2025-04-14 17:03:00
You can’t.
That’s because toddlers don’t understand what an argument is and aren’t interesting in having one.
Toddlers (which includes defensive bureaucrats, bullies, flat earthers, folks committed to a specific agenda and radio talk show hosts) may indicate that they’d like to have an argument, but they’re actually engaging in connection, noise, play acting or a chance to earn status. It can be fun to be in opposition, to harangue or even to use power to change someone’s position.
An argument, though, is an exchange of ideas that ought to surface insight and lead to a conclusion.
If you’re regularly having arguments with well-informed people of goodwill, you will probably ‘lose’ half of them–changing your mind based on what you’ve learned. If you’re not changing your mind, it’s likely you’re not actually having an argument (or you’re hanging out with the wrong people.) While it can be fun to change someone else’s position, it’s also a gift to learn enough to change ours.
The toddler puts on a show of having an argument, but they are holding a tantrum in reserve. If they ‘win’ the argument, no tantrum is needed. If they lose, they can tell themselves that they tried but the other person deserved the tantrum because they didn’t listen.
“Tell me about other strongly-held positions you’ve changed as the result of a discussion like this one…” is a direct way to start a conversation about the argument you’re proposing to have. “What sort of information would make it likely you could see this in a different way?”
It probably doesn’t pay to argue over things we have chosen to believe as part of our identity.
2025-04-13 16:02:00
In a hurried world with infinite content, it’s worth considering that you’re no longer paid by the word when you write, in fact, you should pay for every extra word you use.
Be as brief as is useful.
2025-04-12 17:03:00
It can take seven years to get a PhD.
And a month to write a useful business plan or a year to write a book.
And yet, when AI shows up, our mistake is thinking that if we can’t find useful brilliance in one simple prompt, it’s broken.
Imagine what you could discover and create if you spent an hour focusing on just one piece of output. I’m seeing illustrations, narratives and research that celebrate the hundreds of hours that went into each of them–it feels like years of focused work.
If all that’s needed is the push of a button, we can find someone cheaper than you to push it.
2025-04-11 17:03:00
Let’s get rid of science class in school.
Instead, beginning in kindergarten, we could devote a class to curiosity and explanation.
A class that persistently and consistently teaches kids to ask why and to answer how.
The unacceptable single-word answers are “because” and “magic.”
Curiosity is a skill, and it can be taught.
2025-04-10 17:03:00
If we create something with purpose, we’ve designed it. It’s not an accident. An axe handle is designed, and so is a symphony.
Some things, though are designy. The designer’s fingerprints are all over it. The typefaces, knurled edges, needless heat sinks and homage to Dieter Rams are there for anyone who cares to look. Why use a word when a vague picture or two is available?
Occasionally (but not always), items are well-designed. Ironically, this happens when we stop noticing the design and simply use it. Software or cookware, menus or conferences–they are well designed when they accomplish their purpose and create the outcomes we were hoping for.
The best way a client can tell if a design is coherent is for the designer to announce who it’s for, what it’s for and what the constraints are.
The question is: How will we know if it is a successful design? An honest answer to all three questions will almost aways fix the design long before it ships.
“I created this to win an award,” or “I did it this way to get buzz online which will spread the word,” are both honest answers, though they might not be why we hired you.
Once we know who and what it’s for, we can give you useful feedback and work together on our shared goals.
2025-04-09 17:03:00
Just because it’s useful, needed or worthwhile doesn’t mean it’s a good business.
E-bikes are transforming cities and offering mobility to those who previously couldn’t afford it.
But they’re a commodity, and it’s difficult to make a significant profit producing them.
A good business meets a demand, but it also has scarcity, network effects and market insulation.
[Unrelated from yesterday… a lovely post from my publisher, along with a simple online raffle and, coincidentally, This is Strategy on the Kindle for four bucks for the next day or two.]
