Herbert Simon Says
Herbert Simon Says, “A wealth of information creates a poverty of attention.” And he’s right. Even though he said this long ago, way back in 1978 before this thing called the Internet started pervading all aspects of our daily lives. Pioneering the field of attention economics, Simon rightly pointed out the emerging scarce resource of [...]
Adaptability
The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry. When we embark on a new mission, we make plans that account for a variety of contingencies, alternative scenarios, competing interests and more. We anticipate as much as possible, we pre-determine strategies for response, and we make decisions up-front so as to ensure a [...]
Talent plus effort
Talent is important, and not to be underrated. But, it’s not enough. Talent shows capability and capacity. Talent shows competence and skill. Talent shows aptitude, but it doesn’t show attitude. Caring matters. And that’s where effort comes in. When we’re good at something, we have talent. When we care about something, we deliver. And while talent [...]
Build it first, explain it later
Yes,we are all in sales. But selling ideas can be hard. And intangibles are devalued right out of the gate. Concepts can be hard to explain concisely, and hard to grasp completely. Show and tell, however, is simple and effective. Concrete examples speak volumes. This is why Jim McKelvey, cofounder of Square, espouses the mantra [...]
Proud and Embarrassed
We’re proud when things go well and embarrassed when they don’t. What if we flipped that around? We could be proud of our failures: – if we dared to try something different – if we did it with good intentions – if we didn’t succeed, but we did learn something valuable – if we provoked a little [...]
Expedite the trust
Trust earns influence You gain influence when people trust you. But trust does not come easily. Or quickly. People gain trust in you over time. As you prove yourself. As you are known to be reliable and consistent. As you are known to be insightful and valuable. This whole package – your presence, over time [...]
The Start-Up of You, by Reid Hoffman and Ben Casnocha
The way we manage our careers now is very different than in the recent past. It takes different skills to stand out in an organization and a very different approach to be successful in a career that will span work at a variety of organizations. Reid Hoffman, cofounder of the popular business and career oriented [...]
A great non-digital mobile marketing strategy
While traveling through Chicago O’Hare Airport recently, I noticed an innovative mobile marketing strategy in action, and it looked to be quite successful. We’re all mobile these days, with lots of attention paid to multiple screens. These mobile device screens are quickly replacing TV screens, particularly when people are moving about. Airports are full of [...]
Easy and urgent versus hard and important
A great video is making the rounds this week. It’s a talk on creativity by John Cleese (of Monty Python fame) from way back in 1991. John knows creativity, and he gives a great talk on how to create the conditions necessary for creativity in your work. Even if you never plan to get on [...]
Move away in order to get closer
Challenging projects require intense focus. But focusing intensely can be exactly the wrong thing to do sometimes. Leaning in When the going gets tough, many drop out. That’s why a lot of projects fail. That’s why succeeding is hard – and worthwhile. Which reminds me of a favorite quote: “Stormy waters favor strong swimmers.” That’s [...]