Use the Difficulty: How to Turn Obstacles into Opportunities
When Michael Caine was a young actor, he was rehearsing an improv play and got stuck. The actor in the scene before him had thrown
In Praise of Overthinking
There are not many things that people agree on these days, but one of them might be overthinking. Everywhere you look, people are sharing how
Frequency Hopping: How Hedy Lamarr Used Analogy to Spark a New Technology
Hedy Lamarr was never one for conventions. As a young actress in the 1930s, she flouted the Hollywood social scene. Instead, she filled her free
Wu Wei: How to Accomplish More By Doing Less
In 1960, Dodgers pitcher Sandy Koufax was ready to call it quits. Despite having impressive power, he never seemed to be able to control his
Buckminster Fuller’s Epiphany and the Importance of Thinking Truth
As a young man, R. Buckminster Fuller never quite fit in. One of the great polymaths of the 20th century, Fuller wrote more than 30
10x Your Problem Solving with this Free Visual Thinking Playbook
Humans are built for visuals. On average, we receive 11 million bites of information per second. 90% of that is dedicated to sight. Make use
‘Flavor Pairing’: How Roberta and Ken Williams Transformed Computer Games
In 1979, Roberta Williams had no plans to revolutionize the gaming world. Since childhood, she had always been a storyteller, but she had no experience
Sal Khan and the Power of the Flipped Classroom
Sal Khan was tutoring his niece Nadia when he began to see a pattern. Nadia and other students were smart, but they weren’t performing in
Ray Kroc and the Magic of Franchising
When Ray Kroc was opening his first McDonald’s franchise, the first thing he tested was the fries. Of all the great things that the McDonald
The Origins of Ritz-Carlton’s Famous $2,000 Rule
In the early 1980s, renowned hotelier Horst Schulze was brought on to revive the legendary Ritz-Carlton chain. One of the first things he did was
Doing Less to Achieve More
In January 2010, Novak Djokovic was playing in the Australian Open quarterfinals when he nearly collapsed on the court. A rising star in the tennis
The Power of Visual Thinking
In 1966, a Texas pilot drew a triangle on the back of a napkin and changed aviation forever.
The Creativity of Constraints
In 1985, after a string of critical and commercial flops, Disney Animation Studios was all but done for. New CEO Michael Eisner and head of
Harnessing the Zeigarnik Effect for Memory Retention and Motivation
John McEnroe was practicing before his 1984 Wimbledon final and abruptly quit. He said he felt great and didn’t want to leave his best form
The Logic of Imagination
Increasingly, we see right and left-brain thinking as separate and distinct. But for most creative endeavors, we need both.
The Case for Being Human
With the rise of AI and the imminent Singularity, it’s a good time to ask whether human beings matter anymore.
Two Ways to Harness the Power of Analogical Thinking
There’s nothing like a good analogy to drive home a point. Think of some of the most profound analogies in our culture. Who doesn’t instantly
The Essential MBA
Not everyone can afford a $100,000 MBA, but everyone can learn the essentials for under $100 with these nine books.
How to Solve Problems by Starting with the End and Working Backward
By working backward, we are able to gain perspective on the problem and hone in on the direction we want to take from the start.
Defining the Problem—the Essential First Step
When we don’t properly assess the situation and understand what we’re trying to achieve, things can and often do go awry.