Patagonia’s email subject line proclaimed, “Nothing we do is sustainable.” Talk about a home truth. In five words. One of the most environmentally minded companies on the planet—they made the planet their only shareholder—upped the ante on all the greenwashed wannabes out there. Inside the email was a link to their...
While reading Monocle magazine’s daily newsletter, a story by Emily Bryce-Perkins illustrated why it’s worth resisting change for change’s sake. She writes, ”The first time I ate the smoked-eel sandwich at Quo Vadis I was alone and new to Soho. Tangy pink onions. The sharp slap of horseradish. And a buttery crunch, the kind...
Early in her career Taylor Swift would read fan comments online and invite them to her home for lunch. Slightly unhinged. You bet. But seeds for the billion-dollar juggernaut called The Eras Tour began then, one fan at a time. Today, those same fans, and millions more, follow her anywhere...
A few years ago the practice of puffery—marketing claims that hold no legal weight due to their outlandish nature—was in decline. A few high-profile examples, including Theranos, Sam Bankman-Fried and their ilk, had met the limits of the law. Making venture capitalists and markets more cautious of extravagant claims. However, thanks to...
Ambling towards the faculty club at Stanford University, Jim Stockdale paused to answer Jim Collins’ question, “Who didn’t make it out?” He answered, “The optimists”, continuing, “they were the ones who said, ‘We’re going to be out by Christmas.’ And Christmas would come and Christmas would go. Then they’d say, ‘We’re...
When did values become divorced from character? In his book “The Algebra of Wealth”, professor and entrepreneur Scott Galloway suggests a timeline. While commenting on a shift in literature between pre-and post-WWII he notes, “older works encouraged readers to build success based on virtues like temperance, industriousness and patience. The...
When their home of 103 years was sold the beloved bookshop Hill of Content had to move. They found another space a few hundred metres away but needed to transport 17,000 books. Bring in the movers? No. Put out a call to their community of book lovers? Yes. And so, hundreds gathered on...
Commonly recommended practices for how to 'do' culture often include the idea of champions. I’m not a fan. Because it suggests there's a special set of people responsible for it. So now, I don’t have to do anything. Instead, I advocate that everyone should champion the culture. And the distinction is...
Tolstoy challenges those of us on a thousand-mile walk to forget our ultimate goal and say to ourselves every morning, ‘Today I’m going to cover twenty-five miles and then rest up and sleep.’ Transpose ‘walk’ for work, and it’s an idea worth considering. We can all use some help with...
No surprise. When people can rely on a good experience interacting with you, you get a brand bursting with value. Yet, how much do you control? Because an experience is always in the now. Yep, the moment right then. And here comes another one, in a constant, unstoppable stream of...