Designs may ‘speak for themselves,’ but do they tell the whole story? — Let me get something out of the way: I’m not a designer. Instead, I’m the person they reach out to for help explaining their design philosophy, writing compelling case studies, and developing their personal brand. Over the past 5 years, I’ve worked with everyone from UX designers crafting experiences used…

Brainstorming sucks. Until you try S.U.C.K. — When you put a group of smart, driven people in a room together, great ideas are bound to happen. At least that’s what we’d like to believe. Unfortunately, brainstorming sessions don’t always work out as planned. In fact, they usually suck the life out of ideas, energy, and motivation. The…

Take the fear out of writing. — Of all the skills you could attribute to high-performers–motivation, tenacity, creativity–writing rarely makes the list. Yet, it doesn’t matter whether you’re leading a team, launching a newsletter, or building a personal brand, good writing is a superpower. As Dave Girouard, CEO of Upstart and former President of Google Apps explains: …

Even the smallest missteps in the early stages can derail your project. — When you’re heads-down working on a huge project, it’s easy to forget that the smallest things can sometimes have the biggest impact on your success. Let’s say you’re working for NASA and your job is to get a rocket to the moon (no biggie, right?) But during your pre-launch checklist…

Why every lost customer is a chance to get better and grow faster — When you’re trying to grow your business it’s easy to get CATV-customer acquisition tunnel vision. Acquiring new customers is sexy. It’s exciting. And it makes you feel good because more people want what you’ve made. But what happens when those users decide they want to leave? The majority of advice…

The easiest way to ruin a project is to never stop working on it — There’s a saying in the music industry that the easiest way to ruin a song is to keep working on it. Add enough effects, extra guitar parts, or more cowbell, and you’ll turn Woody Guthrie into Guns N’ Roses. Knowing when a piece of art is “done” is subjective and…

We’re living through one of the most distracting moments in history. Here’s how you can set up your home, schedule, and habits to regain your focus. — There’s no denying that we’re living through uncertain times. The spread of COVID-19 has forced more people than ever to adapt to working from home. Along with relearning how to communicate and collaborate when you’re not in the office one thing is becoming painfully clear: Home is rarely a distraction-free…

Treat your losses as an opportunity to improve your chances of winning in the future — Not every project goes as planned. And while it’s great to celebrate your wins, the best teams (and project managers!) know it’s just as important to dig into your failures and capture lessons learned. Unfortunately, when a project fails, the last thing most people want to do is dig into…

The essential skills you need to lead your team. — What’s the difference between a project manager and a project leader? If you’ve ever gone hunting for a definitive answer to this question, you probably ended up disappointed. Depending on your company’s size, policies, and management, these terms might be used interchangeably or they might signify wildly different roles. Leadership is a hot topic in every part of a growing business…