Loyalty programs of all shapes and sizes have always left a bad taste in my mouth, but one type in particular makes me regurgitate vomit: airline loyalty programs. Continue reading “Frequent Flyer Programs Should be Grounded”
Category: business
Ubiquity of the Dull: The Phenomenon of Weather-Related Small talk
One of the most perplexing aspects of the modern workplace is the pervasiveness of weather-related small talk. According to an unscientific poll I recently conducted, 0% of people find the weather an interesting conversation topic. Nevertheless, actual research suggests that 94% have discussed it within the past 6 hours alone.
Just today, I counted myself having no less than three conversations that were some variation on “the weather is weather outside!”
If no one finds it interesting, why do we all do it1? Continue reading “Ubiquity of the Dull: The Phenomenon of Weather-Related Small talk”
Just a Thought, But to be More Persuasive, You Might Want to Consider Speaking Like This
“I might be wrong about this, but…”
“I’m no expert, but…”
“Would we maybe be willing to consider doing it this way?”
“Does this make sense?”
Common wisdom1 suggests not only that that these types of phrases discredit you and undermine whatever point you are trying to make, but also that they are used more often by women than by men.
The only thing better than common wisdom is research, and the only thing better than research is research in the form of cleverly named academic articles, one of which confirms that women do use these qualifiers more often than men (though the gender language gap is surprisingly small). The evidence regarding whether disclaimers actually make you less persuasive, though, is far less black and white, and—like the disclaimers themselves—suggests shades of gray. Continue reading “Just a Thought, But to be More Persuasive, You Might Want to Consider Speaking Like This”
Organizations are Organisms
Whether a species survives or goes extinct depends on its ability to access crucial resources, such as food and water. Species are in constant and fierce competition with one another for limited resources and different species only learn to coexist when they can occupy unique niches within their environments (i.e. when they use different resources from one another).
For example, small beaked finches and large beaked finches coexist within the Galapagos islands because they eat different sized seeds. If both types ate the same types of seeds, one would eventually get better at it, and the other would die out. Luckily for the finch lovers of the world, large and small mouth finches occupy different niches, so they can live in harmony alongside one another. Continue reading “Organizations are Organisms”
The Idiot-Genius Confidence Reversal
The Idiot-Genius Confidence Reversal Continue reading “The Idiot-Genius Confidence Reversal”
The Hotelling Theory Behind Trump’s Strategy
Imagine you live in a city where all of the attractions are evenly distributed on Main Street, and tourists pick hotels solely based on how close they are to the greatest number of attractions. If you were a hotel magnate, where is the ideal place on Main Street to build a hotel? Continue reading “The Hotelling Theory Behind Trump’s Strategy”
Intersections 