As colleague Eric Johnson has pointed out, the decision architecture – how we are brought through the decision process – has a huge impact on the decisions that are ultimately made. But, knowing that, unscrupulous… Read more »
Archives for 2023
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Anxiety (But Were Afraid to Ask)
We’re doing a lot of talking about mental health these days, but that doesn’t make the issues magically disappear. What a great opportunity, then to be joined by Morra Aarons-Mele, an entrepreneur, host of the… Read more »
How can we help?
When your customers’ cash dries up… With all the turmoil surrounding the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, the pullback of Venture Capital money and other nail-biting financial moments, how should you deal with customers who… Read more »
Thought Sparks Wrap Up – February 2023
Yes, we are already staring down at the end of the first quarter. We’re back in person, back in airports, back at conferences, but … back to the office? The jury is still out. In case… Read more »
There’s an app for that – teaching discovery driven planning in the entrepreneurship curriculum
I’m often asked whether it is possible to teach entrepreneurship – or more importantly – having an entrepreneurial mindset. Well, I can’t teach you passion or hard work. What I can teach you is how… Read more »
Rewriting the employment contract, courtesy of COVID
As we begin to slowly emerge from the pandemic, some of the contours of what post-pandemic life will be like are starting to come into focus. As employees leave their old roles in droves and… Read more »
Nasty choice architecture – the prevalence of dark patterns
We may think we exercise free choice when we are making decisions. But as my colleague Eric Johnson points out, the structure of our choice architecture actually has a huge influence on the eventual outcome…. Read more »
Thought Sparks Wrap Up – January 2023
An antidote to bureaucracy? Perhaps 2023 becomes the year that more organizations take advantage of technology to create what my co-author Ram Charan and I call the Permissionless Organization. By using technology to get the outcomes… Read more »
A humorous take on a serious topic – American Indian history
Humor is uniquely human. It builds bonds, defuses tension, boosts innovation, and bolsters resilience. In a bold manifestation of the power of humor, McCarter Theater’s production of “Between Two Knees” offers stories from Native American… Read more »
The beginning of the end of school rankings as we’ve come to know them?
School rankings and other forms of measurement are intended to provide useful information to potential students and their families. But as the schools themselves have learned, competing for a higher spot in the ranking can… Read more »
A heartwarming customer service story
The state of customer service across most of the economy is dreadful. A recent delightful experience at Patagonia proves that it doesn’t have to be that way. The sad world of customer service As I… Read more »
2022 in the Rear-View Mirror!-Yearly Round Up
Ideas – Thought Sparks Rebuilding Ukraine – huge risks, but potentially huge opportunities. Remembering the extraordinary Frances Hesselbein. How can you tell when a competitive advantage is going into erosion? One of my most requested articles (and a… Read more »