Build It, Try It, Fix It
Here is another “innovation tip.” This one is simple, yet incredibly powerful. In fact, I am using this concept right now with this website. But more on that later. One of the biggest barriers to success is analysis paralysis. It is the belief that studying the marketplace infinitum will yield better results. This is just […]
Quote of the Day
“Success is blocked by concentrating on it and planning for it… Success is shy – it won’t come out while you’re watching.” – Tennessee Williams
How to Sell
I was recently interviewed for SellingCrossing about my thoughts on selling. You can read the interview by clicking here.
This Column Will Change Your Life
Well, at least that is the claim of journalist Oliver Burkeman. And maybe he is right. In today’s Guardian (a British newspaper), he wrote: “One of the most stress-inducing books I’ve ever read is called GOALS!, by the management expert Brian Tracy. It’s not about football. It’s about achieving your GOALS! in life – and […]
Quote of the Day
“Hacking something together means deciding what to do as you’re doing it, not a subordinate executing the vision of his boss. It implies the result won’t be pretty, because it will be made quickly out of inadequate materials. It may work, but it won’t be the sort of thing the eminent would want to put […]
How to Swim Faster
At a recent workshop on creativity, I discussed “the performance paradox” – the concept that trying harder produces poorer results. Afterwards, one executive in the audience came up to me and told me his own story. He said… “When I was a kid, I went to summer camp. One of our daily activities was swimming. […]
Quote of the Day
I just came back from a thought-provoking creativity conference. In attendance were hundreds of people, many of whom have been creativity practitioners for dozens of years. It was interesting to see how many of them are still using the same creativity techniques today as they did in their early days. During a lively group discussion, […]
How to Get More Done…By Being Lazy
Back in 1985, I worked for Unisys (then Burroughs) as part of an engineering co-op program while in college. This gave me hands-on experience working in the production control department for this large computer manufacturer. As I was leaving the company, the department head called me the laziest person he ever met. He meant it […]
Does the Pursuit of Major Goals Reduce Performance?
In today’s USA Today, an article discussed “players who are slumping in pursuit of milestones.” The examples they give are: Barry Bonds, who is eight home runs shy of Hank Aaron’s record of 755, has recently hit only 2 home runs in 124 plate appearances. Earlier in the season he hit 11 home runs during […]
How to Remain Detached
Doug Busch, former Chief Information Officer at Intel once told me, “The best things I have ever done in my career came shortly after I decided that the best thing that could happen to me is that they fire me.” Doug is referring to the concept of detachment. Detachment is not indifference. It is about […]