I overthink so you don’t have to.

In 1987, the Walt Disney Corporation and the government of France signed a deal to build a new Disney theme park in the suburbs outside of Paris. France fought (!) to have Disney come. They wanted the theme park. They beat out Spain to get it (another first!)… and so Euro Disney was born. And […]

How to Raise Your Idea From “Idea Infancy” to “Idea Adulthood” Ideas need to grow up to meet their potential, to do that you need to understand the idea lifecycle. With an idea in “idea infancy,” your role is the seeker. Just like with humans when an idea is in an infant stage, you don’t […]

Treat Important Ideas Differently This week we look at how and when to your slides in a presentation about your idea. There are few more polarizing topics, however, so let’s talk about how slides work. Our brains are wired to process visual information, so the more that we can pair what we’re saying with what […]

Let’s say you sit down to read a new mystery novel. You crack open the cover, flip to the first page, and just as you’re about to read the first line, your (soon-to-be-former) friend comes over and says, “The butler did it.” GAH. Why does that drive us nuts? And more importantly, why does it […]

Look for the Overlap The best topic for you is at the intersection of 4 things, and the concept of Ikigai can help. To figure this out for yourself, you can do an “Idea Ikigai” with four sheets of paper. On the first sheet write, “What I Want.” List the things that you want this […]

From Idea Statement to Truth We’re renaming a piece of the Red Thread because the truth is it isn’t working like it should. It can be easy to get mixed up between the idea behind your message or pitch and the Idea Statement that comprises a part of its Red Thread. Ultimately, the Red Thread […]

Do you remember your first negative performance review? I do. I was 10. I was hot off a victory at the King’s Grant Elementary School Holiday Door Decorating Contest. Our winning door had a fully functioning fake fireplace, replete with mantle and stockings. It was, to say the least, a thing of beauty. And it was all […]

The Universal Paradox of Messaging The narrower your focus with your message, the broader your reach with your target audience. If that sounds counterintuitive to you, you’re not alone. However, this is often referred to as the universal paradox of messaging. The most effective messages feel like they were made just for you. Unfortunately, most […]

And How to Edit Your Message There are 3 beliefs that your audience needs to have in order to make a change. First, that it’s possible to achieve the goal they want with the change you’re recommending. Second, that it’s possible for them. And third, they need to believe that it’s worth it. Be aware […]

Ignaz Semmelweis had solved a mystery. And it drove him insane. It’s 1847, and Semmelweis is a doctor at a teaching hospital in Vienna, Austria. The hospital has two maternity wards – one for training doctors, one for training midwives. To keep patient levels even, the wards admit women on alternate days. But the levels […]