Losing the election by ten votes or by a million--which is worse? "Missed it by that much," is a way to amplify how we feel when we don't succeed. So, when we miss the bus by just a few seconds,... | Continue reading
Luxury goods originated as a way for the wealthy to both show off their resources and possess a scarce, coveted item of better functionality. Over time, as luxury goods have become more competitive (it's a profitable niche if you can... | Continue reading
“That’s good enough, let’s move on” Lots of things could be better (cars, buildings, candy, etc.) but we understand that the cost of pushing through to the next level is prohibitive. It might be because, as in the case of... | Continue reading
The distance from can to will keeps getting larger. You can connect, lead, see, speak, create, encourage, challenge and contribute. Will you? The confusion kicks in when we become overwhelmed by all the things we can do, but can’t find... | Continue reading
In many creative endeavors, we encounter: The producer, the director, the star and the star's assistant. The producer initiates. The producer says "yes." The director (and often, the writer, a different version of directing) determines the plot, makes the decisions,... | Continue reading
In a world where nuance, uncertainty and shades of grey are ever more common, becoming comfortable with ambiguity is one of the most valuable skills you can acquire. If you view your job as taking multiple choice tests, you will... | Continue reading
Presidential primaries in the US have several problems. We do it the way we do it because that's the usual way, not because it works particularly well. The biggest problem is that the people who vote are usually the most... | Continue reading
When did companies start talking about, "unexpectedly high call volume?" Are they really so inept at planning that the call volume is unexpected? For months at a time? Even non-legacy companies like OpenTable are using it to describe their email... | Continue reading
Focus is a choice. The runner who is concentrating on how much his left toe hurts will be left in the dust by the runner who is focusing on winning. Even if the winner's toe hurts just as much. Hurt,... | Continue reading
I think that's always been a little true, but now it's a lot true. Everyone reading this has an enormous amount of power. Cultural power, mostly. The ability to speak up, to paint a picture of a different way, to... | Continue reading
In a few weeks, Chris Anderson's much awaited book on TED Talks comes out. I've just finished reading it, and it's well worth a pre-order. When Chris took the leap 11 years ago and published the first online TED talks,... | Continue reading
Yesterday, thousands of people got married. Just about every one of these weddings went beautifully. Amazingly, you weren't there, on-site, making sure everything was perfect. Last week, a letter to investors went out from the CFO of a hot public... | Continue reading
You might not be reading this. Or the blog I sent out early today. And you might not be getting those other newsletters you subscribed to. Google also automatically moves many Mailchimp newsletters to your promo folder in gmail. As... | Continue reading
There it is, in black and white, on page 782, between gullet and Gulliver. Actually, it's not there, which is cause for worry. In the brand new fifth edition of the classic American Heritage Dictionary, the word 'gullible' is missing.... | Continue reading
The letter to the co-op board sounds likely enough. The tenant is up in arms because air fresheners and other common household odors are seeping into the writer's apartment, giving him severe migraines. What to do about this chemical onslaught?... | Continue reading
Human beings are prediction machines. Successful humans skate to where the puck is going to be, predict what's going to happen next, have an inkling of what's to come. We do this by creating models. A really good model is... | Continue reading
Don't finalize the logo before you come up with a business plan that works. Don't spend a lot of time thinking about your vacation policy before you have a product that people actually want to buy. There are endless small... | Continue reading
How far in the future does your agenda extend? One way to tell: of the things you worked on last week, how many were due last week? The marketplace has always tempted us with short-term cycles (they require less trust)... | Continue reading
It's fun to believe that people buy the goods and services we make merely because they are excited, delighted and eager to engage. But often, particularly in b2b selling, the call to action is very different. "Get off the tracks!... | Continue reading
We're wired to return the favor. When someone opens a door for us, our instinct is to hold the next door for them. This generous response has led some marketers to aggressively take advantage. They do a favor for someone... | Continue reading
"But in practice, I'll need to be more hard-hearted, practical, selfish, mass-oriented, short-term, callous..." Principles, it seems, are for other people. Because business is business. Because my boss won't let me. Because he'll never get elected. Because we've never done... | Continue reading
"It's me, not you." vs. "It's you, not me." What happens when you're unable to serve a customer well, or engage with an employee, or work with a partner? One instinct is to blame the other person, that your art... | Continue reading
Before Van Gogh was Van Gogh, he painted some pictures of streets in Ramsgate, a village in the UK. What if he had stopped, saying, "This isn't good enough, it's a failure, I'm never going to amount to anything?" Nobody,... | Continue reading
It's pretty easy to figure out what you're competing for—attention, a new gig, a promotion, a sale... But what is your edge? In a hypercompetitive world, whatever you're competing on is going to become your focus. If you're competing on... | Continue reading
"You are with me or against me." "Being against me is the same as being against us." "If I determine that you are against us, you deserve all the problems that you brought on yourself by your actions. Don't make... | Continue reading
Is this a survey or a census? A survey is statistically based, extracting insight from a few and being able to assert its truth across a wider population. A census involves asking everyone, and usually, matching up the answers with... | Continue reading
That's an easy mistake to make and a tempting trap to fall into. It's unlikely you have no choice. More likely: There's no easy choice. No safe choice that also embraces your potential. No choice you can make that doesn't... | Continue reading
Spend an hour with a good friend in intimate conversation, spend an hour engaging with your team on the next significant leap in your strategy, or spend an hour with your smart phone, grooming your social media presence and your... | Continue reading
It's tempting to sit in the corner and then, voila, to amaze us all with your perfect answer. But of course, that's not what ever works. What works is evolving in public, with the team. Showing your work. Thinking out... | Continue reading
Words are dead. To be more clear: Words on a page or on a screen are asleep, inert, doing nothing at all until they interact with you, the reader. That takes effort. An audiobook, on the other hand, propels itself.... | Continue reading
Make it a little more boring Make it more fun Make it cheaper Onboard just about anyone Don't speak up Be less selective Offer more variety Make it shorter Let it be Dumb it down Polish less Polish more Average... | Continue reading
Iconic cartoonist Hugh Macleod is launching a series this week inspired by some of my work. Thanks, Hugh! On Being's Krista Tippett has a new book ready for pre-order. Doug Rushkoff's new book is out this month. Also, a new... | Continue reading
You've permitted magical to walk on by. Not to mention good enough, amazing and wonderful. Waiting for the thing that cannot be improved (and cannot be criticized) keeps us from beginning. Merely begin. | Continue reading
Confidence is arrogance if the market doesn't believe the story. When we show up with something great, something generous, well-executed and new, some people will be suspicious. "Is this everything it's cracked up to be?" The skeptic wonders if we... | Continue reading
When George Martin first met the Beatles and became their producer, he liked their sound and their energy, but he didn't think they could write songs. So he licensed a song, handed it to them and had them record it.... | Continue reading
You will benefit when you tell lots of people your give up goals. Tell your friends when you want to give up overeating or binging or being a boor. Your friends will make it ever more difficult for you to... | Continue reading
Most of the time, we don’t go first. There are good reasons for this (the iWatch comes to mind). With the exception of sushi and fresh powder, there’s little cultural or economic advantage to always trying the new thing first.... | Continue reading
Which do you want? Freedom is the ability to set your schedule, to decide on the work you do, to make decisions. Responsibility is being held accountable for your actions. It might involve figuring out how to get paid for... | Continue reading
Life is filled with nuance. Our ability to perceive things, not so much. We come up with a story (about an organization, a person, a situation) and all the data that supports it, we notice, and the nuance we discount... | Continue reading
In what areas have you found that you benefit from listening to someone who's really smart about the decision you need to make? Not a self-appointed expert, but someone with experience, patience and maturity, someone who's been educated in the... | Continue reading
If you're not proud of it, don't serve it. If you can't do a good job, don't take it on. If it's going to distract you from the work that truly matters, pass. If you don't know why they want... | Continue reading
You ask the waiter to bring you the mackerel, but without the teriyaki glaze. He says, "the menu says no substitutions, I'm sorry." There's absolutely nothing wrong with running an establishment around the idea that it is what it is,... | Continue reading
The group files into the theater, buzzing. People hustle to get to the front row, sitting side by side, no empty seats. The event starts on time, the excitement is palpable. The other group wanders in. The front row is... | Continue reading
There, in six words, is one of the worst questions any educator can hear. It lays bare, in a simple question, the motivations, the structures and the flaws of the traditional educational paradigm. The test is a stick, the grade... | Continue reading
If you've ever been rejected (grad school, an article submission, a job) you may have spent some time analyzing the rejection letter itself, reading between the lines, trying to figure out why you were actually rejected. The thing is, there's... | Continue reading
Every four years, the worldwide calendar reminds us of a secret. Leaping. Leaping powers innovation, it is the engine of not only our economy, but of a thrilling and generous life. Of course, you can (and should) be leaping regularly.... | Continue reading
The obvious and rational equation is that being trustworthy plus being transparent will lead you to be trusted. Verification of trustworthiness should lead to trust. This makes sense. Being trustworthy (acting in a way that's worthy of trust) plus being... | Continue reading
What would have happened if you and your organization, instead of working on today's crisis, built something worthwhile for tomorrow? What would have been discussed instead? What would have been designed instead? The urgency of the day feels like an... | Continue reading