Topic: Business & Leadership

Blog archives

Subscribe via RSS or email

• Traction Heroes Ep. 20: Gumption

  Unpacking a trait essential for gaining traction.

• Traction Heroes Ep. 15: AI for Leaders

  A conversation about the three key neurological qualities for leaders — and how AI might augment them.

• Traction Heroes Ep. 13: The Power of “No”

  A conversation about the importance of maintaining focus — and how to do it.

• Traction Heroes Ep. 10: Planning

  How to plan effectively using by assumptive goal-setting.

• Smarter AI Begins With Your Business’ Knowledge Pipeline

  Making better use of AI starts by understanding how information flows through your business.

• Book Notes: “Masters of Uncertainty”

  A field-tested approach to staying grounded and effective when everything’s in flux.

• VUCA Revisited: Acting Skillfully in Uncertain Times

  A framework for skillful decision-making under turbulent conditions.

• Traction Heroes Ep. 6: Chesterton’s Fence

  Harry and I explore the risks of tearing things down before understanding why they exist.

• Traction Heroes Ep. 5: Strategic Priorities

  Harry and I explore the relationship between what to do next and what it’s in service to.

• Traction Heroes Ep. 2: Unprecedented

  Harry Max and I discuss how to act skillfully when facing the unfamiliar.

• Book Notes: “On Grand Strategy”

  Overview of a book that imparts timeless lessons on the art of balancing means and ends.

• The Informed Life with Harry Max

  Overview of my conversation with an expert on collaborative prioritization.

• The Informed Life with Joey deVilla

  A summary of my conversation with tech veteran Joey deVilla about what to do when you’ve been laid off.

• Book Notes: “Surrender”

  Three lessons from Bono’s memoir, which tells the story of his life in songs.

• Finding Language/Market Fit

  How we talk about what we do makes a big difference in how others perceive our work.

• Book Notes: “Simple Rules”

  Summary of a book about briding the gap between strategic thinking and execution.

• The Informed Life with Alla Weinberg

  A summary of my conversation with Alla Weinberg about her book, ‘A Culture of Safety’.

• The Informed Life with Matt LeMay

  An overview of my conversation with Matt LeMay on The Informed Life podcast.

• The Informed Life with Margot Bloomstein

  How brands can build trust in a world where trust in institutions is waning.

• Book Notes: “The Revolt of the Public”

  How the internet broke governance and what it means for the future.

• Making a Scene

  How the environment of your team can make the difference between success and failure.

• The Informed Life with Brian Breslin

  How Miami’s tech scene grew through tight-knit community building in a world without borders.

• Worth Your Attention

  Links for the week.

• The Most Meaningful Way to Differentiate Your Company

  How Bill Gates sees information as a way to stand out in business.

• Book Notes: “High Output Management”

  How a book from the 1980s about running factories is still the best guide to management.

• Five Lessons From the Pandemic

  What I learned from living through a difficult time.

• Remaining Relevant When Markets Disappear

  How companies keep you dreaming of travel when planes are grounded.

• Leading in Information

  How I've been thinking about leading when remote work gets real and your employees need direction.

• The Informed Life With Nicholas Paul Brysiewicz

  A conversation about long-term thinking at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.

• The Informed Life With Christian Crumlish

  On the balance between bottom-up and top-down approaches in product management.

• Designers as Team Players

  How design can boost your business’s bottom line, and why it’s crucial to think like a team player.

• Book Notes: "Shoe Dog"

  How Phil Knight went from running track to founding one of the most successful shoe companies in history.

• Climate Change and Company Prospects

  The world’s largest fund manager says sustainability matters.

• Real Mastery

  A remembrance of Rush drummer Neil Peart, who died on January 7.

• The Kranz Dictum

  How a NASA leader's call to action transformed a team after a tragedy.

• Tending Your Industry's Ecosystem

  How the internet upsets industry ecosystems and why that matters to your bottom line.

• Book Notes: "The Everything Store"

  A book about how Amazon became a force in retail.

• Book Notes: "The Ride of a Lifetime"

  How Bob Iger turned a flailing Disney into a media juggernaut.

• The Business of Making Something

  How making something great is the key to business success, according to Disney's Bob Iger

• JFK’s Apollo Vision Statement

  How a speech by JFK illustrates the power of a clear, compelling vision.

• The Informed Life With Kim Lenox

  How a design leader aligned global teams.

• Purposeful Governance

  How to steer human-made systems effectively towards their intended outcomes while embracing change.

• How to Measure Network Effects

  Nuanced metrics to measure the impact of network effects.

• Book Notes: “Playing to Win”

  How to decide and act strategically to win in complex business environments.

• The Complexity Gap

  How can ""second order science"" help societies bridge the complexity gap in governance?

• Pivot Like Lincoln

  Lincoln teaches strategic adaptation: keep true north in mind while navigating obstacles.

• The Courage of Despair

  How closing off safe choices can inspire decisive leadership in uncertain times.

• What I Look for in Collaborators

  Four vital traits to look for in collaborators.

• Dealing With Organizational Politics

  Understanding and navigating organizational politics is crucial for impactful design change.

• Taking Business Seriously

  Designers need to embrace business objectives to truly wield influence within organizations.

• Measuring Progress From the Trenches

  How short-cycle feedback loops can enhance execution and long-term strategy balance.

• Design and Implementation Trade-offs

  Why understanding code's potential and limits helps designers make better decisions.

• A Call for a More Holistic Approach to Business

  Larry Fink's call for businesses to serve society echoes the need for purpose-driven design.

• The Most Dangerous Strategy

  Leaping chasms requires decisiveness; hesitating can be the most dangerous move.

• Form and Context

  How design forms intertwine with context to shape behaviors and environments.

• Book Notes: "Principles"

  How Ray Dalio’s principles shaped Bridgewater’s success.

• Vision and Action

  Guiding actions with shared vision creates systems that drive meaningful change.

• Nature Optimizes for the Whole

  How nature's holistic optimization offers insights for systems and philosophy.

• Aligning Incentives

  How to align incentives in design to ensure mutual goals and efficient outcomes.

• Stateside

  My family’s move to the U.S. marks a new chapter in growth.

• Becoming a Leader - From IA to Business and Beyond

  How IA principles can enhance leadership in businesses and beyond.

• Going Global... Or Not

  Is geographic restriction on global media limiting cultural influence in the digital age?