This week: why naming an AI agent may make us less careful, what a perfectionism audit can reveal, why ordinary has become so hard to accept, the difference between rest and idleness, and why a pocket notebook can still beat a phone.
This week: how leaders teach culture without realizing it, why “teamwork” isn’t a behavior, what useful friction protects us from, whether every company needs an AI Cassandra, and how prediction is making everything look the same.
This week: the hidden cost of searching for the best, how a raccoon makes dissent easier, why video calls turn us into actor, audience, and critic, and where introspection turns into rumination.
This week: my Arch City Report podcast appearance, why nonstop thinking may be our era's hidden addiction, a better phrase for business disputes, reasons your strategy keeps changing, responding to devil's advocates, and the ideal team size for managers.
This week: why writing by hand is good for your brain, how leaders own the toxic cultures they tolerate, lessons from the original Mac, news as the new smoking, why consensus fails, an AI prompt for surprising detours, and another Thinksgiving ask.
This week’s Idea Surplus Disorder starts with an ask: help us find great nonprofits and business partners for Thinksgiving. Plus: curiosity, screen-sharing, em dashes, workplace apologies, happiness, questionable metrics, and a few fun finds.
This week: what "dementia" really means, the experiences that shape our beliefs, the five roles every project needs, why worthwhile work should have weight, and how AI can help you move beyond the billable hour.
This week: why friendship frays when life becomes a project, how likability may be your future superpower, what an Italian cashmere king can teach us about work, and why your internal worrier is a terrible forecaster.
This week: how to stop accumulating decision debt, why naming your assumptions matters more than you think, the five steps for fixing your biggest bottleneck, why RACI and RAPID don't work, and the most satisfying problem taxonomy you'll encounter all week.
This week: why we shouldn't stop doing things just because machines can do them too, how to substitute discussion for decks in 1:1s, why big projects always go over-budget, and what theater directors can teach us about facilitation.