Clayton Christensen on why it’s hard for companies to innovate – and why it’s so rare that companies pull it off: “Never does an idea pop out of a person’s head as a completely fleshed-out business plan. It has to go through a process that will get approved and funded. You’re not two weeks into…more

Clayton Christensen’s Innovation Brain – interesting that he puts limits on the iPhone’s true success possibility: “The iPhone is a sustaining technology relative to Nokia. In other words, Apple is leaping ahead on the sustaining curve [by building a better phone]. But the prediction of the theory would be that Apple won’t succeed with the…more

Notes from The 4-hour Workweek

[](http://www.amazon.com/4-Hour-Workweek-Escape-Live-Anywhere/dp/0307353133/bobdesigns-20/)Tim Ferriss thinks that you can work your job four hours a week, from anywhere in the world, still make enough money to live luxuriously, and do it for your entire life. Sound good to you? Me too. His book, [_The 4-Hour Workweek_](http://www.amazon.com/4-Hour-Workweek-Escape-Live-Anywhere/dp/0307353133/bobdesigns-20/), explains the ways that he and other “New Rich” (NR) have escaped…more

Morning and evening commutes

On the morning commute, I listened to [Doug Pagitt’s Sanctuary talk](http://sanc.info/sermons/mp3/070610_dpagitt.mp3), where he talked about BodyPrayer, which incorporates movement and body position in prayer. On the evening commute, I watched David LaChapelle’s _[Rize](http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Rize/70024103)_ ([trailer](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0efEID-uCtE)), where kids from South Central L.A. cite dance as the thing that saved them from gangs and gave them community, and…more

Notes from War Photographer

_War Photographer_ ([Netflix](http://www.netflix.com/Movie/War_Photographer/60032414), [Amazon](http://www.amazon.com/War-Photographer-James-Nachtwey/dp/B0000C825I/bobdesigns-20/)) is the story of [James Nachtwey](http://www.google.com/search?q=james+nachtwey), a [photographer](http://www.jamesnachtwey.com/) of wars, famine, and poverty for over 20 years who [recently received the 2007 TED Prize](http://www.ted.com/index.php/pages/view/id/101) ([acceptance speech](http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/84)). Despite his life in extreme situations and places, Nachtwey reminds me in many ways of Mr. Rogers, one of my heroes. His personality and even…more

Doug Pagitt at Sanctuary – “Second-order faith”: to talk about your faith. Real Christianity is lived; reflecting on it, talking about it, and hearing about it are secondary activities.

Things Stefan Sagmeister has learned

The self-described “compulsive list-maker” shared these in [his talk at TED in 2004](http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/50). * Complaining is silly. Either act or forget. * Thinking life will be better in the future is stupid, I have to live now. * Being not truthful works against me. * Helping other people helps me. * Organizing a charity group…more

Article on how children aren’t allowed to run free anymore – I was thinking about this while reading Calvin and Hobbes last night; Calvin, of course, runs free all over the place, as did I growing up. It was great. The report “warns that the mental health of 21st-century children is at risk because they…more

Smashing The Clock – “At most companies, going AWOL during daylight hours would be grounds for a pink slip. Not at Best Buy. The nation’s leading electronics retailer has embarked on a radical–if risky–experiment to transform a culture once known for killer hours and herd-riding bosses. The endeavor, called ROWE, for “results-only work environment,” seeks…more