Your weekly dose of innovation, ideation, and inspiration from Matt Homann.
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.
This week: what happens when AI severs the link between competence and output, why a philosophy professor started writing essays with his students, how your brain proves whatever you already believe, and the simplest way to stop saying yes to everything.
This week: how to manage your Shiny Toy Syndrome, the new AI writing tell that replaced the em dash, what happens when you put AI on the org chart, three small changes that make work more satisfying, and why starting your day with an empty desk beats starting it with yesterday's mess.
This week: a catechism for robots that reads more like advice for humans. Plus, how signposting makes your writing clearer, what happens when AI bypasses the thinking education was designed to build, and why five minutes of doing nothing might be the most productive part of your day.
This week in Idea Surplus Disorder: why you need more distance from strangers' minds, the difference between wisdom and synthesis, what "yet" can do for you, and why familiarity isn't the same as understanding.
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