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It’s only when we forget all our learning that we begin to know.

Most popular links, based on twitter account stats.

What does the Singularity invite us to ignore?

Two essential decisions lie between you and greatness.

How pressing, playing the odds, and driving results changes the game.

Strategic fit, between the character of place and local industries, increases investment success.

For small companies, awkwardness is an oft unappreciated asset.

Which rituals for business would remind us of what matters most?

Timeless principles matter

I’ve been lucky and had good teachers. The best encouraged my natural interests. One of these passions, probably inspired by countless fantasy novels growing up, is the timeless and often ancient principles of art, architecture, literature, philosophy…

What you anticipate in the future is a product of your past and everything you count meaningful right now.

When we build tools for decision-makers, we follow two intentions: Build simple tools and honor complexity.

The best writers arc their stories to intriguing and unexpected ends. Can we arc businesses too?

Ralph Waldo Emerson, History:

“Every revolution was first a thought in one man’s mind, and when the same thought occurs to another man, it is the key to that era.”

What is your revolution? When will you…

Before moving on to a review of John Ruskin’s book, On Art and Life, there’s one more bit to synthesize from the first two (here and here). Trouble is, I’m not sure how to…

After finishing New World, New Mind I was convinced of two things. First, more attention is needed around staging our thinking processes. Second, the authors didn’t had no idea how to do it.

So, while Cuban waves tickled…

Our ability to understand issues is increasing exponentially but our mental hardwiring isn’t being upgraded. We understand more every day but instinctively respond to events like monkeys.

In an offline note a good friend challenges the concept of new, tailor-made companies. Instead he asks, “What about companies that need tailors … companies that need a new dress, ugly companies, those ones that need new shoes…

I keep running into amazing people. Each one stuck in a job that uses a tiny part of what they’re great at. Here’s a plan to use a bit more.

Here’s an unsolved riddle: How do we get the minds of widely dispersed, brilliant people to focus on critical problems/opportunities? How do we synchronize greatness?

Dave Pollard brought this up a few days ago. He writes:

“……

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations:

“When an object presents itself to your perception, make a mental definition or at least an outline of it, so as to discern its essential character, to pierce beyond its separate attributes to a distinct view of…

I’ve been working, since the canoe trip this summer, to refine a few of the most important pieces I’ve written about on this site. These ideas are important to me as I seek to understand both my way forward and…

Thoreau’s prose turned to poetry:

it is only when we forget
all our learning
that we begin to know.

to conceive
with total apprehension
approach it as something
totally
strange.

if you…

It’s been surprising how much people have resonated with the canoe trip stories. Not just the “week away” part … actually, not that part at all.

Interest has been in the expression of that trip. The emerging strength of the…

I don’t want to make a big show out of that canoe trip. It really was just six days paddling around a lake. But it was also a window to a part of me that lay nearly forgotten.

There are…

From the Thoreau blog:

“As I go through the fields, endeavoring to recover my tone and sanity and to perceive things truly and simply again, after having been perambulating the bounds of the town all week, and dealing

…

By becoming present, focusing on moments exerts enormous attention.

As investors we ask a lot of questions. It’s the part of the job I enjoy the most.

I’ve always been attracted to important questions … this work has cemented that interest.

Here’s a question I found a while ago.…

Eccentricity comes from the Greek phrase “to prick”. I dream of working with eccentric people that dance within chaos and fragmentation.

To work with people that have embraced their brilliance. To work with people who are brilliant. People who intend to shine.

I want to work on innovation, creativity, and insight. I’m keen on educating for creativity and insight, creating markets…

Retro post #91

Great find by Johnnie Moore, John Kay’s article on Obliquity is excellent. Kay writes that goals are often best achieved when pursued indirectly – this is the idea of obliquity.

Like Johnnie it…

Before pitching, or flipping, try pinging.

This talk by Sir Ken Robinson is gorgeous. I’ve listened to it four times and watched the video twice. I’d love to meet him some day.

Even before I had my son I was passionately interested in education. Since he…

From the Guardian, “The former Enron chairman whose name became a byword for boardroom deceit and corruption, Ken Lay, died in an exclusive ski resort yesterday while awaiting sentence for his involvement in America’s biggest ever corporate fraud.”…

Architect Unknown: For each of these buildings the architect is unknown. I should get this site to cycle through a few photos whenever I feel driven to make a lasting, unforgettable statement.

In The Traditional Japanese Garden: An analysis of…

Guidelines for conversations with busy people.

Jason Fried (37 Signals) posted about embracing obscurity.

“The beauty of starting a side business is that you can fail in obscurity. Many people worry that they’ll languish in obscurity. Don’t worry about having a great idea that

…

Pursuing definitive answers often erodes principles.

Become less. Be more.

You are invited to stop.

Time management’s greatest gift is wholemindedness.

I travel from Edmonton to Calgary and back almost every week.  It’s a three hour drive one-way, so I have a big chunk of time to listen to podcasts.  This week I listened to an interview, by…

One needs to have a comprehensive character.

I’m a fan of words. It’s the biggest reason I love T.H. White, Billy Collins, and E.B. White — their delightful choice of words.

So, for kicks, here’s philologr: A pop of perfectly placed words in a world of…

My days are a blur of chaos.  Too many new things. 

New son.  New house.  New city.  New job.  New friends.

I don’t mind the pace … usually.  But just the idea of slow makes me realize how fast…

Strategy is a mindful, present response to hope.

The difference between hope and strategy: hope is a prerequisite to strategy but not a sufficient condition. Action is also required but also insufficient. The equation must also include…

One late, introspective night in early 2003, I closed my eyes and typed till done. Dave Pollard’s recent post reminded me of this note to self:

If I dream about what would make me happy or content. Satisfied.

…

Whilst lolling despondently on the sofa: “When will I start doing the things I am great at? I keep doing things that help me be greater.”

Good friend in from old places: “Maybe guys like you just keep growing and…

Holidays, long absences (or large abscesses), and in my case a gynormous move, threaten the very foundation of something like a blog. In reality a blog is incredibly fragile. Mostly carried by the resolve of a single author, a blog…

Not too long ago I wrote a series of posts on pitching. It was mostly for my own sake that I put those pieces together — I wanted to better understand what pitching actually meant and where it…

via loic le meur blog

That’s what’s on the mind of Jeff Bezos:

Execution.

Success is almost completely defined by execution. Too many ideas and too few actions. The trick is execution of the right things.

I just spent three weeks in Alberta with my wife’s family. While we were there her grandmother passed away. At and after the funeral we spent a lot of time marveling at the impact of that little lady’s life. …

A friend just handed me a chapter from Peter Senge’s book The Fifth Discipline. In it Peter writes:

“At one of our recent programs, I talked to a manger who has worked in both U.S. and

…

Last Fall I bought a copy of Seed magazine to read their piece on Revolutionary Minds: 18 icons and iconoclasts who are redefining science. The story on mathematician, Erik Demaine, tattooed itself on my mind and…

There are two aspects of business that are immeasurably important but poorly understood. These are meekness and love.

Two of the companies I work with pay me to “think on their behalf – about the company’s strategic direction.” Know what…

Provocative post at Worthwhile.

Dan Pink, author of A Whole New Mind sees three forces that are shaping work roles: Abundance, Asia, and Automation.

“Abundance leads us to move from valuing “utility” to “significance” in the…

Great thought by Rob at Business Pundit.

Opportunity Science: in an age of increasing competitiveness, falling barriers to entry and ever increasing business opportunities, the advantage will lie with the companies that pick the best opportunities to pursue —…

Slowly getting through the mind-numbing, sleepless days with a new baby.

So I’m starting to sniff around the net again finally. Today I found a manifesto calling for a Masters in Business Imagination.

The rhetoric’s not too hot…

We used a labour coach. Maybe your company needs one too?

I’m on the hunt for guidance on the all important, little exercised art of 60-second pitching. Yesterday’s initial landscape got me started but I still need to put the pitch together.

In June of last year

One of my friends is a teacher. He’s told me many times that the best way to learn something is to explain it to someone else. Well I want to learn to do a 60-second pitch, so here goes.

Over…

Update: Dr. Ronald S. Burt from the University of Chicago backs up everything written here and adds his idea about “structural holes” — the notion that people can find opportunities for creative thinking where there is…

“Why are you choosing this?”

That’s such a gorgeous question.

It’s complete answer either reveals:

- all the information included in decision making,
- the criteria by which choices are being made,
- the rank of alternative paths…

When I was in graduate school I read an article describing the innovation methods of a successful entrepreneur. He keeps a hate list. It’s a list of everything he and his friends hate with all the violence of a bang-your-knuckles-when-your-wrench-slips…

In the comments Evelyn Rodriguez writes of her decision “to write more stories and read more stories and put most biz books on the back-burner.” She’s been writing about this theme often lately, see

Great find by Johnnie Moore, John Kay’s article on Obliquity is excellent. Kay writes that goals are often best achieved when pursued indirectly – this is the idea of obliquity.

Like Johnnie it reminds me of…

Andrew Phelps has a great idea. B-Side games. The idea is to package experimental games in the same boxes as the already popular. It’s an effort to drive innovation and fringe seeking. While I like that idea, I’m…

So, this sells.

It sells not just because TED is cool but getting to see that guy and see TED and see the people raving is way more persuasive than reading about it. How expensive could it be…

An interesting comment by Jon about architecture. He was writing about how to use blogs in a corporation and after explaining how he’d introduce them he said, “I’d then consider using blogs in an intelligently architected way …”…

Hugh has a good post on the “ignorance premium.” He’s arguing that the fat bank of ignorance marketing is shrinking as other economies come online. I’d say he’s bang-on. This ticket is losing value – but I doubt…

I’ve been pondering the relationship between entrepreneurs/young companies and the ideas presented in James Surowiecki’s, The Wisdom of Crowds, and Malcolm Gladwell’s, Blink. Without further synthesis, I’d argue there isn’t one.

Sir Francis…

I’ve been reading a fabricated debate at Slate between James Surowiecki, author of The Wisdom of Crowds, and Malcolm Gladwell, author of Blink. I’ll be revising this post, I wanted to get it up…

One of my clients helps people make career decisions and he’s great at it. He’s also a great entrepreneur. A few years ago he was a top 40 under 40 entrepreneur.

Two nights ago we were draining glasses in…

When I was in university I used to love swinging by this guy’s site: Analog Cereal. He was on this quest to “party like a rock star”. I’ve never wanted to be a rock star – but the…