1 hour agoMember-onlyThe 5 Elements Of The Changemaker MindsetChances are, you work in a square-peg business, because that’s the best way to make money. You work diligently to improve the pegs and to get them to where they need to go better, faster and cheaper. It is through quality and consistency that you can best serve your customers…Transformation7 min readTransformation7 min read
Sep 16Member-only6 Things Great Innovators Do DifferentlyTake a look at any successful enterprise and you’ll find innovation at its core. That was just as true a hundred years ago when Henry Ford perfected the assembly line as it is today, when modern day giants like Elon Musk bring cutting edge technology to market. Innovation, as I’ve…Innovation7 min readInnovation7 min read
Sep 9Member-onlyThere Are Few Things As Dangerous As A Big Idea MisunderstoodIn 1989, just before the fall of the Berlin Wall, Francis Fukuyama published an essay in the journal The National Interest titled The End of History, which led to a bestselling book. Many took his argument to mean that, with the defeat of communism, US-style liberal democracy had emerged as…Creativity6 min readCreativity6 min read
Sep 2Member-onlyWhy Hierarchies Can Outperform Networks (And Vice Versa)I still remember the bright autumn day in 2014 when I turned off of the main road in Exton, Pennsylvania onto a remote path. I was going to meet Brian J. Robertson, the creator of a hot new “flat” management approach called Holacracy. I was skeptical, because it seemed to…Networks6 min readNetworks6 min read
Aug 26Member-onlyChange Starts With Empathy (Even For Your Enemies). Here’s Why:On September 17th, 2011, protesters began to stream into Zuccotti Park in Lower Manhattan and the #Occupy movement had begun. “We are the 99%,” they declared and as far as they were concerned, it was time for the reign of the “1%” to end. …Change6 min readChange6 min read
Aug 19Member-only4 Things I’ve Learned About IdeasI’ve always been inspired by ideas. Some, like Aristotle’s logic, shape the world for millennia. Others, like Einstein’s relativity, completely change our conceptions of what is possible. Still others, like mRNA vaccines, seem to emerge at just the right time. …Ideas6 min readIdeas6 min read
Aug 12Member-onlyThe 9 Rules Of InnovationOn December 9th, 1968, a research project funded by the US Department of Defense launched a revolution. The focus was not a Cold War adversary or even a resource rich banana republic, but rather to “augment human intellect” and the man driving it was not a general, but a mild…Innovation8 min readInnovation8 min read
Aug 5Member-onlyInnovation Should Serve People, Not The Other Way AroundThe global activist Srdja Popović once told me that the goal of a revolution should be to become mainstream, to be mundane and ordinary. If you are successful it should be difficult to explain what was won because the previous order seems so unbelievable. That’s what true transformation looks like. …Innovation6 min readInnovation6 min read
Jul 29Member-onlyWhy Change Does NOT Have To Start At The TopIn 2004 I found myself running a major news organization during the Orange Revolution in Ukraine. It was one of those moments when the universe opens up, reveals a bit of itself and you realize the world doesn’t work the way you thought it did. …Transformation6 min readTransformation6 min read
Jul 22Member-onlyValues Always Cost You Something. That’s What Makes Them Different From Platitudes.When I was in Panama last year for a keynote I had the opportunity to speak with Erika Mouynes, the country’s former Foreign Minister, about the war in Ukraine. …Trust6 min readTrust6 min read