The stores and the television marketers would have you believe that S’mores are best enjoyed on a warm summer day with hot dogs by a lake. Perhaps the magazine ad executives would tell you that the delightful treat is the best way to calm an anxious tummy after a ghost story by the campfire. These…
Every day it seems like there are more articles about inflation, the cost of living, or interest rates. The thought of rising prices reminds me of a book I read a few years ago. It was called The 10 Golden Rules of Customer Service and the Story of the $6,000 Egg by Todd and Debb…
Can you think of a time when you learned something so obvious you couldn’t figure out why anyone had to explain it to you? That’s how it is with the lesson behind The Motive by Patrick Lencioni, a book recommended to me by our soon-to-be-retired Fire Chief Tracy Fox. How often do we associate our job…
About a month ago, we discussed Dale Carnegie’s guidance to never “criticize, condemn or complain” if we want to learn How to Win Friends and Influence People. Then, two weeks ago we looked at Building a Storybrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen, which offered a modern approach to this principle, using stories to cast those…
Here’s a riddle for you. I have thousands of stories but very few floors. Bring back what I give you and you can take more. Of course, you know that most public libraries are only a few floors high, but they contain a seemingly endless supply of stories in the pages of their books. When…
In December 2017, a group of researchers found the oldest known cave painting in Indonesia. The painting was discovered in a cave called Leang Tedongnge (lay-ang tay-dong-nge), which is located in a low area prone to flooding in South Central Indonesia. The only time the cave is usually accessible is April to October when the…
For most of us, finding fault is the most natural and immediate response to the world around us. This is the result of something called “negative bias,” and it has a long history of serving to protect us. This fascinating concept seems to make so much sense when explained, so if you feel bad for…
The Andy Griffith Show ran for eight seasons on American television in the 1960s, and it has provided generations of viewers with a plethora of life lessons spoken softly in Andy’s Southern drawl and lived out in the peaceful community of Mayberry, North Carolina. Many modern small cities, particularly in the Southern United States, seek…
Do you remember playing with a Magic 8-Ball as a kid? While it was fun to ask a question, shake the ball, and laugh at the answer, I do not remember ever going to the toy when I needed advice. Can you imagine sitting in an important meeting at work and watching your boss pull…
“Libertarian Paternalism” is a phrase that sounds more like some form of new-age parenting than a philosophy for governance, but in Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness that is exactly what the writers lay out. The idea is to present a form of governance and policymaking in which the people retain the right to make…