It’s possible to have a useful conversation about what to do about something that’s broken or needs improvement. But first, we must acknowledge that it happened. It’s not controversial to understand the facts, the data and the shifts that are happening in the world we live in. In fact, the only way to have a useful conversation about what to do about it is to understand and accept the reality of what’s here. Movements that deny reality choose to do this because they don’t have a better plan, and stalling is their best option. Which is no option at all. Today is Earth Day, which like Mother’s D ..read more

It’s surprisingly easy to be generous and find solutions to our friend’s problems. Much easier than it is to do it for ourselves. Why? There are two useful reasons, I think. FIRST, because we’re unaware of all the real and imaginary boundaries our friends have set up. If it were easy to solve the problem, they probably would have. But they’re making it hard because they have decided that there are people or systems that aren’t worth challenging. Loosening the constraints always makes a problem easier to solve. And SECOND, because resistance is real. Solving the problem means moving ahead, conf ..read more

That’s not true for a screwdriver. Or a table saw or even a spatula. These are useful tools, but they don’t pretend to be well-informed or wise. They’re dumb, and they look dumb too. That’s one reason that tools are effective. We use them to leverage our effort, but we don’t trust them to do things that they’re not good at. The reason AI language models are dumb is that they don’t actually know anything, the model is simply calculating probabilities. Not about the unknown, but about everything. Each word, each sentence, is a statistical guess. I’ve switched mostly to claude.ai because it’s mor ..read more

Expertise and firmly held beliefs don’t always go together. Here’s a simple XY grid to help us choose where to sit at whatever table we’re invited to: Plenty of well-trained professionals have earned the right to have strongly held beliefs. These convictions save them time and error, particularly if the world is stable. Surgeons, jugglers and historians make countless decisions, and they rarely have the time or resources to reconsider each underlying factor. This makes them efficient, but can also cause a field to get stuck. Fortunately, there are innovators. These are individuals with plenty ..read more

Dreams are fine. And dreams involve contradictions. We want this AND that, but both can’t happen. That’s what keeps them from being plans. Plans embrace boundaries and reality, they don’t ignore them. Plans thrive on scarcity and constraints. Plans are open for inspection, and a successful planner looks forward to altering the plans to make them more likely to become real ..read more

Sometimes, we’re so afraid of creation that we don’t even leave blank pages around. If your workspace has a hole exactly the size of a creative idea in it, you’re more likely to fill the hole. When we decrease the number of steps to begin creating, and increase the expectation that something is going to arrive, it’s far more likely to happen. Book a recording studio. Leave the laptop open. Schedule a blog post. Make sure the whiteboard can be seen. Buy more blank canvasses than you need. Blank pages beg to be filled, and it helps to have them around. Some GOODBIDS auctions to consider: Get som ..read more

This week is the 150th anniversary of the most important failed art exhibit of all time. It was organized by and featured artists who weren’t even among those that had a slot at the runner’s up exhibit for artists who weren’t featured in the real Salon in Paris. Manet didn’t have the guts to join them, so he participated in the ‘Refused’ exhibit. The others understood that a real change was possible. Monet, Renoir, Sisley, Degas, Berthe Morisot, Pissarro, Béliard, Guillaumin, Lepic, Levert, and Rourt all participated. They not only put their art in the show, they organized and paid for it. A f ..read more

Every competitor faces pressure, and it varies by industry, consumer/investor segment and geography. This applies to services, products, ideas, organizations, jobs… whenever there’s a choice and a market. The pressure might push you to be: Cheaper Simpler Dumber More short term Easier Coarse More convenient Hyped But it’s also possible to choose a marketplace that rewards: Durability Difficulty Elegant design Resilience Thoughtfulness Higher performance and efficiency Patience A real challenge is in trying to bring the desires of one segment to the other. That’s difficult indeed. Choose yo ..read more

“How do you get the word out?” I’ve heard this from presidential candidates, from small business leaders and nonprofits as well. It’s easy to believe that the goal of marketing is to shout, hype, hustle and otherwise promote. It’s tempting to focus on your story as the top of the pyramid, and decide that your work is to share that story to everyone downstream, downwind or near you. Hire a PR firm, run some ads, post more on social media and hype and hustle. After all, it’s important. But that’s not how the world works, and it hasn’t worked that way since network TV started to fade a few decade ..read more

[Relevant aside: If you get this blog by email, apologies for the glitches of the last few days caused by my provider. If you ever see a broken link or something that doesn’t render, you can visit the blog. It always has the latest version, typos fixed. It’s much easier to fix the blog over time than it is to re-send an email due to an error. The irony of ‘live’ in this post is not lost on me. Thanks for your patience.] Charity auctions are an odd hybrid. They take a lot of focus, and when done live, a lot of logistical support. It’s all of the charity’s best “customers” in a room, at the same ..read more