Ideas WorthSitting With
Three times a week, without fail.
The First Tool Humans Ever Built
Long before we built cities, we built sentences. For decades, scientists believed language lived in the parts of the brain responsible for comprehension and memory, …
Nudge or Sludge?
Nearly two decades ago, Harvard Law professor and US policy wonk Cass R. Sunstein wrote the bestseller “Nudge” with behavioral economics Nobel Prize winner Richard …
“That’s What The Money Is For,” He Said, Mistakenly
Probably the best-known scene in Mad Men happens during 2010’s Season 4, Episode 7, “The Suitcase,” where advertising whizzkid Peggy Olsen (who was loosely based …
The Price Of Waiting
We’ve seen the movie, played far too often. A young CEO is so keen to grow their company, so keen to get their hands on …
Build Yourself A Fortress
In 1936, John Russell Scott, the sole owner and chairman of one of the world’s most respected newspapers, The Guardian, handed over all his shares …
When Control Creates Chaos
A perverse incentive is when you reward one behavior… and accidentally create another. Basically the Law of Unintended Consequences in action. One classic example comes …
Ridiculous Is The Future
If you worked in banking in the mid-20th century, using a calculator could’ve gotten you fired. Those are for people who don’t get numbers, not …
Power Corrupts, Then Again So Does Gravity
“Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely,” Lord Acton famously said. When leaders become “corrupted,” it’s easy to blame it on “They got greedy” or “They’re …
All Maps Lie
Early in Amazon’s history, Jeff Bezos was sitting in a weekly business review, studying performance metrics with his leadership team. He’d heard whispers that customers …
Show Don’t Sell
When George Washington wanted to get his men to cross the icy Delaware River on Christmas Day to ambush the Crown’s mercenaries camping on the …
Yesterday +1
Kodak engineers invented the digital camera in 1975. The executive team said meh. Digital is cool, sure, but cameras are analog. Everyone knows that. So, …
You’re Not Stuck *In* Traffic, You *Are* Traffic
You find yourself stuck in traffic, looks like you’re going to be late for work. Sure, traffic is a problem, but you are part of …
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