Reading Time: 2 min You’ve heard the phrase “it can’t hurt to ask”, and while that’s true in many situations, putting it out as a blanket statement can lead to some bad things. A great example is spam, whether that’s via email, phone calls, or things like LinkedIn connections. In every case, they figure “it can’t hurt to ask”, […]
Trust
Trusting authentic recommendations
Reading Time: < 1 min Over at GreenMellen, we don’t host websites. We help people choose hosting, and we take care of all of the technical work, but we want our clients to have ownership of their sites. We do this for their long-term benefit (owning your own stuff is a good thing), but recently I’ve noticed a great side […]
Three simple rules for sharing
Reading Time: 2 min Social media is often filled with memes and information that are just flat-out incorrect. Most of it comes from one type of sharing: “That fits my viewpoint, so I’ll pass it along!“. Truth becomes secondary to speed. That’s not to say you shouldn’t share things that you agree with, but taking a moment to verify […]
I am now less wrong than I was before
Reading Time: < 1 min Being wrong about something often feels bad, but if you view it with the right lens it can be a great thing. I’ve mentioned Daniel Kahneman on here a few times, previously when he talked about using simple language when possible. I’ve also talked a good bit about Adam Grant, particularly in the past few […]
Principles versus policies
Reading Time: 2 min All businesses should have a core set of principles, and policies should follow after that. It’s easy to conflate the two, and it can be dangerous if you do. I recently heard Adam Grant share the story of Robert Reffkin of Compass, and how this kind of overlap between principles and policies caused some problems […]
Consistency is the lamest of all human virtues
Reading Time: < 1 min Consistency isn’t always a bad thing. However, if your desire for consistency is larger than your desire to learn, you’re heading for a rough time. We see that a lot when it comes to politics (which sometimes, oddly, bleeds into science), but it can be relevant to many areas of our lives. Malcolm Gladwell and […]
Where do you really get your news?
Reading Time: < 1 min Almost every day I see someone complaining about “the media”, and the lack of coverage on a particular story or the slant given to something that happened. Despite that, I still maintain that you are the media. It’s important to have professional news organizations out there, for sure, but they no longer have very much […]
Don’t let the HiPPO have the final say
Reading Time: < 1 min When you’re in a meeting of any kind and you’re working to make a decision, one person often has the final say, even if they’re not the one that should really be providing the answer. Don’t necessarily listen to the HiPPO (“Highest Paid Person’s Opinion”). Great leaders surround themselves with people that are experts in […]
Who shares your transactive memory?
Reading Time: 2 min The idea of “transactive memory” is fascinating to me. In short, it’s the idea that you allow others to remember parts of your life (and vice-versa) so that you don’t have to hold it all in. For example, my wife is helping my daughter get ready to head off to the University of Georgia this […]
Don’t lie to get the project
Reading Time: < 1 min Seth Godin recently published a blog post that ended with two great mottos: “You’ll pay a lot, but you’ll get more than you paid for.” “Our secret is that we don’t lie to get the project.” I agree wholeheartedly with both of those, though the second one is a little tricky. Back in 2016, a […]