Speculation is the new luxury good

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


@seths.blog | 2 years ago

The modern curriculum

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


@seths.blog | 2 years ago

Intentional connection in the digital office

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


@seths.blog | 2 years ago

Creativity and leadership

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


@seths.blog | 2 years ago

Simple connection tools

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


@seths.blog | 2 years ago

Write something

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


@seths.blog | 2 years ago

Instead

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


@seths.blog | 2 years ago

Negative marginal cost

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


@seths.blog | 2 years ago

Urgent cultural change

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


@seths.blog | 2 years ago

We get what the business model wants

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


@seths.blog | 2 years ago

Great ideas always sound like they’re far too soon

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


@seths.blog | 2 years ago

How’d they do it without you?

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


@seths.blog | 2 years ago

Is TikTok powerful?

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


@seths.blog | 2 years ago

Feature Requests for Monopolists

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


@seths.blog | 2 years ago

Feature requests for monopolists

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


@seths.blog | 2 years ago

Cyber-realists

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


@seths.blog | 2 years ago

The nesting bowls

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


@seths.blog | 2 years ago

The inevitable decline of fully open platforms

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


@seths.blog | 2 years ago

The inevitable decline of fully open platforms

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


@seths.blog | 2 years ago

Solving for stress

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


@seths.blog | 2 years ago

Which problem are we solving?

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


@seths.blog | 2 years ago

“Can we get a puppy?”

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


@seths.blog | 2 years ago

In it for the money

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


@seths.blog | 2 years ago

Start with the easy tests

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


@seths.blog | 2 years ago

Mollified

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


@seths.blog | 2 years ago

The next best click

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


@seths.blog | 2 years ago

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


@seths.blog | 2 years ago

Time dilation

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


@seths.blog | 2 years ago

Variability, industrialization and hating your job

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


@seths.blog | 2 years ago

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


@seths.blog | 2 years ago

Discipline vs. fairness

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


@seths.blog | 2 years ago

Speed bumps

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


@seths.blog | 2 years ago

Variability, industrialization and hating your job

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


@seths.blog | 2 years ago

The half-life of culture

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


@seths.blog | 2 years ago

Making a difference (making a point)

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


@seths.blog | 2 years ago

Developing a picture

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


@seths.blog | 2 years ago

Thoughts on your book cover

(Or your logo, your house, your tie, your business card, your website…) Like a suit or a skirt, it needs to fit. You’re going to be looking at it for a long time. And you’re certainly going t… | Continue reading


@seths.blog | 2 years ago

Leveling up isn’t easy

Once you’re in a slot, it’s harder and harder to move out of it. The status quo is here because it’s good at persisting. One option, particularly if you’re on your own, is t… | Continue reading


@seths.blog | 2 years ago

The two train illusion

If you’re at the station, sitting on a train about to leave, you might notice that the train next to you is moving. But, perhaps, that train is sitting still and you’re moving. It’… | Continue reading


@seths.blog | 2 years ago

Limiting data in search of information

Neil Postman pointed out that bureaucracies control the flow of information. A form, for example, has no room for all the information, just the stuff that’s requested. It’s impossible t… | Continue reading


@seths.blog | 2 years ago

Not what you asked for, but just what you needed

That doesn’t happen very often. When someone combines generosity, insight and bravery to provide something before we know that’s what we need, we are particularly grateful. It’s a… | Continue reading


@seths.blog | 2 years ago

The end of the office

The office is a fairly modern phenomenon. We got by for millenia without them. For a century, the office was simply a small room next to the factory or the store. The office was upstairs from the b… | Continue reading


@seths.blog | 2 years ago

The specific yes and the meandering no

When a change arrives, some people embrace it. And because it’s new, they have to be specific about why. They can talk clearly about the benefits it offers and why they feel drawn to the chan… | Continue reading


@seths.blog | 2 years ago

Not for Diana

Demetri Martin tells the story of seeing a necklace for sale. It says, “Diana” on it. “Wait,” he says to the owner of the jewelry store, “you’d probably sell mor… | Continue reading


@seths.blog | 2 years ago

The modern expediter

Feet on the street. At the same time that air travel is becoming less favored by businesses, the world is more connected than ever before. There are lots of organizations that want to do business i… | Continue reading


@seths.blog | 2 years ago

Clocks

Either you’re using time. Or it’s using you. You can watch the clock, but if you do, it’s watching you. Clocks have an agenda. They aren’t a part of the human condition̵… | Continue reading


@seths.blog | 2 years ago

In between a total loss and an endless expense

How much should you spend? For just about everything, there’s level 1 (too cheap, total loss, all money and effort less than 1 is wasted) and there’s level 2 (spending ever more money t… | Continue reading


@seths.blog | 2 years ago

Easily confused

There are countless arguments about words that we often don’t understand the way someone else might. Words like education, learning, merit, talent, skill, privilege, smart and successful. The… | Continue reading


@seths.blog | 2 years ago