New Year’s resolutions? No, thank you. Radically rethink the way you set goals:
The Latest
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...
Think Differently about Work, Culture, and the Economy
It’s easy to lose your way in the 21st-century economy. The world of work and business is changing so rapidly that you might be focusing more on how to keep up than how to live a meaningful life. What Works is a podcast for entrepreneurs, independent workers, and employees who don’t want to lose themselves to the whims of late-stage capitalism. Tara offers a distinctly interdisciplinary approach to the discourse around business, work, and personal growth.
A Radical New Approach to Goal-Setting
What Works: A Comprehensive Framework to Change the Way We Approach Goal-Setting
“Nuanced, rigorous exploration. What Works is a thought-provoking antidote to the overhyped productivity narratives keeping us stuck in shame and validation spirals. This book, and Tara’s oeuvre more broadly, serves as a brilliant guide for emphasizing presence and process over rigid metrics and external markers of success. A rich, hearty meal for the mind, I was only sad to put this book down when it ended.”
— Jenny Blake, podcaster and author of Free Time, Pivot, and Life After College
Humane Business
You Can’t Grow an Audience Like You Used To (and That’s Okay)
You might have noticed that building an audience on social media doesn't seem as easy as it was promised to be. The truth is that things have changed. And that business influencer who is promoting their top tips for growing your follower count on Instagram? Well,...
Media, Messages, and Meaning: Is it time to rethink content marketing?
Pundits, journalists, and your Uncle Joe all wring their hands about the state of discourse online. Too siloed. Too promotional. Too empty. Too rage-inducing. The list could go on and on. I truly don't want to add to that particular conversation. But I will admit that...
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, it’s nearly impossible to guarantee results. And there are reasons to remind customers and clients that, no matter what...
Future of Work
The Future of Work: A Vision for 2023 (and Beyond)
Work was in the news this year. Whether it was labor organizing at Starbucks and Amazon, layoffs at tech companies, the eyeroll-inducing “quiet quitting” trend, or the absolutely bonkers “productivity paranoia” scare, people who make the future of work their work have...
Persistent Stress: What Every Productive Worker Needs to Know
It’s one thing to be stressed out during a hectic season or a major change. But persistent stress? Work stress that’s ongoing with little or no relief in sight? That’s an entirely different thing. As the current year comes to an end and we look to what’s next, it’s a...
Busyness Decoded: How to Limit What You Say “Yes” To
If you feel overcommitted or overwhelmed regularly, you’re not alone. In a 2022 survey, Gallup asked Americans to gauge their stress levels. Nearly half of the adults polled responded that they felt stressed daily. In a Pew survey in 2018, 60% of U.S. adults deal with...
Culture & Economy
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...
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...
Mindset & Identity
Why It’s Time to Radically Rethink Goal-Setting
Nothing puts a spring in my step quite like setting my sights on a new target. I’m a goal-oriented overachiever from way back. And like many overachievers, I often end up overcommitted and burnt out. About five years ago, I hit a breaking point when it came to some of...
Why I Took A 4-Month Break From Business—And What I’m Doing Next
I've run iteration or another of the same business since 2009. The business model shifted, the team changed, and the focus evolved—but one iteration flowed right into the next. But by the end of 2021, I needed to break the cycle. I realized I had built...
Money Is A Shared Delusion: Why How We Think About Money Matters
“Time is money.” It’s a phrase you’ve heard before. And probably a phrase you’ve accepted as truth. And it’s certainly true that there are plenty of ways that time and money relate to each other. But a few months ago, I started to wonder: Is time really money? And if...
News & Recommendations
Listen: A Podcast About How Podcasts Make Big Money
The business of how podcasts make money is relatively opaque. Lots of podcasts never make a dime. Plenty support marketing efforts at small businesses and large corporations. Still others maintain complete editorial independence by utilizing crowdfunding. And that...