It’s not the “gold.” It’s the “rush” that changes the way people behave. When consumed by a gold rush, people make decisions that they would never make on ordina… | Continue reading
The customer service from the freight shipping company that came to my home a few months ago was truly terrible. Not simply a lack of care, but an aggressive embrace of uncaring. Every interaction … | Continue reading
Groups rarely say this. They often (and loudly) state “we are right,” but when the future arrives, and it always does, it’s not surprising that it turns out that many projections … | Continue reading
It’s almost impossible to tell if a playing card is marked. But if you take ten cards and riffle them, you can tell instantly. The changes from the back of one card to another jump out at you… | Continue reading
This is the dilemma that every game designer, form creator and teacher faces. Writing an instruction manual, doing a survey, creating a map–they’re all difficult tasks because of the tr… | Continue reading
They will outlast you. Why are some industries so irrational (when seen from the point of view of the customer)? So many things about college, funerals, real estate, hotels, weddings and the contra… | Continue reading
Infinity is a great idea, but unless you’re doing math, it’s mostly an idea. Everything else in our world has limits. It’s the limits that make it interesting, the limits that giv… | Continue reading
Infinity is a great idea, but unless you’re doing math, it’s mostly an idea. Everything else in our world has limits. It’s the limits that make it interesting, the limits that giv… | Continue reading
Coming down the empty road, you can see the light from a ways off. It’s been green for awhile, which means it’s due to turn red soon. Should you speed up, so you can make it through bef… | Continue reading
Coming down the empty road, you can see the light from a ways off. It’s been green for awhile, which means it’s due to turn red soon. Should you speed up, so you can make it through bef… | Continue reading
It doesn’t talk back. It doesn’t beep or update or invite a click. It doesn’t change based on who’s consuming it. It doesn’t interrupt you, and it begs to not be inter… | Continue reading
Often overlooked is how uncomfortable it is to sit on a fence. Get in, or get out. Wasting time sitting on the fence wastes far more time and emotion than you’d expend committing to something… | Continue reading
Falsehoods, spin and legends can be tweaked and tested and changed to exactly match the dreams and desires of the people they’re aimed at. This is why manipulative stories are so much stickie… | Continue reading
Falsehoods, spin and legends can be tweaked and tested and changed to exactly match the dreams and desires of the people they’re aimed at. This is why manipulative stories are so much stickie… | Continue reading
Oh, did we just say that? Every day is the same if you let it. Of course, spiders, dogs and walruses prefer if the world doesn’t change. But humans are different. Change is fuel for growth an… | Continue reading
Successful organizations of just one or two freelancers have very high revenue per employee, effective labor utilization and few communications problems. And significant organizations of a hundred … | Continue reading
They will outlast you. Why are some industries so irrational (when seen from the point of view of the customer)? So many things about college, funerals, real estate, hotels, weddings and the contra… | Continue reading
We get a huge benefit from making a simple commitment: Don’t miss deadlines. The benefit is that once we agree to the deadline, we don’t have to worry about it anymore. We don’t h… | Continue reading
We get a huge benefit from making a simple commitment: Don’t miss deadlines. The benefit is that once we agree to the deadline, we don’t have to worry about it anymore. We don’t h… | Continue reading
The blog post I did a few hours ago was filled with broken links, the result of some weird sort of rift in the time-space continuum. Sorry for the hassle. It’s fixed now. If you get this blog… | Continue reading
My bookshelves are filled with books I’ve read once. But there are others that I come back to again and again. I hand them out like Halloween candy to colleagues, and often, they end up payin… | Continue reading
The asking price is true, but it’s also an illusion. If you are offered a job and negotiate a raise of 10% over what was originally offered, that’s good, but it has nothing at all to do… | Continue reading
At first glance, it makes sense to avoid a crowded market. Better to sell your services or your products in a place where you’re the only one. But crowded markets also have lots of customers.… | Continue reading
Has this ever been done before? Why not? Did it work? Why not? If it’s new and useful, what problem is it solving? Why has the audience rejected similar innovations in the past? One day, this… | Continue reading
Do you have a script? Most of us do. Here’s a new piece of software. Do you immediately read the manual front to back? Dive in and see how it works? Tense up in fear and distaste? She’s… | Continue reading
The ostracod is extinct. Over millions of years, with good reasons at every step, it evolved to become the creature it was. And when we add up all of those little steps, we end up with a creature t… | Continue reading
Why do bikes stay stable when you ride them (and fall down when you stop)? A tiny reason is the gyroscopic stability of the wheels, but the real reason is the forward momentum of the rider. And we … | Continue reading
Alert readers of my last two posts have probably guessed what this one is about. The control/responsibility matrix (click to enlarge) People make choices about their preferences for control and for… | Continue reading
When things go wrong, is your instinct to hide in a corner and hope you won’t get noticed–or to lean into the situation and make it clear that this one is on you? “I’ve got … | Continue reading
When things go wrong, is your instinct to hide in a corner and hope you won’t get noticed–or to lean into the situation and make it clear that this one is on you? “I’ve got … | Continue reading
Would you rather write the script, read the script, watch the movie or write the review? When someone commutes by train, they’re giving up control over the journey. On one hand, that means th… | Continue reading
Would you rather write the script, read the script, watch the movie or write the review? When someone commutes by train, they’re giving up control over the journey. On one hand, that means th… | Continue reading
Why are we more likely to take off our masks or avoid social distancing with a group of friends at a party instead of strangers on the train? Why do we drive more carefully in a new neighborhood in… | Continue reading
In settings where sorting is difficult, half a bushel of perfect apples is worth more than a full bushel with a rotten apple in it. One bad apple can spoil a whole bunch. We pay a significant premi… | Continue reading
How did the dog become your teacher’s problem? When we’re actively enrolled in a journey, it’s on us. That’s the requirement once you choose to act professionally. You know … | Continue reading
How did the dog become your teacher’s problem? When we’re actively enrolled in a journey, it’s on us. That’s the requirement once you choose to act professionally. You know … | Continue reading
That’s how culture perpetuates injustice and indignity. Because that’s just the way things are around here. But the status quo isn’t permanent. The world doesn’t stay the wa… | Continue reading
That’s how culture perpetuates injustice and indignity. Because that’s just the way things are around here. But the status quo isn’t permanent. The world doesn’t stay the wa… | Continue reading
Freedom without consequences is a myth. Our actions always have consequences. The question is: who will bear them? | Continue reading
It often comes from one of two kinds of people: People who give themselves feedback in the same heartless tone. They don’t hesitate to brutally lash out, because that’s the noise they o… | Continue reading
When we’re not certain of the right answer, the best approach is to have a portfolio, a range of bets that reward us with resilience and significant upside. An example can be something as sim… | Continue reading
Consider the windows on a car. First, they were manually clipped into place. And then they were hand-rolled into position. But that was too difficult. So the electric window was born. But holding y… | Continue reading
Consider the windows on a car. First, they were manually clipped into place. And then they were hand-rolled into position. But that was too difficult. So the electric window was born. But holding y… | Continue reading
It was huge and kept growing by leaps and bounds. Until it didn’t. (My license was KFV2338, a number I haven’t said out loud in 40 years). CB radio took off because human beings despera… | Continue reading
A flow state is priceless. It happens when we lose ourselves in the work, simply connecting with the task, without commentary or doubt. When we’re in flow, time slows down, satisfaction rises… | Continue reading
First, we have to see them. Some people, no matter how fast or slow their friends are walking, always walk a step behind. Or perhaps you need to live in the nicest house on the block, or drive the … | Continue reading
The school zone has a speed limit of 15 miles per hour. It’s hard to be opposed to this sort of restriction, because the consequences are so dire and the cost is so low. The driver is making … | Continue reading
The phone is ringing. Your ice cream is melting. Next month’s rent is due. There’s a useful workshop coming up in a few months. Your hard drive will fail before the end of the year. Col… | Continue reading