They Just Don’t Know It Yet In the last year, everyone from schoolkids to retirees has learned a new behavior: click on a link to join a live video call. Behavior change is hard — but once a new behavior is in place, building new technology around it is easy. …

Choice and Meaning in a Scientific Universe — The scientific method is based on determinism — the idea that events in our universe have causes. Things that happen, could not magically have happened otherwise. We’re happy to apply scientific determinism to everything else — just not our own choices. People believe there’s something magical about human decision-making. “I…

How to Decide What You Intend To “I thought you were trying to quit,” I said. Angela was standing the designated 50 feet from the entrance to the office building, cigarette in hand. “I guess I decided I needed it today.” We all make decisions, every day, that go against…

The Trust Problem in B2C Communications I walked into my bank last month, unsure of what to expect. I’d gotten a communication from them about one of my accounts. I assumed it was a phishing scam, but maybe it wasn’t. It’s not safe to call back the number in a…

Leveling the Playing Field for Small Business In the last year, everyone has learned how to use video meetings from their smartphone or computer. Click the link and get face to face — with no SPAM and robocalls. It’s so much better than phone & email. But businesses from large…

And Why They Can’t…. What does a potential customer want, the first time they contact your business? It’s pretty simple. They want a knowledgeable person to listen, understand their problem, and propose a credible solution. That’s it. The faster you can do that, the faster you can win the customer…

One “Ring” to Rule Them All My calendar is full of meeting links. To reach a new person or company, I click on a scheduling link. But these links are doing a small fraction of what they are capable of. A link can do everything a phone number or email…

But Calls and Emails Don’t Think about the last time you tried to contact a new person or company. You sent an email, called a phone number, or filled out a contact form online. And then you wait. Does anybody check that voicemail box? Did the email get eaten by…

How we Squared Up Contact Info In The Innovation Stack, Jim McKelvey tells how he co-founded Square — the mobile payments company now valued at $70+ billion. Making the iconic Square card reader (that plugs into an iPhone) was the easy part. …