by david allan van nostrand | Apr 27, 2020 | How to tell good research from bad, Using Information
Long before the Europeans came, the Iroquois tribe lived across most of New York, Pennsylvania, and Eastern Canada. Like most societies, they had a creation story. “They swam to the Great Turtle, master of all the animals, who at once called a council. When all the...
by david allan van nostrand | Apr 20, 2020 | Gatekeepers, Leadership, Surveys
I was once asked to oversee data collection for a survey sponsored by one of the world’s largest and most well-respected Non-Governmental Organizations. The data collected would be used by the C-suite to develop goals and objectives and allocate time, people, and...
by david allan van nostrand | Apr 13, 2020 | Artificial Intelligence, Items in the News
You’ve seen and heard many stories about toilet paper shortages. The stories seem real because shelves are empty. The reason shelves are empty is not due to any real scarcity (factories make more than enough for everyone), but instead to several very different...
by david allan van nostrand | Apr 6, 2020 | Leadership, Outsiders, The Myopia of Experts
Every management strategy is a best guess, never perfectly clear or fully confident. Every best guess benefits from insights that challenge, confirm, or contradict existing beliefs. I share the conviction of those who believe one of the key functions of research is to...