Author, writer and branding consultant
Oakville - Ontario
I am a husband and a father. I am a believer in work/life integration. I am an author, a professional writer and branding consultant who also writes about everyday events. I try always to maintain a childlike sense of wonder and curiosity. I sometimes succeed. I always keep coming back for more.
66 articles
I spent several years as camper, guide, counsellor, and finally program director at Camp Mazinaw. The camp ethos revolved around the canoe. All of us were trained to become confident in our cedar stri...
November 3, 1993 We’d finished off a few pounds of Gordie Howitzer’s Elbows (chicken wings for the uninitiated). Estelle wandered by checking the status of our pints. Homer’s glass was near empty and...
In November of 2016, I produced a bit of honey here that garnered some attention. https://www.bebee.com/producer/@don-kerr/are-the-bebee-waters-getting-choppy-time-to-launch-a-rescue-vessel In the art...
"We spend a great deal of time studying history, which, let's face it, is mostly the history of stupidity." Stephen Hawking Do you have a fascination with history? Do you have a minor interest or does...
This has been such a messed up year with so much filth, so many falsehoods, the legitimization of outright misogyny, the globally-dangerous ravings of a sick man occupying the White House, rampant rac...
November 30, 2017 Just four of Paul Rand's* remarkable logos. “Design is the silent ambassador of your brand.” - Paul Rand* Author in Source Title How do you establish the value of design? How do you...
I posted the following on my site Riding Shotgun ( https://ridingshotgun.squarespace.com/ ) yesterday and posted a link to it as a buzz on beBee. The piece garnered some interesting responses (one in...
It was 1978 when my travels down the road of marketing communications began. That road took me to the villages of advertising, public relations, promotion, public affairs, direct mail, special events,...
A few weeks ago Kate, many of our breast cancer community and I lost a remarkable person and friend Catherine Brunelle. Since her death Kate and I have thought of her every day. There is no morbidity...
Very early on the morning of July 29, 2017 my friend Catherine wrote her last post. Later that day she was gone. Taken so goddamned early. Kate and I met Catherine and her incredible husband Szolt ear...
The shocking acceptance of lies. The embrace of patently false commentary. The awfulness of bare-faced collusion and rampant self interest. The get-richer-at-any-cost approach to public policy. The ad...
Mindfulness is apparently on everyone's radar these days and for good reason. We're increasingly and maddeningly succumbing to the stress we apparently welcome and seek out in our modern-day lives of...
“E quindi uscimmo a riveder le stelle. And so we came forth, and once again beheld the stars.” William Styron © Copyright 2017, Don Kerr, Don Kerr Writes - All rights reserved. don@donkerrwrites.com h...
On November 3, 2011, I received a phone call while waiting in line to pick up my sons, 2 and 4, from school. On the other end of the line was my wife’s GP advising me that Kate had a rare and aggressi...
Second in a series It has been my privilege recently to do some interviewing and copywriting for Burlington Foundation ( http://burlingtonfoundation.org/ ). Through Burlington Foundation’s unique endo...
It has been my privilege recently to do some interviewing and copywriting for Burlington Foundation ( http://burlingtonfoundation.org/ ). Through Burlington Foundation’s unique endowment funds, indivi...
Forty years ago Donald Lytle (a.k.a. Johnny Paycheck recorded ‘ Take this job and shove it ’. ( http://tinyurl.com/kvnynlo )The country & honky tonk artist, (born in that hotbed of country music Green...
Received some good advice the other day from a very unlikely source - someone with whom I have had a few social media altercations. No, it's nobody on beBee so don't start thinking it's you! (Although...
Gonna answer that question in the header right now - my answer is maybe, maybe not but they sure as hell can influence your thinking, enhance your experience of living, and take you places you'd never...
A recent post by my friend Pascal Derrien and the commentary thread, most notably contributions by CityVP 🐝 Manjit and CityVP 🐝 Manjit prompted me to share this perspective on the notion of personal...
How do you help a business successfully undertake a line extension to its brand? How do you leverage current brand equities? How do you wander back into the brand history then transition to tomorrow?...
For members of the Car Hive - I don't have a Morgan. I would like to have one but that's not what this is about. Anyone who writes - professionally or as an enthusiastic hobbyist - will have experienc...
“I have a total irreverence for anything connected with society except that which makes the roads safer, the beer stronger, the food cheaper and the old men and old women warmer in the winter and happ...
Surthrivorship! The word ‘surthrivorship’ may not be a part of your lexicon. If you’ve been a part of the cancer community you will certainly have ‘survivorship’ as part of your regular conversation....
This recent election in the Excited States caused a bit of a ruckus. Don’t know if you knew about it but it was in most of the major papers. (Not that they’re necessarily relevant anymore!) We had a b...
“Use statistics as a drunken man uses lamp posts, for support rather than illumination.” Andrew Lang If you’re expecting a thorough and incisive exploration of quantitative data mixed with qualitative...
Don't walk behind me; I may not lead. Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend. Tomorrow my many American relatives, friends, and colleagues celebrate Thanksgi...
“Let no one be discouraged by the belief that there is nothing one man or one woman can do against the enormous array of the world’s ills against misery and ignorance, injustice and violence…Few of us...
Let me answer my own rhetorical questions: HELL NO! By my count, in the last couple of weeks, there have been a tonne of postings about bullies, trolls, meanies, trumped-up b.s. artists, love bugs, ps...
This is an excerpt from my soon-to-be-published book Riding Shotgun . The reason for posting it now was inspired by Paul Walter's recent article https://www.bebee.com/producer/@paul-walters/when-the-b...
Hello again. It's us! This is the second edition of FSW out loud. The response to our first missive proved popular and we're hopeful you'll find this entertaining, illuminating and worth the few minut...
This will be my last effort on beBee with regard to the Kickstarter campaign encouraging support for the publication of my book Riding Shotgun. The beBee community has proven itself kindly supportive...
This being Thanksgiving weekend in Canada, I am thankful for the 65 backers who support my Kickstarter campaign. As of this moment (October 9, 2016) because of these wonderful people we have attained...
This piece was first published on the Riding Shotgun blog in 2013. It is republished here as part of my effort to raise the necessary funds to publish Riding Shotgun the book. At the time of writing t...
A long time ago, in a land far away called LinkedIn Land - The Kingdom of the Lumpy Hampsters*, I came upon two gentlemen of a similar vintage who were wondrously engaged in spirited conversation and...
The following is an update I posted on Kickstarter today: This Kickstarter experience is new to me. I came into it with enthusiasm and frankly few expectations. I just didn't know what kind of reactio...
Don, give yourself huge credit! You did look at your inner self, your vulnerability from current years to way back to your childhood/ teenage camping trips. We have shared with you how you have change...
As part of my continuing effort to raise C$6,500.00 to enable me to publish my book for cancer patient and/or survivor caregivers, I am sharing a few of the stories in Riding Shotgun. The following wa...
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My Kickstarter campaign has entered its second week and while the first week was encouraging (reached 21% of my goal), there is still a way to go before I can confidently move forward to publication....
Today I publicized the launch of a Kickstarter campaign to support the publication of my book, Riding Shotgun . My friend Randy Kehoe suggested it would be a good idea to share an excerpt from the boo...
Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today. Ben Franklin (probably but he gets credit for lots of stuff that I'm not convinced he really said!) Today I lost a friend. He was my mentor. He was...
With the advent of this new and much welcomed All Business hive, I am taking the liberty of reposting some previously published materials - either from beBee, LI or my own site ( http://donkerrwrites....
The following was first published on my site Riding Shotgun ( https://ridingshotgun.squarespace.com ) on January 4, 2015. I am reposting here as a result of a couple of prompts including my response t...
Jena Ball's superb posting ( https://www.bebee.com/producer/@jena-ball/the-science-of-kindness ) is the inspiration for this post as well as Robert Cormack's contribution to the commentary thread on t...
I am taking the liberty of reposting some previously published articles simply because my fellow Beezer has created this All Business Hive. “On second thought, I think I am more crazy than my goat." R...
Conventional wisdom is the cobbler's children have the worst shoes. During my 30+ years working in the design community I can attest to the validity of that phenomenon in this sector. For an industry...
Shortly after the beBee interview series began, I was asked if there were any bees I particularly wanted to learn more about. There were and right at the top of my list was a fellow from Ireland by th...
Just recently a posting appeared here with a powerful photograph of a wolf pack. The putative point of the article which followed was, to my understanding: a rogue wolf pack is roaming the lands of be...
Just concluded a wonderful eight days in Muskoka with my family. In this photo, I am showing Gabriel that while this huge outcropping of the pre-Cambrian shield appears an inhospitable place for anyth...
The paddle was christened today in the sparkling waters of Lake Muskoka She performed like the true classic beauty she is. I am happy "
Intuitively, few things are more obvious than the existence of free will; intellectually, few things are less obvious. . 1997, 2006 Daniel J. Castellano. All rights reserved. http://www.arcaneknowledg...
As part of the continuing series of getting-to-know-you beBee interviews it is my pleasure to introduce novelist, recovering ad man, traveller and travel writer Paul Walters. At the time of this inter...
"I'm not writing non-fiction. I don't feel anything about me as a kid was unique. Except that I had more interest in being alone and using my imagination." John Irving Do you have a brother? There is...
First published June 19, 2015 on donkerrwrites.squarespace.com Conventional wisdom is the cobbler's children have the worst shoes. During my 30+ years working in the designed communications community...
Yesterday was a day of learning. On the shores of the Credit River we gathered for the first time. Four people from different times and spaces. At first glance perhaps little in common and certainly n...
“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose.You’re on your own, and you know what you know.And you are the guy who’ll decide where to...
An email notification today almost had me launch into a massive rant here. Why? I loathe the automated H.R. email responses to people who have sought employment with a company. I know it is legally so...
It was energizing to join Alan Geller's summer blockbuster party on beBee last night. Lots of fun elements and enjoyed the ongoing dialogue with participants. Alan's party was reflective of what I so...
My late step-mother, Dorothy Kerr, teeing off at Galt Country Club on the occasion of her 100th birthday - club champion and pioneer in securing equal playing rights for women. A long time ago, in a l...
Here's a question for my fellow labourers in the copywriting, marketing communications and design community: can you name the last time you experienced the wonder of working with a perfect client? Yea...
In my work as a copywriter and branding consultant, I enable my clients to present themselves in the most authentic fashion possible to all stakeholders. Authenticity in this regard refers to offering...
Although relatively new to this platform, already beBee impresses me. Not for any whiz-bang technical features or intriguing algorithms. Not because it has opened a door to a much more Continental exp...
“On second thought, I think I am more crazy than my goat.” — Remedios Varo During a meeting this morning with a colleague we got to talking about how corporations spend much time, effort and money def...
More and more quantifiable and quantitative data are emerging that support my long-held belief that engaging in genuine, authentic conversation with customers makes the most significant difference for...
I have been writing about characteristics of effective leadership, branding, communications and design. The following story shows how one company has embraced these principles for commercial success....
