aponwao ideas

The Strategy is in the Room: Planning Projects on Human Connection

Smiling woman wearing sunglasses, a gray scarf, and a light jacket stands by the East River with the New York City skyline and the Queensboro Bridge in the background.

  “We build too many walls and not enough bridges.” — Isaac Newton An algorithm looks at a project and sees a set of data points to be optimized; we look at a project and see the complex human dynamics required to make it work. While AI can process information, it cannot capture the implicit lessons […]

Not All Risks Are Created Equal. Risks Relativity and Critical Thinking

A climber, Alex Honnold, in a red shirt ascends a steep, textured cliff face surrounded by lush green forest. The image captures a sense of daring, risk, and adventure.

“There is no adrenaline rush. If I get an adrenaline rush, it means that something has gone horribly wrong.” —Alex Honnold Most people look at a sheer rock face and see an impossible hazard; Alex Honnold looks at it and sees a problem to be solved A View of the Possible Since I was a […]

Behind the Scenes: A Tale of Two Cities

A waterway scene showing Seattle skyline with skyscrapers under a clear blue sky on the left, and colorful, narrow canal houses in Amsterdam reflected in calm water on the right.

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness…” —C. Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities Seattle & Amsterdam in Sync! For Aponwao, this feels uncannily familiar, not in revolutionary France, but in the conditions under which work succeeds or […]