My dear readers, I thank you all for taking me seriously. But some of you have wondered why it’s necessary for me to use a swearword so much. Am I just trying to get attention? About two weeks into my new career Forrester’s CEO George Colony contacted me. I worked for George for 20 years;…
Writing without bullshit seems like a good idea. But is it actually better for your career? For example, somebody wrote this about their company: System-level competition is a new model for strategy in a globally-linked, information-oriented society. This is a methodology for strategic innovation that blends system design and management, ecosystem-centered business strategy, and applications from…
I root out bullshit where you tell me to. So far you’ve seem to enjoy watching me do what I love doing. Based on the research in this blog, a book is forming in my brain. I’ve opened up threads of research on mission statements and the causes of bullshit. If you’ve got new ideas or…
My first public appearance since going independent. I’ll be talking about mission statements and customer experience along with an all-star lineup from HubSpot, BrightCove, and Akamai. Sign up here.
All day long we read on our various screens. This has vastly increased the demand for content, which comes to us through many channels. But those who create it have forgotten what good writing is. Think back to the world of 1980. The average consumer or businessperson at that time had no email, and there was no Internet. What…
You just got an email. It might be from HR, or your boss, or the head of some other department. And you’re scratching your head and saying “Is this real? Does someone actually think this makes sense?” Don’t just cringe. Don’t just lean over and whine to the guy in the next cube. Don’t write…
Liars lie. Bullshitters prattle on heedless of whether or not they lie. That’s what I learned from the only philosophical treatise ever published on bullshit. In 1986, the philosopher Harry G Frankfurt wrote an essay titled “On Bullshit.” In 2005 he published it as a very small book. On Bullshit, Princeton University Press edition, became a New…
For 20 years, I did the same thing, mostly. I was a technology analyst at Forrester Research from 1995 until last month. If you do one thing for a long time, you should learn from it. My job at Forrester molded my ways of thinking more than anything else I’ve done (save becoming a parent). Perhaps…
I need your help. Withoutbullshit.com needs fuel. I know you’re drowning in crappy stuff. I want to help. My post rewriting Inovalon’s “Who We Are” page was very popular. But I need more. Feed me! And I can keep things confidential. Send me: The email you got from your managers or HR department. The pitch…