Call it a great resignation, a great inspiration or a great rethinking, it’s clear that with respect to work life for many people things are never going to be the same as in the ‘before… Read more »
Thought Sparks
Thought Sparks Wrap Up – February 2022
Dear colleagues: Just when we begin to see glimmers of the emergence of whatever comes next, we are seemingly plunged into massive uncertainty once again, with geopolitical tensions and armed conflict that seemed unthinkable. The Washington… Read more »
The essential art of smart politics
All too often, when we think about dealing with politics at work, it conjures up toxic and negative feelings. But if you want to make big ambitious changes happen, you’re going to have to get skilled… Read more »
Maybe the answer to the back to work puzzle is to look beyond the office
Offices are much maligned, much beloved and at the center of a new(ish) tussle between people who hire people and people who take those jobs. A cottage industry of would be experts has emerged to… Read more »
Crazy, Unloved but Potentially Transformational – What’s in your Loonshot nursery?
Author Safi Bahcall introduced the term “loonshots” to describe ventures with game-changing potential that nobody thought would work and whose champions were ridiculed. Which raises the question of how you keep the crazy ideas alive… Read more »
The Facebook Inflection Point Materializes
When your business model depends on profiting from your users’ ignorance, eventually the gig will be up. So it seems to be for Facebook, or Meta, which had a historically horrible day last week and… Read more »
Thought Sparks Wrap Up – January 2022
Dear colleagues: I just got used to the idea of not saying “Happy new year” and here it is, February. It’s been fun so far – I returned to teaching in person on campus in… Read more »
It worked great, until it didn’t: The surprising, but perhaps foreseeable, shutdown of Drinkworks
Two companies needed a new growth vector. One was great at branding alcoholic beverages. The other was great at making home appliances that customers could use to create self-serve beverages. A match made in heaven!… Read more »
Secretive Pricing, poorly served patients and unintended consequences – will insulin go the way of hearing aids?
Some settings create ripe conditions for a business-model destroying inflection point. Unhappy customers, favoring one stakeholder group at the extreme expense of others and operating in such a way that even your allies can’t defend… Read more »
Who Else Wants to Make MLK’s Dream a Reality? A conversation with Robert Livingston
As we conclude this year’s holiday in honor of the life of Martin Luther King, Jr., many people are still wondering whether his dream of true equality between races will ever happen. My Friday Fireside… Read more »
Happy 2022 – Building New Skills for the New Year!
Grateful to you in ‘22! It was a joy to be able to spend time virtually – and in precious rare cases – in real life – with you over the past year. I appreciate… Read more »
Uncertain about the future? A well-defined strategy can help
The word “strategy” has come to mean anything in an organization that is important. But great strategies drive real purpose and decision-making. Define one that is meaningful, and you can guide real-time choice-making across your… Read more »