There was once a stonecutter who was dissatisfied with himself and with his position in life. One day he passed a wealthy merchant’s house. Through the open gateway, he saw many fine possessions and important visitors. “How powerful that merchant must be!” thought the stone cutter. He became very envious and wished that he could … Read more

There are few projects more complex, difficult, and expensive than rebuilding a gate at an existing airport. Inoperable during construction, gate closures create huge losses for airlines. Further, doing the construction work in a live airport setting is especially tricky for the craftspeople working the project. Often toiling away in the middle of the night … Read more

Whether you run a two-person graphic design shop or a 200,000-person global manufacturing conglomerate, you’re likely craving growth. We all do. Expansion fuels profits, serves customers, drives share price, and impacts the world. Through building five companies of my own and helping at least 100 others scale, I’ve seen two repeating growth traps that have … Read more

We are unquestionably living in a landscape of overwhelming VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and uncertainty).  In other words, we find ourselves in batshit-crazy times.  The only way to fight back: inventive thinking.  Here are three real-world examples of bold creativity in action, leveraging the hottest tech trends of our day: (1) LASER BEAM SHOOTING DRONES … Read more

What is this thing made of? What’s missing? What was the thinking and context that led to its initial creation? Why did this work in the past? What’s different today? How has the customer’s or user’s (internal or external) needs changed since this was originally conceived? What are the core rules, truisms, traditions or beliefs … Read more