About Hidden in Plain Sight

After spending many decades learning how brands shape human behavior, I watched in fascination as those same design principles transformed American politics. The techniques I’d used to sell products were now selling presidents and policies, and doing it remarkably well.

I’ve helped build and refresh brands for Fortune 500 companies, tech startups, and everything in between. I’ve seen firsthand how effective branding can turn ordinary products or people into objects of desire, and how it can make complex decisions feel simple and intuitive. Now I’m watching these same tools reshape our democracy as well as our culture, often without our awareness or understanding.

This newsletter isn’t about changing your views – it's about revealing the hidden machinery of modern persuasion. Each week, I’ll draw from my professional experience to decode the brand strategies being deployed in American politics and related cultural issues. We’ll explore everything from visual psychology to value propositions, from storytelling to social proof. Think of it as a friendly peek behind the curtain of potent image making.

My goal is to help you recognize these powerful influences, whether you lean left, right, or center. Understanding how brands work won’t make you immune to their effects, but it will help you make more conscious choices. In a time of unprecedented political division, I believe that understanding how we are being influenced is the first step toward reclaiming our agency as voters.

If you want even more details about my experience or the books I’ve co-authored, you’ll find them on LinkedIn. As for my personal life, I enjoy my privacy, am repelled by excessive drama or alarmist behaviors, and spend as much time in nature as I possibly can. I welcome deep, meaningful conversations but I also have a healthy appetite for laughter and good times. The people I follow on this platform often deliver both which I appreciate.