The paint in the can almost always lasts longer than the aerosol does. The propellant is more difficult to engineer and work with than the stuff it’s propelling. It’s volatile, elusive … | Continue reading
or perhaps, you're looking to improve. You can't do both at the same time. If it's perfect, you can't make it better. But if you don't make it better, you're getting n… | Continue reading
Of course there isn’t one. Ants organize locally. They develop a culture, and that culture gives them the resilience to make them one of the world’s most numerous creatures. Deborah Gor… | Continue reading
We sort people all the time. Society prefers easy, useless ones. Sorts like: Skin color. Gender. Disability status. Nationality. Religious background. Height. While these are easy to do and the res… | Continue reading
There is no market. There are markets. And markets have segments. There are people who enjoy buying expensive wine. There are people who will save up their money to have a big wedding. There are pe… | Continue reading
Make some up. There’s no shame in that. In fact, it’s a brilliant hack. Set up a method of reward or punishment with a third party. Money in escrow that goes to a cause you abhor. Publi… | Continue reading
The original book could take three years to write. Retyping the manuscript might take a day or two. Modern work isn’t time-consuming because it takes a long time to type. Physical constraints… | Continue reading
There’s a common misperception, particularly in media, business and politics, that being a jerk is a necessary ingredient on the way to becoming and staying successful. But there’s no d… | Continue reading
What’s inside the Leaning Tower of Pisa? Nothing. It’s a hollow tube. One of the most iconic buildings in the world is empty. But that’s okay, because the building doesn’t m… | Continue reading
Before you hit send on that next email, perhaps you should run down this list, just to be sure: Is it going to just one person? (If yes, jump to #10) Since it’s going to a group, have I thoug… | Continue reading
All software is held together with patches, shortcuts and cruft. (Many old houses are as well). Don’t be surprised. Expect it. At some point, you’ll need to take a deep breath and pay a… | Continue reading
All software is held together with patches, shortcuts and cruft. (Many old houses are as well). Don’t be surprised. Expect it. At some point, you’ll need to take a deep breath and pay a… | Continue reading
A few years ago, I self-published a workbook called the Shipit Journal. It instantly sold out, so I went back to press two more times, and they sold out as well. The Shipit Journal works for a simp… | Continue reading
That’s what the sign at the airport cafe said. It’s clearly a state of mind. Everyone at the airport is in one of two states: in a hurry, or killing time. The absolute number isn’… | Continue reading
Secret #1 is the biggest one: More bad ideas. The more bad ideas the better. If you work really hard on coming up with bad ideas, sooner or later, some good ideas are going to slip through. This is… | Continue reading
Almost every element of good bread happens long before it goes into the oven. Too often, we spend our time and effort on the exciting last step. And too often, we forget to spend our time and atten… | Continue reading
“Which one do you want?” There were 100 quarts of strawberries at the farmer’s market yesterday. In answer to the farmer’s question, the person ahead of me in line spent a f… | Continue reading
That’s how we choose who to work with. We want someone who’s good at their job. And the ones we pass up are usually labeled as, “not good enough.” And we label ourselves as … | Continue reading
Digital analogs only work when they’re better and different, not when they’re almost the same. Chat isn’t the same as chatting. Email isn’t a replacement for mail. Video con… | Continue reading
An ideal project is one where the users are better off if others are using it too. The train to the plane in Oslo is a great example. It’s faster, easier and nicer than driving. Its existence… | Continue reading
Should you give up? There are people who have read far more books than you have, and you will certainly never catch up. Your website began with lousy traffic stats, in fact, they all do. Should you… | Continue reading
It seems to be getting more difficult to trust that someone is going to do what they say they said they were going to do. “It was a misunderstanding.” “That’s not what I sai… | Continue reading
Car factories are a bit of a miracle. They make a complex, expensive device, and they do it close to perfectly. People love their cars, and regularly buy new ones long before they need to. It’… | Continue reading
There are two polar opposites: Staying still and Breaking. It's easy to visualize each end of the axis, whatever the activity. In between is stretching. Stretching is growth. Extending our rea… | Continue reading
The business of software is a bit of a miracle. Properly designed, software isn’t more expensive to create when more people use it. In fact, when network effects are involved, it’s actu… | Continue reading
Ideas don't come from watching television Ideas sometimes come from listening to a lecture Ideas often come while reading a book Good ideas come from bad ideas, but only if there are enough of… | Continue reading
The business of software is a bit of a miracle. Properly designed, software isn’t more expensive to create when more people use it. In fact, when network effects are involved, it’s actu… | Continue reading
Time zones are a recent invention. It used to be that local time was different everywhere. Each village had its own high noon. Factories required synchronization, so that workers would all show up … | Continue reading
Imagine a circle of ten kids, passing the ball from one to another. What you do when you don't have the ball doesn't have much impact on how fast the ball moves around. But during the mom… | Continue reading
The story goes that James Cook brought fermented german cabbage with him on a long voyage, an innovative way to combat scurvy. He knew that getting his sailors to eat this strange and stinky food w… | Continue reading
“…but it might be for you.” That’s a home run. The stuff that’s for everyone, that’s easy to click, sniff, share, produce and learn–that stuff ends up havi… | Continue reading
When we go looking for a co-worker, a freelancer, a vendor or even a boss, we’re hoping for something. It might be: Perfect Interesting Accommodating Productive Challenging and a host of othe… | Continue reading