowed would never happen in my life. It’s

Jeff Pinyot   Had Washington Irving’s Rip Van Winkle fallen asleep in the year 2002 and woke up in 2023, he might have thought he

September, 2023 Jeff Pinyot   When I hear the word “legacy”, my mind wanders in 1,000 different directions. I’m a fan of tennis so it

After my mother’s death, my father, at age 89, informed us that he wasn’t quite done being married yet and proceeded to marry Judy, a

With another High School reunion coming up this year for me, I was mentally reliving a few memorable moments and lessons learned during my growing

One of the amazing differences between animals and humans is our need to be able to receive and to extend the gift of love. We’ve

What a week. I didn’t follow NCAA basketball much this year despite a surprisingly good season by my Pittsburgh Panthers. Picked to finish last in

My editor reached out to me today and asked for next month’s submission. This guy is a slave driver, keeping his columnists busy all the

As part of Steelers Nation, every time I fly and travel through airports, I see how Steelers Nation represents. Have you ever noticed how many

Sometimes it seems like we are out of our minds living in the Midwest with its hot humid summers and bitter cold winters. Despite those

I decided to see if it was possible for me to write an article that offended NOBODY. Yes, not a single person. Could I write about

Recently I’ve heard from a couple of readers who have been wondering why a column like “Marketing Minute,” that has nothing to do with parking,

Bright (on Netflix) is a creative movie that focuses on the relationship between two cops: Ward, a human played by Will Smith (he’s never made

I love to write about my children. Recently I wrote about my son JP, about to graduate from Purdue University. Today, it’s Justin who’s on my

We don’t have a swimming pool. That’s not really a big deal, except when it’s 90+ degrees on a hot, muggy and sweltering Indiana summer

Arriving at Lake Tahoe for dinner with a client the other evening, our carload of six descended into Incline Village, an affluent community on the

Will we ever return to normal again? Who’s to say that we were ever normal anyway? When we expect a nation, governed by flawed people

As college graduation approaches for my third son, JP, a flood of memories return. Jonathan (his birth name) like so many young kids, made his

As a child back in Pittsburgh, I awoke one Sunday morning to the commotion of my family members who had gathered around our black and

I bet I can get your heart rate up without exercising. Ponder these:  • Your child seems to be acting a little distant these days. I

After what seems like forever, I made my way to Pittsburgh to see the family and most importantly, my father Ernie. Dad is a newlywed

A client called me late yesterday as I was leaving the office for the day. I saw the California number on the screen and I knew

When they settled the estate of my Fifth Great Grandmother, there was no money to be shared among the descendants. All we have left to

“Mack” and three of his children went on a camping trip to Wallowa Lake. Stopping on the way at Multnomah Falls, the unthinkable happened. While

One more to go and then the house empties out. I’ll believe that when I see it. Justin is our last at home. Our 6’4”

It was June 1, 1979. The Pittsburgh Pirates were climbing out of fourth place in the National League East. Having won the last five games

I guess if you just spent 17 years underground, you would have big bulging red eyes as well. Imagine living 17 years as a larva, in

Tonight, as I was working in the yard, I was remembering my Grandpa Pinyot. Actually, it was Grandpa Pignat (pronounced the same as my last

I’m back to traveling again for business. I have often written the Marketing Minutes while in flight, but it’s been a while since that has

A friend of mine at Trane, where I spent 24 years of my professional life, was a bass player for the musician Boz Scaggs before he

I meet with my old friend Bob as often as possible for coffee on Tuesday mornings. Bob is a good balance in my life. He is

Recently, risking life and limb, I found myself on an airplane. My row-mate across the open middle seat was a gentleman close to my age.

Karr, a French novelist from the late 1800s is credited with this quote. I guess this is kind of like looking at life through “rose

I was never interested in joining a fraternity during my days at Pitt. Greek Life wasn’t big at Pitt and we had Dan Marino quarterbacking one

I read today that Adobe will move forward on their new 1.3M square-foot North Office Tower in San Jose despite the uncertainty caused by the current

Years ago, I penned an article called, “Oh, to Live on Mackinac”. The article was about the visionaries who legislated a ban on motorized vehicles

I like to puzzle. Often during holidays, our family will put up a card table and put a difficult jigsaw puzzle out to complete over the

If I say, “I’ll be there for you”, you think…Friends, the hugely popular TV sitcom. If I say, “You want to go where everybody knows

Years ago, when my children were young, like most children, they had a fascination for lemonade stands and the childish entrance into the enticing world

Before the invention of the telegraph, getting an important message across any sort of distance took days, weeks, and even months. The first telegraph message

Only in America can a Disney announce massive closings and see their stock value increase by 10 percent. It pretty much defines our upside-down thinking

I’m about to butcher this true story, but it’s impossible to fact check, so go with me on this. The events are true, the moral

I hit yet another big milestone last week in birthdays. It’s no big deal to me, personally, but sometimes I wonder when my age will limit

I’ve written about Larry the shoeshine guy at Midway Airport in Chicago, and Gerald, from the Phoenix Airport. I can’t imagine the untapped resources that

In my travels recently, I met a long-haired artist at a coffee shop in Santa Monica. I sat in judgement of him for a while

The notion of celebrating failure is foreign to most of us. I should be one that understands it well, since I’ve had so much experience

In a world of perks, few are more valuable for a traveling business person than A-List on Southwest Airlines. It doesn’t seem possible that one

Growing up middle class in Pittsburgh had us living in a pretty small house for a Catholic family of seven. I am the youngest of

A few years ago, after a parking trade show in Denver, Dave Packard and I realized that we had made an error with our flights. The

I love Uber. I’ve never even tried Lyft. I’m also Uber about small business. I’m Uber excited about supporting risk takers and hard workers. You can

(Editor’s Note: Jeff has slightly overstated PIE’s exit from Chicago. We will return. We just need to find a venue and date that fits the

My fourth son, Justin is a great soccer player. We are doing something that we said we would never do: Travel Soccer. We are one

The Greek philosopher Heraclitus is credited for this saying, “Change is the only constant in life”. As a father of four, change is all I

I grew up skiing. I hated it when I was young. I’m so old now that I swear I’ve seen my skis hanging on the wall

It was family night. Ruth figured that we all needed to be together last Friday night, so she scheduled us all to go see Mary

I think it’s safe to say that we are all creatures of habit. We do things that we are comfortable doing and we do them in

It happened, we lost! Holy Cow, 10-12, we lost to a school we beat 55-0 last year. In the infinite wisdom of our Heritage Christian

It’s troubled times for four men in Indianapolis a few weeks ago. Three will serve hard time, 5 years and beyond. Their crime? They weren’t

Jeff’s mother passed away in July after a cancer diagnosis. More than 500 people attended her memorial service. She changed every life she touched. JVH

I have children, or better yet, I have young adults. That doesn’t win me any awards or earn me a PHD. I am the first to

Something happened to me years ago. I went to bed one night one way, and woke up the next morning a different person, a different

Our town of Fishers, which has recently become a city, mayor and all, has the best Farmers Market. (We also now have an Ikea and

I’ve threatened for years that the lessons learned in starting and developing my company are the makings of a book, either a How To or

A good friend of mine is going through some pretty difficult times these days. Life, as he planned, and dreamed, just doesn’t seem to be happening.

People are often surprised that I sometimes take on controversial subjects and am not afraid to challenge someone. My response is this: If you read

Editor’s note: This month, PT Columnist Jeff Pinyot steps aside in favor of his son, Jonathan. The high school senior found himself embroiled in a

I was able to attend some of the recent Temecula Group meeting in Los Angeles ahead of the NPA conference in Palm Springs. It doesn’t take

I was sharing with one of my colleagues today about something I did with the high school lacrosse team that I coached for many years. Annually,

I run into the coolest people wherever I go. I haven’t always noticed them, I’m sad to say, so I’ve missed so many great opportunities

I’m at that age … over 50. Bob Buford wrote a book called “Halftime.” He describes someone’s life as the First Half and the Second

A friend of mine insisted that I meet his young friend Clark. Clark has an innovative spirit and is working on a product that my friend

When did the word “vendor” take on a negative connotation? As vendors, at parking conventions we wear name tags different from the regular attendees’. We

The shuttle from the Airport Hilton in Irvine, CA, leaves on the half hour, delivering weary travelers simply across the street to John Wayne Airport.

The 2017 Parking Industry Exhibition (PIE) is coming next month, and I thought it appropriate to give a shout-out to John Van Horn and his

Here is my riddle (don’t pre-judge me): I have four children from three different women and three of my children are from unplanned pregnancies. Your

My 88-year-old mother and I drove to Chicago together the other day. Well, not really, but kind of really. I was in my car on

What should strike fear in my heart just makes me wonder what is really around the corner. JVH sent me an email this morning asking

If you know me, I don’t know a stranger. It’s kind of my calling card. Over the years, I’ve encountered many famous people in airports

 Almost every time I travel through our nation’s airports, I look to get a shoeshine. I value the tradition that these men continue, a glimpse

 I’m finding myself surrounded by sadness recently. Profound sadness. When time is running out, we often wish we had done things differently. Case in point

 I recently sat on a panel where the subject was “Ethics in Parking.” Many of us woke up quite early after a late night in

 People define who you are. You really are whom you hang out with and call friends.  For decades, throughout my career, I’ve sought to do

 The atmosphere last night was electric, the evening air was crisp, and the lights on the field were still warming up as the sun left

 I live in a pretty pathetic neighborhood as far as neighborly relationships go. It’s not what I had hoped for when Ruth and I built

 Nearly nine years ago, I left a comfortable, well-paid position with a company to which I gave 24 years of my prime. My 24 years

 I am excited to return to writing my monthly column, The Marketing Minute. Thank you PT for giving me the opportunity to share my twisted

 Recently my wife and I returned home from a trip to the U.S. Virgin Islands. As I was returning home, I was reflecting back on

In Marketing Minute, I attempt to share a story or thought from my sales, marketing, parenting, etc. experiences. But – “Warning! Warning! Danger, Will Robinson!”