Courage is the king of all virtues. Developing it on purpose can make a huge impact on our own lives and on the people we seek to serve.
All in Institutional Innovation
We need to be developing leaders by the millions. Yet, leadership development feels like this exclusive club that you have to be anointed into.
Leadership is hard, but not complicated. Why not demystify it?
Feedback loops are what underpin huge changes in our world. Understanding what Jim Collins dubbed “the flywheel effect” is essential learning for anyone trying to lead or change culture.
These are learnings I’ve had trying to apply flywheel thinking in my world, over the past 2-3 years. Flywheels have helped me to understand everything from business strategy, to management, to gun violence prevention, and even my own marriage.
I was listening to a terrific podcast where Ezra Klein interviewed Tyler Cowen. And Tyler alluded to how weird ideas float around more freely these days - presumably because of diversity, the internet, social media, etc.
I think there’s a lot of implication for people who choose to lead teams and enterprises. How they manage and navigate teams with radically more diversity seems to be a central question of leadership today.
If you have any insights on how to operate in radically diverse environments, I’m all ears. Truly.
I agree with statements like, “culture matters” or “leaders set the tone”, but they’re not helpful. Everyone knows that, and yet cultures don’t change easily.
It seems to me that one specific vector to change culture is to focus on reactions. I’ve reflected on some work-related examples in the post below. But the idea crosses domains, in my experience at least.
Are there are places where you’ve seen reactions have a big impact on organizational culture?
Separation of Powers is a brilliant way of preventing concentration of power (and eventually tyranny). Rotation of Powers is an alternative approach.
We have exclusive programs for people with “high-potential”. If we do that, then who exactly is “low-potential”?
What to do if your company feels like a high-school cafeteria.
I dreamed of exploring space, but the problems of earth got in the way of that. I hope our kids can truly choose between exploration and institutional reform.
A theory on how to create a community that resolves conflict without violence and madness. It takes three supra-public goods: abundance, strong institutions, and goodness.
High-performing Government is a conversation worth having.
Management is so much more than getting people to do what we want.
Working moms have been pushing for better practices for some time, and I think it’s time for us join them in a big way.
Simple is not only enough, simple might be better than smart.
A simple idea for how to run a company.
What makes something timeless?
The nuance is transformative.
What’s something that is worth being adamant about?
Don't mimic a different organization's culture, evolve to one based on your business environment.