Rumors at work can be surprisingly destructive. Rumors undermine the confidence of an organization, both within and without; encourage infighting, backbiting, and other HR department fever dreams; deep six morale; make strategic hiring like extracting wisdom teeth; scare off would-be investors; and tank stock prices. What start as whispers can build to whirlwind force. Because […]
About Jeremy Lott
Jeremy Lott is a prolific author of books and articles on every subject under the sun. His work has been published in well over 100 publications, including the Financial Times, USA Today, Ars Technica, Australian Financial Review, National Post, and the Guardian. Jeremy helped found and manage four publications for the RealClearPolitics family of websites, including RealClearReligion and RealClearScience. He is also the co-owner of a small business near his home in Washington state.
George Washington vs. Workplace Drama
10 Ways to Dial It Down from America’s Founding CEO
When George Washington was a teenager, he both copied out by hand and tweaked 110 “rules of civility and decent behavior.” These rules had been compiled by Jesuits in late 16th century France and made the voyage across the Atlantic Ocean. Manners were up in the air in this new world when Washington put quill […]
New Coke: Anatomy of a Terrible Decision
5 Lessons from One of the Worst Product Rollouts of All Time
The Coca-Cola Company’s own website admits that it was probably “a day that will live in marketing infamy.” On April 23, 1985, Coke Chairman and CEO Roberto Goizueta announced to 200 reporters that the company would be changing its formula. It would be still be called Coca-Cola, but this “New Coke” would taste better and […]
Patience Is Not a Virtue
When You Shouldn't Let It Hold You Back
The patience of Job; the patience of a saint; a “fruit of the Holy Spirit”; a virtue. “He that have Patience, can have what he will,” predicted Poor Richard’s Almanack way back in 1736. As you might expect from that august build up, a lack of patience has also been associated with societal rot and […]
What I’ve Learned on the Runway
5 Ways Lighten Your Air Travel
This article is for people who have spent at least one night sleeping on an airport floor. Perhaps your flight was canceled because of fog and you scrambled to catch the last long shuttle bus home, only to miss that one, too. If you weren’t allowed through screening because the taxi was late and crawled […]
The Counsel of Scorpions
Who We Choose to Listen to Matters
Solomon was said to be the most successful king that Israel ever had—renowned for his wisdom and his riches. His heir Rehoboam, not so much. Of the 12 tribes of Hebrews that constituted the nation of Israel, 10 revolted under Rehoboam’s reign. Later leaders would manage shaky alliances. But after Rehoboam, it was no longer […]
Get a Life!
Leave All Work and No Play in the Dust
For my first job in Washington, DC, I worked very long hours. One night, a rare dinner date was lined up. “What time do you get off?” my date asked to coordinate. A long, awkward pause followed. “It’s kind of a philosophical question,” I finally admitted. That was fine by me at the time, but […]
Don’t Bet the Farm on Brainstorming
3 Reasons to Think Twice Before Scheduling that Meeting
I can tell you with some precision the moment I first doubted group brainstorming. This was many moons ago. A medium sized media firm that wanted to grow much larger had engaged my consulting services. They held a company-wide powwow, flying most of the managers and yours truly to corporate headquarters in Darkest Peru. The […]
Just Enough Cook
In Defense of Quiet Competence
Steve Jobs was a virtuoso. Using technology and design, he changed the way we think about computers, phones, music, and movies. Tim Cook, by contrast, comes off as a boring technocrat. Jobs’s chosen successor as CEO of Apple is good at keeping the global supply chains for the company’s products going, which sounds like great […]
When Nobody’s Looking
J.C. Watts on How to Get Better Character
Julius Caesar Watts memorably said that “character”—meaning good character—is about “doing what’s right when nobody’s looking.” Watts would know a lot about people looking on. From the Oklahoma Sooners to the Canadian Football League to a Baptist pulpit and on to elected office, at both state and national levels, and then back into the private […]
Automation for the People
Why It's Difficult and How to Get It Right
If you want to understand how hard it can be to automate, consider the many attempts to replace cashiers with self-checkout systems. To wit, CVS pharmacies were once lousy with self-checkout systems, which I personally tried to use, many times, to get out the door faster. Almost every time, some loud error sent me to […]
Guy Walks into a Board Room
How Leaders Can Stand Up and Cast a Compelling Vision
Comedians refer to an audience that hasn’t heard any jokes yet as a “cold room.” It is thus the job of the comics who go first or second in the night to warm them up. You tell some jokes, suggest a convivial mood for the crowd, and hope they’ve brought their funny bones. I have […]