Following the polite knock on my hotel room door, I was stunned. “Just a little something to welcome you to our hotel,” said the smiling and well-appointed young man as he placed it down on the desk in my room. The beautiful display included a chocolate guitar, hand-dipped strawberries, and a few other candies. Along…
Read moreWe’ve all heard people in the business world proclaim that they are “heads down” on a project. Or that they are unable to explore new opportunities since they are “heads down in execution mode.” Consider, for a moment, the advantages of being “heads up” instead. Let’s compare the two states of being: Heads Down Focused…
Read moreWhat do Oprah Winfrey, Mick Jagger, and Jeff Bezos have in common? They are all incredibly successful, true, but they also have each suffered more than their share of knockdowns. Every great leader – from Gandhi to Galileo, from Beethoven and Zuckerberg – has stumbled. Those that make history also endure adversity. A common quality…
Read moreIf you have a burning headache, you’ll do whatever it takes to subdue it. If it’s 3:00 am on a cold, snowy night and you are out of pain killers, you’ll bundle up, drive to a 24-hour pharmacy, and desperately pay nearly any cost to alleviate your pain. Vitamins are a different story. They are…
Read moreIn 1953, a team of the most creative designers and engineers at General Motors set out to make history. Their task: invent the prototype car of the future. Unlike their mass-production counterparts who focused on streamlined operations, cost control, and maximizing profits, the dreamers on the Firebird project were charged with pushing the boundaries of…
Read moreWith our national focus on productivity and financial gain, we carefully measure Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and other metrics related to our economic outputs. Yet as our economy remains strong, our nation suffers greatly in other categories. Suicide rates have skyrocketed in recent years, while the opioid crisis has torn apart families and communities. Venom…
Read moreThe demure art world felt shockwaves over the last week as the dramatic news broke. The mysterious street artist known as Banksy made history when his painted work self-destructed minutes after being purchased for $1.4 million at a Sotheby’s auction. Immediately following the thud of the closing gavel, the audience stood in bewilderment as the…
Read moreIf there’s a silver lining in today’s polarizing political landscape, it’s the increase in activism that is sweeping our country. With intensity unseen since the protests of the 1960s, citizens are standing up for their beliefs in record numbers. Marches, protests, and rallies are a daily occurrence, covering issues ranging from gun control to equality…
Read moreThe Honey Badger – a hideously ugly, mean, and tough wolverine-like animal – gained fame and notoriety back in 2011 with a viral YouTube video. Narrated by a snarky commentator named Randall, the video called “The Crazy Nasty A** Honey Badger” has now been viewed over 88 million times. Hilarious and share-worthy, you’ve probably already…
Read moreAs many of us have realized, traditional brainstorming is a perfectly designed exercise to yield mediocre ideas. Instead of sharing our big, game-changing ideas, we tend to share the obvious, safe, incremental ones instead. The blocker here isn’t raw creativity, but rather the insidious force of fear. As public enemy #1 relating to imagination, the…
Read moreAs cash registers speedily ring up #2 pencils and file folders, the back to school craze is officially in high gear. Last minute haircuts, wardrobe enhancements, and new lunchboxes help ring in this time of year when students prepare to learn. New courses, new teachers, new classrooms, new possibility. The back to school ritual signifies…
Read more“And the award goes to… the most well-rounded person!” Said no one, ever. Achieving modestly in many areas may be what our middle school principal suggested, but it’s no way to become a history-maker. We’re led to believe we should be ‘pretty good’ at a lot of different things, but the truth is that the…
Read moreThe devastating fires in California remind us of our environment’s fragility and how little we can sometimes do to curtail the inevitable. They are also a symbol of power and momentum. In fact, there are few things in nature as mighty as the white-hot intensity of a forest fire. Once they gain momentum, these vicious…
Read moreInnovation is the hottest business buzzword, evoking images of bold tech startups taking dangerous risks to upend the sleeping giants. But what if you are the giant, or you’re in a traditional business such as hospital linens, automotive parts, or commercial food service? Can mature industries and businesses innovate forward, or is creativity only relegated…
Read moreHaving built five startups from scratch and invested in or advised around 100 others, you could say I’m in the business of “entrepreneurship.” But I don’t think that’s the right term anymore. At all. The word entrepreneur was borrowed from the French language and implies an aristocratic polish. It conjures up images of backroom deals…
Read moreSteve Jobs famously said that he made the icons on the iPhone so beautiful, customers would want to “lick the screen.” By elevating a utility item (the phone) to a piece of art, history was made and cult-like loyalty was created. Reflecting on the “lick the screen” quote, I realize how he raised the stakes…
Read moreThe concept of innovation can be completely overwhelming. Images of Edison inventing the light bulb or Henry Ford revolutionizing manufacturing push the idea of innovation outside the reach of us mere mortals. If we define innovation as a gigantic, change-the-world, cure-cancer type breakthrough, the concept is relegated to a select few: billionaires, mad scientist inventors,…
Read moreIf you’re looking to buy a new knife, the choices seem limitless. A 21-function Swiss Army knife will run you around $39 bucks, less than $2 per blade. The all-purpose tool is versatile, but none of the functions represent the highest in quality. On the other end of the spectrum, there’s the Ao-Ko Mizu Honyaki…
Read moreWe’ve all been in business meetings that drone on endlessly, only to be followed with zero change, action or results. Silver-tongued bosses spouting platitudes rarely translates into meaningful transformation. In fact, many of us have become desensitized to big new ideas, because in our previous experiences, few concepts actually come to fruition. If you’re frustrated…
Read moreFrom Cabinet Maker to Cyber-Security Analyst, we each have the title on our business card. When asked what you do for a living at a cocktail party, the stock answer is your craft or profession. Lawyer, machine tool operator, insurance adjustor, or barista, we often identify with that primary title. Yet in this highly competitive…
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