The first favor is when you ask a friend or colleague to do something for you. The second favor is when you ask them to do it precisely the way you would do it. They’re not related. And the s… | Continue reading
There’s a section in the greeting card store for “New Baby” cards. I’m not sure what other kinds of babies are available. But the ‘new’ reminds us of why we are … | Continue reading
Here’s a useful metaphor: Famous conductors are often judged for an hour or two on stage. They wear expensive clothes, make dramatic gestures and receive ovations. They also get paid a lot to… | Continue reading
A friend left her phone near me. Over the next half hour, it pinged and chirped. I felt myself getting anxious and a little antsy… These were not pings for me, not on my phone. They werenR… | Continue reading
It’s probably not completely original. It’s probably not breathtaking in scope. It’s probably not immediately popular. But… it’s definitely worth pursuing, consistentl… | Continue reading
We can choose to commit to a recursive and infinite path that elegantly creates more of the same. We can choose possibility. We can choose connection. We can choose optimism. We can choose justice.… | Continue reading
Everyone who wants to be busy is busy. But not everyone is productive. Busy is simply a series of choices about how to spend the next minute. Productive requires skill, persistence and good judgmen… | Continue reading
It means two things: In high-quality manufacturing, producing to tolerance means that all the parts are as identical as possible. Getting the tolerances precise permits cars to be made more reliabl… | Continue reading
The purpose of marketing is to cause change. If we’re trying to build a movement, raise money for a non-profit, sell a product, change lifestyles, build community–these are all marketin… | Continue reading
There is the kindness of ‘please’ and ‘thank you.’ And the kindness of “I was wrong, I’m sorry.” The small kindnesses that smooth our interactions and help other people feel as th… | Continue reading
There are bosses, customers and partners who will never be happy. And sometimes, despite the futility, we work to please them anyway. Because that can be a compass. It can help us do the work that … | Continue reading
Some days, we wake up with optimism and possibility… we’re able to find more reserves, connect better and do more generous work. That might be because the outside world has handed us go… | Continue reading
Some days, we wake up with optimism and possibility… we’re able to find more reserves, connect better and do more generous work. That might be because the outside world has handed us go… | Continue reading
All forward motion disappoints someone. If you serve one audience, you’ve let another down. One focus means that something else got ignored. If you create something scarce, someone won’… | Continue reading
The first half of Bruce Springsteen’s autobiography makes some things abundantly clear: He had no natural ability to play the guitar. In fact, after his first lessons, he quit, unable to play… | Continue reading
Burned in is what we look for in an electronic device. It’s working perfectly, in the groove. Burned out is what happens if we abuse it. Burn-in comes from a practice, a generous, persistent … | Continue reading
Of course you can. If you care enough. It’s not easy, it might not work and it takes effort, but the opportunity is there. It helps to do it on purpose and it helps to do it in community. I&#… | Continue reading
We’ve been brainwashed into keeping up with the Jones’s. Paying attention to our peers and staying ahead, just a little bit. But if you’re in that trap, it’s probably worth … | Continue reading
Chestnut brand canoes dominated the Canadian wilderness for years. One reason is that they were shaped with a tumblehome. If you leaned the boat over, the boat leaned back, providing stability. The… | Continue reading
What’s the point of sorting the silverware when you empty the dishwasher–why not simply put all of it in the drawer in a random order, and then pick out the cutlery you need when you ne… | Continue reading
It’s not an accident that dirt roads end up with deep ruts on them, that moguls on hills get steeper and that we find ourselves slipping back into the very things that exhaust us at work. Onc… | Continue reading
The ignored secret behind successful organizations (and nations) is infrastructure. Not the content of what's happening, but the things that allow that content to turn into something productiv… | Continue reading
If you want to see wisdom and maturity in action, look for someone (or a community) investing in infrastructure before it’s too late. Part of what makes my part of the country so lovely is th… | Continue reading
I just installed new smoke detectors in the house (definitely worth the hassle and low expense) and the batteries now last ten years. There’s a little spot on the side of the detector to writ… | Continue reading
Our life is filled with projects. We invest time, effort or money, and perhaps we get a result. It’s useful to have a portfolio of projects, because not all of them are going to work. The 4 x… | Continue reading
Well, that was interesting. Tragic. Heartbreaking. Painful. Difficult. Have more people ever been happier to see a year go away? I’m posting this a few hours early just to clear the decks a b… | Continue reading
For many people, work consists of a series of urgencies. Set them up and knock them down. Empty the in-box, answer the boss, make the deadline. Over the next few weeks, there may be fewer urgencies… | Continue reading
Two videos for when you might have time. For no really good reason, I filmed this long riff about my experience with the early days of video and adventure games. Probably more 1980s game history th… | Continue reading
It is on the most important blog. Yours. Even if no one but you reads it. The blog you write each day is the blog you need the most. It’s a compass and a mirror, a chance to put a stake in th… | Continue reading
then you don’t. (Not yet.) Cleaning out the fridge after a power failure, I found three half-empty containers of anchovies. Because they magically migrate to the back of the fridge, every tim… | Continue reading
One of Woodie Guthrie’s resolutions was to “Wake up and fight.” But he wasn’t talking about being a bully. Or picking a fight at the local bar. He was talking about changing… | Continue reading
“People like us do things like this.” Social media understands this. It also knows that people like points, likes and something that feels like popularity. The social media companies op… | Continue reading
First: If you come up with an innovation that creates value, that value is multiplied a million-fold because now you can share it outside your village. Second: If you build a community, the network… | Continue reading
It’s urgent It’s certain to work It’s close by Everyone else is It might happen to you Only someone as caring as you will choose to make a difference Only someone as smart as you … | Continue reading
In the midst of all of it, some people are still able to trust. To trust in others, to trust in possibility and to trust themselves. And… we’re surrounded by opportunity. we often get a… | Continue reading
2020 was a terrible year for too many people. So much trauma, dislocation and illness. Everyone has their own stories, and everyone suffered (unevenly and unfairly) from the extraordinary shifts in… | Continue reading
That’s not often the same as, “I did my best.” Quality has a very specific definition: Did it meet the customer’s requirements? Any experience, product or deliverable that m… | Continue reading
The landlord acts like he owns the place, because he does. The landlord makes the rules and has the power to enforce them. The host acts on behalf of those that are being served. “Gracious… | Continue reading
The landlord acts like he owns the place, because he does. The landlord makes the rules and has the power to enforce them. The host acts on behalf of those that are being served. “Gracious… | Continue reading
Some people hesitate to share an idea because they’re worried it will be stolen. In general, these people are afraid of success, not failure. An idea unspoken is a safe one, which not only ca… | Continue reading
How certain do you need to be? When presented with a new opportunity, or a risk to be avoided, do you have any doubts? Because there are always doubts. And then we multiply it, waiting for the doub… | Continue reading
There’s a lot to be said for tradition, for stability and for the foundation that the status quo gives us to move forward. But, if we were on the spot to analyze our day, our processes and ou… | Continue reading
In chess, a blunder is a mistake that no one can excuse. Even one blunder and you’re probably going to lose. In our vigilance to avoid blunders, sometimes we try to eliminate mistakes as well… | Continue reading
Someone who plays Monopoly every week, and always uses the little silver hat as their playing piece and always buys Boardwalk if he can–he may think that this is his game. That’s way to… | Continue reading
“I was wrong,” isn’t something you hear very often. Particularly from people in power, or folks who have gone out on a limb espousing a belief. It’s far easier to persuade s… | Continue reading
It’s fun to say the perfect thing at the perfect time. Mic drop. The problem is that then you have to bend over and pick up the microphone. Conversations take more effort but tend to be worth… | Continue reading
One reason that successful and prolific singer-songwriters are prolific is that as soon as they’ve written a song, they can record it and publish it. And a huge advantage of having a daily bl… | Continue reading
Here are some books for the end of the year… fifty years of ideas that have helped me understand the world differently: Gödel, Escher, Bach — Before meta was cool, Douglas Hofstadter won a Pu… | Continue reading