Apple made a great leap forward in communications and mobile computing in 2007 when it launched the iPhone. It couldn’t have done this by sticking to all the things that made it a pioneer in desktop computing. The company tried to launch the Newton handheld computer in 1993. The product failed and this setback stung. […]
About RiShawn Biddle
RiShawn Biddle is an award-winning writer, communications consultant, and education policy advisor. Founder of Dropout Nation, the leading commentary site on education reform, he previously was an editorial writer for the Indianapolis Star, covering education and urban affairs and reported for Forbes. His work has been featured in The New York Times, USA Today, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, National Review, and The Los Angeles Daily News.
Deliver Tough News the Right Way
3 Things to Remember When Things Go Wrong
Former BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward could have immediately and swiftly announced that the explosion of the British oil giant’s rig, Deepwater Horizon, had led to an environmental disaster that dumped 4.9 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico in April 2010. But he didn’t. Over a 10-day period, Hayward would go from […]
Deadline Power
Use Time Pressure to Your Advantage
Legendary jazz composer Duke Ellington once said, “I don’t need time. I need a deadline.” If that was true for Sir Duke, it is also true for you. When you have set deadlines, you are more likely to stay on task, make the most of your time, and achieve success in every facet of your […]
But Will It Sell?
When to Discard Bad Product Ideas
Will this idea that you are considering lead to a product that sells? This is the hardest question you and your colleagues will ask yourselves every day. There isn’t always an easy answer. Certainly you can easily dismiss the most outlandish product concepts, say a restaurant chain selling freshly-prepared pizza that people then take and […]
Stop Being Your Own Worst Critic
The Benefits of Going Positive
Does this one ring a bell? You, reader, are your own worst critic. Your penchant for nitpicking every detail and harshly critiquing your accomplishments makes it difficult for you to make progress or sometimes even get simple work done. If it doesn’t apply to you or someone close to you, then you have a great […]
Fire Drama Queens
And Other Ways to Improve Team Morale
Drama queens (and kings!) are bad for business. They disrupt your workplace by gossiping, backbiting, exaggerating every situation, justifying their bad behavior, and blaming others for their failures. Their behavior and their very presence compromises the teamwork that you and your colleagues need to succeed. Seventy-eight percent of respondents said that they spend 3-to-6 hours […]
Don’t Choose Your Lunch
Fewer Decisions Will Leave a Great Taste
Back in 2014, Barack Obama declared that he only focused on making the most-important decisions. “I don’t want to make decisions about what I’m eating or wearing. Because I have too many other decisions to make,” he explained. This is understandable. Sometimes we find ourselves beset by the decisions, big and small, that we think have […]
Slow That Decision Down
Stop, Take Stock, and Use That Calendar to Your Advantage
“Don’t rush me, sonny! You rush a miracle man, you get rotten miracles,” warned Billy Crystal, costumed up as Miracle Max in the 1987 classic The Princess Bride. In the movie, that was a laugh line, but it’s not a bad way to think about the decisions you make as a leader. For every decision that […]
Churchill’s Finest Hobby
Painting Helped Him Beat Depression, and Nazi Germany
Winston Churchill once wrote that “The cultivation of a hobby and new forms of interest is therefore a policy of first importance”. He knew this well. Even as he warned the world about the threat of totalitarian regimes and led Britain during the Second World War, the statesman crafted many of his more than 500 […]
Stop Busywork Now!
Now's the Time to Stop Wasting Time
You already know that busywork does nothing more than create the perception that people are working harder than they really are. In fact, 65 percent of your colleagues surveyed by Havas Worldwide felt that people were simply pretending to be busy. Nor does busywork make you or your company more productive. What you get instead […]
How to Avoid a Nuclear War
And Make Other Great Decisions
You will never make a fully-informed decision. Accept it. The reality is that every choice involves using limited information, can have unforeseen consequences, and, because of conditions that change before your very eyes, may end up being the wrong decision anyway. Then you will have to change your mind. Yet you still can make good […]
Words as Self-Sabotage
3 Steps to Get Your Brain Back on Track
You are often your own worst enemy. It starts with the words out of your mouth and the voices in your head. From telling yourself that you aren’t knowledgeable enough to take on a new challenge to the nagging doubts about important career moves, the negative words in your mind are obstacles to the success […]