This is more difficult than it sounds. To some people, it means admitting you were wrong. (But of course, you weren't wrong. You made a decision based on one set of facts, but now you're aware of something new.) To... | Continue reading
If you're sharing a cab to the airport with a stranger, what happens if he's two inches taller than you? Probably nothing. There's nothing to distract, or to cause discomfort. You make small talk. What if he's a little shorter... | Continue reading
We've been planning this one for months... On Saturday, December 10, I'll be running an all-day session in New York. You can find all the details and tickets by visiting this site. I want to connect you to other people... | Continue reading
Sir Kensington's Ketchup is better ketchup. Most adults who try it agree that it's more delicious, a better choice. Alas, Heinz has a host of significant advantages, including dominant shelf space, a Proustian relationship with our childhood and unlimited money... | Continue reading
The things that break all at once aren’t really a problem. You note that they’ve broken, and then you fix them. The challenge is corrosion. Things that slowly fade, that eventually become a hassle--it takes effort and judgment to decide... | Continue reading
Most of us need an external stimulus to do our best work. It helps to have an alarm clock if you want to get out of bed before dawn. A presentation. A deadline. A live performance. The threat of foreclosure,... | Continue reading
You're trying to get through all the noise and the distraction and the clutter with your message. Here's the thing: You are the noise and the distraction and the clutter. Just because it's important to you doesn't mean it's important... | Continue reading
if we chose to: Get better at setting and honoring deadlines Help one more person, each day Sit in the front row Ask a hard question every time we go to a meeting Give more and take less Learn to... | Continue reading
What if the fear and malaise and anger isn't merely being reported by cable news... What if it's being caused by cable news? What if ubiquitous video accompanied by frightening and freaked out talking heads is actually, finally, changing our... | Continue reading
Everything you're working on is an investment in tomorrow. While we can choose to enjoy the process, the end result is always at the end of an arc, always the result of many steps, of earning trust, of building a... | Continue reading
When creating a layout, designers put low-resolution, imperfect, non-final images, all marked "for position only." They exist to help the client understand the gestalt of the piece and to give feedback. They're temporary, parts of a whole ready to be... | Continue reading
It's almost impossible to walk past a spewing faucet without stopping and trying to turn it off. We can't bear to see the waste. But our organizations leak all the time. The talented people who don't stick with the job... | Continue reading
"I" as in me, you, us, the person who's on the line. This is the work of a human. The audience can make a direct connection between you and the thing you're offering. "Made" because it took effort, originality and... | Continue reading
That would be today. And every day, if you're up for it. The things that change our lives (and the lives of others) are rarely the long-scheduled events, the much-practiced speeches or the annual gala. No, it's almost certain that... | Continue reading
get really good at what you do. You have nearly unlimited strategic choices and options about your career and what your organization does. Which means you can focus on doing things you are truly good at. Or, if a particular... | Continue reading
Years ago, I asked fabled direct marketer Joe Sugarman about the money-back guarantee he offered on the stuff he sold through magazine ads. He said 10% of the people who bought asked for their money back... and if any product... | Continue reading
One seductive brand position is the posture of being indomitable. Unable to be subdued, incapable of loss, the irresistible force and the immovable object, all in one. The public enjoys rooting for this macho ideal. Superman in real life, but... | Continue reading
Most companies seek to be more profitable. They seek to increase their Key Performance Indicators. More referrals, more satisfaction, more loyalty. They seek to increase their market share, their dividends, their stock price. But ethics? In fact, most companies strive... | Continue reading
Weasel words damage trust. And weasels are worth avoiding. There are two traps to look out for: Promotional weasel words. Every experienced marketing copywriter knows how to use them. "As much as half off," means, "There is at least one... | Continue reading
The problem with taking all we can get away with is that we fail to invest in a cushion, in goodwill, in a reserve for when things don't go the way we expect. Short-term thinking pays no attention to the... | Continue reading
Okay, you don't like what your boss did yesterday or last week or last month. But today, right now, sitting across the table, what's happening? Narrating our lives, the little play-by-play we can't help carrying around, that's a survival mechanism.... | Continue reading
In medical school, an ongoing lesson is that there will be ongoing lessons. You're never done. Surgeons and internists are expected to keep studying for their entire career—in fact, it's required to keep a license valid. Knowledge workers, though, the... | Continue reading
Every decision we make changes things. The people we befriend, the examples we set, the problems we solve... Sometimes, if we're lucky, we get to glimpse those ripples as we stand at the crossroads. Instead of merely addressing the urgency... | Continue reading
Running a business is a lot more important than starting one. Choosing and preparing for the job you'll do for the next career is a much more important task than getting that job. Serving is more important than the campaign.... | Continue reading
Every year, we spend more than a trillion dollars worth of time and attention on organized spectator sports. The half-life of a sporting event is incredibly short. Far more people are still talking about the Godfather movie or the Nixon... | Continue reading
Somehow, at least in our culture, we find relief when others are anxious too. So we spread our anxiety, stoking it in other people, looking for solace in the fear in their eyes. And thanks to the media, to the... | Continue reading
When you find a trick, a shortcut, a hack that gets you from here to there without a lot of sweat or risk, it's really quite rewarding. So much so that many successful people are hooked on the trick, always... | Continue reading
If you can learn it, it's a skill. If it's important, but innate, it's a talent. The thing is, almost everything that matters is a skill. If even one person is able to learn it, if even one person is... | Continue reading
New podcast with Brian Koppelman Classic podcast with Krista Tippett Unmistakable Creative from 2015 And a video of Creative Mornings and their podcast The Your Turn book continues to spread. Have you seen it yet? Early-bird pricing on the huge... | Continue reading
Sometimes we confuse strength with: Loudness Brusqueness An inability to listen A resistance to seeing the world as it is An unwillingness to compromise small things to accomplish big ones Fast talking Bullying External unflappability Callousness Lying Policies instead of... | Continue reading
There's no doubt that the big fish gets respect, more attention and more than its fair share of business as a result. The hard part of being a big fish in a little pond isn't about being the right fish.... | Continue reading
Your reputation has as much impact on your life as what you actually do. Early assumptions about you are sticky and are difficult to change. The single best way to maintain your reputation is to do things you're proud of.... | Continue reading
If you need to add a word to the dictionary, it's pretty clear where it goes. The dictionary is a handy reminder of how taxonomies work. The words aren't sorted by length, or frequency or date of first usage. They're... | Continue reading
Is the freegiver advantage. Freeloaders, of course, are people who take more than they give, drains on the system. But the opposite, the opposite is magical. These are the people who feed the community first, who give before taking, who... | Continue reading
Reality and rational thought have paid more dividends in the last century than ever before. Science-based medicine has dramatically increased the lifespan and health of people around the world. Vaccines have prevented millions of children from lifelong suffering and even... | Continue reading
I know what the price tag says. But what does it cost? Does it need dry cleaning? What does it eat? How long does the training take? What happens when it breaks? Where will I store it? What's the productivity... | Continue reading
The architect refuses to design the big, ugly building that merely maximizes short term revenue. She understands that raising the average is part of her job. The surgeon refuses to do needless surgery, no matter how much the client insists.... | Continue reading
It's ever more tempting to put on the (metaphorical) clown suit. It allows you to provoke with impunity. Clowns enjoy a different relationship with the laws of physics. You can spray someone in the face with a seltzer bottle, hit... | Continue reading
This project you’re working on, the new business or offering, what sort of value does it create? Who is it for? What mindset and worldview and situation? Is it paid for by organizations or individuals? Does it solve a new... | Continue reading
I have no idea if the bottom of the Hudson River is smooth or not. I know that on a calm day, the surface is like glass. One reason to lower the water level of a system you count on... | Continue reading
The Grand Canyon wasn't created by an earthquake. While it's tempting to imagine that the world changes via sudden shocks, that our culture is shifted by dramatic changes in leadership, that grand gestures make all the difference... It turns out... | Continue reading
Just because it's dark it doesn't mean we're underground. It often means that no one has bothered to turn on any lights. | Continue reading
Not because it will sell. Not because it's on the test. Not because it's your job. Merely because you can. The alternative (waiting for the world to align in a way that permits you to make something great) is hardly... | Continue reading
Here's how we've organized traditional schooling: You're certain to have these classes tomorrow. The class will certainly follow the syllabus. There will certainly be a test. If you do well on the test, you will certainly go on to the... | Continue reading
When two things offer simply the same appropriate level of function, we'll choose the cheap one. But if one offers more connection than the other, it is worth more. This hotel over that one. Where is the tribe, do people... | Continue reading
Some people collect old cars or trade baseball cards. I'm more interested in holding something I have a real connection with, something with ideas that have changed me. I've written in the past about luxury goods and the value of... | Continue reading
A commodity is a product or a service that no one cared enough about to market. Marketing creates value, by combining stories, design and care. The product or service is produced in a way that makes engaging with the item... | Continue reading
If your work has never been criticized, it's unlikely you have any work. Creating work is the point, though, which means that in order to do something that matters, you're going to be criticized. If your goal is to be... | Continue reading