Betterment

It’s a tempting shortcut. Different kinds of people prefer pop tarts to pizza, or prefer expensive wine to beer, or prefer amusement parks to bowling. Except everyone is the same and everyone…

You may be familiar with the famous object lesson Stephen Covey used to reveal the importance of priorities. Imagine an empty jar, a bucket of big rocks, and a bucket of gravel. If you put the gravel in the jar first, it fills the jar’s capacity, and the big rocks won’t fit. But, if you […]

When I first graduated and was looking for a job, I never thought about what I want from a manager. I probably selected the highest paid job at the time. After years of working and having experienced both good managers and toxic ones, today I put the heaviest weight on the quality of my employer/manager when considering the next move. I'd take a pay cut for a better manager and more interesting work.

Good pizza is rare, even though the method to create it is well known. Any efforts to make it more convenient, cheaper or easier will almost always make it worse. If you think this post is about pi…

How is history made? How does change happen? There are two main schools of thought. First is the “Great Man” theory, which was popularized in the 19th

We can give instructions to a fellow human by: Talking to them Handwriting a note Typing a text Waving a flag Triggering a traffic device Sounding a siren Sending a memo Choosing from a list of cho…

I spent time this week with two authors who are showing up to share their lives, their insights, and their generosity in the form of books. A good book will change the reader, but it makes an even …

What is self-efficacy and the three most important takeaways to succeed with challenging goals

With her record-breaking “Eras” Tour, Taylor Swift was recently re-released onto the cultural landscape the way humidity is unleashed on Atlanta every

Failing to acknowledge a favor or a courtesy is a triple mistake, and it’s becoming more common. ChatGPT is now promoting the idea that it can write a thank you note for you, and a text is a …

We have the chance to build something that creates connection and generates value. On the other hand, a system that diminishes agency and dignity is inherently unstable. When we seek to create scar…

Back in 2016, we wrote about Margaret Heffernan’s famous line about office culture: “Conflict is frequent when candor is safe.” In other words, a team can

[Of course, it’s not stupidity. It’s fear and superstition, which often go together. First, the rant.] It’s 2023. Major corporations should not be posting rules like this: This is…

How unlikely is this? The artist who paints a masterpiece, from scratch, without hesitation. The playwright who doesn’t need a workshop or a reading. The architect who designs a food hall tha…

The key stages of Robert Caro’s research and writing process

If you throw a bucket of water on a small campfire, you’ll succeed in putting it out. Pour a bucketful of sake into one of those little glasses and you’ll waste most of it and ruin the …

At the Fast Company Innovation Festival, executives shared how sustainability is only part of the story when it comes to getting more people to adopt your climate innovation.

A recent discussion about the challenges of direct-to-consumer marketing of a skincare product ended with one participant describing the hard part with, “nothing to ad.” She was referri…

It’s safe to say that many of us want to do “meaningful work.” Work that we care about. Work that has a worthy purpose, and work that is useful to others

For the first time, the only time, everyone on Earth was in the same boat at the same time. We’ve long been divided by privilege, by caste, by accidents of birth or by organized hierarchies. …

Since I’m now twice as old as I was when I started this blog, I thought I’d take some time to reflect on advice I wish I could have given my younger self.

Don't abandon your notes! Obsidian is exceptionally good at systems. Here are a few to help you with finding old notes in Obsidian.

The smartest people in the world use mental models to make intelligent decisions, avoid stupidity, and increase productivity. Let's take a look at how ...

It’s tempting to believe that we’re not easy to fool. Not by a magician, a politician or a banker. Other folks might be easily duped by a spammer or a hustler, but not us. And yet, no o…

To get to the Kebab House Cafe, you’ll need to drive past a dozen fast food restaurants, restaurants you can find off just about any interstate. It’s certainly less convenient to go a f…

There’s a story from this country’s old-time mining days that tells of a man who found a vein of gold in the mountains of the West. He staked a claim and went to work to extract the glimmering ore. But shortly thereafter, the vein of gold disappeared.  Day after day, the man continued to pick, […]

Preparation is the key to success in your first 90 days!

Some problems, when well solved, lead to making things better. Some problems give us a chance to get back on course. And some problems are opportunities to be generous. But many of the problems tha…