Poke the Box

The old system can’t work without the new. And the new system depends on unpredictable human beings adding unscheduled insights.

If you have quality and they have quality and that’s all either of you offers, then you’re selling a commodity, and I’ll take cheap, please. We have little choice but to move beyond quality and seek remarkable, connected, and new.

The person who constantly asks questions, interrupts, takes endless notes, and is always in your face isn’t just annoying—she’s self-sabotaging, a form of hiding. This hypergo mindset is just as safe as the more prevalent kind of under-shipping, because if you’re the kind of person who’s always dreaming and riffing, of course you can’t be held resp

creative person is satisfied once he sees how it’s done. The initiator won’t rest until he does it.

Initiative is a little like creativity in that both require curiosity. Not the search for the “right” answer, as much as an insatiable desire to understand how something works and how it might work better. The difference is that the creative person is satisfied once he sees how it’s done. The initiator won’t rest until he does it.

The difference is that the creative person is satisfied once he sees how it’s done. The initiator won’t rest until he does it.

The first imperative is to be aware—aware of the market, of opportunities, of who you are. The second imperative is to be educated, so you can understand what’s around you. The third imperative is to be connected, so you can be trusted as you engage. The fourth imperative is to be consistent, so the system knows what to expect. The fifth imperative

There will be other jobs, better jobs, bosses more willing to create growth. The only way you will find those jobs and those bosses, though, is to have a personal standard that demands failure, not one that guarantees success. Intellectual integrity goes beyond being clever—it requires that you put your ideas into the world.

It doesn’t hurt to ask Actually, it does hurt. It does hurt to ask the wrong way, to ask without preparation, to ask without permission. It hurts because you never get another chance to ask right.