Dear Reader, It's been a week of working on some big initiatives, from reviewing last minute submissions to the Non-Obvious Book Awards to putting together my annual Non-Obvious Holiday Gift Guide (email me if you have any great suggestions!) to getting ready for our launch of Future Words next month. Lots in progress, not as much to share or launch quite yet. Of course, we still have stories! In this week's newsletter, you'll read about some combined thoughts I've been having about how AI...
8 days ago • 8 min read
Dear Reader, Last night in DC thanks to the wonderful team at CadreDC, I was able to listen in to an engaging discussion as part of Adam Grant's book tour for Vibe where he shared stories of making human connections more easily. The biggest takeaway for me was to stop putting so much pressure on ourselves to make new friends and just work on creating (or joining) more moments of serendipity. You don't need to be an extrovert. Just create a language for yourself to have more interesting...
15 days ago • 9 min read
Dear Reader, It's been a busy week with three book launch events for author friends followed by a quick day in NY for Advertising Week and now one more speaking gig today before heading home. It's also one month to go before Future Words comes out so it's going to be a fun October! For stories this week, we'll start with a look at a few trends that stood out from Advertising Week, an inside look at the world's fastest growing race and what it can teach you about the upside of being boring and...
22 days ago • 8 min read
Dear Reader, Is October the month to go sober? There may be a trend within the trend of people avoiding alcohol, which is just the kind of story I love to surface in the newsletter. You'll read about that, as well as some lessons on standing up for something from the unexpected combination of two stories. There were also half a dozen stories about new AI assistants that may signal a new sort of unavoidable help that will be baked into all the services that we use. The featured future word of...
29 days ago • 5 min read
Dear Reader, In this week's newsletter, you'll read about YouTube's big announcement, a new book about the history and future of disruption, how Chipotle landed on the most on-trend marketing strategy today, why so many brands are rethinking self-checkout and bonus stories about mapping a fruit fly brain, buying Canadian and why dating apps are being replaced by mahjong. Enjoy the stories this week and stay curious! Rohit Did you get this email forwarded to you? Subscribe here » This Week's...
about 1 month ago • 6 min read
Dear Reader, I spent the day yesterday with Insights professionals who help their organizations see what's coming and understand the results of data, research, focus groups and surveys. The big question at the heart of my talk was all about influence and how we get leaders to listen. The business world is full of expertise that falls upon deaf ears. What does it take as a professional to command the sort of respect where people pay attention to your recommendations? In my keynote, I shared...
about 1 month ago • 7 min read
Dear Reader, Greetings from Austin, Texas! I'm here speaking at PerspECCtives as the Fall conference season is officially upon us. If you're in the DC area, I do have a talk coming up in two weeks for senior IT professionals and there are a few open registration spots left. Other cities I'll be in over the next two months are Chicago, NY, Toronto, LA, Punta Cana (DR) and Tampa. If you're in any of those and want to join a non-obvious gathering, hit reply and let me know. For stories this...
about 2 months ago • 8 min read
Dear Reader, Are we losing the ability to wonder? In a world filled with easy answers, we all need to discover places where we can engage our curiosity without immediate gratification. Labor Day weekend is one of the busiest travel times of the year in America and whether you're heading somewhere or just staying local, this week we just launched an idea that might inspire you to go out and engage find your own places to wonder. The Unwondering Project is a curated collection of fascinating...
about 2 months ago • 8 min read
Dear Reader, Robots running full speed into walls, chai (not chai tea!!) in India, why we judge illegal things to be less moral and dispatches from one of the world's quirkiest car shows are all part of what you'll find in this week's curated collection of the non-obvious. In other exciting personal news, after months of effort gathering content, strategizing and building, I relaunched my website! A few features that are now (finally) online include a keynote speaking section with customized...
2 months ago • 7 min read