Before You Can Multiply You Must First Learn To Divide

Not too long ago, I was having a conversation with an event organizer about his revenue model. He told me that he hires speakers, paying them a flat fee for their time, and then launches an aggressive marketing campaign to put butts in seats. He also told me that most of his events lose money. […]

The Key to Overcoming Roadblocks: Innovation

In Wisconsin, the Republicans wanted to eliminate the collective bargaining rights of most public employees as a way of cutting the budget. This was hotly contested by the Democrats to the point where all 14 Democratic senators left the state, refusing to vote. They did this knowing that at least 20 senators needed to be […]

Is It OK to Marry Your Work (part 2)

  Last week I wrote an article for American Express about “marrying your work.” Unlike the “ball and chain” picture that tends to pop into our heads, I espoused the merits of loving your job, just like you would marry a spouse you love.  Be sure to read that article before reading on.  I’ll wait. […]

Is It OK To Marry Your Work? (part 1)

I was talking to a Thai friend of mine recently, someone who knows that I work a lot. She also knows that I love what I do. She said I am, “Thang kub ngaan.” This literally means “marry with work/job.” We sometimes jokingly say that we are married to our job, but we tend to […]

How Aristotle Can Help You Sell Better

[This article originally appeared on the American Express Open Forum] I was recently in the market for a new car.  I had narrowed down my list of prospects and went out for some test drives.  At the car dealerships, each salesperson immediately jumped enthusiastically into sharing the features and functions of the cars.  “It has […]

Why You Should Work With People You Don’t Like

[This article originally appeared on the American Express Open Forum] Contrary to “conventional wisdom,” opposites don’t do NOT attract. While individuals who are different than you might initially seem intriguing, in the long run these differences will invariably push you apart. This fact has been scientifically proven. Science aside, consider your personal relationships. If you […]

The Pygmailion Effect and You

The Personality Poker book is now available. Be sure to buy your copy today. Each book comes with a deck of the specially designed poker cards. And no, you do not need to know anything about poker to play! The only way you can lose is if you don’t have a personality. This is the […]

Adult Games vs Kid Games

In my blog post, “How Can Goals Enhance Creativity” I said… “…As long as everyone in the organization believes they are playing a game which is designed to get them energized today, and it is not specifically about hitting the target, I can assure you that people will be more motivated.” Games can be a […]

When a Goal is Not a Goal

This post marks the 500th entry on this blog. Today I want to discuss how to have goals that are not goals.  How do you do this? For most people the present is designed to give them a future they want.  For me, the future gives me the present I want. Here’s what I mean […]

You Failed! What's Next?

Last week, I had 3 conversations with 3 different companies.  And each had a complaint about the same group of people: lawyers. If you think about it, innovators and lawyers have completely opposite objectives. Innovators want to grow the business.  They believe that risk and failure are a natural part of the innovation process. Their […]