Blog
It All Started with Shopping for Jam
It all started with jam. Years ago researchers Sheena Iyengar and her colleague Mark Lepper did a study in which, on one day, shoppers were offered a selection of 24 jams. The table crowded with lots of jam attracted a lot of interest. Shoppers gawked and marveled at all the jam. The next day, the ...
Why Successful People Don’t Compare Themselves to Others
“Comparison is the death of joy.” – Mark Twain The most successful people don’t compare themselves to others. Instead they see excellence and talent in others as learning opportunities, not competition. It’s the difference between a fixed mindset, and a growth mindset. Named the “next Pelé” and going pro at the age of 14, Freddy ...
How to Recognize the Mindset of Your Company
Think of a time in your life when you were doing something new, and exciting, and fun. Maybe you were learning a musical instrument, trying a new sport, learning to paint, or even solving a sodoku puzzle. And then, after the thrill was gone, it got hard. It got difficult, and not easy, and not ...
Better Decisions Begin with More Beautiful Questions
Recently our family traveled to the Virgin Islands for a vacation. Our daily choices were pretty much reading, swimming, hiking, and sunsets. And snorkeling in beautiful warm water with beautiful, strange creatures. Almost every day we would pick a beach, pack a lunch, towels and swimming gear, and head off on a small adventure. And ...
Thinking for Yourself and the Art of Intelligent Disobedience
What if your boss asks you to do something you think is wrong? What if there are practices your company engages in that are just ridiculous, or redundant? Or worse, what if there is an institutionalized process in your company that you think is flat-out unethical? Maybe you work in a look-the-other-way culture, or a ...
When Are You at Your Best?
What are you thinking about when you are thinking about the things you have to do? What are you thinking about when you are thinking about obligation? Now, what are you thinking about when you are thinking about the things you get to do? What are you thinking about when you are thinking about opportunity? ...
