Meteorologists on TV spend most of their time talking about how the weather is right now, right outside. And progress for TV weather often looks like more accurate reporting of the current precipit… | Continue reading
It pays to know what something is for. It helps us figure out how to do it better, how to allocate resources and how to know when we’re done. Much of what we build or invest in is complicated… | Continue reading
No one wants to be hustled. To be pitched and pushed and most of all, pressured into buying something. Hustle culture has been around for a long time, but the internet–and new forms of it in … | Continue reading
Possibility has a flipside. We need possibility to do our best work. To believe that it might work. To understand that if we do our best work and bring our full selves to the project, we have a sho… | Continue reading
Organized sports, particularly for school-age kids, present a real challenge. The results are easily measured and are on just one axis. Points scored. Winning vs. losing. If we teach a child to ide… | Continue reading
Who we are isn’t the same thing as what we do. But sometimes, what we do can change who we are. Our identity describes the person we see in the mirror, the groups we identify with, the versio… | Continue reading
A mass noun is one that doesn’t take an S when we have more. “Butter” and “Information” are both uncountable in use, because when we only have only one unit of butter … | Continue reading
We can improve and magnify things in very short order. Light bulbs, elevators, website technology–give it some time, and people will pile on and all of the important metrics will be sharpened… | Continue reading
When a new medium shows up that allocates attention, someone comes out ahead. They win a Google search, amass a ton of FB followers, hit the jackpot on Twitter or even Clubhouse. “They picked… | Continue reading
A “Deer Xing” sign isn’t there to tell the deer where to cross the road. It’s there to let drivers know that this is the spot where deer often choose to cross the road. Beca… | Continue reading
You can build a city below sea level, and it might work for a while, but sooner or later, the water will win. Trends don’t determine whether we’ll be able to accomplish something tomorr… | Continue reading
Innovators rarely have a competition problem. The challenge isn’t that your market is buying from an alternative provider–the challenge is that they’re buying from no one. The wor… | Continue reading
The language we use, the standards we adhere to, the kind of interactions that are permitted–this is up to the host. You’re at a dinner party, and if you want to be welcomed back, you&#… | Continue reading
Just about every business, every initiative and every intervention fails sooner or later. Since that’s demonstrably true, it’s worth considering how you intend to fail when the time com… | Continue reading
Walking away from something that we’re used to, even if it’s unjust or inefficient or ineffective–it usually takes far too long. Fear, momentum and the status quo combine to keep … | Continue reading
And that’s a feature, the reason the map exists. The phrase reminds us not confuse the diagram or model or overview of the situation with the situation itself. Because they’re not the s… | Continue reading
When we do our work without regard for a third party, simply to serve the reader, the customer or the story, we’re creating something that’s unsponsored. The third party shows up when w… | Continue reading
If your comment is helpful to anyone else, than it’s generous indeed. Holding back is selfish, because it deprives the group of your insight at the same time that it normalizes non-participat… | Continue reading
One goes up in value, the other doesn’t. It’s fun to imagine that our expenses are investments, but if they were, we’d call them investments. Our tools can be re-used, and our ass… | Continue reading
But if that’s true, then why don’t we all agree on the right next step? It could be because everyone has a different experience, different data and different goals. Or, it could be that you are the… | Continue reading
The arc of institutions, including governments and corporations, particularly public ones, bends toward short-term thinking, bullying, anti-competitive behavior and laziness. The antidote is persis… | Continue reading
A useful way to get in sync. “What’s the hard part” is a question that everyone on the team should be able to answer. But you won’t find out unless you ask the question. You might discover th… | Continue reading
It’s time to get serious about how we show up in remote meetings. For a year, we slogged through it, but it was exhausting. Not only did we feel lousy at the end of the day, but other people … | Continue reading
It’s time to get serious about how we show up in remote meetings. For a year, we slogged through it, but it was exhausting. Not only did we feel lousy at the end of the day, but other people … | Continue reading
The dog needs to be fed, there’s a blog post to write, a report is due, there’s a meeting at 10, this form from the bank has to be submitted… We can measure our performance (and o… | Continue reading
The optimism and possibility that come from training and learning in groups is a miracle. It means that, with a little effort, we can level up, become more productive and enjoy the work more tomorr… | Continue reading
It’s more productive to offer directions to someone who has already decided to go on the journey. “How do I get there?” is a much easier transaction than, “you must go.̶… | Continue reading
Qualified means that you’ve done the work, earned our trust and could be invited to join us. More than ever, our current technology and the lack of gatekeepers mean that your body of work cou… | Continue reading
Well, actually, “after a long slog” is a much more accurate way to describe it. An overnight success almost never is. Might as well plan for the journey. | Continue reading
If you’re designing a package, a cover, a fashion or even a meme… The goal is to have it be recognizable from across the room. That doesn’t mean it has to be loud or interruptive.… | Continue reading
When the world was small, our understanding of ‘reality’ was consistent, which is why a good April Fool’s joke felt right. It tweaked the normal just enough to cause us to wonder … | Continue reading
“The sun is trying to break through the clouds.” “The virus doesn’t like it when people stay home and isolate.” “The computer didn’t expect you to type tha… | Continue reading
Normal is the thing many don’t notice. Until it changes. And then we can’t unsee how much we had failed to pay attention to. Who’s on the short list for consideration, who is give… | Continue reading
This screwdriver, what’s it for? The one with with black oxide non-slip tips, tri-lobe ergonomic handles, and a special “Speed Zone” at the base of the handle, which allows for fa… | Continue reading
Why are some paintings so valuable? Works by Rothko or Matisse are worth millions. The Mona Lisa is truly priceless. There are four reasons, all working together, all quite relevant today as we rem… | Continue reading
You have a choice to make. There are four quadrants, and the thing you offer can fit into one of them. Perhaps you make a low-priced treat, something that people want. Wrigley’s gum or Heinz … | Continue reading
You have a choice to make. There are four quadrants, and the thing you offer can fit into one of them. Perhaps you make a low-priced treat, something that people want. Wrigley’s gum or Heinz … | Continue reading
Traditional con men do their work one person at a time. It’s a laborious process, earning trust and the benefit of the doubt before ultimately ripping someone off. Toward the end of my dad… | Continue reading
There’s a desire to celebrate our “authentic” self. But perhaps our considered self, the one that shows up when we’re doing our best to be consistent, generous and professio… | Continue reading
Certainty: Resolute in the face of criticism and implacable when confronting evidence to the contrary. ‘Never in doubt’ is more important than being right. The need to prove strength an… | Continue reading
The public markets can offer a company quite a bit: Cash right now. Liquidity for the future. A currency to help recruiting and retention. And public companies come with a giant caveat: They are ow… | Continue reading
“I’m sorry that your cat died,” does not mean that I killed your cat. But, “I’m sorry that I stepped on your foot,” does mean that I stepped on your foot. In cre… | Continue reading
When does this rule apply? It doesn’t apply to anyone we’ve ever hired. It doesn’t apply to anything we’ve ever purchased. It doesn’t apply to any project we’ve … | Continue reading
More than ten, actually. Millions of books will be published this year and for good reason. People rarely regret the effort. Everyone has their own, but here are some of the reasons to get you star… | Continue reading
The world is going to change, and resilience is our best response. It’s not about building things that always turn out the way we expect. Bulletproof is too expensive, too rigid and requires … | Continue reading
When distribution is scarce, the hits are powerful indeed. AM Top 40 radio meant that if you made that list of 40 hits, you were going to sell a huge number, and if you didn’t, you were gone.… | Continue reading
When distribution is scarce, the hits are powerful indeed. AM Top 40 radio meant that if you made that list of 40 hits, you were going to sell a huge number, and if you didn’t, you were gone.… | Continue reading
“What’s a fax machine?” There are people working today who don’t know. In the 1980s, I produced a book about VCR tapes and video stores that’s so obsolete, you canR… | Continue reading