For the longest time, school has been organized around subjects. Fifth graders go to math class and then English class and then geography. Mostly, those classes don’t teach what they say they… | Continue reading
(Unless they want to) Humans are unique in their ability to willingly change. We can change our attitude, our appearance and our skillset. But only when we want to. The hard part, then, isn’t… | Continue reading
First thing: All open access online surveys are essentially inaccurate, because the group that takes the time to answer the survey is usually different from the general public. Second thing: Don… | Continue reading
The marketing math is compelling. It’s obvious that the most highly-leveraged moment in every brand’s relationship with a customer is the moment when something goes wrong. In that momen… | Continue reading
Facebook, Linkedin, Google, Apple and Amazon have very little ability to promote a specific idea or creator. That sounds crazy, but culturally and technically, it’s true. In 1995, Oprah got to put … | Continue reading
Facebook, Linkedin, Google, Apple and Amazon have very little ability to promote a specific idea or creator. That sounds crazy, but culturally and technically, it’s true. In 1995, Oprah got to put … | Continue reading
Direct marketers don’t care how many people they reach. They care what percentage take action. Brand marketers have trouble measuring action, so all they have to work with is reach. If you ca… | Continue reading
When you’re feeling stuck with your project, grab three index cards. On each card, write down an element of the project that, if you invested time and money, would change for the better. If t… | Continue reading
Since the first story was carved on a rock, media pundits have explained that they have simply given people what they want, reporting the best they can on what’s happening. Cause (the culture… | Continue reading
When you set up a system, it helps to keep in mind what will happen if it doesn’t work. Depending on the costs of ‘not working’, you can build more resilience into the system. In … | Continue reading
It doesn’t make you go any faster. It doesn’t make the leader go any faster. Tailgating creates frustration, limits your choices and isn’t safe. If you want to make a difference, … | Continue reading
Euphemism is easier than ever. Broad strokes, majestic language, big ideas… Mission statements and humanitarian motives. It’s interesting to note that organized sports, one of the first… | Continue reading
Today, will you stand outside your boss’s office hoping that she’ll meet with you about your new project, or will you hunker down in your cube hoping she doesn’t notice you? Will … | Continue reading
Do you really want the grease? Or would you rather make things better? The best way to contribute to a community or a brand isn’t by complaining. It’s by making things better. Taking re… | Continue reading
On one list identify the grievances, disrespects and bad breaks: People who don't like you. Deals that went wrong. Unfair expectations. Bad situations. Unfortunate outcomes. Unfairness. It… | Continue reading
If you’re going to do a presentation (instead of sending a memo)… If you’re going to do a sales call (instead of staying home)… it’s because you want to make a change … | Continue reading
The rationale for traditional education is that more learning gets you a better job, and a job gets you paid, which makes the learning a worthwhile investment. But what happens after you get that j… | Continue reading
It seems more productive to judge tomorrow by something more relevant, useful and in our control than whether or not it’s raining, doesn’t it? We can judge a day by how many tools we ge… | Continue reading
All moths are the same. For the right species, if you light a candle, the moths will show up. They’re drawn to it for little-understood reasons related to how they’re wired. Just as mot… | Continue reading
Over the last few months, I’ve added a few recipes to the pages of this blog, mostly so I have them handy, partly because I haven’t found anything like them online. If you want insight … | Continue reading
Principles that we suspend during difficult times aren’t really principles. Principles really count when they’re difficult to maintain. That’s not the same thing, though, as refus… | Continue reading
On Fisherman’s Wharf, there’s one restaurant after another. Is that a smart place to open a business, right next to all the others? At the bookstore, there are tens of thousands of book… | Continue reading
Of course they do. The interesting insight is to realize that our line seems to be in exactly the right place, every time. Getting used to the fact that our lines are unique is the first step in fi… | Continue reading
Technology shows up and changes the culture. The culture then enables new industries and movements, which further change the culture. And then technology shows up and puts an end to the system we w… | Continue reading
Conventional CEO wisdom is that top management is worth a fortune because of the high-leverage decisions they make. But consider the work of Wade, an unheralded AirCanada gate agent. Yesterday, I w… | Continue reading
Really? More data is usually available. It takes time or money, but you can get more data. But you’re probably not using all the data you’ve already got. I’m guessing what you mea… | Continue reading
The only choice is to launch before you’re ready. Before it’s perfect. Before it’s 100% proven to be no risk to you. At that moment, your resistance says, “don’t ship … | Continue reading
The easiest way to get someone’s attention is to compare them to someone else. When people compete on the same metrics (how many followers, how much income, how many points scored) the focus … | Continue reading
That’s the two-part secret of smart eating–you don’t have to eat everything on your plate, and if you’ve got trouble with that, put less on the plate to begin with. But the … | Continue reading
Independence sometimes seems easier than the long-term, disciplined, generous work of connection. But it’s connection that enables us to add value. The math is simple: when people with differ… | Continue reading
Some projects suffer from a lack of awareness. If only more people knew about what you were offering, you’d be fine. But most projects don’t have that problem, not really. The problem i… | Continue reading
These are the two axes of professional design and engineering. Did you produce within the constraints? Did you deliver measurable results? That’s it. Good design doesn’t exceed the available resour… | Continue reading
The first week of business school was pretty miserable for me. I had no idea if the others were feeling as underwater as I was, because I was focused on my own challenges. And then, a few days into… | Continue reading
It’s possible to build a car that will never injure the driver, regardless of the severity of the crash. The thing is, it will be so heavy, it won’t move, and so wide, it won’t fi… | Continue reading
Is probably not a useful metric to measure yourself by. If it’s important and you can spend money to fix it, by all means, go do that. But the helpful metrics are the ones where cash isn̵… | Continue reading
If it’s the wrong stone, walk away. Infinity is a trap. The frenzied search for more is a distraction and a place to hide, all in one. Pick the right stones and cherish them as you turn them … | Continue reading
You can only break it open once. Organizations (and political candidates) that forget this and treat their biggest supporters like bottomless ATMs learn the piggybank rule at great cost. Every inte… | Continue reading
The usual marathons, the popular ones, are done in a group. They have a start time. A finish line. A way to qualify. A route. A crowd. And a date announced a year in advance. Mostly, they have exci… | Continue reading
These are the two axes of professional design and engineering. Did you produce within the constraints? Did you deliver measurable results? That’s it. Good design doesn’t exceed the available resour… | Continue reading
The simple but hard to follow rule is this: Only borrow money to buy things that go up in value. In the old days, that meant a house and a college education, because you’d probably earn enoug… | Continue reading
That’s exciting to hear. Until you realize that if you switch just one letter around, it spells eyes eyes eyes… As soon as you’re applauded, you have eyes on you. Eyes that belong… | Continue reading
The problem with A/B testing is that people don’t like to fail. So they test option A against option B, where both options are quite similar. Blue boxes vs. green boxes. $199 vs. $205. Why no… | Continue reading
What do you do when you face an alien looking vegetable? It’s all over the farmer’s market, it’s cheap and plentiful and you’ve never had it before. Most people walk right o… | Continue reading
The Baseball Writers of America vote for induction into the hall of fame. Eleven of them voted NO when Babe Ruth came up. If Babe Ruth gets eleven ‘no’ votes, why are we so worried abou… | Continue reading
Just? The meaning of the word is the reason we used the word. If we don’t agree about the meaning of the word, we haven’t communicated. Instead of, “that’s just semantics,&#… | Continue reading
Most organizations have someone that they call the head of marketing, but unlike the other departments, this person’s job is usually more tactical and less strategic than it could be. That… | Continue reading
That’s not the question, not really. The question is, “what are you going to do about it?” And, to follow up, “what effort are you willing to put in to make it better?”… | Continue reading
The spread of TED talks means that more and more people are being put on stage and told to memorize their talk. This almost always leads to failure. It’s not because people memorize too much,… | Continue reading