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Blog / News & Opinion
ChangeThis: Issue 100
By 800-CEO-READ
In thinking of what to do for the 100th issue of ChangeThis, a lot of ideas were conjured up. But, in the end, we decided the most important thing we could do is to keep on doing the work we've been doing since Seth Godin turned the site over to us in the summer of 2005—act as a vehicle for moving ideas in service of authors and our audience. We did do a few special things with the issue, though.
Categories: news-opinion
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Blog / ChangeThis
How to be an Idea Guru: U.S. Department of Innovation, April 1, 2018
By Bryan W. Mattimore
"Please Note: The following is a transcript of the introductory workshop for the Department of Innovation's, How to be an Idea Guru program, held from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM on April 1, 2018 at the Department of Innovation's Training Center in Washington, DC. The Presenter is Dannel Malloy, Secretary of the Department of Innovation. The Guest Speaker is Bryan Mattimore, Cofounder and Chief Idea Guy at The Growth Engine Co. I would like to welcome all of you who are here in person, as well as the other 5,300 of you who are viewing this workshop on-line. This is the Department of Innovation's kick-off meeting for the How to be an Idea Guru training program. My name is Dannel Malloy, and I am the Secretary of the Department of Innovation. As many of you know, the Department of Innovation was created in early 2017 to deliver the new administration's promise to restore the greatness of American ingenuity to every institution within our society. Our mission is to "pioneer, popularize, and promote the application of state-of-the-art ideation and innovation processes to generate new ideas for the benefit of our citizens, our institutions, and the U.
Categories: changethis
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Blog / ChangeThis
The Paradox of Skill: Why Greater Skill Leads to More Luck
By Michael J. Mauboussin
"Okay, you have gotten the memo on improving skill: 10,000 hours, hard work, deliberate practice, grit, and attentive teacher. We've all heard it. You also recognize that in many of life's activities, the results you achieve combine skill and luck. No debate there. Now, what if I told you that in many cases improving skill leads to results that rely more on luck? That's right. Greater skill doesn't decrease the dependence on luck, it increases it. If you have an interest in sports, business, or investing, this lesson is for you."
Categories: changethis
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Blog / ChangeThis
Death Blues: The Celebration and Opportunity of Each Moment
By Jon Mueller
"How much time is left. Do we know. Does our plan know. What happens when we thoroughly hold and understand that our lives are finite. How does this understanding of our end shape our present. And how do we become more 'present. ' Because each moment is an opportunity and a decision. We all have dreams for the future: Making a million dollars, getting a new car, finishing school, getting a promotion, and achieving any number of goals, while potentially important, might not be possible in this instant. But considering an overdue apology, sending a positive email to someone, calling a family member, talking to a co-worker about a project idea, connecting in any way with someone in order to make something good happen can be done right now. And consider the affect those immediate actions might have on the longer-term goals listed previously. Many big events in our lives are the results of a series of immediate but important smaller events that take place before them. Immediate positive actions are the structural building blocks for what's to come.
Categories: changethis
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Blog / ChangeThis
The Creative Instinct: How Big Ideas Happen
By Nikos Acuña
"When we realize that our mind is a creative platform—a vast network of networks—we experience a revolutionary and profound transformation. New possibilities emerge. The process of realization and transformation is the essence of life. It means that everything in this world has an inherent purpose—and that is to find its optimal form. This is why we are constantly trying to improve ourselves, why we venture out into the unknown, why we have children, and why we want to be the best in the world at what we do. The more creative we become, the more resourceful we will be. We can transform ourselves and everyone around us. These connections, and this archetype of innovation, uncovers the building blocks of life itself, revealing our origins. Innovation is intrinsic to essence, and essence is intrinsic to the act of creation."
Categories: changethis
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Blog / ChangeThis
The Snowflake Moment: Presenting the Future Today
By Scott Schwertly
"The snowflake moment we idolize, that final and glorious crystalline state which Bentley captured on black velvet time and time again, does provide justification for everything else. It is the end, and so must mean something, must make a bold statement about the substance and quality of our existence. But the snowflake moment is just one of a countless million moments, an isolated still shot of an existence that is predominantly defined by its very motion. We are what we do every day. Nothing more. Scientists have proved the value of diversity in so many different ways that they almost seem to disprove the fundamental concept. Darwin thought the variety among finches on Galapagos derived from absolute necessity: adapt or die. And yet other scientists have found that diversity among species is greatest in times of relative ease and abundance: hard times keep the genetic nose to the grindstone, but when survival is easily achieved DNA begins to flex and bend. Again, the discrepancy seems insurmountable, and this seems true for presentation styles, too: some branch out as a last-ditch effort when everything else has gone wrong; others push the envelope of convention at the beginning of each day.
Categories: changethis
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Blog / ChangeThis
We Are All Artists Now
By Seth Godin
"They told you to get your rsum in order, to punch your ticket, to fit in, and to follow instructions. They told you to swallow your pride, not to follow your dream. They promised trinkets and prizes and possibly riches if you would just suck it up and be part of the system, if you would merely do what you were told and conform. They sold you debt and self-storage and reality TV shows. They sold your daughters and sons, too. All in exchange for what would happen later, when it was your turn. It's your turn."
Categories: changethis
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Blog / News & Opinion
Antifragile: Things That Gain From Disorder
By Sally Haldorson
This morning I perused the Amazon Top 100 for 2012. A few of our favorite books that made the top 20: Nate Silver's The Signal and the Noise; Charles Duhigg's The Power of Habit (our JCS review here); and Susan Cain's Quiet (our take here. ) Rounding out the top 40 is a book that's been sitting on my desk for awhile, daring me to crack it open: Nassim Nicolas Taleb's Antifragile: Things That Gain From Disorder.
Categories: news-opinion
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Blog / Jack Covert Selects
Jack Covert Selects - The Success Equation
By 800-CEO-READ
The Success Equation: Untangling Skill and Luck in Business, Sports, and Investing by Michael J. Mauboussin, Harvard Business Review Press, 320 Pages, $27. 00 Hardcover, November 2012, ISBN 9781422184233 Probability and percentages have been a hot topic this campaign season, as pollsters and poll watchers placed their bets on the numbers coming in and pundits argued that the numbers alone do not—cannot—reveal all.
Categories: jack-covert-selects
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Blog / Jack Covert Selects
Jack Covert Selects - Producing Prosperity
By 800-CEO-READ
Producing Prosperity: Why America Needs a Manufacturing Renaissance by Gary P. Pisano & Willy C. Shih, Harvard Business Review Press, 192 pages, $27.
Categories: jack-covert-selects
