Is entrepreneurship dying? And if so, is one reason (aside from the economy) the general distaste for bureaucracy in an entrepreneurial culture?

If you really think about, one of the most tangible selling points of America — one that you’ll hear bantered about quite often — is the idea of “entrepreneurial spirit.” This ties back to the American Dream; it’s the concept… Continue Reading

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Brief thought exercise: why are people generally more receptive to “let’s hop on a call” or “let’s schedule a meeting” then a three-line e-mail that explains the situation?

I’ve wondered this constantly in different jobs I’ve had, and even aspects of the job search. You can write a pretty short, to-the-point e-mail that explains your situation or a project’s situation and one of the first series of responses… Continue Reading

Estonia is a small country in northern Europe that has about as many people as Hawaii; it became a global leader in technology, though. Here’s the valuable lesson for the world.

Estonia, a former Soviet republic, is now often considered one of the leading digital centers of the world (some call it “E-Stonia” as a result). People vote online, people do their tax returns in moments via mobile (and get their… Continue Reading

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Oh goddamn, Whole Paycheck — er, Whole Foods — is in trouble and may be lowering prices

I had this MBA Strategy class last fall. It was supposed to meet 12-14 times; the professor was sick three times and one time, I’m pretty sure he didn’t show up. So we met about 10 times, and I swear… Continue Reading

Look at this graphic and try not to be worried about drought, the future of food, climate change, California as a whole, and, well, the United States

What am I looking at, you may have just asked. Well, hopefully you realize that’s California pictured above and there are three distinct time periods shown: 1950 (The Great Move West!), 2000 (a little after San Francisco became the new… Continue Reading

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Brief thought exercise: is ridesharing service Uber racist, or the antithesis of racism?

I really like Uber, but there are two distinct ways to look at it along the “Are they potentially racist or not?” spectrum. Here’s a simple breakdown. Feel free to offer thoughts in comments. Maybe they are: In most (not all) communities, taxi… Continue Reading

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Charles Duhigg on habits and habit formation: ’tis all about cue, routine and reward

In a way, habits are everything in your life — and Charles Duhigg is getting a bunch of attention recently for his book The Power of Habit, which talks about basic issues like “How are habits formed?” and “How can we change… Continue Reading

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What if one weekly meeting took up 300,000 hours of manpower in a year? That’s the entire year of 34 people’s lives. But this stuff happens.

Take a deep breath and say it with me: not everything needs to be a meeting. Pause, and now say it loud and say it proud: some things can be an e-mail, a quick talk in the hallway, or a trip to… Continue Reading