Kevin Novak

What We Know About You: Welcome to the Surveillance State Issue 152, March 21, 2024 We recently read a report in The Wall Street Journal that got our attention. Commercial data brokers are selling their third-party data to the government. If you’re an optimist, you would think this could be a good thing. Our intelligence agencies and the defense department may be able to identify patterns that could predict and prevent an unfortunate event – terrorism, for example. But honestly,…

Kevin Novak

March 20, 2024

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Ideas and Innovations Newsletter

Unintended Consequences: Decision-Making and Economic Interconnectedness

Unintended Consequences: Decision-Making and Economic Interconnectedness Issue 151, March 14, 2024 We’re entering the fray in the debate on the economy. And central to this debate is a refresher focused on our inability to make connections, see patterns and anticipate how micro and macro trends can radically and consequentially compromise our approach to solving real or perceived problems. In solving what we see as immediate problems (low wages, inflation, price-gouging, lack of skilled workers and migration as examples), there are…

Kevin Novak

March 14, 2024

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Ideas and Innovations Newsletter

AI: Spring Awakenings

AI: Spring Awakenings Issue 150, March 7, 2024 We think the onset of Spring is a good time for house cleaning and taking a pause to reassess AI. It has taken over both the imagination and the anxiety of most anyone who has been paying attention. Take a straw poll and you may have two oppositional results. AI is a tool that will help human beings achieve higher levels of productivity and more efficient levels of profitability. Or AI is…

Kevin Novak

March 7, 2024

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Ideas and Innovations Newsletter

The Need for Reversed Learning

The Need for Reversed Learning Issue 149, February 29, 2024 Is it really true that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks? If you’re an old dog in a digital marketplace, you don’t have a choice. Let’s say you are an editor. You used to work with writers to create provocative, well-researched, surprising articles. Today, you have to write titles, headlines, and content to optimize search and game the online systems. Or let’s say you are a marketer. You…

Kevin Novak

February 29, 2024

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Ideas and Innovations Newsletter

The Value and Challenge of Compromise

The Value and Challenge of Compromise Issue 148, February 22, 2024 How many times did your parents tell you to, “Pick your battle.” And then in the next breath say, “Never compromise your values.” That ambiguity could be confusing to a child, but is mind-bending to an adult navigating our complex, polarized society. Increasingly public opinion is becoming less compromising, leaving common ground hard to find. Compromise: Positive or Negative? In its most basic sense, a compromise can be understood…

Kevin Novak

February 20, 2024

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Ideas and Innovations Newsletter

Do You Fall Prey to Oversimplification?

Do You Fall Prey to Oversimplification? Issue 147, February 15, 2024 We all do it. We oversimplify when it suits us or when we believe that is what our audience wants to hear. In business, we have been programmed not to share too many financial details and just report the high-level numbers. Or not get all techy; talk in plain English. Avoid all those legal terms that make heads spin. Can’t you just say that a different way? Add to…

Kevin Novak

February 14, 2024

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Ideas and Innovations Newsletter

How Clock Time Reshaped the World and Work

How Clock Time Reshaped the World and Work Issue 146, February 8, 2024 We think it’s safe to say that most of us take clock time for granted. Timepieces are ubiquitous; they are on our stoves, microwaves, refrigerators, walls, radios, wrists, and mobile phones. From 1300 to 1600, they were the centerpiece of small towns placed on towers and public buildings, which dramatically changed how people ordered their lives. So fast forward and timepieces have become so affordable and mobile…

Kevin Novak

February 8, 2024

Randomness and Flukes: Changing the Course of History

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Ideas and Innovations Newsletter

Randomness and Flukes: Changing the Course of History

Randomness and Flukes: Changing the Course of History Issue 145, February 1, 2024 Hindsight is foresight, yet we may be better equipped to predict the future with the benefit of so much emerging tech. But what AI and ML don’t anticipate is the random moments that change the course of history. What’s frustrating is that you rarely see those moments in real-time. We suggest the reason is that we are looking for the wrong thing, making those random occurrences nearly…

Kevin Novak

January 31, 2024

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Ideas and Innovations Newsletter

Vulnerability as an Asset

Vulnerability as an Asset Issue 144, January 25, 2024 We’ve all heard about EQ as the skill and management strategy transcending IQ. Emotional Quotient is defined as the ability to perceive, use, understand, manage, and handle emotions (Wiki) and the ability to manage one’s own emotions in positive ways to relieve stress, communicate effectively, empathize with others, overcome challenges, and defuse conflict (HelpGuide). Any way you define it, it’s an essential leadership approach in today’s culture that is increasingly fraught…

Kevin Novak

January 25, 2024

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Ideas and Innovations Newsletter

The Risk of Certainty

The Risk of Certainty Issue 143, January 18, 2024 Human nature, at its deepest core, reinforces our longing for certainty and the prospect of security and stability. We don’t want things around us to change. We want assurance that what we know is true and real. We want certainty that we made the right decisions and choices so that outputs and outcomes will be what we expect. Ambiguity creates anxiety and insecurity and makes us defensive. Ambiguity makes most of…

Kevin Novak

January 17, 2024

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