Ethics

Justin on April 12th, 2010

Last week, Chris Penn blogged his 11 Little Secrets to staying happy, healthy, productive and sane.  Fellow bloggers followed suit, turning the idea into a mini-meme. So I’ll bite. Justin Kownacki’s 11 Little Secrets to Being Moderately Successful 1.  Don’t Use Your Job as an Excuse for Not Having a Life. Ideally, you enjoy your [...]

Continue reading about My Own 11 Little Secrets

Justin on April 9th, 2010

Tiger Woods cheated on his wife. We, the morally upstanding public, are supposed to hate him. Michael Vick murdered dogs. We, the morally outraged public, are supposed to hate him. Bernie Madoff made a fortune scamming people. We, the innocent victims, are supposed to hate him. But Tiger Woods is also a dad.  Do we [...]

Continue reading about Do You Hate the Right People?

If you’re good at what you do, (some) people will like it. If you’re really good at what you do, (some) people will hate it. This is good.  It means you’re conveying ideas in a visceral way that makes people react. But if your end goal is to be loved by everyone, it’ll never happen.  [...]

Continue reading about Understanding Your Audience: The Good, the Bad and the Trolls

Lately, I’ve been arguing against the perpetual “us vs. them” method of storytelling because I think it’s ruining our ability (and desire) to understand each other.  Opposing groups have always been quick to condemn “the other,” but the degree to (and zest with) which we do it these days borders on alarming. A few days [...]

Continue reading about We’re All Trolls: 11 Ways We Can Stop Being So Damn Divisive!

Justin on January 27th, 2010

Whether employers are hiring employees, clients are choosing contractors or potential mates are sizing each other up for compatibility, everything boils down to confidence. Employers want to know that they can trust the person they’re paying to get the job done.  Ditto for clients, who need to know they’re in good hands before they relinquish [...]

Continue reading about The Two Kinds of Confidence