Ideas are free, execution is priceless.

Macho, obstinate workaholics who sacrifice their health, relationships and sanity so they can find some imaginary pot of gold at the end of the rainbow are not heroes. They should not be praised and exalted as true artists or masters of their craft. Deniro makes this mistake in the best scene of the best heist movie of all time. He says to the very officer trying to arrest him:…

Recently a woman asked me if wearing a nametag was my security blanket. It’s a fascinating question. One that can be answered from both sides. Because on one hand, a security blanket is a comfort object. It provides someone with psychological relief, especially in unusual or unique situations. It’s essential to that person’s mental and emotional wellbeing. Whatever the inanimate object is, irrational as their attachment may be, it…

Japan has historically run the best railway grid in the world. But recently, they began investing in a two year project which will save, get ready for this, exactly one minute on a single train route. Thanks to that few extra kilometers per hour, passengers now have a commute that is a whole sixty seconds shorter than before. The best part about this story is, their transit authority has been…

Hostage negotiation consultants who run bank robbery prevention trainings have a mantra. Ignore human nature at your own peril. One of the tactics they teach to tellers is to disclose personal information. If your bank is being held up, and the robbers start shoving you across the room, introduce yourself. Repeat your name over and over again. Humanize yourself and condition the robbers to know who you are. It…

One of my core arguments for why everyone should wear nametags is, dishonest and uncivil behavior becomes more difficult to do. With nametags, we give others the gift of security by letting them know who they’re dealing with. There’s nothing to hide behind. Our identity is always verified. There’s a social construct that forces us to sign our work and take a stand for our identity. There is no…