Some business ideas seem to hang around forever. They’re timeless. Porter’s Five Forces, Net Promoter Score, consumer segmentation, leveraged buyouts, annual sales bonuses, performance reviews, hierarchical reporting structures, networking . . . these are concepts that, with all their flaws, seem to be a persistent part of the business world. If you’re writing about crypto,…
Newsletter 39: Ignorance is a curse and a cult, Google and Meta rationalize AI ripoffs, the reality behind “birds aren’t real,” plus three people to follow and three books to read. Can we please stop idolizing ignorance? Twenty years ago, the Boston Red Sox did something that seemed impossible: after a supposedly cursed championship drought…
A nonfiction advice book makes a case for an idea. The basic structure is like this: That’s fine. And depending on how much detail you go into, that could be five to 15 chapters or 30,000 to 70,000 words of advice. But if that’s all you do, you haven’t gone far enough. How to think…
I’ve been an avid reader of science fiction since childhood. My path to it was a little unusual. I loved science books, especially Isaac Asimov’s sparkling nonfiction. When I ran out of that, I found out Asimov wrote (science) fiction books. That turned me on Clarke, Heinlein, Pohl, Dick, and the rest of those hard…
I’ve been thinking about the work I do for authors — and the work lots of other service people and consultants do, too. Our most valuable work rarely gets compensated in a way that aligns with the value it creates. And that’s okay — so long as you understand why it works that way. For…
I woke up this morning to no power and no heat for the second time in two weeks. A Nor’easter snowstorm hit the Maine coast and knocked out the power again (last time it was an ice storm). Despite what you may have heard about Maine, my experience of winter in Portland isn’t much different…
Newsletter 38: How to navigate a world dazzled by novelty; growing market for faith-based books; Russia’s steals a year of Wall Street Journal reporter’s life; plus, three people to follow and three books to read. The disproportionate visibility of the new I’ve been reading business news and analyzing business strategy for 40 years. One thing…
What does a it cost to get a book chapter written? There’s an eightfold variation in cost depending on the source material and process. Let’s assume you’re working with a writer who charges $250 per hour. (I charge more, other writers may charge less, but let’s keep this number because it’s easy to calculate with.)…
Great writers, thinkers, and researchers see patterns that others cannot. They then tell you about what they see and what you can do about it. Of course, of the things AI is best at is recognizing patterns. Does this mean writers, thinkers, and researchers are going to become obsolete? Not quite. First off, people see…