Dr. Barry Schwartz is famous for his TED talk about explaining the paradox of choice: when faced with too many choices, often we choose none. Nowhere is this highlighted more than in the new World of Warcraft expansion, Mists of Pandaria. Once you reach level 90, you’re presented with a buffet of different choices for…
One of the questions I’ve been asked repeatedly lately is how to get more ideas, more creativity, more inspiration in business. The answer is elegantly simple: you can’t. Business isn’t especially good at creativity. In fact, I’d argue that business is the antithesis of creativity, and here’s why: business is really good at systems. If…
Yesterday, we talked about what makes a conference valuable. If you missed that article, please go check it out first, since today will build on that framework. Let’s talk about how to squeeze more value out of conferences at a personal level. Unsurprisingly, the same 4 things that make a conference valuable in general are…
It’s been a rough few years for conferences. With continuing economic strain, there’s been more pressure on companies to sponsor and on employees to attend, while inside companies, there’s been more pressure to reduce costs and cut out perceived frivolities. Amidst all of this, it’s worth asking what the value of conferences truly is in…
I read with some sorrow about the political story of one candidate making accusations that their opponent should not be elected because they play World of Warcraft. What silliness – it’s clear to me that the accuser apparently has nothing else to run on. That said, here’s a major reason why I think someone who…
I’ve talked about content value tests before, but there’s an even simpler, one-question test that will tell you whether your content – email, social media, web content, you name it – is valuable. Grab your most recent newsletter, your most recent Facebook Page post, your most recent blog post or podcast, and ask yourself this:…
Over the weekend, I had the privilege to attend the 15th and final New England Warrior Camp, a previously-annual event held by Ken Savage of the Winchendon Martial Arts Center and one of the finest martial arts training opportunities ever to be held. I’ve managed to attend 14 out of the 15 years and it’s…
What’s the most powerful change to search marketing in the past 14 years? If you guessed social media, you’d be partly correct. The biggest change is that search is becoming all about who as much as what. What in the world am I talking about? Take a look at some of the great work done…
