Ideas are free, execution is priceless.

In economics, a doom loop is the phenomenon where weak banks destabilize governments that support them, and over indebted governments push banks that hold their bonds over the edge. It’s a negative spiral. A virtueless circle that keeps inflicting crises on the public unless arrested. This term was first introduced in the eighties, and has since been researched and in numerous fields including psychology, systems thinking and organizational management….

Startups exist in a fast paced, fast changing world of extreme uncertainty. This means that an employee’s ability to do things like handle stress, wear multiple hats, solve problems and energize coworkers is far more valuable than executing formulas on spreadsheets. And don’t get me wrong. Excel is a wonderful program. But using it is also a technical skill that you can train a drunk monkey to do. Whereas…

Barnum was the greatest showman because he knew how to create a bold strategy to conjure up a storm of interest in his work. Media referred to his shows as humbugs, which weren’t lies, but events put on to arouse public curiosity. According to his biographer, he put on glittering appearances and novel expedients, by which to suddenly arrest public attention, and attract the public eye and ear. Barnum…

Draper, television mad man extraordinaire, made an entire career out of ethical lapses. On the first episode of the show, he switched the dog tags of a dying soldier during the war and assumed that man’s identity back home. Then, for the remainder of the series, he lied his way to the top of the ad agency with numerous morally ambiguous business practices. My favorite scene is when a…

During a recent family holiday dinner, our poodle shaggy plume of a tail knocked my drink onto the hardwood floor. Splattered everywhere, including onto my shoes. My mother about had a heart attack, while a few other relatives gasped audibly. But for some reason, it didn’t bother me. Not even in the slightest. There was no pet scolding, hand wringing, pulse racing or expletive screaming. While continuing my conversation…