How you describe something—the words you use—can dramatically affect perception. That's the entire principle behind the business concept of "market positioning" as laid out in the seminal book, Positioning by Ries and Trout. Call Government insurance...
culture
Here are articles on culture
The ongoing joke that is Silicon Valley Privacy
SnapChat just revised their privacy policy. I decided to read it. It looked pretty good. Then I got to the section How We Use Your Information. How does SnapChat use the information? To provide services. To communicate with me. To monitor trends. And so on. The final...
Please work for free. Not.
I'm sure you have never asked someone to work for free. But just in case you know someone who has---or if you've ever been asked---here's the kind of thing you really should say. Today I received this letter: Hello Mr. Stever, I am writing to you on behalf of...
Income inequality is simple math
Simple math is a great way to understand a system's behavior. I picked up this trick from Warren Buffett's writing and speaking. Warren often figures out which mathematical elements drive behavior of a stock or industry, and then uses that to set a boundary on his...
Good businesspeople oppose free markets
A friend on Facebook posted an article about New Jersey outlawing Tesla's direct-to-consumer car sales. My friend was decrying how Gov. Christie is being anti-free-market. And I agree 100%. From what I've been able to see, it's pretty clear that the big conservative...
Harvard Business Review included my article
Harvard Business Review included my article "Culture as Communication" in the Fall 2013 issue of HBR OnPoint. I'm very happy and flattered!
Can you align business with ethics?
Is business anti-ethical by nature? I'm reading an article today about how it's in no one's business interest to help protect consumers whose cell phones get stolen. Cell phone companies make more money when a customer's phone is stolen, since the customer has to buy...
Don’t be a victim in or out of the workplace.
I have said many times in my podcast and out of it that if you can take some measure of internal ownership for bad things that happen in your life—even ownership of very small parts of the situation—it can lead to a feeling of deep control and...
Do you just think you have integrity?
Do you have integrity? Or do you just think you have it? I have been pondering what integrity is, the last few days. I have a friend, "Ashley," who has done some stuff that many people would consider to be well into the gray area of ethical behavior. He admits he did...
Is texting in meetings rude?
Do you think it's rude to text/email during a meeting? Some say it's multitasking. An article I read celebrated "the skill of following along in person while simultaneously [doing other stuff]" Alas, that skill simply doesn't exist. Our brains are not wired to...