We often avoid the question of whether something is worth doing by going straight to the question “How do we do it?“ In fact, when we believe that something is definitely not worth doing, we are particularly eager to start asking How? We can look at what is worth doing at many different levels: As an individual I can wonder whether I can be myself and do what I want and still make a living. For an organization I can ask for whose sake does this organization exist and does it exist for any larger purpose than to survive and be economically successful? As a society, have we replaced a sense of community and civic engagement for economic well being and the pursuit of our private ambition? Continue reading
Leadership
What is the transformation in me that is required?
No one is going to change as a result of our desires. In fact, they will resist our efforts to change them simply due to the coercive aspect of the interaction. Continue reading
Pursuing What matters Most
There is something in the persistent question How? that expresses each person’s struggle between having confidence in their capacity to live a life of purpose and yielding to the daily demands of being practical. Continue reading
Clarity propels an organisation
Not occasional clarity but pervasive, 24-hour, in-your-face, take-no-prisoners clarity. Most people never perceive that this is lacking in their organisation, but 90% of the time it is. Just open a few random emails, activate your “brutal-vision”, and read. The muddying messages are rampant. If people were brutally honest in their emails, the time we spend sorting through our in-boxes would surely decrease by half. Continue reading
What Makes a Person Shine?
What separates people who feel fulfilled from those who suffer with regret? Here’s a hint: it isn’t money in the bank, fame, trophies, or rank, as much as those may matter. Many people don’t finish first but nonetheless achieve greatness and long will be remembered, while many who do finish first will never be called great and will soon tumble into oblivion. Continue reading
Lateral Thinkers
Some three decades ago, Edward De Bono related a story in his book on the Use of Lateral Thinking. The story went something like this – Continue reading
Death: Life’s change agent
Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Continue reading
Random Quotes on Simplicity
Simplicity’s best friend : Small Groups of Smart People
The quality of work resulting from an undertaking is inversely proportional to the number of people involved and directly proportional to the degree of involvement by the ultimate decision maker. Continue reading
Simplicity is the love child of two of the most powerful forces in business : Brains and Common Sense.
For a concept that’s supposed to be obvious, Simplicity can be difficult to describe. It can be a choice, a feeling, or a guiding light. Continue reading
Former Apple ad man Ken Segall talks Steve Jobs, simplicity in Time interview
In an interview with Time on Tuesday, Ken Segall, a former creative director of Apple ad agency TBWA/Chiat/Day who worked with the late Steve Jobs at Apple and NeXT, discussed a wide range of topics including his time collaborating on the Cupertino tech giant’s ad campaigns….
….Segall is in a unique position to offer insight into the inner workings of Apple’s advertising process after being involved in the company’s ad campaigns for 12 years. Among his team’s accomplishments are the naming of the “iMac” and the “Think Different” campaign, the latter kickstarting Apple’s initial rise following the return of cofounder Steve Jobs. Segall has done subsequent work for large tech companies Dell and IBM.
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