Jan 24, 2023 | Eudaemonia, Habits, Happiness, Thinking Tools
The arrival of a new year is typically a reflective moment. Setting new goals can be exciting, but this moment of contemplation can bring a bit of dread, too. At the root of many people’s anxieties is an age-old question: Am I happy? I’ve been thinking a lot about...
Oct 27, 2022 | Executive Skills, Neuro-Optimization, Productivity, Restoration, Routines
Burnout could be the official word of 2022 (and 2021, to be honest). So many people have had first-hand experience with it that you would think we’d understand it perfectly. But most people don’t really know what it is, nor what to do to prevent it. Burnout...
Oct 18, 2022 | Attention, Dopamine, Eudaemonia, Neuro-Optimization
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter – the technical term for a chemical that gets released in the brain. You’ve no doubt heard of others like oxytocin (the cuddle chemical), serotonin (the one associated with contentment), and endorphins (which give you pain relief...
Oct 11, 2022 | Acceleration, Dopamine, Eudaemonia, Neuro-Optimization, Routines
The brain is the most complex piece of kit in the universe, yet we hardly pay any attention to how it operates, let alone how to optimize it. We need to build better habits of mind. Luckily, we are in a golden age of neuroscience. Recent advances have allowed us...
Jul 11, 2022 | Reinvention, Strategy, Thinking Tools
The 7 Red Flags Checklist We’ve all been in challenging work environments; sadly, it’s a constant of professional life as the dreaded off-site and – my personal least favorite – the office birthday party. But how can we know when the regular grind of work...
Jun 8, 2022 | Attention, Deep Work, Dopamine, Modern Life, Thinking Tools
Photo by Milad Fakurian on Unsplash Flashback 50,000 years. You live on the land and survive as a hunter-gatherer. The more laid-back members of your tribe — the ones who are satisfied with a decent hunt or can’t be bothered to explore the next valley over to see if...
Jan 5, 2022 | Magnificent Mistakes, Stillness, Thinking Tools
People usually become contemplative as another year ends and a new one begins. For many, this is the season for reflection, resolutions, and perhaps even reinvention. I’m no exception to this ritual. The following thoughts came to me a few years ago in a feverish...
Nov 2, 2021 | Executive Skills, Future of Work, Hybrid Work, Thinking Tools
Hybrid work is a problem to be managed, but it’s also an opportunity to be leveraged. But how do you move from one to the other and do Hybrid right? I’ve developed a framework for you to follow. I call it the H.I.B.R.I.D. algorithm because it’s a step-by-step process...
Oct 9, 2021 | Anticipation, COVID-19, Future of Work, Hybrid Work, Mega Trends
One of the lasting consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic is that the nature of what we understand as the “office” has changed. I would argue that we’re merely at the end of the beginning, however, in the evolution of the workplace. I see four...
Sep 17, 2021 | Reinvention, Thinking Tools
I’m fascinated by Evolution. I think that the theory of natural selection proposed by Charles Darwin is the closest thing that we have to a Theory of Everything. It explains all things human, from how our eyes evolved to what we find beautiful. One of the curious...
Aug 17, 2021 | Acceleration, Anticipation, COVID-19, Deep Work, Hybrid Work, Leadership, Mega Trends, Productivity
The Hybrid workplace shouldn’t just be managed; it should be leveraged. This moment is an opportunity. Photo by vadim kaipov on Unsplash Here’s something you already know: the past 18 months have totally changed the game and organizations will have to adapt to a new...
Jul 2, 2021 | Reinvention, Thinking Tools
A lot of people are contemplating making a big professional change right now. A recent Microsoft survey of more than 30,000 people in 31 countries revealed that over 40% of respondents are considering leaving their employer this year. It’s a natural reaction to a...
Mar 12, 2021 | Anticipation, COVID-19, Mega Trends, Strategy
Photo Credit: Robynne Hu | Unsplash The great science fiction writer William Gibson famously noted that “the future is already here; it’s just not widely distributed yet.” I think that I’ve seen the future, and in it, everything will be “Pelotonized.” Let me explain....
Dec 24, 2020 | Acceleration, Attention, Executive Skills, Habits, Productivity, Routines, Stillness, Thinking Tools
I know that everyone is in a hurry to turn the page on this incredibly challenging year, but doing so too quickly would be a mistake. Life seems to naturally slow down this time of year for those of us who are fortunate enough to enjoy a holiday. This season is quite...
Nov 7, 2020 | COVID-19, Executive Skills, Social Commentary, Thinking Tools
The cascading crises of 2020 have demonstrated the enormous weight of bad news. Here are some strategies to help you cope in case the worst is yet to come. Photo by Clément Falize on Unsplash It’s fair to say that 2020 has been a constant stream of dismal news. To...
Jul 3, 2020 | Anticipation, COVID-19, Strategy, Thinking Tools
The successive health, economic, and social crises of this year underscore the need to be prepared for uncertainty. Follow this Five-Step Playbook to be Future PROOF. Photo by Justin Kauffman on Unsplash 22 years ago, I was staying at a friend’s house in San Diego and...
May 26, 2020 | Anticipation, COVID-19, Mega Trends, Social Commentary
Photo by Jose Antonio Gallego Vázquez on Unsplash So many aspects of lives operated on autopilot until recently. Not anymore. The second and third-order effects of C-19 are — for good and for ill — breaking centuries-old habits. The Coronavirus just pressed...
May 13, 2020 | Anticipation, COVID-19, Mega Trends, Perpendicular Thinking, Social Commentary, Strategy, Thinking Tools
Photo by Alok Sharma on Unsplash We live in the world C-19 has permanently changed. We need to pivot now from a crisis mindset to a coexistence one. Next, we’ll need to figure out how to capitalize on it. In early March (after SXSW was canceled, before the NBA shut...
Mar 9, 2020 | Anticipation, Mega Trends, Social Commentary, Strategy
Everyone is comparing COVID-19 to 1918 and the Spanish Flu. But I think that the better historical analogy is a century earlier, in 1816. Photo by Jared Murray on Unsplash I went to see a theatrical rendition of “Frankenstein” with a friend last night – in part...
Apr 21, 2019 | Perpendicular Thinking, Reinvention, Routines, Strategy, Thinking Tools
“If you are considering a change, you are past the point where you should have made it.” Tyler Cowen, Economist When was the last time you did something for the first time? When was the last time you took a risk, or even diverged from your usual routine? Don’t feel...
Apr 14, 2019 | Personal Brand, Reinvention, Strategy
Photo by Patrik Michalicka on Unsplash To quote the great urban philosopher Ice-T, “don’t hate the playa, hate the game.” Some people might not like to think that we are “products” that have “brands”, but wishing it away does not make it so. If I say the names “Justin...
Mar 14, 2019 | Acceleration, Strategy, Thinking Tools
What maps, plans and Mike Tyson have in common Photo by Damir Spanic on Unsplash Maps — whether mental ones or cartographic ones — give the illusion of accuracy. But, as the saying goes, the map is not the territory. Only by recognizing the limitations of these...
Feb 14, 2019 | Acceleration, Deep Work, Routines
Here’s a trick borrowed from pro athletes that you can incorporate to become more consistently excellent: have a ritual. You probably don’t watch much rugby, but if you’ve ever seen the New Zealand All-Blacks you no doubt were stunned by their pre-game...
Jun 5, 2018 | Acceleration, Modern Life, Reinvention, Strategy
I’m sometimes called upon to give my take on so-called Mega Trends and ‘the Future’, and tonight I’ll be a giving a different version of that talk. Rather than forecasting the future, however, I’m going to discuss the long one you have in front of you. I’m going to...
Mar 13, 2018 | Modern Life, Social Commentary, Stillness, Tech Lash
Do you reflexively reach for your phone when you’re stuck in an annoyingly long line at Starbucks? I do. How about when waiting to get on your flight and you’ve been relegated to boarding category 4? Guilty there, too. Don’t worry: this isn’t going to be another...
Apr 26, 2022 | Habits, Modern Life, Productivity, Restoration, Routines
Are you near Burnout, or know someone who is? As a strategic advisor to entrepreneurs and executives, I’ve had to get smart on what Burnout looks like but also how to stave it off. First, with all that has gone on in the past few years, it’s completely normal to feel...
