From a 19th century Russian novelist’s disarming preface to a 1985 fast food fumble, this episode asks one question that matters more than ever: are you being clever, or are you actually being useful? Mikhail Lermontov wrote a preface designed…

Your mind works like water flowing through channels in a stream, which explains why sometimes the hardest marketing challenges need the simplest solutions. Paul Taylor shows us why hardiness beats resilience every time, through four characteristics that separate the business…

From minimum chips and onstage kisses to the biological drivers that make us click buy, we explore why fond memories boost productivity while rage baiting destroys it, and why Drew Eric Whitman’s eight life forces might be the marketing framework…

From mathematician David Bessis’s meditation on mathematical intuition to Edward de Bono’s 1982 promise of simple computing, we explore why your business problems might need slower thinking than your instincts allow. Mathematician David Bessis claims we need system three thinking,…

The path to greater mental bandwidth isn’t doing more with multitasking magic but achieving unconscious competence that frees your mind for what truly matters. From Christopher Hitchens’ reflections on truth-telling to the paramedic’s competency cycle, discover why mastering basics creates…

From Tim Ferriss’s revelation that systems beat willpower to ChatGPT’s excruciating conversation with itself, we discover why the most disciplined approach involves building structures that remove the need for heroic daily effort. Tim Ferriss explains why he’s become less disciplined…

From Hunter S. Thompson’s scathing Nixon obituary to an intelligence officer’s clarity framework, we explore how separating facts from opinions might save us from both political contortions and peanut butter cowboys. Steve opens with a morbid but revealing question about…

From paramedic wisdom to the neuroscience of narrative, we explore how competence creates space for connection and why changing minds requires changing hearts first. In Person, Leigh Anderson’s “The Paramedic Mindset” reveals why technical competence becomes the foundation for human…

From Viktor Frankl’s concentration camp wisdom to AI style guides that actually sound human, Steve and David explore why finding meaning beats chasing metrics, whether fake awards fool anyone, and why a man adjusting his fly in public might still…