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Big promises can lead to better experiences

A $75 bottle of wine tastes better than a $14 bottle of wine. Even if you switch the wines. The promise implied in the price actually changes the way we experience the product. Two things to keep in...

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Perfection or exploration

In an organization built around perfection, you need to push people to say, "Bad news, I made a mistake." Only by surfacing mistakes can the organization stamp them out. In an organization built around...

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Culture and selfishness

One person selfishly drops a piece of litter on the ground, the other selfishly picks it up. Everything we do is done because it's better than not doing it. "Better" is the complicated term. Better...

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It probably looks higher from up there

When we find ourselves on the edge of a precipice, looking down at the depths of the chasm below, it's easy to think that this time we went too far, that our plan is far too risky, that our product is...

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The tribe or the person?

A parade of tourists is going to walk past your store today. Each is a separate opportunity for you to tell a story, to engage, to make a sale. A connected community of readers is going to read what...

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A legacy of Mandela

Others can better write about Nelson Mandela's impact on the world stage, on how he stood up for the dignity of all people and on how he changed our world. For those that seek to make a change in the...

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In search of the obvious answer

The obvious answer to your problem isn't obvious yet, but once someone finds it, it will be.That's the way obvious answers work. They're not obvious because they're easy to find, they're obvious...

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The sound of a small bell during a dark night

...is louder than the din of traffic outside your window during rush hour. Surprise and differentiation have far more impact than noise does. ; ; ; ; ; ;

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On the hook

Mentorship works for two reasons. Certainly, the person being mentored gains from advice and counsel and even access to others via introductions, etc. But mostly, it works because the person with a...

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Soft tissue

Most organizations are built around three anatomical concepts: Bone, muscle and soft tissue. The bones are the conceptual skeleton, the people who stand for something, who have been around, have a...

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What’s attention worth?

Marketers that fail are often impatient and selfish. Impatient, because they won't invest in the long-term job of earning familiarity, permission and trust. And selfish, because they get hooked on the...

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Which charity?

Organized non-profits provide reach, leverage and consistency that can't be matched by the millenia-old model of individuals helping those they encounter in the community. It's one of the extraordinary...

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Noise-tolerant media

Twitter is the noisiest medium in history. Do you actually believe that Taylor Swift has 33,000,000 million (and counting) people eagerly waiting for her next tweet, ready to click on whatever she...

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When you’re offered precisely what you were hoping for…

say, "yes." If you're a musician, that means that when the internet says you can play what you want, record the way you want to, release it when you like, at the length you prefer, to the fans you'd...

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My most popular blog posts this year

...weren't my best ones. As usual, the most popular music wasn't the best recorded this year either. Same for the highest-grossing movies, restaurants and politicians doing fundraising. "Best" is...

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Coming from "no"

The difficult task is to turn around a no. Not, "no, I've thought about it, but I'm not interested," but, "no, I feel like saying 'no', whatever you're offering, the answer is no." If the fractious...

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Broken English

All the nuance disappears. When talking to someone in a languge that's not easy for them, you discover that idioms and other forms of communication disappear. You need to be extremely direct and...

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For startups and those about to start: a new course on Skillshare

http://skl.sh/19WeEP0 To start off the year, the folks at Skillshare asked me to teach a course for them. You can find the details on the course at the link above. Reviewing the final footage, I'm...

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Delight the weird

Everyone who eats at your restaurant expects a good cup of coffee, and it's difficult to wow them, because, of course, your competition is working to do the same thing. But of course, it's not everyone...

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How to draw an owl

The problem with most business and leadership advice is that it's a little like this: The two circles aren't the point. Getting the two circles right is a good idea, but lots of people manage that...

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How much does it cost you to avoid the feeling of risk?

Not actual risk, but the feeling that you're at risk? How many experiences are you missing out on because the (very unlikely) downsides are too frightening to contemplate? Are you avoiding leading,...

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Less vs. more, give vs. take

You could build a company dedicated to paying your employees ever more. Or you could build a company based on the strategy of paying them ever less. You could create a business based on the idea of...

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My skillshare course goes live tomorrow

They've beefed up their servers, so if you had trouble signing up last week, today might be worth a try. The details are right here. The course is archived, so you can take it at your convenience. I'll...

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Can I pay you to do me a favor?

Simple concept with big implications: In small groups, money corrupts. In environments that are built on personal interaction and trust among intimates, transactions based on money don't increase...

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The humility of the artist

It seems arrogant to say, "perhaps this isn't for you." When the critic pans your work, or the prospect hears your offer but doesn't buy, the artist responds, "that's okay, it's not for you." She...

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Striving for Authority

Everyone wants to play. That kid selling cookies (or is it chocolates) is busy raising money for his basketball team (or maybe a trip to Cuba, I didn’t hear it clearly). All I know is that these...

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Who has a seat at the table?

When designing a new product or program, it's pretty clear that a successful organization will invite: The lawyer, so you don't break any laws. The CFO, so that you'll understand how much this thing...

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Copyediting, line editing and the other kind

The copyeditor will fix a misstated fact, spot a typo and get your prose clean. The line editor will rearrange a paragraph and help you organize a thought more clearly. And the editor who is your...

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Conference call hygiene

On behalf of the many who have suffered through pointless and painful conference calls, some general principles: When in doubt, don't have one. Everyone now knows precisely what time it is. Show up ten...

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Who would be surprised?

When was the last time you surprised or delighted a customer, colleague or boss? If you did, would it help? Apple developed a tradition of secrecy largely because Steve saw the extraordinary value in...

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The four horsemen of mediocrity

Deniability--"They decided, created, commanded or blocked. Not my fault." Helplessness--"My boss won't let me." Contempt--"They don't pay me enough to put up with the likes of these customers."...

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Groundhog day and the Super Bowl

One way the tribe identifies is through the observance of a holiday, of a group custom, of the thing we all do together that proves we are in sync. People thrive on mass celebration, but as our culture...

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Are you looking for a project? (a live event in New York in March)

Six years ago, I wrote about a job of the future, the (online) community organizer. And for a long time, I've been talking about the advantage of picking yourself. It recently occured to me that...

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Your relationship with the future

Some people believe that tomorrow is likely to be better. Better opportunities, better technology, a brave new day to make a new kind of difference. Others think that yesterday was a lot better than...

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‘Refresh’ four weeks later

Remember that controversy you couldn't stay close enough to? The one where breaking news, updated comments, emails flying back and forth had you at the edge of your seat? Now, four weeks later, you're...

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Quality of production

It's entirely possible that you are very good at (and have the tools to perform) a job that was really difficult to do a while ago. The problem is that some difficult things keep getting easier to do....

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