by Margaret Lukens, New Leaf + Company LLC Feeling dissatisfied is an entrepreneur’s occupational hazard. We make a lot of progress by noticing what’s wrong — what need is going unmet for our prospective clients, what opportunity is going begging, what improvement is possible? While noticing what’s not right leads us to opportunities, chronic dissatisfaction…
Category Archives: Brain science
Following Through: What’s Wrong With Me?
by Margaret Lukens, New Leaf + Company LLC Tra dire al fare, c’e in mezzo il mare. (Between saying and doing lies the sea.) — Italian proverb You have set a goal, and it’s a good one. You know what steps you need to take, at least initially. Maybe you’ve taken one or two of…
Improvement: Tiptoeing past “Amy”
by Margaret Lukens, New Leaf + Company LLC Like weight loss, getting organized is one of the top five resolutions on New Year’s lists. Every year. So why are we not all specimens of peak productivity and perfect health by now? While it’s undeniable that sometimes change happens in an eye-blink, more often getting good…
Improvement: Kaizen or the Big Win?
by Margaret Lukens, New Leaf + Company LLC When making changes in habits or processes to improve productivity, which is better: to make a dramatic change or to move ahead with small incremental steps? Some people tend to opt for the sweeping gesture. Comparing habit change to removing a band-aid, they want to yank it…
Only Computers Multitask
by Margaret Lukens, New Leaf + Company LLC A recent job posting on Craig’s List sought a customer relations specialist for Vertical Response, “one of the best places to work in the Bay Area”. Among the job requirements: “Candidates must be able to multi-task…” Perhaps they should hire a computer. Decades ago, the latest technique…
Mind Games
Margaret Lukens, New Leaf + Company LLC There was a time when scientists believed that the adult brain had nowhere to go but down. Like a flower that develops, blooms and fades, our brains were thought to reach a peak of processing power early in life, then begin the long, irreversible march toward decrepitude. Now…