Van Gogh, Kafka, Dickinson, even The Confederacy of Dunces guy — all died feeling they’d failed, only to have huge posthumous impact. What does that say about your purpose? Life After Death In May 1990, the art world let out a collective gasp as a new sale record was set: $82.5 million for…

Fifty-odd years after creeping into our lexicon, “strategy” remains one of the most misused words in business. It shouldn’t be — for at root, it really only means one thing. — Sparking a Revolution In 1965, a little-known Russian-American mathematician and manager named Igor Ansoff published a now out-of-print book called Corporate Strategy — and sparked a revolution in business thinking and practice.

Of all the lessons to be taken from the rise and fall of WeWork— lavishly documented in Apple TV+’s new limited series, WeCrashed — the most striking may be that corporate purpose can be a double-edged sword. Adam Neumann’s articulation of a bold vision for a relatively dull sector inspired…

Ever since Simon Sinek challenged us to “start with WHY”, companies have struggled to find theirs using workshops. Might Silicon Valley’s concepts of “product-market fit” and Lean iteration offer a more promising approach? — In the early days of the Dot Com boom, Sequoia Capital founder Don Valentine gave the world a gift of three little words that have yet to stop giving. “Product-market fit” has come to be seen as the Holy Grail of 21st century business.

Remember flying with liquids, tweezers and no ID? Just as post 9/11 security has become part of modern life, so are COVID work accommodations here to stay. That doesn’t have to hurt. For businesses that accept reality, productivity will increase. — In the weeks after the Twin Towers fell, corporate America wrung its hands. Markets were open and planes were flying, but less frequently and emptier. How much would the precipitous decline in business travel and similar practices hurt output?

This holiday season the world has received its last great gift from The Beatles: a fly-on-the-wall doc of their Let It Be sessions, now on Disney+. Not only does it portray a hardworking band far from breaking up—it’s a master class in how disparate styles can add up to project magic. — In the third season of his Revisionist History podcast, Malcolm Gladwell explored the unreliable nature of human memory. We tend to remember things less as they actually happened, he discovered, than as we first recount them: it’s easier to remember simplified stories than complex realities.