Exploring ideas in strategy, management and how organizations really work.
Filing season The federal structure that came into being with the birth of the United States was deliberately constrained on multiple dimensions. The new government did not levy income taxes on individuals, and as a result was funded largely through…
Save yourself Imagine a scenario in which the police arrest two people suspected of collaborating in a crime. They are held in isolation and each promised leniency if they will confess and implicate the other. If both stay mum the…
Mental maps Having been built up over hundreds of years into its current dense and meandering tangle, London’s road network shows few signs of the regularity that characterizes its counterparts in younger countries. Prior to the advent of cheap map…
List price Observers who dig even a little into government policy in areas like tariffs or taxes might note some peculiar features. Regulations are often crafted to provide benefits to a favored constituency, while the corresponding costs are borne by…
It’s what’s inside that counts Most users pay little attention to the innards of their digital devices, focusing entirely on sleek external lines and sharp screens and understanding little to nothing of the circuit boards packed with components that make…
Twin prime day One challenge of certain problems in pure mathematics is that their discussions quickly stray beyond what most people can even comprehend, let alone add to. The starting premise may be elegant and easily described, while the next…
No parking zone Like other major cities, Chicago has several areas with a dense and vital mix of urban features that attract lots of people. Combine this high demand with compact geography and the natural result is scarce on-street parking….
Keep it flowing Heart disease remains the leading cause of death for most people groups around the world, despite significant discoveries that today extend life and even restore patients to full function after events that previously would be unsurvivable. Research…
The everything store 36-year old Jeff Bezos had already made a name for himself as the founder of a promising young technology firm, but in the year 2000 Amazon was just one of many companies storming the frothy capital markets…
Fruit salad Research in Motion was on top of the world. The Canadian technology firm’s keyboard-equipped phones had become a defining part of the corporate zeitgeist. They were standard issue for strivers who could now double-thumb their email responses from…