The dinner conversation sounded like a children's card game of Go Fish. "Do you have a client survey program?" one asked. The next, "Do you have a business-development coach?" Then, "Do you have a branding initiative?" And so it went. There were five of us at dinner. All marketing folks. After a glass or two of the local pinot noir, the game of Go Fish was running out of steam. Often, three or four of us found a match, and we exchanged war stories on the topic. Once in a while a success story stood out, but the usual tale was a compromise--something or someone got in the way of a true, base-clearing home run.
