Rhetorical questions, some easy, some particularly difficult, all worth thinking about: If your house near the ocean has a beautiful view, should the person who buys the lot closer to the shore be able to build a house on it? If your restaurant needs to empty the dirty oil from t … | Continue reading
And vs Or. Leading a project is about causing the death of a million ‘ands’. There was a long line at the ice cream stand, but the person in front wasn’t budging. The customer had… | Continue reading
And vs Or. Leading a project is about causing the death of a million ‘ands’. There was a long line at the ice cream stand, but the person in front wasn’t budging. The customer had narrowed down the choice to four flavors, but they were paralyzed, unable to choose. It’s not becaus … | Continue reading
This is a distinct skill. Something can be dependable without being extraordinary, rare or even a good value. It’s also one of the easiest skills to acquire, and often quite valuable if you stick with it. While sticking with dependable is sort of redundant, it’s also required. … | Continue reading
Something magical happens when people are in alignment and an idea becomes a bestseller. When there’s a line out the door. When there’s a buzz in the room. When people are talking about the work you’re doing. At least some of the people. A restaurant is more fun. A course seems m … | Continue reading
Most of us do. The interesting challenge is that our brain doesn’t often make beliefs and tested reality feel like different things. It’s almost as if ‘true’ and ‘belief’ only became separate categories in our recent past. As our actions continue to bump against reality, and our … | Continue reading
The brand name, the first name, the label… Is To Kill a Mockingbird a good title? By most measures of most committees, definitely not. And yet, it clearly and most definitely worked. Starbucks has nothing to do with Moby Dick. Nike is easy to mispronounce. The title is simply the … | Continue reading
Likability is a weird quality. Plenty of people are fans of Aretha Franklin or Bob Dylan, but it’s not because either of them spent a lot of time mailing out Christmas cards or being particularly warm to their fans. Google doesn’t do tech support and plenty of popular high-end re … | Continue reading
Working professionals develop emotional detachment. It’s the only way to thrive in the work. Emotional detachment helps us remember that we are not our work, and that feedback is useful, not an attack. Commitment permits us to keep going (especially when we’re asked to provide mo … | Continue reading
It’s far easier now than it’s ever been before. (You can look it up.) [Bonus PS: highlighting some climate-related art and artists who helped with the Almanac: Von Wong (launching a new piece this week), Justin Brice Guariglia and Shepard Fairey.] [Bonus PS2: A major addendum to … | Continue reading
It must be more than a coincidence that there are almost enough jobs for everyone–a billion more jobs on Earth than there were a generation ago. Unemployment is debilitating and a real problem, but even high unemployment in many countries still means that most people have a job. … | Continue reading
On the West Side Highway in Manhattan, there’s currently a billboard for some sort of placebo supplement. In the corner is a QR code for more information. Unless the person in the passenger seat has a telephoto lens on their phone, there’s no way in the world that this is going t … | Continue reading
Which way to head? We live in a world characterized by mistrust, ill health, economic uncertainty, inflicted racial trauma, generational shift and the existential crisis caused by carbon. Not to mention the stress and dissolution of traditional pillars like organized education, o … | Continue reading
There might be a 100% correlation between what you do and what you get and what you want (if you’re trying to train for the hundred-meter dash.) Anything that makes you go faster is correlated with the goal, which is winning the race. On the other hand, being funny isn’t always c … | Continue reading
Books used to be a solitary endeavor. Ironically, it took the network effect and noise of the web to flip that idea upside down. Now, a book is a totem, a chance to share, an item to be discussed, a physical instantiation of an idea that can be drawn on, exchanged or simply sit o … | Continue reading
Intentional design is the most productive kind. It begins with “who’s it for?” and “what’s it for?” as foundational questions. Along the way, complicated systems muddy design because there are so many “who”s to answer to. Take this simple product found at a Hilton hotel, designed … | Continue reading
Someone is going to ask you. They probably already have. A co-worker, a boss, a politician, a kid… they’ll ask you about sustainability, the climate, investments, choices to be made about the future. This is the Cliff’s Notes and guidebook for that moment. We make choices every d … | Continue reading
I realized the other day that most people grow up thinking in terms of professional affiliations. “I’m going to be an accountant.” “I’m going to work for General Dynam… | Continue reading
The purpose of most communication isn’t to completely explain yourself. Too often, we get stuck relieving tension, making our case and closing the door on the discussion. The purpose is to open the door to interaction, learning and action. “Who’s there?” is a fine response to hop … | Continue reading
This is a trap worth avoiding. When we examine our life experiences, the ones that stand out are usually about change. Either we were changed or we helped someone else get to where they sought to go. And change is fleeting. And change changes us. We can’t step in the same river t … | Continue reading
Most of our interactions fall into one of these categories. Our strategy for the game involves doing something to the other team. Many service businesses are aligned around the idea of doing things for their patients or customers. And long-term mutually beneficial relationships a … | Continue reading
Humans gossipped before we figured out fire, housing or farming. It’s built into our culture and possibly our DNA. Gossip informs culture and can influence connection and hierarchies. And in many communities, it’s destructive. If office gossip is benefitting you and the people yo … | Continue reading
There are two kinds of skills, resources and tools: Ones that get used up as you use them. And ones that get better when you do. Nobody wants there to be a crowd at the ski area on a bluebird powder day–too many people use up the new snow. On the other hand, it’s no […] | Continue reading
First, let’s agree that there’s a problem. It may be that I think we’re facing something serious, something costly, something urgent–and you don’t. We can have an honest conversation about the problem without worrying about whether there’s an easy or certain solution. We can also … | Continue reading
Resilient systems are better than fragile ones. Leave the campsite better than you found it. Clean air is better than dirty air. It’s more reliable to invest in things that produce positive i… | Continue reading
If your plan, your idea or your art doesn’t involve any significant hurdles in moving forward, it’s probably not worth that much. If it were easy, everyone would do it. The tactic is to seek a path where you see and understand the significant hurdles that kept others away. And th … | Continue reading
Plenty of people insist on freedom and independence. More rare and far more effective is to claim responsibility instead. “I’ve got this,” can go a long way. | Continue reading
One is very skilled at following the recipe. Quality control, consistency and diligence. The other understands how the recipe works, sees patterns and opportunities and changes the recipe to fit the problem to be solved. It’s about metaphor in addition to process. Both are useful … | Continue reading
If you can do it once, you might be able to do it ten times. And if you do it ten times, it will become a skill and a practice. You’ll do it more naturally and more often. Sending a note, changing your mind, throwing a ball, offering a kind word, doing leg presses. Ten […] | Continue reading
Resilient systems are better than fragile ones. Leave the campsite better than you found it. Clean air is better than dirty air. It’s more reliable to invest in things that produce positive impacts over time. When the numbers add up, believe them People who show their work are mo … | Continue reading
If you and I play a game of cards, the winner will largely be decided by luck. Get good cards and you come out ahead. If you and I play 100 games of backgammon, the better player will win, because … | Continue reading
If you and I play a game of cards, the winner will largely be decided by luck. Get good cards and you come out ahead. If you and I play 100 games of backgammon, the better player will win, because the luck of the dice regress to the mean, evening out over time, leaving skill […] … | Continue reading
We’re not very good at predicting the future. We’ve very good at being aware of the urgency of the moment, and familiar with our need to deal with emergencies. Before we react, though, it might be worth asking “and then what happens,” five times. Five steps from here to there… If … | Continue reading
This is a very different task than snake charming. The first is far more common, but it requires heavy equipment and is often dangerous… On the other hand, if you have empathy and patience, it’s possible to learn to charm the snakes instead. | Continue reading
Malpractice by one of us is malpractice by all of us. When a calling turns into an industry, that can change. In an industry, it’s buyer beware. It’s us against the rest. It’s a quiet line of self-preservation. But in a profession, it’s clear that a service is on offer, and that … | Continue reading
It’s possible to create a life where we only perform tasks when we feel like it. More likely, though, we end up with commitments. Commitments require us to do work when they feel like it, regardless of whether we do or not. And the best sorts of commitments create a positive cycl … | Continue reading
This can be an uncomfortable question. Not because any of us have unlimited time and unlimited money, but because it puts us on the spot in a few ways: Are you able to understand the project well enough to put boundaries around it? If you don’t, are you aware enough to announce w … | Continue reading
“Please be kind” sounds like a moral imperative. And in some ways, it is. But behind the theory of the firm and a key building block of successful communities is the idea that kind interactions are significantly more productive. When people feel seen and respected, they’re more l … | Continue reading
Three words that open the door for insight, understanding and improvement. Gratitude isn’t in question. Neither is acceptance of the situation. It’s not unpatriotic or disloyal to talk about how something could be improved. Instead, when we care enough to say, “could be better,” … | Continue reading
When you’re trying to make an argument in a scientific journal or a history monograph, you’ll need footnotes. Show your work. Make it clear who came before and what you’re basing your thesis on. But it seems as though when we’re nervous and afraid, we don’t need any footnotes. “N … | Continue reading
For half the planet, today is the longest day of the year. For the rest of us, the shortest. There was a solstice before there were people. All of our other holidays don’t fit that definition. They’re invented. Short-lived. Worldwide, it’s a moment to realize that this is the onl … | Continue reading
I’m a fan of appropriate placebos. They often have few side effects, they’re inexpensive and they work when used in the right situations. You can check out my rant on them here, it’s been read millions of times to date. A placebo isn’t just a medical intervention. It’s any tool w … | Continue reading
By every geologic measure, modern human life is a tiny blip, a spark of static on a very long-playing record. For most of the time that life has existed on Earth, there were no humans. And when the… | Continue reading
By every geologic measure, modern human life is a tiny blip, a spark of static on a very long-playing record. For most of the time that life has existed on Earth, there were no humans. And when there were human-like creatures, they spent much of their time doing not much. Nomads … | Continue reading
The best way to make things better is to see how they are. And then do something about it. Acknowledging the problem is not the same as giving up. Too often, we’d rather not hear about it, or we choose to catastrophize as a way of protecting ourselves from the reality of what’s a … | Continue reading
Compared to easily-overlooked carrying costs, carrying benefits are practically invisible. Pay once, but come out ahead over and over again. There are habits, assets and learnings that seem too exp… | Continue reading
Compared to easily-overlooked carrying costs, carrying benefits are practically invisible. Pay once, but come out ahead over and over again. There are habits, assets and learnings that seem too expensive right now. And so we simply stick with our status quo. When we take the time … | Continue reading