Articles written AS

Liber Liber Rex

I was once told that contracts exist not because of a lack of trust between the parties of a contract, but as a statement of the trust between the parties. Strange, but it seems true. Let’s imagine you’re entering into a business relationship with someone who emphatically promises you that you don’t need a contract because they’re fully trustworthy and that it would only complicate the relationship. You may see immediately where this might be problematic, but let’s pretend it’s not obvious.

January 21, 2022

Garrett Dailey

The Free King

Let’s use King as a stand-in for singular leadership here- you can replace King with President, CEO, Prime Minister, or just leader in general as you see fit. I like King because there’s a particular sort of ownership and a greater degree of inseparability from the people than you find with Presidents, who are eminently replaceable. Consider the myth of the Fisher King, who, as a result of a wound, is made lame, and his kingdom withers in kind.

May 21, 2021

Garrett Dailey

A Picture of Health

I want you to ask yourself a question:What does health look like?Who are the healthiest people you know? There are a number of different forms of health here: physically, mentally, spiritually, financially, interpersonally, artistically. (If you have any other types, please send them in, I’d love the input).

May 1, 2021

Garrett Dailey

Like-Life: Business, Hierarchy, and Holons

“Arthur Koestler coined the term “holon” to refer to an entity that is itself a whole and simultaneously a part of some other whole…"

February 17, 2021

Garrett Dailey

Chaos in a Red and White Hat

“It turns out that an eerie type of chaos can lurk just behind a facade of order- and yet, deep inside the chaos lurks an even eerier type of order.”-Douglas R. Hofstadter

February 14, 2021

Garrett Dailey

Enemy of The Good

Until recently, I was of the opinion that the ideal attitude towards the world was to accept that perfection was impossible but to strive for it anyway. This sounded good to me in theory, but I realized that as a result that you’re consistently measuring yourself against an untouchable standard, and thus you’re going to be persistently failing. That in and of itself isn’t actually so bad, if you can get down with the concept of AIΩN AΓΩN, but it becomes a problem when you’re dealing with systems. How come?

February 10, 2021

Garrett Dailey

To Tread in the Place of Uncertainty

There is an ancient Indian parable that tells a story about perception:A group of blind men heard that a strange animal, called an elephant, had been brought to the town, but none of them were aware of its shape and form. Out of curiosity, they said: "We must inspect and know it by touch, of which we are capable". In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man rides the elephant...

February 7, 2021

Garrett Dailey

Wicked Problems and the Edge of the Blade

The world is presented with such a staggering array of choices- consider the notion that for most of human history, basically no one would ever have been asked “what do you want to be when you grow up?” If your dad was a farmer, you were either going to farm or join the profession of the hungry. Humans are not great at choosing. Once we get over seven or so things to choose from, we start making bad decisions and regretting our choices.(Yes, this is at least partially about trying to choose what to watch on Netflix, if you hadn’t guessed.) In design thinking, there’s a pair of concepts called diverging and converging thought:

Articles written AS

Liber Liber Rex

The Idiot and The Psychopath

The Free King

A Picture of Health

Like-Life: Business, Hierarchy, and Holons

Chaos in a Red and White Hat

Enemy of The Good

To Tread in the Place of Uncertainty

Wicked Problems and the Edge of the Blade