The Unlock Archives

An older man in a suit stands in front of a large bookcase filled with books, pondering life's limit situations.

3 ways “limit situations” can help you prepare for the worst

When Star Trek’s Captain Picard and The Office’s Dwight Schrute channel philosopher Karl Jaspers, we can all benefit.

A person in a suit embodies the Five Ps—poise, precision, performance, presentation, and passion—as they play a trumpet and hold a cloth against a plain background.

Why great communicators listen to the music of “The Five Ps”

Radically improve your work-life speaking and presentation skills with a technique used by musicians and brand-name politicians.

A bee with pollen on its legs hovers near a pink flower, casting a spell of psychological magic against the clear blue sky.

Business

How to embrace “psychological magic” to be more creative

Welcome to The Nightcrawler — a weekly newsletter from Eric Markowitz covering tech, innovation, and long-term thinking.

Fifteen colorful emoji faces on a textured background, each capturing different moods like joy, anger, sadness, and surprise.

Business

Heidegger’s “mood theory” explains why you do anything at all

You’re a moody person. You have to be — because understanding moods philosophically can be crucial to your work-life.

View from below of tall trees with lush green leaves against a clear blue sky, with sunlight peeking through the branches.

Business

10 lessons I learned in 2024

Welcome to The Nightcrawler — a weekly newsletter from Eric Markowitz covering tech, innovation, and long-term thinking.

In this striking black and white portrait, a young person with short hair gazes with a serene resolve, their face half in shadow, as if to remind us all to go grudge-free.

Business

Go grudge-free: Use the “Weil method” to deal with insults

We have it in our power to forgive a debt — and learning to use this power in the workplace can be golden.

A pink brain shaped like a heart with rays emanating from it against a black background.

Emotional intelligence: The 4 domains of high performance

“Self-awareness, it’s the least visible part of emotional intelligence, but we find in our research that people low in self-awareness are unable to develop strengths very well in other parts of emotional intelligence.”

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8 min

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with

Daniel Goleman

Business

What long-term investors can learn from John Keats

Welcome to The Nightcrawler — a weekly newsletter from Eric Markowitz covering tech, innovation, and long-term thinking.

Close-up of a weathered wooden utility pole, marked with the number "2," standing resolute against cloudy skies—a testament to the enduring habits of nature and time.

Business

How the “two-day rule” can make your daily work-life much easier

This supremely simple hack can help you establish good habits, break bad ones, and guard against failure.

A classical marble statue's head embodies Roman resilience, adorned with an orange construction helmet against a teal background.

Business

What we can learn about resilience from the Pantheon

Welcome to The Nightcrawler — a weekly newsletter from Eric Markowitz covering tech, innovation, and long-term thinking.

In a split image, Taleb's surgeon stands confidently alongside two diverse medical professionals: a woman in a hijab and a woman with glasses, each wearing stethoscopes.

Business

How “Taleb’s Surgeon” redefines what expertise looks like

The truly talented are those who got to where they are despite preconceived expectations.

Collage featuring an excavator, the ChatGPT interface, financial figures, and text that reads "The Nightcrawler," all woven into abstract design elements that subtly hint at playing the long game.

Business

How to win the long game: Fight unfair fights

Welcome to The Nightcrawler — a weekly newsletter from Eric Markowitz covering tech, innovation, and long-term thinking.

A man and woman stand by a wooden fence. The man leans on the fence, smiling, while the woman, focused on better productivity, holds a sickle and looks at him, wearing a headdress and shawl.

Business

Grasp “essentially contested concepts” for smoother productivity

Do you always act professionally in the workplace? Depends what you mean by “professional.”

A collage featuring a partial face overlaid with "I Voted" stickers alongside the text "The Night Crawler," embodying the relentless drive reminiscent of a Zuckerberg mantra.

Business

Mark Zuckerberg’s 4 steps to approach life

Welcome to The Nightcrawler — a weekly newsletter from Eric Markowitz covering tech, innovation, and long-term thinking.

Two men in suits sit at a table looking stressed; one leans back with his head tilted upwards, and the other covers his face with his hand. The scene hints at the consequences of relying on the McNamara fallacy. A blurred glass pitcher is visible in the foreground.

Business

The “McNamara fallacy”: When data leads to the worst decision

Don’t make the mistake of blindly following quantitative metrics — whether you’re helping clients or looking for lunch.

Collage with a hand holding a pen, hand grasping a light bulb for idea generation, and graphs depicting optimization.

Business

How to create an “idea generation assembly line”

Welcome to The Nightcrawler — a weekly newsletter from Eric Markowitz covering tech, innovation, and long-term thinking.

The image shows the words "Organizational Friction" in bold white text on a black background with red arrows crossing over them.

Why ‘friction thinkers’ see hidden opportunities first

“When we face a problem, our natural tendency is to race ahead – but some friction is actually a good thing.”

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7 min

—

with

Bob Sutton

Three versions of a buttercup flower: left is yellow in visible light, middle is pinkish in ultraviolet, and right is colorless in infrared—a glimpse into the diverse sensory umwelt surrounding us.

Business

How “umwelt” can make you more creative and productive

If you’re out on a walk, you will see a different world than your dog, a bee, or an ant. Here are three reasons why that matters.

Collage featuring a person sleeping at a desk, a hand holding a hotel bell, and sharks. The title "The Night Crawler" appears at the top.

Business

The thrill is in the hunt — not just the victory

Welcome to The Nightcrawler — a weekly newsletter from Eric Markowitz covering tech, innovation, and long-term thinking.

Illustration of two human silhouettes facing each other with neural connections and nodes, featuring the text "BORN AND MADE" on a green background.

6 key abilities of strategic thinkers (you can learn them)

“I’m often asked: “Are great strategic thinkers born, or are they made?” And my answer is always yes. Like so many human capabilities, it’s a mixture of nature, nurture and experience.”

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7 min

—

with

Michael D. Watkins