Month: November 2011
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Bending The Golden Rule
Sometimes we need to bend the golden rule — we should NOT treat others as we would want to be treated by them. The Golden Rule provides a simple heuristic for empathy. Our actions affect others usually in the same way that the action would affect us. This rule of thumb usually works pretty well,…
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The Naïveté of Dogma
The world is more complex than any of us can fully understand, so we simplify. Often times, our simplifications lead us toward dogmatic solutions; plans that will allow us to solve the worlds problems if only the world would dramatically change by adopting them. It becomes easier to advocate full government payment for health care, or abolishing…
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Positive and Negative Goals: Reframe the Goal for Success
Sometime ago when the startup I was working for went through a tough time, our VC gave me some sage advice: Stay focused on staying in the air and not on avoiding the trees. If a pilot is in distress and starts focusing on not crashing into the trees, the trees become the target. Our…
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The What and The Why
Compared to a decade ago, it’s ridiculously easy to start a new web business these days. There are a number of platforms and free software that can be used to quickly create a piece of software without seeking any additional funding. But as Michael Gerber points out in the E-myth: just because one knows how…