Favors are part of the glue of our culture. It’s not easy to ask for a favor, it’s not always easy to say yes, but when the two people engaged in this dance find a connection, it means … | Continue reading
The virtual office skeptic says, “we can’t go fully remote, because the serendipity of personal connection is too important.” The theory goes that watercooler conversations and el… | Continue reading
If you want something that makes your life better, you can buy it. If you want to get the money to buy something, you can make something or do something that makes someone’s life better. It s… | Continue reading
Copywriting turns words into action. But which words? And which action? Often, copywriters take a strategy for granted. They don’t take the time to think about what this sentence or that para… | Continue reading
We talk about risk like it’s a bad thing. But all forward motion involves risk. You can’t find a risk-free way to accomplish much of anything. Appropriate risk has two elements: The odd… | Continue reading
We’ve spent 130 years indoctrinating kids with the same structure. Now, as some of us enter a post-lockdown world, I’d like to propose a useful (though some might say radical) way to re… | Continue reading
A luxury good is one where the price paid is much higher than the apparent utility it offers. We pay extra precisely because it’s not a good value. The utility lies in how we and our peers th… | Continue reading
When we go around the room and have each person introduce themselves, we’re burning time, attention and trust. 40 people: 45 minutes, gone. Worse—the person who goes first spends 43 minutes d… | Continue reading
When we go around the room and have each person introduce themselves, we’re burning time, attention and trust. 40 people: 45 minutes, gone. Worse—the person who goes first spends 43 minutes d… | Continue reading
Syncretism is the act of integrating new cultural ideas into the ones that already exist. It’s very common in the evolution of religious practice. Instead of ‘this’ or ‘that… | Continue reading
Unlike most of the sciences, astronomy is always done at a distance. You can see the stars, but you can’t do anything about them. Sometimes the media would like us to believe that we’re… | Continue reading
Digital typography always looks crisp. The words on our screen seem official, because they’re not the victim of sloppy or rushed handwriting. But sometimes, we might be better off with a litt… | Continue reading
A luxury good is one where the price paid is much higher than the apparent utility it offers. We pay extra precisely because it’s not a good value. The utility lies in how we and our peers th… | Continue reading
We’ve spent 130 years indoctrinating kids with the same structure. Now, as some of us enter a post-lockdown world, I’d like to propose a useful (though some might say radical) way to re… | Continue reading
The virtual office skeptic says, “we can’t go fully remote, because the serendipity of personal connection is too important.” The theory goes that watercooler conversations and el… | Continue reading
They’re related. Management isn’t. Management uses power and authority to get people to do tasks you know can be done. Management is needed, but management is insufficient. Leadership i… | Continue reading
The Rolodex and the Filofax disappeared a while ago, but we’re still not all using the tools that make it easier to coordinate people and time. I use Calendly to book various kinds of 1 on 1 … | Continue reading
Then improve it. Then write something else. Repeat this process until you have a post. Then post it. Then repeat this process. There’s no such thing as writer’s block. There’s sim… | Continue reading
A simple substitute might change a habit. Instead of a snack, brush your teeth. Instead of a nap, go for a walk. Instead of a nasty tweet or cutting remark, write it down in a private notebook. Ins… | Continue reading
Marginal cost is how much extra you’ll need to spend to serve one more customer. The marginal cost of a hot dog is pretty low–if you don’t have to account for rent and labor and i… | Continue reading
Culture doesn’t change (much). Elements of human culture have been around for 100,000 years, and it persists. In fact, its persistence is a key attribute of why it works. People like us do th… | Continue reading
The model for TV in the 1960s was three major networks supported by mass advertising. And so the shows that were produced were banal, reassuring and fairly inexpensive to produce. The goal was simp… | Continue reading
Good ideas feel early. And late ideas are acclaimed by most of the reviewers with opinions that don’t actually matter. Part of our challenge is that the lousy ideas get a very similar pre-lau… | Continue reading
Somewhere, perhaps nearby, it went well. A family gathering happened and all the details were right. A project launched on Kickstarter and it succeeded. A person was hired and they were a good choi… | Continue reading
To be powerful, a medium needs two things: The ability to reach people who take actionThe ability for someone in charge to change what those people see and hear and do The telephone reaches a lot o… | Continue reading
I’d like Gmail to be smart enough to automatically skip the spam folder for any mail that’s coming from someone I just wrote to. I’d like my Apple calendar to know that I never, e… | Continue reading
I’d like Gmail to be smart enough to automatically skip the spam folder for any mail that’s coming from someone I just wrote to. I’d like my Apple calendar to know that I never, e… | Continue reading
Soon after the invention of the wagon, someone was able to move logs around much more easily. And shortly after that, someone had a wagon run over their leg. Wagons were used to deliver food but th… | Continue reading
Seven bowls might take up an entire cabinet. But if the designer slopes the sides of each bowl just so, they stack. The amount of space required to store them goes down by 80%. The hard part isn… | Continue reading
The spammers have found Substack. There’s a long history of useful tools on the internet attracting selfish con men. Substack is a platform for bloggers who want paying subscribers. They̵… | Continue reading
The spammers have found Substack. There’s a long history of useful tools on the internet attracting selfish con men. Substack is a platform for bloggers who want paying subscribers. They̵… | Continue reading
If we’re hungry, the obvious solution is to eat something. If we’re restless, it pays to get up and walk around. Is stress different? Along the way, it seems as though we got confused a… | Continue reading
Solving a problem puts value creation first. Who’s it for? What problem does it solve? Would we miss it if you didn’t build it? At the beginning of the web, companies grew by focusing o… | Continue reading
The internet is filled with puppy quandaries. You can get a puppy at a pet mill/pet shop in about an hour (please don’t). But over the course of your lifetime with that dog, you’ll need… | Continue reading
It’s such a hard thing to be honest about. Because money is tied into status, possibility, self-worth, connection, sustenance and more. How many people would be doctors if being a doctor was … | Continue reading
If you call tech support, it’s likely that they’ll ask you to turn your computer on and off. That’s not because this step often fixes the problem, but if it does, you’ve fou… | Continue reading
If your customer service strategy consists of mollifying angry customers, you’ll always be behind. Life becomes a fire drill and work becomes an endless chore. The alternative is to invest in… | Continue reading
Of all the buttons and all the swipes and all the scrolls on all the websites, is that one you’re going to click next the very best thing you could be doing right now? Juxtaposition has gotte… | Continue reading
You can read this post in six minutes. It took me more than an hour to write. That extra editing and polish is a benefit to the reader. You can read this post instead of 100 others, because people … | Continue reading
You can read this post in six minutes. It took me more than an hour to write. That extra editing and polish is a benefit to the reader. You can read this post instead of 100 others, because people … | Continue reading
50 years ago, Oldham and Hackman proposed the job characteristics model. It so resonates with people that it feels like common sense: Job satisfaction is driven by five factors: Task significance: … | Continue reading
What’s better, a fish or a bicycle? That’s a ridiculous question, because they’re not opposites nor are they exclusive. It’s tempting to come to the conclusion that discipli… | Continue reading
What’s better, a fish or a bicycle? That’s a ridiculous question, because they’re not opposites nor are they exclusive. It’s tempting to come to the conclusion that discipli… | Continue reading
We’re either going or we’re not going. We get to make that decision every day. Perhaps you’ve decided: We’re going. That detour we hit, the pothole we narrowly avoided, the … | Continue reading
50 years ago, Oldham and Hackman proposed the job characteristics model. It so resonates with people that it feels like common sense: Job satisfaction is driven by five factors: Task significance: … | Continue reading
Jack Benny died when I was 14. He was an early radio and TV star, a comedian primarily remembered for just one line. The other day, a peer said, “well, if you’re giving me a Jack Benny … | Continue reading
There are countless ways to make a point. You can clearly demonstrate that you are angry, smart, concerned, stronger, faster or more prepared than the person you’re engaging with. But making … | Continue reading
That used to involve putting film or paper into a chemical bath. You could have a small influence over what happened, but almost all the work involved setting up the shot in the first place. The go… | Continue reading