Planner Extraordinaire: Rod Benson

You should read this guy's stuff. If you work with a sports client or in a sports-related industry, you should know Rod Benson. (The Sports Guy has linked to his site in the past.) If you're a planner looking for some inspiration in noticing and/or storytelling, you should look no further than Rod Benson.

Who is Rod Benson? In his words: "Im tall, skinny and athletic. I play professional basketball in the NBA Developmental League, but my aspirations are much higher. I write blogs and make videos for fun because the professional basketball world has left me with quite a lot of free time and, unlike my teammates, I don’t have a wife and kids. Im very much into being grown man in all my current activities. That would include dressing the part and having business cards. I believe in first impressions. I believe in the power of effective communication. I believe that everybody’s got a story --- mine are just usually better. I believe in humor and, as a result, I find myself joking around a lot. Im very creative. I believe that all of my good traits are seen as better because I’m also an athlete. I also believe that all my of bad traits are seen as worse because I’m also an athlete."


Review (using our trusty and comprehensive guide): Closer to Wow! than Hmmn.
Self-aware, intelligent, and a bit arrogant, Rod's got a fresh perspective on the life of an athlete (a D-leaguer/E-list celebrity) and more imporantly knows how to develop "characters"/people and tell an interesting story. Here's one of my favorite recent posts. Read and note his observations from both on and off the court and get insight into himself and others. A quick look at his site, Too Much Rod Benson, proves that he's using planner tools. Here's a guy, I can get enthusiatic about.