Blog Posts

Early reviewers of my upcoming book, The Code, often ask about the abundance of footnotes: 525 of them in my most recent release. The point is to show I’m on solid ground. I make grand, sweeping claims about human nature, boiling everything about what we think, say, and do into five fundamental laws. If someone […]

Reporter lady got me thinking I should do a quick post revealing my “elite one thousand.” These are the people whose early work revealed The Code: the five fundamental laws of human nature. Who are they? Not the obvious candidates. Not the philosophers, the scientists, the self-help gurus, the therapists, the great business leaders, the

A month ago I spoke at TED, a global academic forum for “Ideas Worth Spreading.” Speakers get eighteen minutes to present a world-changing idea, and I presented The Code. I talked about the fact that less than a thousand experts know The Code’s five laws, despite the fact that all seven billion of us live

Years ago, researchers did a study that separated residents of a nursing home into two groups of equal age and condition. Then they gave each of these nursing home residents a houseplant. Half were told they were in control of the plant’s care and feeding. Researchers called this group the “high control” group. The high

I heard a joke that said, “You only need two tools in life: WD-40 and duct tape. If it doesn’t move and should, use the WD-40. If it shouldn’t move and does, use the duct tape.” There’s something to this redneck wisdom. We get stuck. Things should be moving, changing, progressing. If they aren’t, a

Last month I had the privilege to deliver an 18-minute talk at a TEDx event at Tacoma’s Museum of Glass. My topic: The Code. Here’s a link to the video, finally published to the TED site. I hope you enjoy it! Erik Van Alstine’s TED Talk    

A few years ago I read Julian Simon’s book, The Ultimate Resource. What is the ultimate resource? You can’t find it digging the hills. But you can find it in the mirror. “The ultimate resource,” writes Simon, “is skilled, spirited, hopeful people who will exert their wills and imaginations for their own benefit as well

As I help people solve problems and get things done, I always find my way back to the idea of irreducible simplicity – that point of balance where a solution is as simple as it can be, yet not too simplistic. Irreducible simplicity is the simplest a solution can be and still actually work. No

Here’s a recent story about my Code Transformation program that I thought you’d enjoy. It captures the heart of what I’m trying to accomplish with the Code as a workplace empowerment program. Why aren’t we better at solving problems and getting things done? “If we really want solid answers,” says entrepreneur, engineer, and author Erik

We’re only one week away from TEDx Tacoma, where I will be speaking on the transformation principles in my book and workplace empowerment program, The Code: Unlocking New Power to Solve Problems and Get Things Done. Speaking at TED is a dream come true. For years, I have enjoyed the thought leadership encapsulated in these