The Creative Generalist
People today are raised to be niche thinkers. We're all specialists in particular subject matters. We need to return to thinking more broadly to generate big ideas.
Related Posts
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The Secrets to Success During Change and Disruption
We all have to deal with change at our jobs. Joel Zeff offers an actionable and improvisational way to embrace it.
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A Leader’s Guide to Developing a Foundation for Hope
"Hope is a strategy like no other," writes Jennifer Moss in her new book, Why Are We Here? As the world becomes more uncertain and anxiety-inducing, she urges leaders to treat hope as more than "merely and feel-good sentiment," and to be more deliberate about building it into their company culture. More importantly, she shows you how to do so in a scientifically backed and proactive way.
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Co-opting Self-Care: How a Concept from Community Activism Became So Self-Absorbed
"Self-care" is a term with deep roots, one that once focused on the self-preservation of systematically oppressed people and communities. A multibillion-dollar wellness industry has taken the term and turned it into something we buy for ourselves. Award-winning journalist Amy Larocca explores the history of self-care and if the concept has become overly self-indulgent today.
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Why the Conventional Wisdom on Business Longevity Gets It Wrong
As an aspiring entrepreneur, Neri Karra Sillaman ingested the classics of the business book genre for inspiration. As she built her family business, she found that many of the lessons they imparted weren't applicable to the context she was working in, and that the businesses they profiled were no longer succeeding. So she developed her own principles for business longevity, which she now shares with others as an Adjunct Professor and Entrepreneurship Expert at the University of Oxford, and in her new book, Pioneers.
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The Importance of Connection in a World of Constant Chaos
If you find yourself confronting chaos, uncertainty, and existential questions on an almost daily basis, you are not alone—and you don't have to deal with it alone. Dr. Tasha Eurich highlights the critical role a connection to others plays in our wellbeing, and how prioritizing our own needs makes us better able to make those connections.
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The One That Got Away: On the Evolution of Fair Trade and Ethical Sourcing
As the founder of Fair Trade USA, Paul Rice has helped build the conscious capitalism movement, although not without some setbacks. He shares a story about one of his greatest regrets, and how a failure to close a big deal became a valuable lesson about evolving ethical supply chains.
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The Importance of Wellness in the Workplace
Workplaces are a leading cause of stress and burnout, but they don't have to be. Patricia Grabarek and Katina Sawyer share the evidence that leaders who focus on wellness boost productivity, engagement, employee retention, and the bottom line. They may even improve society.
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The Working Homeless
They work full-time jobs and still can't afford to put a roof over their heads. Brian Goldstone highlights a mostly hidden, truly troubling new aspect of homelessness in America.
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The AI-augmented Leader
Artificial Intelligence is upending the workplace. While many fear its potential to replace us, there is also promise that it will add to our abilities. Rasmus Hougaard and Jacqueline Carter look at what qualities leaders need now and how AI can augment them.
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How Visionary Leaders Can Reshape Business for Good
We have constructed a complex and rich world in which to live, but it is balanced on the precipice of economic, ecological, and moral crises. Elina Teboul surveys the current state of the world and explains why we need a new generation of, and a new approach to, leadership.
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Addressing Leader Well-Being & Burnout
Highlighting a troubling trend, Paula Davis writes that "Managers and leaders at all levels are burning out and leaving their jobs at an alarming rate." Davis's new book, Lead Well, focuses on the "we" aspects of leadership. This bonus chapter focuses on the "me" aspects—taking care of yourself so that you that you don't burn out and are able to continue showing up for and others.
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Living in the Cult of Technology: Wellbeing in the Digital Age
Consumerism, misinformation, and groupthink make the digital spaces we spend so much of our time in more unhealthy for us, and our focus on individual responsibility over collective responsibility for these ills causes us to feel at fault. Mental health expert Petra Velzeboer helps us consider what a healthier relationship to technology might look like while prioritizing our individual wellbeing.
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Using Aristotle’s Transcendentals to Build a Good Organization
Creating organizational culture must be done deliberately, and with a set of principles in mind. Dave Durand suggests Aristotle's Transcendentals to build a business that provides "a service that goes above and beyond, and an organizational culture that inspires."
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The Techo-Humanist Compass: Prioritizing Human Agency in AI Development
Reid Hoffman is deeply involved with the development of AI, but he knows that the best technology to help explain where it's going is a book, "in part as homage to the essential truth that technologies that often seem decidedly flawed and even dehumanizing at first usually end up being exactly the opposite." We have the Introduction to that book for you here.
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Imparting Wisdom in Parting Words: Mining Senators’ Farewell Addresses for a More Functional, Hopeful, and Representative Democracy
In our hyper-partisan era, how can we form the consensus we need for our government to function well enough to meet the many crises and challenges we face? Former congressional staffer turned politics professor Casey Burgat looks to the farewell speeches of recent Senators for input and inspiration.
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The Right Place and Time for Defiance: Acting in Accordance with Your True Values When There is Pressure to Do Otherwise
Defiance is risky, and never easy. It is also sometimes necessary and a catalyst for change. Dr. Sunita Sah helps us determine the right time and place to defy, and how we can get more comfortable standing up for our core moral values when the need arises.
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Holistic Flexibility: Humanizing the Workplace for Productivity, Profitability, and Possibility
There has been a push in many companies to end flexible work arrangements. Manar Sweillam Morales's research suggests that this is misguided. In this piece, Morales shares five specific reasons why flexibility is not only here to stay, but greatly benefits the businesses that get it right.
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Learn to Trust Yourself: How Small Actions Lead to Big Change
New Year's resolutions are often quickly abandoned. Shane Jackson argues that building self-trust through small, achievable goals leads to more meaningful change over time.
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Done Is Better Than Perfect: Why a Speedy First Draft Wins
Writing a book is an excellent way for business owners to share their ideas. Emily Crookston demonstrates that it’s not as intimidating as it seems; all it takes is starting with a rough draft.
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5 Essential Building Blocks for Improving Organizational Culture
While it may seem that workplace culture develops spontaneously, Thomas Krause asserts that leaders can and should actively shape it to benefit everyone.
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The Critical Role of OSINT in Vetting Misinformation and Disinformation for Due Diligence
How can we determine the truth in an era of widespread misinformation? Cynthia Hetherington presents open-source intelligence as a valuable tool for navigating data and making decisions based on verified information.
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Customer Insights: What Are They Willing to Pay More For?
Instead of solely addressing a customer's problem, Adam Wallace contends that it's more effective to emphasize how products and services can enhance the customer's quality of life.
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Fully Committed: What We Can Learn from Norway’s Road to Electrification
Kenneth Boyer writes that adopting electric vehicles is crucial for achieving a more sustainable economy and points out Norway's remarkable shift in its automotive industry towards a greener future.
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How to Write Goals that Matter with OKRs
Jeff Gothelf and Josh Seiden argue that delivering meaningful value to customers, rather than merely meeting numerical targets, results in better work and greater employee satisfaction.
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How to Raise an Entrepreneur: Never Let Schooling Interfere With Your Child’s Education
Parents may feel anxious when their child chooses a non-traditional path instead of following conventional schooling or careers. In response, Margot Machol Bisnow highlights individuals who succeeded by defying expectations early in their lives.
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Life Goals: Tapping Inspiration Instead of Desperation as the Source
Many individuals set life goals out of anxiety about the future. However, Joseph Nguyen states that when we align our goals with our inspirations, we pave the way to lasting fulfillment.
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Leadership, Influence, and the F-word
There is no quick fix for becoming an effective leader; it is a practice rooted in perseverance and authenticity, writes Lida Citroën.
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Dürer’s Rhinoceros: Strategy as a Sketch of What Might Come Next
We move forward with our plans and strategies not by knowing exactly what lies ahead but by making assertions about what might come based on our present knowledge.
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Cultivating Young Voices for Change
Guiding children to learn about their country’s history and actively participate in school and community programs will better prepare them for leadership roles in our democracy, writes Lyle Greenfield.
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Defying the Odds: How Women of Color Can Shatter the Concrete Ceiling
Leadership coach Cynthia Pong writes that women of color often encounter undue discrimination and hurdles in their career progression, but by banding together, there is hope to overcome these challenges.
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Scholar, Diplomat, Patriot: The Forgotten Story of Gouverneur Morris
Historian and podcaster Sharon McMahon believes that the individuals who have influenced American history are not always the most well-known. Here, she uncovers the little-known story of the man considered to be Alexander Hamilton’s intellectual equal.
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Thriving in Chaos: A Mental Model for Change in Business and Life
Flying a helicopter is, in the end, a really good metaphor for entrepreneurship, whether in the business of life, or the life of business, writes acclaimed CEO, TED speaker, and professor James Rhee.
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What Financial Activism Isn’t
Jasmine Rashid emphasizes the need for greater financial know-how to empower individuals and historically disadvantaged communities to build equitable wealth within our complex economic system.
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Why Self-Compassion is the Leadership Hack Everyone Has Been Looking For
Rather than embracing a leadership style rooted solely in perfection and nonstop drive, Massimo Backus urges readers to practice self-compassion to become more humane and effective leaders.
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Our False Divine Rights
Ethicist Carl G. Schowengerdt writes that rather than relying on the idea that we are divinely entitled to anything, we should strive to achieve the common good by recognizing that everyone shares the same everyday needs.
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A Blueprint for Success: Lessons From 22 Back-to-Back Championships
Success is not random but stems from a well-thought-out plan. Tennis coach Rusty Komori shares his on-court wisdom as valuable advice for business leaders.
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The State of the Citizenry and Risks of Civic Disengagement
According to political science professor Lindsey Cormack, taking an active role in teaching young people about civics and politics can empower the next generation of voters to advocate for their interests and contribute to society.
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The Computer’s Early History: A Lesson in the Genius We Take for Granted
Peter Spitz reflects on the rapid adoption of life-changing innovations in everyday life, tracing the evolution from the early computer to the present day.
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Missing Context: Understanding the Limitations of Artificial Intelligence
According to Caleb Briggs and Rex Briggs, when we ascribe human qualities to artificial intelligence, we risk overestimating its true capabilities.
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Shaped by Their Environment: How LGBTQ+ Leaders Turn Life Experiences Into Superpowers
The protective mechanisms that LGBTQ+ individuals develop throughout their lives have the potential to transform into valuable leadership qualities, enabling them to form strong connections with others.
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Think You’re Being Your Most Effective and Inclusive Self? Think Again
We often don't realize that our well-intentioned thoughts are influenced by unconscious filters, meaning our actions don't always have the positive impact we intended. Sara Taylor writes that becoming more inclusive requires actively checking and challenging our assumptions.
