1. 20 March 2012

    Being first doesn't always mean being right →

    Jason Fried used to be a “hothead”:

    It’s like I had to be first with an opinion – as if being first meant something. But what it really meant was that I wasn’t thinking hard enough about the problem. The faster you react, the less you think. Not always, but often.

    I’ve always been the quiet one in meetings. Contributing occasionally, but not driving hard with an opinion on everything. I was more likely to email the group afterwards with a neat collection of my thoughts. And for the past few years I’ve been trying to change that, because I felt it was a flaw that may be fatal.

    What a revelation Jason’s comments are. It’s nice to know that successful people respect the fragility of ideas. “He who defines the problem, defines the solution” (Bob Baxley).

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  2. 22 January 2012

    Ignorant and Inexperienced →

    Everybody has to learn at some point, but when starting out there’s a tendency to shy away from new opportunities for fear of showing inexperience. Freeman Dyson, 88-years strong and still changing the world, says you need to embrace your ignorance:

    Advice to people at the beginning of their careers: do not imagine that you have to know everything before you can do anything. My own best work was done when I was most ignorant. Grab every opportunity to take responsibility and do things for which you are unqualified.

    Okay.

    (via Behind Companies)

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  3. Make Yourself Redundant →

    To make yourself indispensable, Rob Ousbey says you should make yourself redundant. And I think he’s right - if you can improve the processes used in your role, you free yourself up to think about higher level priorities. 

    If you’re just doing, and not improving, then what’s your long term value?

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  4. 9 August 2011

    Panic on the streets of London →

    The news media seem to be struggling to uncover the motives behind London’s riots (perhaps in fear of copy-cats), but sheltering-Londoner Penny Red has this profound account that tells of the deeper meaning:

    People riot because they have spent their whole lives being told that they are good for nothing, and they realise that together they can do anything – literally, anything at all. People to whom respect has never been shown riot because they feel they have little reason to show respect themselves, and it spreads like fire on a warm summer night. And now people have lost their homes, and the country is tearing itself apart.

    For all that I complain about Australian politics, I feel intensely privileged to live in a country that is proud of its identity. I hope London finds the inner strength to pull through.

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  5. 15 July 2011
    "It is our failure to become our perceived ideal that ultimately defines us and makes us unique." –
    Conan O’Brien, being surprisingly pensive in his otherwise-comedic address to Dartmouth’s graduating class. Well worth your 23-minutes.
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  6. 13 July 2011

    Innovation is Understanding Humans →

    New York venture capitalist Charlie O’Donnell gives a short course in innovation, hidden in which is this small nugget:

    Entrepreneurs are, to their own disadvantage, punting on the understanding of human behavior they need to design products for the masses.

    The nugget is that real innovations are based on an understanding of people and society (not necessarily “the market”) rather than an understand of technology. Innovations fail because they are usually intended to solve a funding problem, rather than contributing value to the lives of real people.

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  7. Balancing for the Good Life →

    Pete and Laura Wakeman of Great Harvest Bread Co. work 1,000 hours per year - roughly 20 hours per week. If, as I am, you’re struggling to get the work-life balance right, this is an interesting perspective that will make you think about your priorities. (But it’s not a solution that will work for everybody).

    I didn’t realise this article was over 10 years old until I was done reading. With the added pressures of always-on internet and social media, I wonder how the Wakeman’s are doing it today?

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  8. 29 May 2011
    (via Curved White).

    (via Curved White).

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  9. 27 March 2011
    Emerging economies are presenting challenges to firms who are stuck in their old ways - the profit-centre is moving towards the fringes. Is the mass market dying, perhaps? I don’t think so, but the notion of pleasing everybody seems to be fading away. You can’t peddle to the lowest common denominator anymore. (An oldie but a goodie from Steve Sammartino).

    Emerging economies are presenting challenges to firms who are stuck in their old ways - the profit-centre is moving towards the fringes. Is the mass market dying, perhaps? I don’t think so, but the notion of pleasing everybody seems to be fading away. You can’t peddle to the lowest common denominator anymore.

    (An oldie but a goodie from Steve Sammartino).

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  10. "Life's too short for the wrong job" →

    Thoughtful and funny advertising campaign for a German career website. I think a lot of people feel like this but are never brave enough to do anything about it.

    (Source: tomatoneedles)

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