Category Archives: Philosophy

If you give a kid a rule without an explanation for its purpose then she is likely to ignore it when you aren’t looking. Kids are smart and they know that “because I said so” is a lame reason. “Because … Continue reading →

I should print this on cards and hand them out whenever I see someone on our team bending over backward to save a tiny bit of money. When I started Alien Skin I had absolutely no money but I did … Continue reading →

I saw Dan Ariely speak at a Duke University event and loved it. His work reveals how our decision making is often not in our best interest. This is part of the new behavioral economics field. Marketers use this knowledge against … Continue reading →

Yesterday I got a call from one of the well known catalogs that sells computer hardware and software. I interrupted the sales pitch and politely asked the caller to take me off of their list so I wouldn’t get any more sales … Continue reading →

In his farewell address George Washington didn’t say those exact words, but his message was pretty clearly, “beware of foreign entanglements.” Right on, brother, and it applies to business too! The lure of collaboration, especially with larger companies, is that the other … Continue reading →

I am a big fan of profit sharing. We use a percentage of our profit for bonuses to all the employees. Bonuses are based on each person’s effectiveness in the recent quarter, not salary. The goal is to align everyone’s … Continue reading →