Recent research shows that sleep really does help you solve complex, creative problems. If true, then it gives a strong argument for multitasking. Define project #1 and give yourself a framework. Shift to other projects for the rest of the day. Sleep on problem #1 with good REM sleep Return to problem #1. The amount [...]

Earlier this week, I wrote about Seth Godin’s announcement of his Triibes social network. My friend Dan Hawthorne, at Cogniphany, has taken my analysis one step further. In today’s blog post, he’s applied Robert Cialdini’s work on Influence to Seth’s announcement. It’s a very nice analysis. If you want to read about applying the psychology [...]

Today, in his blog, Tim Sanders makes an excellent and memorable point about “talking the walk”: Being less bad will not save the world . . . the only way that you can move beyond zero and make a positive difference is by influencing others. Tim’s specific point relates to talking about the green movement–reducing [...]

This weekend, I drove between Chicago and St. Louis. At one point, one of my passengers asked me how far it was to a specific exit. I replied by saying, “It’s at mile marker 22.” Then, a few minutes later, I said, “you know, it might be mile marker 18.” When we reached the exit, [...]