problem solving Archives

Silhouette of a selfish boss wearing a crown, relaxing on an office chair with feet propped up on another person's back against a cloudy sky backdrop.

Trapped under a selfish boss? Try these 3 strategies to regain control

Leaders ideally intertwine their own success with that of their teams — if that’s not the case at your workplace, here’s what to do.

Close-up of a weathered wooden utility pole, marked with the number "2," standing resolute against cloudy skies—a testament to the enduring habits of nature and time.

Business

How the “two-day rule” can make your daily work-life much easier

This supremely simple hack can help you establish good habits, break bad ones, and guard against failure.

A classical marble statue's head embodies Roman resilience, adorned with an orange construction helmet against a teal background.

Business

What we can learn about resilience from the Pantheon

Welcome to The Nightcrawler — a weekly newsletter from Eric Markowitz covering tech, innovation, and long-term thinking.

Open book with a sketch of two toy characters on the left page and a story prompt with fill-in-the-blanks, inspired by a Pixar career hack, on the right.

Business

Use this genius Pixar hack to get your career back on track

Storytelling skills are not just for entertainment — practical exercises used by the cream of Hollywood can transform your work-life.

Collage featuring an excavator, the ChatGPT interface, financial figures, and text that reads "The Nightcrawler," all woven into abstract design elements that subtly hint at playing the long game.

Business

How to win the long game: Fight unfair fights

Welcome to The Nightcrawler — a weekly newsletter from Eric Markowitz covering tech, innovation, and long-term thinking.

A yellow road sign reading "SLOW NOW" stands before a breathtaking mountainous landscape under a clear blue sky, reminding travelers of the art of slow productivity.

Business

Why “slow productivity” is the key to great work and happy teams

Cal Newport explains how you and your teams can accomplish more while improving quality and supercharging workplace morale.

Abstract collage showcasing two mirrored, sepia-toned portraits of an older man with wild hair and a mustache, surrounded by scientific equations on a patterned background. This piece invites viewers to ponder the right question amidst the chaos of creative thought.

The Long Game

Question: Are you asking the “right” questions?

Take it from Bezos, Musk, and Einstein — rethinking lines of inquiry can transform business, investing, and innovation strategy.

A digitally stylized image of four individuals, each in a different colored filter—blue, green, red, and blue—capturing the essence of an innovation strategy. The individuals are smiling and wearing glasses.

Business

5 proven CEO strategies for riding any wave of innovation

The successful tactics of big-name leaders — including Bob Iger, Mary Barra, and Satya Nadella — reveal key approaches to innovation.

A man and woman stand by a wooden fence. The man leans on the fence, smiling, while the woman, focused on better productivity, holds a sickle and looks at him, wearing a headdress and shawl.

Business

Grasp “essentially contested concepts” for smoother productivity

Do you always act professionally in the workplace? Depends what you mean by “professional.”

A collage featuring a partial face overlaid with "I Voted" stickers alongside the text "The Night Crawler," embodying the relentless drive reminiscent of a Zuckerberg mantra.

Business

Mark Zuckerberg’s 4 steps to approach life

Welcome to The Nightcrawler — a weekly newsletter from Eric Markowitz covering tech, innovation, and long-term thinking.

A person reminiscent of Daniel Dennett, known for his critical thinking, stands with raised hands, sporting a beard and glasses. He wears a gray blazer over a blue shirt against a neutral background.

The Learning Curve

3 brilliant critical thinking tools used by Daniel Dennett

The late philosopher suggested adding a couple of “Occam’s heuristics” to your critical thinking toolbox.

Black and white photo of a man centered on a split background; the right side features a map dotted with Airbnb logos, while the left showcases a digital pattern, symbolizing tactical leadership navigating the complex landscape of modern accommodations.

Business

Tactical leadership: The “Navy SEALs” of Airbnb

Airbnb’s CBO, Dave Stephenson, joins Big Think for a chat about elite-team leadership, “founder mode,” the Taylor Swift effect, and more.

Two men in suits sit at a table looking stressed; one leans back with his head tilted upwards, and the other covers his face with his hand. The scene hints at the consequences of relying on the McNamara fallacy. A blurred glass pitcher is visible in the foreground.

Business

The “McNamara fallacy”: When data leads to the worst decision

Don’t make the mistake of blindly following quantitative metrics — whether you’re helping clients or looking for lunch.

Collage with a hand holding a pen, hand grasping a light bulb for idea generation, and graphs depicting optimization.

Business

How to create an “idea generation assembly line”

Welcome to The Nightcrawler — a weekly newsletter from Eric Markowitz covering tech, innovation, and long-term thinking.

Collage featuring a person sleeping at a desk, a hand holding a hotel bell, and sharks. The title "The Night Crawler" appears at the top.

Business

The thrill is in the hunt — not just the victory

Welcome to The Nightcrawler — a weekly newsletter from Eric Markowitz covering tech, innovation, and long-term thinking.

A man rubs his eyes while holding his glasses in his left hand and wearing a white shirt, with a watch on his left wrist, perhaps tired from hours of Zoom science sessions.

Business

Not remotely cool: The science of “Zoom fatigue”

Why “audio gaps” in video meetings wear us out — and why we need the meaningful relationships forged in communal workspaces.

A collage features images of a person smiling, ants, a penicillin bottle, another person's face, and an autonomous car, with the title "The Nightcrawler" at the top against a dark background.

Business

The trillion-dollar answer to AI’s biggest question

Welcome to The Nightcrawler — a weekly newsletter from Eric Markowitz covering tech, innovation, and long-term thinking.

Collage showing a man in a suit with a briefcase floating, silhouettes crossing a street, and a signpost against a colorful sky, symbolizing leadership and direction.

Business

5 ways for leaders to evolve with the modern workforce

Anne-Marie Rosser — CEO of creative agency VSA Partners — shares her cross-generational vision for a new brand of leadership.

A black and white portrait of a smiling man in a gray sweater is centered against a vibrant, abstract digital background with blue, purple, and green sections, evoking the essence of humanity striking back.

Business

“Humanity strikes back”: The 5th industrial revolution

Mike Bechtel, chief futurist with Deloitte Consulting LLP, joins Big Think for a wide-ranging look at what’s next — and why.

Three wireframe human heads are depicted against a dark background, their complex overlapping patterns evocative of the Johari window model, revealing multifaceted layers within each head's structure.

Business

Use the “Johari Window Model” to improve your conversations

It’s hard to know what other people know. But it’s not impossible.

A collage featuring a sleeping person, a 3D-rendered hand, and various graphs with dates and "gpt-4" labels, overlaid by the text "The Nightcrawler," subtly highlights themes of the attention economy.

Business

The essential skill to master across life and business

Welcome to The Nightcrawler — a weekly newsletter from Eric Markowitz covering tech, innovation, and long-term thinking.

A book open to a black and white photo of a steaming mug on the left page and a detailed, artistic portrait of an elderly person on the right page, capturing a sense of rival camaraderie through the contrasting images.

Business

Why it pays to treat competitors with “genuine camaraderie”

Why Bob Stiller — founder and former CEO of billion-dollar beverage company Green Mountain Coffee Roasters — believes shared learnings are a win-win.

Collage featuring a surfer, hands holding a Rubik's cube, and text "The Nightcrawler." Abstract elements include graphs, car parts, and a cityscape interwoven with life lessons.

Business

10 life lessons from four decades in the market

Welcome to The Nightcrawler — a weekly newsletter from Eric Markowitz covering tech, innovation, and long-term thinking.

A collage features a tennis player and a basketball player against a backdrop of financial charts, graphs, and mathematical equations on a checkered pattern.

Business

Athlete vs. grandmaster: The psychology of decision-making

How Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky cracked open behavioral economics and enlightened all our choices.

Top image: Close-up of hands slicing a piece of raw meat with a knife, emphasizing precision akin to the longevity sought in business immortality. Bottom image: Close-up of two Zildjian cymbals of different sizes on a grid pattern background.

The Long Game

Business “immortality” and the art of focus

In a world of distractions, several remarkable companies show why focus is the ultimate strategy for endurance.

Open book with an image of a brain on the left page and a pencil eraser unlearning old marks on the right page.

Business

Why “unlearning” is your best slayer of “zombie leadership”

By unlearning old leadership mindsets, cultures, and assumptions we can move from Industrial Age thinking to Intelligence Age thinking.

A black-and-white portrait of a man with curly hair, glasses, and a beard is centered against a green and blue background with abstract DNA helix patterns, representing leadership essentials.

Business

Leadership essentials: “Inspire, motivate, and cultivate”

Benjamin Oakes — CEO of buzz-worthy biotech company Scribe Therapeutics — joins Big Think for a chat about innovation, human endeavor, and more.

Collage with baseball trading cards and photos of people, overlaid with a line graph and titled "The Nightcrawler." The piece seems to be in founder mode, capturing the essence of pioneering moments. Background features a grid pattern.

Business

The unconventional philosophy behind “founder mode”

Welcome to The Nightcrawler — a weekly newsletter from Eric Markowitz covering tech, innovation, and long-term thinking.

Collage featuring a microchip, an illustration of an armored figure, and text: "The NIGHTCRAWLER." Background includes blue grids and binary code, invoking the power of a digital god.

Business

The trillion-dollar AI race to create “Digital God”

Welcome to The Nightcrawler — a weekly newsletter from Eric Markowitz covering tech, innovation, and long-term thinking.

Abstract image featuring a blue-toned sphere with grid patterns above an orange-toned depiction of a cyclist amidst technical drawings, evoking the principle of golden marginal gains.

The Long Game

The golden strategy of stacked “marginal gains”

For extraordinary long-term success in business we can look to insights from British Olympic cycling, Roger Federer and neuroeconomics.