“Give me a place to stand and a lever long enough and I will move the world”— Greek mathematician Archimedes (attributed) Leverage is a concept well discussed in mechanics and in finance but less has been written about leverage in business. In mechanics, leverage involves a fulcrum (visualize a seesaw or teeter-totter) and we generally…
The raven paradox forces us to question the value of information. In his 1965 essay “Studies in the Logic of Confirmation,” the acclaimed philosopher of science Carl Hempel showcased a fundamental paradox in the scientific method using the simplistic observations of ravens. He started with the statement “all ravens are black.” Expressed in logic form,…
Each year for more than 20 years, TIME has published an article on “the most impactful new products and ideas” which are evaluated based on originality, efficacy, ambition, and impact. A decade ago, I wrote about Time Magazine’s Best of 2014 and noted I was most intrigued by wireless electricity technology. Since then, wireless electricity…
The parable of the Zen farmer reminds us to avoid hasty generalizations. In both life and in business, when an unexpected good or bad event happens, it’s common to quickly assess the situation and then jump to a conclusion. When things go well, we’re overjoyed. But when things don’t turn out as we’d hoped, we’re…
People drink more wine when larger wineglasses are used. In fact, research finds wine sales increase almost 10% with larger glasses. It’s well known larger plates increase food consumption. Plate sizes have nearly doubled over the past 100 years, likely contributing to the prevalence of obesity. An even more pronounced effect has happened to stemware:…
In their book Thanks for the Feedback, Douglas Stone and Sheila Heen suggest there are three kinds of feedback: appreciation, coaching, and evaluation. A quick summary of each: One of the key insights in the book is we should be careful about providing multiple kinds of feedback at the same time, as the person receiving them might be…
Since it’s so easy to fall prey to them, it’s no surprise cognitive biases are rampant in politics. The most common bias in politics is the confirmation basis. The confirmation bias is the tendency to look for or interpret information in a way that confirms preexisting beliefs or assumptions. We not only don’t look for…
Fictitious promotions work because people love to feel like they got a deal. In one common type of fictitious promotions, a retailer raises the price of an item just before a sale and then “promotes” the product by claiming the original price is now the sales price. The Wall Street Journal article entitled “The Dirty…
One of the best pieces of advice I ever received was to prioritize the big rocks. The concept of big rocks is attributed to Stephen Covey, the author of the wildly-popular book ‘The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.’ Covey points out it’s common for people to focus on easy-to accomplish little things rather than…
When I want to reinforce the need for critical thinking, I sometimes bring up the green coffee bean problem. In 2012, a research article entitled “Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Linear Dose, Crossover Study to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of a Green Coffee Bean Extract in Overweight Subjects” was published in the seemingly reputable journal Diabetes,…