The Difference Between Being Efficient & Effective

Why Being Effective is Better Than Efficient These days it seems everyone is obsessed with efficiency. Everyone wants to squeeze more out of their limited 24-hour day. But what they really want is to be more productive – and productivity is more a function of being effective than being efficient. Defining Effectiveness and Efficiency Examine the definitions[…]

The Real Reason People Hate Marketing

Why People Hate Marketing Not everyone hates marketing, but many people do hate marketing quite a bit. Why? People don’t hate marketing because it’s impersonal. People don’t hate marketing because it’s an interruption. In fact, people don’t even hate marketing because the “message” doesn’t “speak to them.” People hate marketing because it’s often mis-targeted. In[…]

Why You Should Become a Generalist (Not a Specialist)

Economic Specialization: My Background Back in my undergrad days at UC San Diego, I majored in Management Science (basically a more math-heavy version of Economics). Eventually in my senior year, I became a teaching assistant in my department. This always made me feel important, because UCSD’s Econ Dept is Top 10 in the nation – and[…]

Mobile Detect: When @media queries aren’t enough

Lightweight PHP Class for Detecting Mobile Devices Today I came across a fantastic, lightweight PHP class for detecting mobile devices. It’s called Mobile Detect, and you can download it here: http://mobiledetect.net/ The use case from today involved swapping in a lighter-weight slider element on mobile, while allowing a heavier-weight slider to render on desktop. Media queries and[…]

JumbleThink Podcast Episode 27 – Steven Fies

My Chat With Michael Woodward on Jumble Think Many thanks to Michael Woodward, producer of the JumbleThink podcast, for interviewing me during Episode 27. Michael is a fellow entrepreneur, designer, thinker, and influencer. It was a lot of fun doing this podcast with him. During the podcast we discussed everything from business to emotional intelligence, and touched on[…]