This week: make unseasonable requests, embrace the moat of low status, and rethink goals as limits. Plus: AI as legal coach, smarter CEO transitions, and how Hampton Inn won by being “good enough.”

This week: rough drafts, pricing clarity, and rude questions with polite answers. Plus: curiosity styles, fading happy hours, three types of attention, and why comparing small things can make you better (but big ones can make you miserable).

This week in Idea Surplus Disorder: why soft skills are strategic, how “cookie lickers” derail momentum, and what AI can’t replace. Plus: effort vs. achievement, eponymous internet laws, a better way to say no, and rules for writing.

This week in Idea Surplus Disorder: The cost of being misunderstood, why recurring meetings kill momentum, how to say no more helpfully, and why AI works better when treated like a teammate. Plus: lurking weasel phrases, toothbrush theories, and seven things every kid needs to hear.

This week in Idea Surplus Disorder, we explore how AI is shifting critical thinking, why middle managers must lead change, and how rest, resilience, and resistance connect. Plus: Jevon’s Paradox, the risks of bitterness, and why introverts might want to occasionally act out of character.

In this 100th edition, we celebrate six years of sharing ideas, what every project needs, why “more better” isn’t a strategy, how to land better clients, and why imagination is your business’s most underused asset. Plus: fast-built icons, smarter consulting, and wisdom to help you think better.

Embed leadership traits, rethink innovation roles, and avoid strategy fatigue. Plus, how to cultivate high agency, protect your cognitive edge, and spark better thinking through structure and reflection.

Build a Victory Plan, rethink disruption, and learn from failure. Plus, how AI changes solo work, why the second-bravest person matters, and wisdom to sharpen your thinking and spark curiosity.

Navigate uncertainty, rethink troubleshooting, and embrace the freedom of constraints. Plus, the hidden risks of AI, smart negotiation questions, a food critic’s manifesto, and insights to spark your curiosity alongside wisdom to sharpen your thinking.