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My last post focused on responsiveness in communications as a source of competitive advantage.  As the world glorifies …

With the rise of email and mobile telephony we have come to accept a state of permanent and immediate connection. Norms in business have implicitly shifted where response times are not measured in days or hours but in minutes.

The character of the discourse we have in love or in disagreement, in politics, business or family, defines the character of our person. That is to say, it is our choice to use divisive language and framing to discuss the issues we care about but in so doing we limit our own capacity for sound judgment, common sense and compassion.

Some key skills – inquiry, listening, systems-thinking, deep focus -are also character traits. That is to say they are wired into our personality – and they often run directly contrary to the social popularity contest that defines much of the Internet. Some of the best and brightest thinkers I know keep a low social profile.

I gave a talk a few weeks ago at Blogging the City, a conference focused on urban design and city planning.  The talk was titled, Architecture is Destiny
; how we structure the flow of information, whether …

Christopher Alexander, in his startling book, The Timeless Way of Building, asserts that our lives are shaped by no more than a handful of repeating patterns: how we get ready for work each day, the …

If I were to write a self help book it would bet titled, “You Know When You Know”
The premise of the book?
We are all naturally endowed with an innate sense of what is best for …

While any nuanced thinker gets the fact that every professional services engagement is unique and therefore consultative in nature, any good consultant should understand the value of packaging their offering into products.

I just read read a fantastic Esquire article about Robert Caro, author of the magisterial, multi-volume biography of Lyndon Johnson.  Caro, despite being a self-admitted “fast writer” doesn’t begin his writing until he is perfectly clear on …

In my field it is clear that you need specialists (i.e. “exceptional” talent) for many initiatives you might undertake; for example search, mobile, ecommerce, privacy issues, social media and so on. No argument there. The problem is that exceptionalism tends to be the default setting within organizations; we begin by thinking we know more than others, that our problem is unique, that we have special needs.