Work Archives

9 Designing Your Life Exercises That Will Help You Thrive

What’s your work philosophy? How would you spend your time if money were no object? Whom would you trust to help you design your life? In Designing Your Life, Stanford professors Bill Burnett and Dave Evans share the content of their popular courses and workshops on life design. Using concrete principles and examples, they teach readers how to design a meaningful life in which they can truly thrive. Continue reading to find several Designing Your Life exercises that will help you apply the book’s concepts.

Mapping Innovation: How to Use a Two-Factor Cluster Map

What’s the importance of mapping innovation? How can you use maps to discover what you need to work on in your company? One of Vijay Kumar’s favorite innovation tools he describes in his book 101 Design Methods is the two-factor cluster map. The map may reveal important relationships or opportunities if you find that the dots cluster together in some areas while other regions of the plot are empty. Let’s look at how mapping innovation works, using the seven tasks of innovation that Kumar highly recommends following.

Six Thinking Hats: Exercises to Help You Put Your Thinking Caps On

Would you like to make decisions faster? Is your internal critic way too loud? In Six Thinking Hats, Edward de Bono takes the phrase “put your thinking cap on” to a new level. Our normal thinking process is a hopeless tangle of six types of thinking. We can improve the quality and efficiency of our decisions by untangling these six types and deploying them more consciously. Continue reading for Six Thinking Hats exercises that will help you implement the ideas in the book.

4 Ways Attitudes Toward Work Are Changing in the U.S.

What are people’s attitudes toward work in the U.S.? How are job attitudes changing? The pandemic and the recent wave of tech industry layoffs have been changing Americans’ attitudes toward work. The pandemic has prompted many workers to crave a better work-life balance, leading them to search for new careers and in some cases opt for part-time work. Keep reading to discover the four ways Americans’ attitudes toward work are changing.

The 3 Best Innovation Techniques in Business

What are innovation techniques in business that you should use? How do these techniques help you create more ideas and products? Vijay Kumar’s methods for managing innovation projects include impressive techniques that anybody can use in their business. In his book 101 Design Methods, he covers these key techniques. Let’s look at these innovative techniques in detail.

Prototype Testing: Why It’s Important for Every Company

Why is testing your products important? What are the types of prototypes you should use in the experiment stage? Prototypes are a popular way of testing out your products before they hit the shelves. This way, you won’t put out faulty products, or ones that won’t do as well against your competitors. Continue reading to find out how prototype testing works and why 101 Design Methods by Vijay Kumar says you have to do it.

Product Workshops Activities That Your Team Will Love

A leader showing the company's vision to employees on a laptop

What is a product workshop? What workshop activities can help you through the innovation process? According to Vijay Kumar’s book 101 Design Methods, a product workshop can help your business team brainstorm innovative ideas for new products. Workshopping products is a great way of getting the team to work together, while also scouting out users who may be interested in what you’re selling. Let’s break down the fundamentals of what makes a product workshop effective.

How to Build a Coaching Session Structure in 4 Steps

Want to learn how to build a coaching session structure? What are the basic steps for creating a coaching session? In Coaching for Performance, Sir John Whitmore explains how to effectively coach for performance, starting with how to structure coaching sessions so you can make the most of your time with your coachee. He claims there are four essential steps in building an effective session. Read on to learn how to build a coaching session structure in four steps, according to Whitmore.

Adam Smith: Specialization of Labor Leads to More Wealth

What is specialization of labor? What impact does it have on workers and on the economy as a whole? According to Adam Smith, specialization of labor contributes to the wealth of a nation. In his seminal work, The Wealth of Nations, Smith explains three ways this happens. He also discusses how a market’s size affects the amount of specialization that can occur. Continue reading to learn Smith’s views on labor specialization.

Adam Smith’s Labor Theory of Value: Everyone’s a Merchant

Could you live your life without ever buying something that someone else produces? What do you produce that others buy? In The Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith lays much of the groundwork for the field of economics. He makes the case for free markets, and he puts forward his theories on what markets exchange and how they’re able to facilitate this exchange. One of his theories is that labor is the basis of value. Let’s take a look at Adam Smith’s labor theory of value.