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Category: Culture

Police Reform and Systems Design in 5 Clear Points

Posted on June 3, 2020June 8, 2020 in Cultureby Scott Berkun

Patrisse Cullors, co-founder of Black Lives Matter, has said that police culture has long been detached from the needs…

Why Designers Hate Politics (And What To Do About It)

Posted on April 10, 2018May 18, 2021 in Culture, designby Scott Berkun

People who design things for a living depend on optimism. To do their job well, whether it’s designing websites or…

How and Why To Ask Better Questions

Posted on March 27, 2018February 13, 2021 in ask berkun, Cultureby Scott Berkun

On Tuesdays I write about the top voted question on Ask Berkun (see the lovely archive). This week’s question came via email…

The Questions To Ask About The News

Posted on March 13, 2018April 3, 2018 in Cultureby Scott Berkun

On Tuesdays I write about the top voted question on Ask Berkun (see the lovely archive). This week’s question came via email…

The proof that we’re all creative: losing your keys

Posted on March 6, 2018March 6, 2018 in Creative Thinking, Culture, Dance of the Possibleby Scott Berkun

On Tuesdays I write about the top voted question on Ask Berkun (see the lovely archive). This week’s question is from Crysel…

Which is more dangerous: writing badly or reading poorly?

Posted on February 6, 2018February 6, 2018 in ask berkun, Culture, Writing Wellby Scott Berkun

On Tuesdays I generally write about the top voted question on Ask Berkun (see the lovely archive). This week I turned the…

Star Trek and the ideas we must reject to save our future

Posted on January 30, 2018 in ask berkun, Cultureby Scott Berkun

On Tuesdays, I write about the top voted question on Ask Berkun (see the lovely archive). This week’s question came from Ms.…

Does the attention economy make life harder for creatives?

Posted on January 9, 2018March 6, 2019 in ask berkun, Cultureby Scott Berkun

On Tuesdays I write about the top voted question on Ask Berkun (see the lovely archive). This week’s question came from Daniel…

The Last Jedi and Suspension of Disbelief

Posted on December 19, 2017March 3, 2018 in Cultureby Scott Berkun

[There’s no askberkun post today – hope you enjoy this timely essay on films and expectations. There are no…

Why The Right Change Often Feels Wrong

Posted on November 28, 2017December 4, 2022 in ask berkun, Culture, Management, Philosophy, Project Management, Relationshipsby Scott Berkun

On Tuesdays I write about the top voted question on Ask Berkun (see the lovely archive). This week’s question came from J.R.…

Netflix’s updated guide to culture – an analysis & commentary

Posted on June 22, 2017June 22, 2017 in Cultureby Scott Berkun

In 2009 Netflix released a slidedeck outlining their  company culture and I summarized its core themes with commentary in a popular…

On The Quest For Fun

Posted on September 21, 2016September 22, 2016 in Culture, Philosophyby Scott Berkun

Last week I saw Ian Bogost speak at Town Hall Seattle about his new book, Play Anything: The Pleasure…

The 7 Questions For Any Tradition

Posted on August 30, 2016May 24, 2021 in Culture, Philosophyby Scott Berkun

A tradition is simply a custom that has been passed down from one generation to another. Their longevity can…

The Real World of Technology (Book Review)

Posted on August 24, 2016August 24, 2016 in Book reviews, Culture, designby Scott Berkun

Despite our cultural obsession with new technology, we forget that the idea of new technology is old. We also…

Staying Sane In An Insane World 

Posted on July 28, 2016October 17, 2018 in Culture, Philosophyby Scott Berkun

How would you explain the events of this year to someone from the year 2050 who time traveled to…

The Advice Paradox

Posted on September 29, 2015September 29, 2015 in Culture, Philosophyby Scott Berkun

“The ultimate question of any advice, rules, or traditions is, What do you ignore and why? No one can…

The Many Mothers of Invention

Posted on July 8, 2015January 21, 2021 in Creative Thinking, Culture, Innovation, Myths of Innovationby Scott Berkun

[This is an excerpt from chapter 3 of the bestseller, The Myths of Innovation] All the clichés about beginnings…

How does physical fitness help productivity?

Posted on February 17, 2015February 17, 2015 in ask berkun, Cultureby Scott Berkun

Each Tuesday I take the top voted question from readers and answer it.  With 143 votes, this week’s winner was from…

The Paradox of Expertise

Posted on February 4, 2015February 4, 2015 in Cultureby Scott Berkun

A previous essay, Why Smart People Defend Bad Ideas, continues to get feedback, despite the fact that I wrote…

Should you fix or cheat a broken system?

Posted on January 27, 2015March 6, 2021 in ask berkun, Culture, ethicsby Scott Berkun

Each Tuesday I take the top voted question from readers and answer it.  With 146 votes, this week’s winner was from…

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Scott Berkun is the author of eight popular books on creativity, design, leadership and public speaking. You can hire him to speak, ask him a question or follow him on Twitter and Facebook.

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How Design Makes The World

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“Nobody’s better at explaining how the world really works than Scott Berkun.” – Jeffrey Zeldman, co-founder of A List Apart

The Dance of the Possible

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Confessions of a Public Speaker

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About Scott

Scott Berkun is the author of eight popular books on creativity, leadership, philosophy and speaking (more about Scott's background).

You can hire him to speak, ask him a question or follow him on Twitter and Facebook.

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