Cosmic events are always good reminders of our humble place in the vastness of space. In August 2017 a total eclipse swept over the United States, dubbed “The Great American Eclipse.” It’s an amazing coincidence of timing that the moon is the just the right size to produce this phenomenon—the moon’s body is the perfect
Paradigms are the way we see the world–and we don’t see the world as it is, but as we are. Through the centuries of human history, advances have been made by breaking paradigms to see things in a new way. What things inside of us are holding us back from a new vision and positive
For 100 years, Sears ran a platform economy via its Sears catalogue. People spread across vast remote regions could get information about goods & order them for delivery, greatly reducing transaction costs. Sears wasn’t selling stoves, cattle feed, or clothing so much as it was providing information & connecting people. It shut down its famous
Disruptive innovation. Creative destruction. These are popular buzzwords that we might apply to a rapidly changing world economy. China’s relative & absolute rise in wealth has been astounding over the last 40 years. Their presence in the Asian & world market is certainly disruptive to the old order. This change is happening in the context
My brother works at a small start-up manufacturing consumer dietary products, & recently told me a story with a good lesson. The boss has been very successful in growing this company, & knows his product & market very well. But product competency doesn’t equal leadership competency. In a recent meeting, in which this boss quizzes
People see leaders who make sound judgment calls as heroes; those who show poor judgment–the marketplace rarely treats them well. But making calls can’t be avoided when you’re in charge. Sound judgment is a key leadership trait that can be developed with thought & practice. Business professors Tichy & Bennis found that leaders make important
As of 2015 YouTube had over 2 million cat videos! But no matter how amusing they are, I’m glad that I’m not a cat. Cats are mastered by their environment, reacting to stimuli & immediately responding. They sense food, danger, or a pretty young feline, and have automatic responses. But automatic responses are not always
Are you a Microsoft or Apple fan? For over 30 years 2 tech giants have used very different marketing strategies, with avid fans on both sides of the argument. With strong biases, many are either avid Apple or Microsoft fans with no in-between. But if you were looking to these as models to decide your
Scientists have captured real-time video of light splitting at a barrier…at a mind-blowing 10 trillion frames per second. At the Caltech Optical Imaging Laboratory, scientists developed this compressed ultrafast photography (T-CUP) to capture for the 1sttime a single ultrashort laser pulse as it hits & splits at a beam splitter. Technologies are constantly advancing, faster
If you want engagement and ownership from people in the workplace, you can start by helping everyone realize that they are leaders…all the time. From the new hire who steps in the door, to the 30-year veteran (if those still exist in this business environment!), everyone in the organization is somewhere along a Leaders’ Spectrum.
