Blog - Ben Guttmann

What makes a destination look appealing? People, sorta.

We’ve hit the point in the summer where, if you open Instagram, it feels like everybody is on vacation. This couple is in Greece. That old classmate is in Japan. All these photos are beautiful. They all make me want to go everywhere. But as it turns out, the science tells us that some of these photos are more persuasive than others.

August 20, 2024

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Are you laying bricks or building a cathedral?

One day long ago, an architect visited the worksite of his project and saw three bricklayers busy at work. He asked each of them what they were doing. The first worker brusquely replied, “I’m working. I’m laying bricks.”The second cooly answered, “I’m building a wall.” The architect then turned to the last bricklayer, who was the most productive of the bunch.

August 5, 2024

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Two messages that caught my eye

We’ve had the TV on a lot recently. I guess that’s what having a new baby will do – lots of time at home coaxing them to sleep in front of a screen playing something you don’t have to pay all that much attention to. Through all that background noise, I’ve seen two starkly different messages come up again and again that I thought were worth calling out.

July 29, 2024

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Should you use Canva? Or, a meditation on tools

Falling in love with a tool is a dangerous thing. Over and over again, with each technology cycle, I’ve seen people identify themselves with the tools they use instead of the work they do.

July 12, 2024

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Like giving money to a baby

Before we landed on the final outline of Simply Put, I initially had a whole section of the book about simplicity in action. Where did Occam's razor cut the sharpest? One place was with baby bonds.

July 9, 2024

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Bad instructions, bad product?

I currently have a stack of instruction manuals on my desk. More or less any day now, my wife and I are expecting our first baby – and along with endless indescribable joy and an equally endless supply of diapers, babies mean stuff. Lots and lots of stuff. The experience of getting and assembling that stuff has been a mixed bag.

July 1, 2024

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A strategy is a theory, not a plan

I often meet people with a new business, and as we talk, I eventually ask them what their strategy is. And nearly every time, I get back a plan. A plan is a list of things you’re going to do, with some details about how you’ll go about doing them. A strategy is a theory as to why you’ll be successful.

June 24, 2024

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What makes an award matter?

This month, lots of marketing types are descending upon Cannes – and hopefully returning with some shiny new hardware for their office shelves. We all know the Oscars and the Grammys, but industry awards are just as much a tradition in many parts of the economy. There are trophies for everything. But do they mean anything? It depends.

June 15, 2024

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35 things I’ve learned in my 35th year

We’re back around the sun once again for another birthday this week, and I’m back to share a bunch of things I learned during this lap. Just like last year, these aren’t life lessons. Indeed, they’re not really lessons at all. They’re just some fun facts I’ve picked up in my travels.

June 10, 2024

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Lots and lots of invisible gorillas

Would you notice a gorilla entering the room you’re in right now? Are you sure about that? Especially when we’re busy, we’re subject to a phenomenon known as “inattentional blindness,” the ability to miss something right in front of our faces.

May 20, 2024

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Thoughts.