Cars aren’t like companies. Most cars on the road will be sold, again and again, until they end up as parts. Companies usually start and end with their founders. Sometimes, a small, stable company is sold to an individual operator, usually for a multiple of the expected annual pr … | Continue reading
Someone said that to me the other day and it was heartbreaking. The number of tasks in our culture that require someone who was born with off-the-charts talent is small indeed. Just about everythin… | Continue reading
Someone said that to me the other day and it was heartbreaking. The number of tasks in our culture that require someone who was born with off-the-charts talent is small indeed. Just about everything else we need people to do is the result of effort, practice and care. It’s true t … | Continue reading
Big companies act like big companies. We don’t take them seriously when they say they care, because there is no “they.” When they send a holiday card or an email, we don’t r… | Continue reading
The closer we look at what other people believe and do, the more clear it is that our view of the world doesn’t precisely match theirs. It never has, but now it’s magnified. The things … | Continue reading
When abundance showed up, first in manufactured goods, then in information, it all seemed like a simple win. More of what we want, thanks. But of course, more of too many things is too much. We are… | Continue reading
When abundance showed up, first in manufactured goods, then in information, it all seemed like a simple win. More of what we want, thanks. But of course, more of too many things is too much. We are leaving the age of information and entering the age of choice. Not just choosing w … | Continue reading
That’s what it said on the side of the tractor-trailer on the highway. Since 1924, they’re almost 100 years old. But it’s unlikely that it’s everyone’s favorite. Being everyone’s favorite is such an attractive goal, and almost impossible to achieve. Ask someone about their favori … | Continue reading
Without a doubt, the world has become more connected, noisier and more complex. But along the way, we’re still applying our instincts from a century ago, from a planet of villages and different expectations. Rhetorical questions worth considering as we think about what’s normal. … | Continue reading
Big companies act like big companies. We don’t take them seriously when they say they care, because there is no “they.” When they send a holiday card or an email, we don’t really think it was from a person we could connect with. Individuals act like individuals. When they write u … | Continue reading
I’m not sure we have a common word for this. “Yes” can mean, “yes, I’m prepared to do the minimum” or it could mean, “yes, this commitment is something I wholeheartedly embrace and will devote myself to exceeding expectations at every turn.” Life’s way better if we find partnersh … | Continue reading
Satisfaction is often driven by the story we tell ourselves. How does this rank compared to what I expected? Compared to what I used to have? Compared to the person sitting next to me? The richest person in the world used to sleep on the floor and eat moldy food, but still felt g … | Continue reading
The optic nerve dominates. It’s piped directly into our brains and uses a lot of processing power to help us discern the world through vision. As a result, it’s louder than our other senses and often outshouts the rest of our brain. That’s why it’s easy to be fooled by a magician … | Continue reading
The closer we look at what other people believe and do, the more clear it is that our view of the world doesn’t precisely match theirs. It never has, but now it’s magnified. The things we thought were a given, aren’t. No one believes what I believe, not exactly. How is it possibl … | Continue reading
You might want to make something that a lot of people want a little… Or you could make something that a few people want a lot. It’s usually neither. It’s rarely (very rarely) both. If you work hard and make intentional choices, though, you might end up with one or the other. … | Continue reading
The phone in your pocket cost $600, but that was two years ago, so now, it seems to be free and fully paid for. The upgrade has a slightly better camera and a slightly faster processor. Here’s the question: “If you could have chosen between the phone you have now and the phone yo … | Continue reading
If, every time there’s a dish in the sink, you load and run the dishwasher and scrub the entire kitchen, you’re never going to get anything else done. On the other hand, if you wait until the sink is overflowing and the kitchen is filthy before you work on it, you’re going to spe … | Continue reading
What do the dishwashers eat for lunch? What’s the user experience of accounts payable for that big tech company? How does the head of sales treat the receptionist? If it’s good enough for your customers, it should be good enough for your team, your vendors and your friends. And v … | Continue reading
This common question no longer means anything. Every TV show is on. All the time. Our record collection streams every record ever recorded. And our readers can find and display just about any book we can name. We haven’t thought about the impacts of this abundance nearly as much … | Continue reading
One way to serve the community is to see it as a market and solve one of its problems. When people choose to buy something, it’s ostensibly because the thing you sell is worth more to them than it costs. And so value is created. And when you make a profit selling something and pa … | Continue reading
Some people say, “we’re not changing it, because this is the way it’s done.” And some people say, “the way it’s done isn’t good enough, let’s make it… | Continue reading
Some people say, “we’re not changing it, because this is the way it’s done.” And some people say, “the way it’s done isn’t good enough, let’s make it better.” In a given situation, you might encounter one or the other type of response. In fact, each of us might adopt one posture … | Continue reading
Nerds, geeks, early adopters: they do things because they’re fresh and new and might not work. They’re novel. Most people, though, hesitate in the face of novelty. Because novelty is ri… | Continue reading
Nerds, geeks, early adopters: they do things because they’re fresh and new and might not work. They’re novel. Most people, though, hesitate in the face of novelty. Because novelty is risky. Shoes with goldfish in the heels. The latest techno-ska-punk track. The new kind of phone… … | Continue reading
When a brand is successful, there’s often a desire to extend it. Disneyland was an extension of Disney movies. It reflected some of the magic of the movies, but created something new and valu… | Continue reading
When a brand is successful, there’s often a desire to extend it. Disneyland was an extension of Disney movies. It reflected some of the magic of the movies, but created something new and valuable as well. Disneyland had some of the Disney essence and then built something additive … | Continue reading
When innovation arrives, the logistics people have to scramble to keep up, because innovation always makes it hard to do things the way we used to. Over time, an innovative company thrives if it ca… | Continue reading
When innovation arrives, the logistics people have to scramble to keep up, because innovation always makes it hard to do things the way we used to. Over time, an innovative company thrives if it can get its logistics in order. Ship the right stuff to the right people on time and … | Continue reading
When an organization has caused harm (through error or intent), it’s tempting to be sure they learned a lesson. We want folks to take responsibility, to admit culpability and to be sure they … | Continue reading
When an organization has caused harm (through error or intent), it’s tempting to be sure they learned a lesson. We want folks to take responsibility, to admit culpability and to be sure they won’t do it again. But if you need those things to happen to make things better for all o … | Continue reading
Listen to one musician’s track in isolation on any record (like this one) and you might be amazed at how trivial they sound. Paul McCartney, one of the great bass players, in one the great gr… | Continue reading
It’s normal to feel it. It changes our careers, our dress and even the way we live our lives. The question is: is it caused by external or internal forces? More often than not, it’s simply something we invent. The people we imagine are busy watching and judging us might not even … | Continue reading
Listen to one musician’s track in isolation on any record (like this one) and you might be amazed at how trivial they sound. Paul McCartney, one of the great bass players, in one the great groups of all time–it sounds a bit like a school music recital. Because we don’t listen to … | Continue reading
The chief marketing officer at a big company has an impossible job. The typical duration of a CMO is 18 months because once the CEO realizes that hype for money can’t solve their problems, th… | Continue reading
It’s not about the gloves. The pointlessness of the white gloves is actually a big part of it. Good service meets expectations. It is the fulfillment of a promise to the customer. White glove… | Continue reading
It’s not about the gloves. The pointlessness of the white gloves is actually a big part of it. Good service meets expectations. It is the fulfillment of a promise to the customer. White glove service goes far beyond that. It is designed to surprise and delight. It creates a conne … | Continue reading
The chief marketing officer at a big company has an impossible job. The typical duration of a CMO is 18 months because once the CEO realizes that hype for money can’t solve their problems, they get restless. The problem lies in what people think “marketing” is. Marketing isn’t pa … | Continue reading
We’re all paying it, every day. In the US, taxpayers subsidize the cattle industry with billions of dollars of tax money each year. Most of that goes to pay for feed crops, but there is also a huge allocation of public land for the grazing of cows. About half the land in the enti … | Continue reading
Experts have a word for it. If it’s important, conceptual or frequently discussed, there’s probably a domain-based word that experts understand. The precision of a special vocabulary allows them to do better work. But… Just because someone knows the word for it doesn’t mean that … | Continue reading
That might be true, but it’s worth being clear about it. Not that good for who? If you mean to say, “I don’t like it, it doesn’t appeal to me,” then that’s what you should say. If, on the other hand, you have enough expertise and domain knowledge to say, “I understand what has ap … | Continue reading
The law is simple to describe, fair and useful: It should be as easy to unsubscribe from an online service as it is to sign up. Other than powerful brand bullies, who is against this? It took me five minutes to sign up for a data connection for my car a few years ago.(feeds.feedb … | Continue reading
The law is simple to describe, fair and useful: It should be as easy to unsubscribe from an online service as it is to sign up. Other than powerful brand bullies, who is against this? It took me five minutes to sign up for a data connection for my car a few years ago. Yesterday, … | Continue reading
If you apply for something with a 99% rejection rate (which is more common than it sounds–job openings, sales pitches, fellowships, journals, etc.) that’s pretty close to 100%. Something with a 99% certainty is generally considered a sure thing. Hence this Journal, which promises … | Continue reading
The simplest way to run a business is to have no also. We maximize profit, period. At least you’re being honest about it. If you say, “and we also care about the environment,” or “we also care about our people and treat them like family,” or even, “we’re here to serve our custome … | Continue reading
Starting at the top seems like great advice. Deal with the people with power and authority. Except… Power and authority aren’t often in the same place. The real power is usually foundational. What happens when humans interact. The way things are around here. Often, the people who … | Continue reading
Who benefits when we hesitate to look at money clearly? When we avoid doing a P&L, thinking about pricing, or creating a budget, we’re avoiding the fear that comes with these choices. And we’re also decreasing our odds of success. Good cooks talk about salt. Successful athletes t … | Continue reading
Adding another feature is cheap compared to the benefits it offers to new users or existing ones. Once a feature is added, it is almost never removed. When enough features are added, the system breaks down and fails. This isn’t just software. It’s the menu at the diner. It’s the … | Continue reading
We evolved to care about things that were close by or in the near future. That makes sense. It’s a useful survival skill in a primitive world. Today, though, our instinct for the close and the imminent is being used against us. Media and those in search of our money or attention … | Continue reading