Ever wonder why parachutes never fail or why there aren’t any incompetent fugo (pufferfish) sushi chefs? Oliver Payne, writing in the UK’s The Hunting Dynasty, a behavioral insight and communication agency, has one word for this—incentives. Of course further explanation is necessary. On parachutes and a 100 percent success rate, Payne—the author of Inspiring Sustainable […]
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The Changing Process of Invention
A recent Economist article explores how process of invention is changing. Think back in time. Invention used to be more singular and more “heroic.” Inventors such as Stephenson, Morse and Goodyear were the “shock troops” of the Industrial Revolution, helping to bring “humanity from agrarian poverty to manufactured plenty. These days, though, inventor-superstars, while not absent, are fewer […]
Thanks to John Nash and Playing Nice
I’ve written frequently over the years about the Nobel laureate and brilliant mathematician John Nash, who died with his wife Alicia when their taxi lost control Saturday on the New Jersey Turnpike. And rightly so, because his groundbreaking work in game theory and his Nash equilibrium (along with differential geometry, and partial differential equations) provides deep insight into the factors that govern […]
Golden Balls: Taking Advantage of Tit-for-Tat
A few years back I shared a clip from a popular British game show, Golden Balls, which illustrates in an entertaining way game theory and the prisoner’s dilemma. Today I want to share another clip from the same show to explore another aspect of game theory: tit-for-tat. Tit-for-tat is a common term used in game theory. The concept […]
Trust is a Two-Way Street
Trust fosters credibility and an environment of communication and integrity.
Be the Good Partner
Recently I came across a quote attributed to Eleanor Roosevelt, “If you want a good spouse, then be one.” So true! And it is even more appropriate in our business relationships: If you want to have a good, strategic business partner then show the way by being one yourself. This is easy to say, especially when […]
Blamestorming for Positive Results
We’ve all done our fair share of brainstorming, but have you ever engaged in a robust round of “blamestorming”? Believe it or not there is an art to blamestorming and it’s not what you might think it is, and also not exactly how it’s defined in, for instance, the Urban Dictionary: “Sitting around in a […]
Don’t Buy It If It Doesn’t Fit
A recent blog from marketing guru Seth Godin talks about that beautiful pair of shoes—and on sale at a great price!—only there’s one catch: they are one size too small. There’s a decision to be made: should you opt for the good looking bargain and go with sore feet until maybe the shoes stretch out? […]
House of Lies: Is This Any Way to Run a Business?
Well no, but it does make for entertaining, and in a way, thought-provoking television. Showtime’s popular dark comedy, House of Lies, is described as a “subversive, scathing look at a self-loathing management consultant from a top-tier firm.” Marty Kaan (as portrayed by Don Cheadle) and his MBA colleagues at Kaan & Associates charm unsuspecting corporate […]
Transform SRM into Strategic Relationship Management
In SupplyChainBrain’s 2015 Resource Guide, one of my articles notes that the movement to implement real and lasting collaboration is alive and well in supplier relationship management (SRM). The key point is, how can SRM be truly effective without collaboration that includes processes for transparency and continuous communication, and where suppliers are full partners in managing […]
