Why “Think Before You Speak” Sounds Wise—and Still Misses the Point There’s a phrase that circulates constantly online, usually presented as a neat moral checklist: Before you speak, THINK.Is it True?Is it Helpful?Is it Inspiring?Is it Necessary?Is it Kind? I understand why people like it. It gestures toward restraint, empathy, and responsibility. But the more

Complex Problems Don’t Have Single Causes — They Have Territories When we talk about problem-solving, we usually mean identifying what’s wrong, isolating it, replacing it, and moving on. That approach works well in simple systems—machines, equations, controlled environments. It fails almost everywhere else. In real life, the variables that matter are rarely isolated. They influence

This and That: Why Complex Problems Don’t Have a Single Cause Most people try to solve complex problems by asking the wrong question. They ask:“What is the problem?” That question assumes there is one problem—one faulty component, one bad decision, one person, one variable—that can be isolated, removed, or replaced so everything else snaps back

Tactics vs. Strategy: what’s the real difference (and why it matters) If you’re trying to change anything—your business, your career, your health—your first point of contact with reality isn’t a strategy deck. It’s action. And action is powered by tactics: small, testable moves that meet the world where it is. Most people talk about “strategy”

Coaching: The Difference Between Professionals and Amateurs When I’m brought in as a consultant, it’s usually because there’s a problem that needs fixing. Something is broken, stalled, or producing symptoms that can no longer be ignored. But once the diagnostic process begins, a pattern shows up again and again: the visible problem is rarely the

Great Art Feels Dangerous (and That’s the Point) Creativity is one of those words everybody loves… until it shows up in a form they don’t recognize. A few days ago I recorded a long talk on creativity—philosophical, abstract, probably a little too deep for what people expect when they hear the word creative. Then I

Creativity: A Blessing or a Curse? A Pragmatic Look at Creative Power Creativity is one of those words we all use, but rarely slow down to examine. Like love, justice, or fairness, it carries so much meaning that it often functions as a low-resolution shortcut—a thumbnail for something far deeper and more complex. Are you

Politics and Religion: Why We Fight About What We Believe There are two topics everyone says you should never bring up at a party: politics and religion. That advice exists for a reason. These subjects don’t just create disagreement. They create heat. They trigger identity. They can fracture families. They can polarize communities. And at

Levels of Abstraction in Personal and Societal Organization Life is complicated. Society is complicated. And if we want to act—really act—we have to simplify. We categorize. We filter. We compress reality into something we can hold in our minds long enough to make a decision. That’s not a flaw. It’s a survival feature. The problem