Articles on Thinking

Cloud migrations, CDO hiring sprees, and AI pilots all followed the same pattern: unanimous agreement, then expensive reversals. Consensus is a warning sign.

High-trust organizations decide in 3 days. Low-trust ones take 4 weeks. Like F1 pit stops, consistency and speed determine who wins markets.

An automated lighthouse on the Oregon coast taught me something about automation, human judgment, and the work that still matters most.

Your LinkedIn feed isn't market intelligence — it's curated noise. How social media echo chambers distort executive decision-making.

An AI architect posted 'Naive RAG sucks' with no explanation. When experts stop explaining trade-offs, leaders make million-dollar decisions on opinions.

One fuzzy C-suite decision spawned 17 meetings and 43 emails in six weeks. Here's how unclear decisions create a hidden 'meeting tax' on your organization.

Everyone's impressed by what AI can produce. But flashy outputs aren't business outcomes — and confusing the two is an expensive trap.

AI can generate answers, but subject matter experts validate them. In the AI era, deep domain knowledge is more valuable than ever — not less.

AI's real value comes from rigorous verification, not blind trust. Critical thinking and validation separate useful AI from expensive mistakes.

My grandfather fed hogs with leftovers nobody wanted. In business, your messy, raw data is the same kind of 'slop' — and AI can turn it into insight.

AI has vast knowledge but zero wisdom. Here's why that gap matters and why human judgment, context, and experience remain irreplaceable.

As we delegate more decisions and emotional labor to AI, we risk losing compassion, empathy, and connection. AI should be a partner, not a replacement.

LLMs aren't creative — they're enhancers. Like Lightroom for photography, AI tools help you do what you do better, not replace the work itself.

People are blindly trusting AI outputs without questioning them. Here's how to maintain critical thinking while leveraging AI effectively.

The cost of indecision exceeds the cost of imperfect action. Technology decision paralysis drains productivity, morale, and competitive position.

It seems like people are always looking for the 'next big thing.' They want that 'big' thing to get the 'big' improvement for themselves or their

I know -- Are you eating your brain? -- is a strange title...but stick with me here. I'm listening to an audiobook titled Understanding Complexity by

I'm sure we've all been there. We have 100 things to do and we pick 90 things to get done and avoid those last few items that we just don't want to do.

Recipes don't always work - they are great starting points but they aren't always the only way to do things.

As part of a tutorial on Text Analytics and Visualization I just finished  over  on technical blog called Python Data (where I blog about using python for

So, what digital projects should you be chasing? Chase the ones that are focused on improving the customer experience

Underdogs win all the time, which is why you should always continue to improve and become better than you were.

720K photos later...the 'perfect' photo. Perfect takes work. Are you willing to do the work?

if you want a great data analytics culture, build a great communications culture. You can't have one without the other.

Best practices aren't enough. You need to have the smarts and creativity to know to better align yourself and your strategy with market conditions.

In order to use data within your business, you must first collect that data. Seems simple enough right?  You capture some data, store it somewhere and the

Make sure you have the tools and skills in place to analyze / use what you have before you go and add 'more' to the mix.

If you aren't familiar with the term "normalcy bias", here's a quick definition: Normalcy bias is...the phenomenon of disbelieving one's situation when

I'm an avid reader. I tend to read a few books at a time (I read one depending on my 'mood' at the time). The other day, I was scrolling through the

This won't surprise many people (at least I hope it doesn't)...there is a huge difference between "theory" and "practice". I'm an academic AND and

I'm the worlds worst developer. Really. I am. I don't follow best practices and my coding style is the oft-chided "brute force" method. I owe (blame?) my

One of the fastest ways to build trust is to keep your word. One of the fastest ways to destroy trust and damage a relationship is to agree...and do

How long have you been looking for that 'perfect' system? You know....the project management 'system' that will be your savior. Or the governance process

I love the motto "fail fast, fail often". Its been the driver behind a lot of what I've done in my life. There's been many times that I've failed quickly

That’s the magic and mystery of 1%. Don’t ignore it because its small. Don’t overlook it due to its size. 1% is small and large at the same time.

Importance is relative. Before demanding something because it is important to you, consider how it ranks on the other person's priority list.

There are no external solutions to your internal problems. Before looking outside, take a look at yourself and your team first.

To focus on the right things, first wade through information overload to find the right knowledge. Only then can real focus begin.

But...when you ask for something...and get it...you better grab it and run with it. If you don't...someone else will.

It been quiet here this week as I've been traveling.   I spent the week in Chicago talking to clients and refining the story of what I do. Its fun to talk

Last night, I watched Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations show on the Travel Channel. I'm a fan of Mr. Bourdain's...I read (actually listened) to Kitchen

The word 'professional' is quite often overused in today's world. There are tons of professionals out there. Professional sports players. Professional

As I write this, I'm sitting on my couch at the house trying to watch a rerun of The Office and trying to relax a bit....but my attempt at a quiet

I've been reading a lot of new blogs lately. Not really sure what I've been looking for, but I feel like something is missing. I feel like I've been

Last week, David Aponovich from ISITE Design wrote a nice piece titled Avoiding the CMS Death Spiral on ISITE's CMS Myth blog. If you don't know who ISITE

One day. That's all it takes. One day is all it takes to cause tragedy or triumph.  One day is all it takes to change for the better - or the worse.

Earlier this week I provided a rundown of my experience going through a sleep study in a post titled To manage it, measure it…but don’t destroy it in the

Are you ready to accept failure?  Can you live with yourself if you don't succeed? When I was growing up, winning was a big thing.  You won or lost. You

Social Media has brought a real danger to the forefront of society. It's not the security risks that might be inherent in social media, although there are

As many of my regular readers know, I've been known to say (and write) that I don't like process for process sake.  Of course, a good process is a good

If you don't know, my passion outside of technology, entrepreneurship and writing on this blog is photography.  I've recently been spending even more time

Have you ever gotten so used to doing something that you stop thinking about how or why you're doing it?  BTW - this is another one of my 'linear

I love a good story. I love to read a good story and I love to create stories...although they may not always be "good.:) In fact, I love a good story so

I just put down SWAT - Seize the Accomplishment (Amazon affiliate link) by Timothy L. Johnson....and now want to pick it back up and read it again.  It's

I've been sitting at my computer staring at the screen for a few minutes trying to come up with a topic for my weekly "New CIO" article.   While waiting

I realize it's a few days into the new year and most people have already committed their 2010 resolutions to paper (or screen)...now its my turn. Rather

What's your focus? Have you ever stopped to ask yourself this question? What are you focused on in your life or your job?  What's your focus for the

The New CIO is a weekly article about the challenges facing today’s CIO as well as what can be done to prepare for future challenges. I just completed

I was lucky enough to get a pre-release copy of Change by Design: How Design Thinking Transforms Organizations and Inspires Innovation by IDEO CEO Tim

What would happen if you stopped everything you do online? What if you stopped: Blogging Tweeting Facebooking (is that a word?) Linking Commenting

2009 is half over and its been a pretty good year so far. What's transpired this year? In February, I put my consulting practice on hold to join the Boy

One of the most visited posts on this blog is titled "The Problem(s) with Linear Thinking".   That one post makes up for a good amount of monthly visitors

I just finished reading The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything and have to say that I really enjoyed it. While the book spends a little

You're doing it wrong! I hate when people tell me that. Who are they to tell me how to do something? OK...OK...there are times when 'right' and 'wrong'

Mark McGuinness over at Lateral Action has a great post titled "Is Lateral Thinking Necessary for Creativity?"...this post is a well thought out argument

My wife just asked me what my resolutions were for 2009.  I normally don't do 'resolutions' but the question, and the many blog posts about resolutions,

The last book from my 'vacation reading list" is Think Better: An Innovator's Guide to Productive Thinking by Tim Hurson. Some of you may remember a brief

I just started reading "Think Better: An Innovator's Guide to Productive Thinking" by Tim Hurson. I just started Chapter 3 and have become amazed that I