Tyromancy

Perhaps this is a legacy of being raised in Wisconsin which was known as America’s Dairyland when I was growing up; however, here is my new favorite word: tyromancy. It means to divine the future by studying the patterns that form during the coagulation of cheese! Every now and then, I see house with a […]

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One Day, Two Views

“There is nothing either good or bad – but thinking makes it so.” – William Shakespeare Our interpretation of events is often more important that the events by themselves. To illustrate this point, I will highlight a day I had some years ago while traveling from Switzerland to the United States Viewpoint 1: I had […]

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Try Wildstorming

Wildstorming is a group activity I developed in 2000; it is true play that leads to new breakthroughs, enhanced productivity, and better teams. I’d love for more people to take advantage of it. 

Wildstorming is the radical cousin of traditional brainstorming, as it turns the process upside-down and inside-out, where strange and bizarre concepts are the […]

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Effect Size

Q: What would be a simple way to increase the likelihood that published scientific research is meaningful? A: Effect Size I believe many peer-reviewed scientific journals should require that the researchers do more than report if a correlation between variables has been detected and it is indeed statically significant (which simply means that the result […]

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Multifinality: Many (Potential) Endings

Last month, a wrote a little about problem of equifinality. I realized I left the story only half finished, so I decided to write a very short note about the flip side of this. Multifinality is when single cause can lead to many different possible effects. The principle is that similar initial conditions may results […]

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Equifinality; or, All Roads Lead to Rome

Equifinality is a great $10 dollar word; however, I really believe the underlying concept is very important for everyone in the 21st century. The term was coined by Ludwig von Bertalanffy, the founder of General Systems Theory, a biological precursor to modern chaos, complexity, and systems theories. Equifinality is the principle that many different causes, independently, […]

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The 5 Big M’s of Business

After working with many clients, I’ve decided there are Five Big M’s of Business that every entrepreneur should know like the back of their hand: Market Model Management Mantra Marketing M is for Market Although people joke around about having the skills to sell snow to Eskimos, a sustainable long-term business must be built upon […]

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St. Patrick: Productivity Mastermind

You’ll never plough a field by turning it over in your mind. – Irish Proverb March 17 is celebrated by millions as St. Patrick’s Day, including many secular individuals of Irish descent. Nevertheless, before enjoying a pint of Guinness this evening, I thought I’d share a few historical notes about this very interesting goal-setter. Although […]

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Goals Give Direction

“Nothing happens unless first a dream.” – Carl Sandburg Happy New Year. This is a great time to refine your goals. Over the years I’ve talked to a number of people who do not believe in goal setting. They argue that they do not forget to eat or go to bed without having goals to […]

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Six Timeframes for Goals

Just having one set of goals for each individual year is not enough. You should have goals over diverse time spans to achieve successful short-term and long-term planning. Here are the six time frames that I suggest: Quarterly Goals Annual Goals 3-Year Goals 5-Year Goals 10-Year Goals 20-Year Goals Although you might have special targets […]

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