“Greed is a game played with logic only and no morals.” Scarlett Thomas.

I spotted a few books in Borders recently that dealt with clinical techniques to achieve various ends without dealing with the moral aspects: How to get women, How to win wars, How to get power…

I can’t remember the author unfortunately. And subsequent visits to Border yielded no illumination. If you do please share it below.

Anyway, …

“Collectivist cultures, like Japan and other Confucian nations, value social harmony more than any one person’s happiness.”

“Individualistic cultures, like the United States, value personal satisfaction more than communal harmony.”

From Eric Weiner’s book The Geography of Bliss: One Grump’s Search For The Happiest Places In The World. ISBN 978-0-446-69889-4.

Similarly, individuals and businesses have cultures that are more towards one type or the other. This is probably where the …

The hedonic treadmill describes the process where we all eventually adapt to a pleasurable event like winning the lottery. Over time, the pleasure we get from it will decrease.

With two exceptions.

“Studies have found that we never really get used to loud noises, despite prolonged exposure” so we continue to be irritated by loud noises because we simply cannot adapt to them.

And…

“Women who get breast implants never tire …

“As E.F. Schumacher said ‘The richer the society, the more difficult it becomes to do worthwhile things without immediate payoff.’ … In a wealthy , industrialized society, … we are discouraged from doing anything that isn’t productive.” Eric Weiner in his book The Geography of Bliss: One Grump’s Search For The Happiest Places In The World. ISBN 978-0-446-69889-4.

Put another way, the wealthier we become, the less we value …

“We measure what is easiest to measure, not what really matters to most people’s lives.” Eric Weiner in his book The Geography of Bliss: One Grump’s Search For The Happiest Places In The World. ISBN 978-0-446-69889-4.

He was referring to our collective use of a single economic measure to determine a country’s worth – GDP or Gross National Produce.

“GDP is simply the sum of all goods and services a …

“Trust is a prerequisite for happiness. … Several studies, in fact, have found that trust – more that income or even health – is the biggest factor in determining our happiness.”

From Eric Weiner’s book The Geography of Bliss: One Grump’s Search For The Happiest Places In The World. ISBN 978-0-446-69889-4.

Are you building and practicing trust within your business?

Buy now from Amazon:
The Geography of Bliss: One …

The current generation of consumers are more likely to be looking down on an interactive handheld device, and not up at a television or a billboard (or even down at a magazine or newspaper).

And yet, most ad agencies still seem to be focusing on “above the line” channels like television, print and billboards; with barely a glance at digital/interactives. More often than not (from my observations and talking …

In a brainstorming session, authenticity, immediacy, free-association (without censoring), and a general willing and open atmosphere to entertain all (and I mean ALL) possibilities are essential.

Here’s a real life example:

I was in a brainstorming session with a pet supplies retailer a few months ago.

I was doing my usual no-holds-barred let everything in my head out.

Someone said – “don’t you have a cat?” I said flippantly “oh no, I’ve …

I saw this unfortunate shopfront last weekend. It was a brand new CD shop in a brand new shopping centre on Orchard Road in Singapore.

The “Breakable Glass Pls Do Not Sit” sign jumped out like the sore thumb. The funky but hard-to-read word “Titanium” (I think) does not help matters.

This is a great example of design happening in a void. Design that is divorced from …

“Playfulness is the hallmark of any great human activity; it inspires innovation and change, and it nourishes the mind as well as the body.” From The Think Big Manifesto by Michael Port.

The biggest killer to play is (fear of) judgement and disapproval. External and self judgements, the latter being the hardest to mitigate and manage.

The biggest thing any creative person can learn is to not need anyone else’s …