The latest iTunes update automatically alerts you at every new song. So does your email, Skype, Twitter, IM, and everything else. It’s no wonder we feel distracted, overloaded, and unable to get anything done. Software is designed to be selfish: Software needs to get used to be successful. So software is designed to steal your attention in order […]
It’s not you — the system is designed to distract you
October 5, 2013
Two hippos are sitting in a bath …
September 13, 2013
One says to the other “why are you so fat”. And the other says “don’t be so hippo-critical.“ Someone told me this joke, and I wrote it down to tell my kids. And now it’s been sitting in my inbox, distracting me from work, for months. It’s important to have a place to stick thoughts, ideas, and […]
Less is more
December 23, 2012
Maybe you don’t need to add anything to make your product better. Maybe you need to take something away. Take a look at these utensils. Less waste, better for the environment, and less manufacturing cost because of reduced raw material — which means more profit. What can you punch a hole in?
How to save $10.5 billion
November 14, 2012
Let UPS do the next U.S. census. When the government did it, it cost $11 billion and took 1 million workers. UPS is already going to pretty much every house in America. Each driver already has a portable computer that can collect the data. There are 114,825,428 U.S. households. Give UPS $5 each, and the total […]
Newsletter #808: The “Be Convenient” Issue
November 11, 2010
Welcome back to the Damn, I Wish I Thought of That! newsletter. This is text of the great issue all of our email subscribers just received. Sign yourself up using the handy form on the right.] If you can save the world time and prevent headaches, you’ll be thanked with love and loyalty. A peek at […]
I can’t believe we’re still doing that
November 6, 2010
This blog has a thingy where you can display posts by month written. So do lots of other blogs. Who the hell needs that? Has anyone used that, ever, on any blog? Why would you need to see my old posts from any particular month? It’s there because the first blog software had it. So […]
Why do companies mow the lawn?
August 22, 2010
It’s expensive and a pain in the butt. We just had a meeting at McDonald’s headquarters — with a natural forest outside the window. Very nice, and a lot less work. What could you STOP doing and get a better result?
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