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You, Me, and The Economy: How to Think About Economic News from a Human Perspective
The economy is in the news. Big time. Inflation has been a big headline, with news breaking August 10 indicating that it rapid price growth might be...
Refund Policies: What’s Fair and What’s Not For Online Businesses
“If you don’t see results, you didn’t want it bad enough.” That’s become the prevailing narrative of the online business refund policy. Of course,...
Overdelivering Doesn’t Help Anyone (And Is Probably Causing Harm)
Photo by Erda Estremera on Unsplash “Underpromise and overdeliver.” I'm sure you've heard that maxim before. But most of the time I spend money, I...
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How the Push for Efficiency Changes Us
Layoffs are in the news. 21,000 at Facebook. 27,000 at Amazon. 12,000 at Google. 600 at Spotify. LinkedIn maintains a running list of layoff announcements in its News feature area. Every person laid off is a life disrupted in some way. And the potential ramifications...
Managing Mental Health in the Achievement Society
“I thought for a long time: is it capitalism, or is it my ambition? And I am a very ambitious person,” Mara Glatzel told me a couple of years ago. That distinction between the narratives of capitalism, individualism, and meritocracy on one side and the drive to create...
The Economics of Meeting Your Needs
We all have deep human needs—for belonging, for autonomy, for creative expression, for safety and security. But modern life can make it a real challenge to get those needs met in meaningful ways. Instead, we’re offered products with flashy marketing messages. Kitchen...
How Does An Idea Turn Into An Asset?
What makes an idea valuable? What turns it into a product that can be bought, sold, or rented? Ideas turn into capital assets thanks to our system of intellectual property rights. But understanding IP isn’t simply a matter of learning what a trademark or patent is,...
The Strange Logic of Value in the Attention Economy
Did you know that 54% of 18-38-year-olds want to be influencers? Or that kids these days would rather be “influencers” or “YouTubers” than firefighters, astronauts, or teachers? Okay, Boomer. Calm down. The “troubling trend” of all our kids putting themselves on...
The Economics of Getting (and Paying) Attention: Putting the Audience to Work
Attention is a scarce (and precious) resource. A gargantuan number of media outlets, advertisers, influencers, and brands vie for our attention every day. In turn, many of us (including me) are out there trying to attract attention, too. We want people to pay...
Go With The Flow: How Tracking Cash Flow Can Transform Your Business for the Better
It takes money to start a business. Money can come in the form of a loan, a credit card, a savings account, or even pre-orders. Or, time and sweat equity become a proxy for money until there’s enough cold hard cash to invest in growth. It also takes money to grow a...
Working Together: What Economics Can Teach Us About How Work Relationships Get Weird
Relationships are critical to our ability to do remarkable work. Even if you’re a hermit like me, the people who collaborate with you, inspire you, and support you are indispensable. That said, relationships are a source of stress, too—especially when it comes to...
Why Care Work is Critical to the Value of Information
Imagine that I had a set of instructions for making $1 million. My instructions fit on a single sheet of paper. Font size 12. Double-spaced. No funny business. Follow every step to the letter, and a million bucks would be yours. What would you be willing to pay for...