Expert Advice? Why You Should Be Skeptical
We are constantly bombarded by expert advice from advertisements, books, magazines, TV and the Internet. But how much of this information is actually true? From my experience, there is reason to believe that little of it is accurate. People (often unknowingly) make claims that are exaggerated or in some unfortunate cases, blatant lies. I remember […]
How to Listen Better
Friday evening, on JetBlue flight #1696 from Orlando to Boston, we had a bit of a problem. About an hour outside of Boston, the pilot got on the intercom and told us that the main braking system was not working. Although the back-up system would probably work just fine, they were preparing us for the […]
Reframe the Framework to Generate More Cash
This article originally appeared on the American Express OPEN Forum The way we frame our business world can significantly impact our success. Frameworks are useful, but they can also be limiting. Perhaps it’s time to rethink the way things have been done in the past. One useful framework is often called the product funnel or […]
Be Your Own Fan
It is the Monday after the Superbowl. While scanning the TV stations and flipping through the radio channels this morning, it seemed as though everyone was discussing and analyzing (and analyzing and analyzing…) the football game. Everyone is a Monday morning quarterback. Come on, get a life! Stop living your life through someone else. Tom […]
Goals Are Stupid
NOTE: This article is on the American Express OPEN Forum with the title “How to Make Goal-Setting Work for You.” But the title I really wanted was “Goals Are Stupid.” I’ll let you decide if they are or not. We are a society obsessed with goals. Nearly everyone sets them. In fact, we just finished […]
One Small Step for Your Business, One Giant Leap for Success
Quite a few books and studies recently have touted the power of incremental change. Small actions can have a huge impact on long-term business growth. The appropriate degree of change needed for innovating within organizations is, in general, a 45-degree change, consistent but not too radical. That tends to be more effective than a 5-degree change (purely […]
My 2012 Themes Revealed
Anyone who follows this blog knows that the New Year is my favorite time for reflecting on the past and creating the future. If you have not read my article on “Making Resolutions That Work,” please do so. Or, if you prefer, you can read the variant of this article that appeared in the Wall […]
I Won't Work for Money
The other day I was asked to speak for a company that had a limited amount of money and could pay me only 15% of my speaking fee. Today I was asked to speak at a company in exchange for my receiving bicycle in lieu of cash (as you may guess, they manufacture bicycles). The […]
One Week Until My New Book is Available
In one week (September 29th), my new book will be available in book stores, online, and on the Kindle. It is published by Penguin’s Portfolio imprint. For those of you who are new to this blog, here’s a description… Best Practices Are Stupid: 40 Ways to Out-Innovate the Competition Well-intentioned leaders, in their attempts to […]
Freedom Can Limit Innovation
Over the past couple of weeks, I have had the identical conversation with several different clients. Apparently, there is an existing belief that if you want to instill a mindset of creativity, you need to have less “structure.” To some degree that is true. But unfortunately, most companies, when undergoing this kind of change, swing […]