2026-03-18 17:03:00
It’s tempting but useless.
The skin is unblemished and the perfect color. It’s well displayed, promoted widely and on sale.
But there’s nothing inside. It’s not worth eating and certainly not worth sharing.
This is the streaming series with great lighting and talented actors, based on a beloved novel, but it’s empty and we fade after one or two episodes.
This is the book with a polished author photo, pre-written blurbs and plenty of footnotes, created by a ghostwriter and edited by committee.
And it’s almost any content created by AI without care or oversight.
The solution to hollow oranges isn’t more of them.
2026-03-17 17:03:00
We were taught to look out for red flags. Little signs that something is wrong, that we should be careful or even turn around.
Don’t let that distract you from being on the lookout for green flags.
We might need encouragement to leap forward. If you look for the green flags, you’re more likely to find them.
2026-03-16 17:03:00
Colleagues you care about are coming over for dinner. What should you make?
Some people don’t care if it’s delicious, as long as it’s interesting.
Some don’t need it to be interesting, but it needs to start on time.
Others define delicious differently than you do.
One couple doesn’t care at all about the effort you put into it.
A few don’t care if you’ve worked hard to create a spectacular meal, they’ll notice that the kitchen is a mess.
One person is really concerned that the food match their dietary needs.
And many are paying attention to the sustainability and cost of what you prepared.
Some are uncomfortable if you put in too much of effort.
The lesson is simple: empathy matters and empathy is hard. The more diverse the group’s interests, the more you’ll need to let them know in advance where you’re heading.
Get clear about what it’s for before you start doing the work.
2026-03-15 17:03:00
You’re at the Zoom meeting, on time, and no one is there. Are you the ghost or is everyone else?
We needed a word for this existential minor dread, and now we have one.
Coordination is hard.
PS the Ides of March are overrated as a threat. It’s the chronic conditions that really get us in the end.
2026-03-14 17:03:00
When an organization is known for speed and quality, it’s likely that if times get tough, quality will suffer before speed does. That’s because customers notice speed right away, but it takes a while to come to a conclusion about quality.
If a musician or politician is known for showmanship and wise insights, the showmanship will probably outlast the wisdom.
When we measure and compare the easily visible, we may be setting ourselves up for disappointment.
2026-03-13 16:25:00
Here’s a simple rubric for outsourcing:
If you’re never going to need to do this again, and it’s easier to do it than to instruct someone else to do it, by all means, do it yourself.
If doing it yourself will give you joy or satisfaction that is greater than the productivity boost you’ll get from leverage or better tools, please do it yourself.
But if you’re going to do it more than once, and the customer can’t tell if you did it yourself or not, perhaps you should have someone else do it or build the tools to get it done more efficiently.
Next time will happen sooner than you expect. Better to invest a bit more now than to spend for that shortcut again and again.
