DW's Blog

Don’t Let Your Attention Slide

by DW Green — August 9, 2023

“Einstein didn’t invent the theory of relativity while he was multitasking at the Swiss patent office.”

Winifred Gallagher, in her book Rapt, quotes David Meyer, a cognitive scientist at the University of Michigan: “Einstein didn’t invent the theory of relativity while he was multitasking at the Swiss patent office.” It came after, when he really had time to focus and study. Attention matters—and in an era in which our attention is being fought for by every new app, website, article, book, tweet, and post, its value has only gone up.Attention is a habit, and letting your attention slip and wander builds bad habits and enables mistakes.You’ll never complete all your tasks if you allow yourself to be distracted with every tiny interruption. Your attention is one of your most critical resources. Don’t squander it!

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Blamesville

by DW Green — July 12, 2023

The buck stops here.

A sign on President Harry Truman’s desk read, THE BUCK STOPS HERE. As president, with more power and control than pretty much anyone else, he knew that, good or bad, there wasn’t anyone he could blame for stuff other than himself. There was no one to pass the buck to. The chain ended there, in the Oval Office. Blaming others or things seem to be an increasingly popular exercise in today’s America.As the president of our own lives—and knowing that our powers begin and end with our reasoned choice—we would do well to internalize this same attitude. We don’t control things outside that sphere, but we do control our attitudes and responses to those events—and that’s plenty. It’s enough that we go into each and every day knowing that there is no one to pass the buck to. It ends with us.

Read More – At Least I’m Consistent

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by DW Green — July 5, 2023

We may also be able to say if there is no consciousness around, there is no tree, but we will save that for later.

Sound is vibration. The strum of a guitar string. The crack of the bat. The wave pounding the breach. The sonic boom in the sky.Sound waves enter your ear and go through your ear canal to the eardrum. The waves make your ear drum vibrate and the vibrations are sent to three tiny bones. These bones are named the malleus, incus and stapes. The bones amplify the sound and send vibrations to the cochlea, which looks like a snail. It is filled with fluid. The vibrations cause the fluid to ripple. This causes hair cells in the cochlea to move. Chemicals then rush into the cells, creating an electric signal. The signal is sent by the auditory nerve to the brain and the brain turns the signal into the sounds you hear.The entire process is electrical and chemical. You “hear” with your brain. Almost everyone has heard the question, “If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it does it make a sound?”From what you just learned the answer should be obvious. Do you know what it is?The answer is…NO!If a tree falls in the forest it produces sound waves but if there is no ear and brain to receive and in...

by DW Green — June 28, 2023

Differentiation arises from both the choice of activities and how they are performed.

I was reading an article on leadership the other day. The following from Bill Taylor, cofounder of Fast Company, makes really good sense to me.“The true mark of a leader is the willingness to stick with a bold course of action—an unconventional business strategy, a unique product-development roadmap, a controversial marketing campaign—even as the rest of the world wonders why you’re not marching in step with the status quo. In other words, real leaders are happy to zig while others zag. They understand that in an era of hyper-competition and non-stop disruption, the only way to stand out from the crowd is to stand for something special.”It’s been my experience that following the status quo promotes imitation rather than innovation. Leadership is about discovering and performing different activities from rivals or performing similar activities in different ways. Differentiation arises from both the choice of activities and how they are performed. Activities, then, are the basic units of competitive advantage. Overall advantage or disadvantage results from all of a company’s activities, not only a few. The status quo often impedes the search for competitive ...

by DW Green — June 21, 2023

Yet almost every situation is made better by love…

In 1992, Barbara Jordan addressed the Democratic National Convention and railed against the greed and selfishness and divisiveness of the previous decade. (Sound familiar today!) People were ready for a change. “Change it to what?” she asked. “Change that environment of the 80s to an environment which is characterized by a devotion to the public interest, public service, tolerance, and love. Love. Love. Love.”Love. Love. Love. Love. Why? Because, as the Beatles put it, “In the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.” Not just in politics, not just in tolerance, but in our personal lives. There is almost no situation in which hatred helps. Yet almost every situation is made better by love—or empathy, understanding, appreciation—even situations in which you are in opposition to someone.And who knows, you might just get some of that love back.

Read More – I Love You

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by DW Green — June 14, 2023

When people are afraid of making mistakes, they shut down; they won’t take risks or try new ideas.

Ben Franklin once said “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” I would add mistakes to that list of certainties! All three are inevitable! Though it seems that we view our personal mistakes much differently than mistakes made by others. Especially those mistakes made by our subordinates. Why is that? Since we all make mistakes shouldn’t we extend the same forgiveness and understanding to our employees that we accord ourselves for our errors?

Unintentional mistakes just happen. Accept that reality. Identify the cause and work to improve the process. The notion that the same mistake will never happen again is erroneous. Like stubbing ones toe, one cannot guarantee the same mistake will never happen in the future.

What’s more troubling to me is when employees become fearful of making mistakes, for fear of reprisal or retribution. When people are afraid of making mistakes, they shut down; they won’t take risks or try new ideas. We learn from failure not from success. It’s best to treat mistakes as a learning experience. Discuss, learn and move forward...

by DW Green — June 7, 2023

Brand marks are simple, clean, and an easy-to-remember graphic representation of a company’s Brand name.

Cool, as in the context of slang, as an interjection to express acceptance, approval or admiration. And what’s more cool—neat, nifty, boss, keen, groovy— than a brand mark or Icon. Brand marks are simple, clean, and an easy to remember graphic representation of a company’s Brand name. Brand marks are like punctuation symbols:. stop, pause; pause longer! exclamation mark? question mark Brand marks and icons can represent a deeper meaning of a company’s purpose or an abstract expression like the Nike swoosh. We have a Northwest client whose brand mark is a sailboat. Who would have thought of a sailboat icon for a food store? The sailboat is very meaningful to their company culture. It’s meaningful to me too. I’m proud to wear their caps and jackets that showcase their company icon.The DW Green icon reflects our design and life mantra “Less is greater than more.”So, if you’re considering a new or updated design for your company’s brand mark, give us a call.