In 2004, I wrote the book Into the Unknown: Leadership Lessons from Lewis & Clark’s Daring Westward Expedition. One of my favorite stories—because it has so much relevance for today’s business leaders —occurred in early June 1805. On June 2, 1805, Lewis and Clark approached a fork in the Missouri River. During their consultations with…

In his famous speech at Rice University where he declared that it was America's intention to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade, President Kennedy said "the greater our knowledge increases, the greater our ignorance unfolds," adding that "the vast stretches of the unknown and the unanswered and the unfinished…

On May 6, 1954, Roger Bannister became the first man to run a mile in under four minutes. Although it is a myth that physiologists considered the barrier physically impossible, what is interesting to consider is this: By 1957 another 16 runners had also accomplished the feat. In other words, it is now evident that…

 “Only the hand that erases can write the truth”. So wrote German theologian, philosopher and mystic Meister Eckardt more than 800 years ago. They are still good words to live by. In the middle of the 19th century, blackboards were all the rage. In fact, some universities, seeking to gain a competitive advantage, even advertised…

“I have what I call an iron prescription that helps me keep sane when I naturally drift toward preferring one ideology over another and that is: I say that I’m not entitled to have an opinion on this subject unless I can state the argument against my position better than the people who support it….

"When it becomes necessary to develop a new perception of things, a new internal model of reality, the problem is never to get new ideas in, the problem is to get old ideas out." – Dee Hock   Question: How many planets are there in our solar system?   The answer is eight. If you…

Being the day before Thanksgiving here in America, I thought I would recount a wonderful story from Nassim Taleb's outstanding book, The Black Swan:    "Consider a turkey that is fed every day. Every single feeding will firm up the bird's belief that it is the general rule of life to be fed every day…

We have all been there at some time—standing in line at the airport waiting to board a plane and thinking to ourselves that “there has to be a better way.” Well, apparently, there is now. According to this informative articlea researcher at Fermilab has figured out the optimal way to board an airplane. His findings…

Following up on yesterday's post, I invite you to look at the logo to the right. Undoubtedly, it is one you have seen hundreds, if not thousands, of times. How many of you, however, have ever noticed the arrow between the "E" and "x." It is a wonderful  example of negative space and I want you…

My dad gave me one dollar bill'Cause I'm his smartest son,And I swapped it for two shiny quarters'Cause two is more than one! And then I took the quartersAnd traded them to LouFor three dimes — I guess he don't knowThat three is more than two!  Just then, along came old blind BatesAnd just 'cause…