Wolfing vs. Tasting

Trader Joe’s sells a very nice 500-gram dark chocolate bar for about $8.00. We break it apart and put the pieces in a jar. It’s super easy to walk by, grab a piece, and wolf it down before I make it to the other side of the room. In the same pantry, we keep single-origin, […]

Carry On

There is a point in every big deal when it looks like it will all fall apart. There is a point in any creative project where you become convinced that the work is crap, and it should be thrown away. There is a point in any writing project where the bank page just won’t stop […]

Triple Bottom Line

The best jobs live at the intersection of three values . . . Good economics Good work Good relationships There is no objective definition for those terms. We get to decide. If you’ve been around long enough, you realize how rare a “triple bottom line” is.  When you find yourself loving all three, be sure […]

Happy Birthday

As I type this, someone is having a “birthday.” And another. And another. “Birthday” refers, or course, to another lap around the sun since the last observance stretching back to the time you left the womb and drew your first breath. It’s actually an odd idea. “Today is my birthday.” Who is the “me” in […]

Interested. Committed. Obsessed.

Interested. Committed. Obsessed. I heard someone the other day talk about the difference between these ideas . . . about the step-change in focus, persistence, and potential outcomes. Without saying more, I’m sure you can parse the differences. Perhaps you’ll do what I did: I made a mental list. What are the things that interest […]

It’s Not Over Until It’s Over, And Even Then . . .

It’s a jittery time of year. I’m not talking about elections. I’m talking about baseball. In 2023, Major League Baseball teams played 2,471 games. At the end of each, some people went home happy, some disappointed, and presumably some just went for the peanuts and hot dogs and didn’t care. The intensity of those feelings […]

50/10,000,000 is Not Reality

The human brain takes in roughly 10 million bits per second (Mbps) of visual information. Right alongside, it processes another 100,000 bits per second of auditory information, along with a lesser volume of touch, taste, and smell data. By way of reference, the 4k camera on your mobile phone processes about 6,000 Mbps. So what […]

Unfinished Business

I had a conversation with a colleague today. Some months ago, he and a business colleague had a bad breakup over a piece of business they did together. They have spoken since, but the feelings of hurt, betrayal, distrust, mistrust, and disappointment linger on both sides. Whether they are “finished” as business partners or transactors, […]

Perfect Game

Major League Baseball has existed since 1876. Over those years, about 20,000 pitchers have appeared in approximately 240,000 games. Of those pitchers, just 24 have pitched a perfect game. In other words, 24 people, 24 perfect games. Rare air. As I write this, a man named Shoehei Ohtani set a single game standard some people […]

Sharp Tools

Over the years, I have made many things out of wood: buildings, furniture, cabinets, Art Boxes, doorstops, spoons, and the list goes on and on. To do that, I’ve used saws, drills, chisels, planes (manual and power), scorps, hook knives, carving knives to cut wood; rulers, squares, tapes, dividers, calipers, story sticks, and more to […]