General

Reading Time: 2 minIf given the choice, most people would say that they’d like to have more money. But why do they want that? Really why? In thinking about this, it reminds me of Theodore Levitt’s thought that “People don’t want to buy a quarter-inch drill bit. They want a quarter-inch hole.“ Really, they don’t want a quarter-inch […]

Reading Time: < 1 minLast year, Steven Levitt (best known for his book Freakonomics) conducted an interesting test. He set up a website for people that were considering making a major change in their life, such as quitting a job or ending a relationship, and the website flipped a coin for them — heads they make the change, tails […]

Reading Time: < 1 minIn talking with different people about their political beliefs over the past few years, I’ve found that those that vote for candidates on both sides of the aisle tend to have the most nuanced views on policies. On the other hand, those that vote a straight ticket every time are often the same that will […]

Reading Time: < 1 minWe all have a set of things that we believe in, but over time those are likely to change. Jeff Bezos says we should be free to change our minds, and Malcolm Gladwell believes that consistency is the lamest of all human virtues. Changing your mind, and sometimes your beliefs, is a sign of growth. […]

Reading Time: < 1 minTime flies when you’re having fun. Happy 20th, Kelly! Let’s chase 20 more.

Reading Time: < 1 minWhen it comes to the big disagreements we see lately, on topics such as abortion or border control, people generally take “sides”. To pick a side often means that you don’t want to debate the nuances, which is where the truth often lies. As Adam Grant said in his book Think Again: An antidote to […]

Reading Time: < 1 min“Happiness is reality minus expectations” I heard this quote in a recent podcast from Adam Grant, though I believe it’s attributed to Tom Magliozzi, former co-host of the popular “Car Talk” radio show on NPR. As I thought about it, it’s kind of a tricky thing. I wrote earlier this year about setting proper expectations, […]

Reading Time: < 1 minWith all of the chaos these days surrounding masks and vaccines, I see a lot of talk about what our “rights” are, and whether certain mandates might be violating them. I’ve seen it laid out pretty clearly in a few places and it makes sense to me with two simple ideas. If it is something […]

Reading Time: < 1 minSeth Godin gave an interesting challenge in his podcast last week, where he encouraged people to announce what they were going to say before they say it. For example, if you’re getting frustrated on the phone with a customer service rep, you’d say “Next I’m going to get riled up a bit more and threaten […]

Reading Time: < 1 minIt’s a common phrase when trying to work through something — “let’s agree to disagree“. While that may work in some cases, such as your preferred college football team, in many cases it’s just a way to give up. As Adam Grant recently said, using that phrase means that you’ve “decided that the conflict is […]