Conversation Agent - Valeria Maltoni

How Enemies Make Better Allies than Frenemies

There are all kinds of ways we can make changes to our jobs and lives to make them more meaningful and motivating, and still make us more effective. Intuitively, we know that going with our flow, using our strengths to work on things we are suited for is the best way to make an impact. But we often have a hard time figuring out where to start claiming that freedom. The first step in developing originality is to recognize the leading role our environment plays in finding good ideas, along with facilitating healthy dynamics as we explore new domains while... Read more →

Sunk Costs and Idea Debt

We typically think about concepts like sunk costs and debt in relation to economics -- a cost we incurred and cannot be recuperated, and an obligation to pay or render something to someone. Which shows how strongly financial metaphors have permeated our culture. Rarely we think of them when it comes to ideas. Yet, it is a useful exercise. Good ideas hatch in different environments and evolve through very diverse, sometimes even counter-intuitive paths. But while there may not be an ideal length of incubation, the longer we delay going from ideas to reality, the less we learn about what... Read more →

How Small Shifts Make a Big Difference

When it comes to transformation, we typically imagine changes that take effect quickly, or take us by surprise. We also often discuss the outcomes looking back, thus condensing months, even years-worth of sustained work into a short narrative. But looking at the past doesn't give us a good measure of what could happen in the future. In Superforecasting: The Art and Science of Prediction, Philip Tetlock and Dan Gardner say open mindedness, flexibility and an ability to move quickly between different viewpoints is essential to good forecasting. This breathtaking video is a good example of how small shifts in viewpoint... Read more →

How Frustration can Make us More Creative

Mistakes happen, things don't go the way we'd like them to -- or they are supposed to, as planned. What then? Letting go of how we expect things to be in that moment is the best antidote to ruining our day. If there is anything we can learn from the story that follows is that there is potentially tremendous upside in doing so as well. Late in January 1975, a 17-year-old German girl called Vera Brandes walked out onto the stage of the Cologne Opera House. The auditorium was empty. It was lit only by the dim, green glow of... Read more →

When Science Fails to Deliver

Fighting over who is right instead of collaborating is not just the domain of business. In fact, companies are learning about the benefits of cooperation and adopting partnerships and alliances as part of their strategies. Scientists however are still bent on getting the upper hand on their research and have a hard time engaging in what some researchers termed “adversarial collaboration.” A recent story on the bitter fight over the benefits of bilingualism caught my eye, because I am bilingual, that is I speak, write, read, and understand at least two languages with a high degree of proficiency. Fully fluent,... Read more →

Revisiting the "Growth Mindset"

It is probably one of the most-quoted books in the last ten years. And for good reasons. It has helped us make sense of the differences between intelligence and smart thinking, and how growth as a mindset is a likely path for building grit, but, as Angela Duckworth said, we do need more: The correlation isn't perfect, but this suggests to me that one of the things that makes you gritty is having a growth mind-set. The attitude “I can get better if I try harder” should help make you a tenacious, determined, hard-working person. In theory, the work that... Read more →

Why Did Cleantech Fail? Broader Lessons for Business

Technology is growing exponentially, and so is our need to store the digital data we generate through use. Whether we use the cloud or not, somewhere there are physical centers that store our data. Facebook, for example, has four data centers in Oregon, Iowa, North Carolina, Sweden, and has plans to build a fifth in Texas, and a sixth ten miles from Dublin. These facilities typically house computer systems and associated components# -- such as telecommunications and storage systems. They generally include redundant or backup power supplies, redundant data communications connections, environmental controls like air conditioning and fire suppression, and... Read more →

Developing Trust through Connection

Purpose is something we each find in different ways. It comes from inside ourselves. We connect with it when we trust ourselves, our skills, our ability to make decisions, to use what we know and build upon it as we do things, and the sense that we can communicate and connect with others. Many people who look to the outdoors to find peace of mind. As a lifer long-distance runner, I do prefer getting outside to a treadmill -- there is more space to let thoughts go, but we should be mindful of being present to that moment as well.... Read more →

Being Right all the Time

“(...) being right all the time acquires a huge importance in education, and there is this terror of being wrong. The ego is so tied to being right that later on in life you are reluctant to accept that you are ever wrong, because you are defending not the idea but your self-esteem. (...) this terror of being wrong means that people have enormous difficulties in changing ideas.” [Edward de Bono] Dr. de Bono developed the concept and tools of lateral thinking, which has had a major impact on the way we think. His specific contribution has been to put... Read more →

How to Stamp Out Creativity

We've all had experiences of environments that were not conducive to creative thinking. For starters, a good indication is the lack of enthusiasm in the air, which is heavy with rules and reactionary behaviors. John Cleese suggests they are the result of operating in closed mode vs. the open mode that welcomes creative thought. They are the workplaces where people feel the least engaged. Gallup says this makes up 70 percent of the workforce in the U.S. Gallup also found that “One in two U.S. adults said they left their job to get away from their manager -- and improve... Read more →