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Eric Nehrlich, Unrepentant Generalist

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Man’s Search for Meaning, by Viktor Frankl

Posted on April 14, 2020April 21, 2020 by Eric

Amazon link This book is Frankl’s account of surviving the concentration camps in Nazi Germany, as told from his perspective as a psychiatrist. He readily admits that the conditions were so brutal that every ounce of energy had to be put into survival to even have a chance. He gives the example of earning a […]

Posted in coaching, leadership, nonfiction, stories 5 Comments

Gratitude or Greed?

Posted on September 26, 2019September 26, 2019 by Eric

Last week, I went on a week-long bikepacking tour along the Lost Coast in Humboldt County (pictures here for those interested). For three of those days, we biked along desolate dirt and gravel roads through nearly untouched nature, camping at primitive campsites with no running water (we purified the water from creeks like the picture) […]

Posted in coaching, philosophy, selfdesign, stories 1 Comment

Purpose and meaning

Posted on September 11, 2017September 12, 2017 by Eric

I’ve been having several conversations recently about purpose and meaning, so I thought it was time for me to write a blog post to try to sort out my own fuzzy thoughts on the subject. What does it mean to have a purpose? Do we all have to have a purpose? Do people with a […]

Posted in coaching, design, people, philosophy, selfdesign, stories 6 Comments

Thinking like a Futurist with Jane McGonigal

Posted on October 25, 2016October 25, 2016 by Eric

[n.b. I added a MailChimp subscription link to the sidebar if you want to get email notifications of posts rather than depending on RSS, Facebook or Twitter to see when I update] I’ve been a fan of Jane McGonigal for a decade, after being introduced to her via her Cruel 2 B Kind game in […]

Posted in design, generalist, selfdesign, stories 1 Comment

Choosing Utility over Truth

Posted on September 14, 2016September 14, 2016 by Eric

I have previously discussed on this blog my skepticism about the existence of a single Truth. I’ve been reminded of that in several recent conversations, so I thought I’d revisit that idea again. The most recent example was a conversation on Facebook where a friend linked to a debunking of learning styles, showing that students […]

Posted in coaching, generalist, selfdesign, storiesLeave a comment

Pros and cons of thinking systemically

Posted on November 19, 2015November 19, 2015 by Eric

One of the challenges I have in trying to figure out how to effect change (as discussed in my last post) is that I can’t figure out where to start. And part of the reason for that is that I tend to have a systemic top-level way of thinking about situations. So I see these […]

Posted in generalist, journal, management, stories 1 Comment

Utopian Entrepreneur, by Brenda Laurel

Posted on November 2, 2015November 2, 2015 by Eric

Amazon link A few weeks ago, somebody on Facebook linked to this great long interview with Brenda Laurel who is one of the original interaction designers, developing game designs based on user research. A representative quote from the interview, of her experience teaching game designers now: once [these game designers] talk to real people about […]

Posted in design, nonfiction, storiesLeave a comment

One step at a time

Posted on February 10, 2015February 10, 2015 by Eric

I was helping an entrepreneur friend with his investor pitch last week, and something was bugging me – the pitch didn’t feel right, even though I think the idea is good. He is passionate about how to run a company, so he was describing his philosophy of management in the pitch. And I realized that […]

Posted in marketing, people, storiesLeave a comment

Setting the context

Posted on January 30, 2015January 30, 2015 by Eric

Sometimes I wonder about the value of what I do at Google[ref]To be clear, my manager values the work I do at Google – I just sometimes question myself[/ref]. In the search ads organization where I work, there are hundreds of people building new features and products. And then there’s me wandering around, looking at […]

Posted in generalist, management, stories 1 Comment

The Anthropology of Innovation panel

Posted on September 19, 2012August 20, 2013 by Eric

Last week, the Computer History Museum hosted a panel on “The Anthropology of Innovation”. I had to attend since I’m a fan of anthropology, I’m fascinated by corporate culture and how it leads to goals like innovation, and the panel featured Genevieve Bell of Intel, who Jofish and Janet interned with in Portland one summer. […]

Posted in design, generalist, people, stories, talksLeave a comment

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About me: I'm an unrepentant generalist finding my way in a world of specialists. I started this blog to review books, but I later expanded to write on whatever interested me across a range of topics.

I am also an executive coach, helping leaders become more effective by creating clarity and acting with focus. You can learn more about my coaching at Too Many Trees, or by checking out what I share on LinkedIn around leadership and personal development.

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