Ever try to tune a musical instrument? Take a guitar for example; there is a tuning peg for each of the six strings on a standard guitar — a half-turn of just one of those pegs in either direction and your jam sessions can go from perfect harmony to catastrophic cacophony. Every client meeting is […]
I’m a big fan of author Dan Pink’s videos series Pinkcast where he does a rapid fire presentation of ideas and concepts, or a super speedy interview with another bright mind and gives them a chance to share their theories and ideas (no matter how weird). The latest edition has Dan interviewing Olga Khazan, author […]
I’m working on a project right now where I have to rely on approval from a government agency before the project can proceed. It’s one of those scenarios where everyone else in an industry can agree on a standard, other people working in that industry have been approved using the common sense standard, but the […]
I was listening to a recent podcast where the host shared a listener’s comment about how he felt that he could no longer be as discerning about the projects he took on because of the current economic situation. He specifically mentioned that he was torn between refusing some projects based on his personal principles and […]
Ever had a salesperson cold-call you on the phone and launch into some long-winded speech about you-don’t-know-what and you-don’t-care-what? You’re trying to be professional and let them get to the point of why they called you in the first place but they just never seem to get to it. It’s like a plane going down […]
While the ideal situation is to practice creativity on a regular basis so that you have ideas (or at least a habit of thinking creatively) when you need it, most people (and the industries in which they work) seem to always wait until the skies are deluging them with torrents of rain, sleet, and hail […]
Don’t be embarrassed. Don’t worry about “being a bother”. When you need something, ask for it. People can always say “no” or direct you to someone else, but don’t go putting “no” in other people’s mouths by assuming that will be their answer — so you never ask the question. If you never ask, you’ll […]