Every species has a few traits that give it advantages over any other. Cheetahs have their speed, for example. As far as I know they’re the fastest animals on land. We have our intelligence, among other things. As far as I know, we’re the most intelligent animal on land. Like other species with their traits, we have been using our intelligence to help us survive. We’ve been doing so for[…] Keep reading →

Can you think of anyone who isn’t trying to make the world a better place in his or her own way? The statement means nothing if everyone says it. And effectively everyone does. Think of the worst people you can. Weren’t they trying to make the world a better place, in their minds at least? You can say how wrong these terrible people were, but in their minds they weren’t[…] Keep reading →

Following up my previous post in this thread, I forgot a few judgmental words and some tips on avoiding sounding judgmental. The judgmental words see frequent usage: Should Ought to Impressed A friend once said “there are very few shoulds in life.” I found his observation helpful. I have found avoiding telling people what they should or shouldn’t do helpful. When you say someone should do something they aren’t doing,[…] Keep reading →

“Josh, I really want to do X, but I can’t. Things are too complicated right now.” “I’m so stressed because my life is so complicated right now.” “I wish my life were simpler so I could enjoy it.” “So-and-so is making my life complicated!” We’ve all heard it before. Most of us have probably said it. Complication is like beauty — a subjective opinion of the observer — not like[…] Keep reading →

An entrepreneurial friend asked about business school. I shared the following with him and thought it might be useful for others. As long as it is, I could have written more. I got an MBA at Columbia. It was one of the best decisions of my life — different than I expected, because I expected an academic experience. I did it after starting a business in the early 2000’s. Some[…] Keep reading →

I updated my art resume, having finished teaching the Collaboration Studio at Parsons. In the process I also found a post on my talk to the February Leaders in Software and Art salon.

(Some details TBD, but mark your calendars. The room is beautiful and centrally located. Please contact me with any questions. I’ll update details as they are determined.)   LEADERSHIP THROUGH SELF-AWARENESS AND EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE At a time when businesses and business schools seek to learn from designers and design schools seek to prepare “students to be leaders in their professions and society”, cross-pollination between communities over common interests is as[…] Keep reading →

Who likes feeling bad, burdened with emotions we not only don’t like, but that, if we act on them, make our lives worse? Yet sometimes countering them with their opposites makes things worse still. For example, trying to calm down when you’re angry, especially if someone else tells you to do it, often makes one angrier. Many emotions have complements that are more effective than opposites in dispelling them. I[…] Keep reading →

[This post is part of a series on overcoming guilt and blame for good. If you don’t see a Table of Contents to the left, click here to view the series, where you’ll get more value than reading just this post.] One last tip for the guilt and blame series, perhaps the most empowering. What do you do when others attempt to blame you or make you feel guilty? Most[…] Keep reading →