Recently, the CEO of LinkedIn, Jeff Weiner, explained the company’s future in the wake of a 45% drop in the company’s shares. At around the same time, an executive at Carrier air-conditioner factory explained that 1,400 people would lose their jobs. It’s clear from the videos that the LinkedIn leader was successful, while the Carrier executive was a failure….
I am now a writer and a writing coach. I wanted to reflect on the relationship between those two activities. Is writing unconscious? Does deconstructing it for coaching purposes make you self-conscious? Or does coaching help, not just the person coached, but the person doing the coaching? When people are good at something — standup comedy, tennis,…
Apple’s in a bind. The FBI wants them to crack the encryption on a San Bernardino terrorist’s iPhone. Apple believes that’s a dangerous precedent. Apple CEO Tim Cook’s open letter is breathtakingly simple and clear. Learn from it. Here’s Apple’s logic: Breaking encryption creates a “back door.” Any such back door would inevitably get out. Thieves…
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has vowed not to consider any Supreme Court nominee that President Obama makes. My mathematical analysis shows why: by waiting, McConnell gets a 50% chance of a conservative court, and a 35% chance of an extremely conservative court, for many years to come. This decision is even more important than it…
For 33 years I worked in an office. For the last year I’ve worked on my own. I never worried about money, but did worry that I’d miss the social side of work. I don’t. I used to be part of something bigger, working with an agenda set, mostly, by my senior managers. Now I have a bigger…
Antonin Scalia, the Supreme Court Justice who died Saturday, had a reputation as a fierce, incisive, and sarcastic defender of conservative values. Read his most famous opinions and arguments and you’ll find his rhetorical secret: passive voice statements that obscure the boogiemen he rails against. As my tribute to Justice Scalia, here are some quotes…
Tumblr user bisexual-legislature posted an emoji each few moments about their emotions on a flight from Toronto — one that had plenty of turbulence. Text and graphics are no longer distinct. You can “read” this just as easily as any other story — and it transcends language differences. It’s the natural extension of Edward Tufte’s…
I asked “What happens when women are bold?” My post got an enthusiastic and impassioned response. And I think those responses provided some clues on how women at work can get credit and fair treatment for their ideas — through writing. Today’s post includes generalizations. I don’t think all women are alike, or all men, or all…
WASHINGTON, August 1, 2016. As we wind down from the nominating conventions of both parties, America faces the most unusual election scenario in decades. Hillary Clinton, fresh from a bruising fight to win the Democratic nomination, faces Mitt Romney, chosen by the Republicans at a brokered convention, and independent Michael Bloomberg. And it all began on…