Performant Mental Health, The Series — “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.” Contrary to popular belief Plato probably didn’t coin this phrase. Rather, Rev. John Watson (pen name Ian MacLaren) is believed to have championed the oft-quoted maxim starting in the late 1800s.¹ The original wording is slightly different: “Be pitiful…

Performant Mental Health, The Series — Editor’s note: COVID-19 was hardly on the map when we began writing this series. Today the Coronavirus is top of mind for nearly everyone. While this series isn’t focused on COVID-19 exclusively, we feel it’s important to provide resources to help you care for your mental health during this global…

Performant Mental Health, The Series — We’re so glad you’re here. 💛 Anxiety. Depression. Stress. Uncertainty. Sleeplessness. Isolation. Mental health and mental illness are tough subjects to talk about, especially in the midst of a global pandemic. Like the emotionally charged debate about how to pronounce GIF¹ (“gif” or “jif”?) there is much debate about mental…

Editor’s note: The information contained in this series is based on reputable medical studies, training and knowledge gained supporting others, and the authors’ own personal experience. However, we advise readers to call a crisis hotline or seek professional help to address their unique personal circumstances. If you or someone you…

Recently I had the opportunity to present “When We Align” at Front Conference in Salt Lake City. I shared three axioms for aligning teams: unity over uniformity, chemistry over culture, and people over process. At the end of my remarks I emphasized the human component of these axioms by sharing…

Here’s how I handle it. — If there’s one principle that has guided my time usage as an adult, it is this: Work expands or contracts to fill whatever time it’s allotted. If you give a task 3 hours, it will take 3 hours. If you give it 3 days, it will take 3 days. If…

This week I had the privilege of speaking to design students at two universities about my career. Here are some of the things I shared, most of which were answers to their questions. 1. The greatest output of your careers will be relationships. When you and I are sitting on…

Instead of culture, let’s talk about chemistry in the workplace. — Disclaimer: I’m just as guilty of referencing ‘culture’ when describing teams, workplaces, and companies. Recently I’ve grown unsettled with the term. I offer a replacement: chemistry. Culture = similar things Culture suggests amalgamation and assimilation of similar things that begin similar or evolve to become similar. Historically when describing societies, it generally refers to…

The Boss shares how to boss — or rather how to become one. — Years ago as a high school student I was driving to school and Bruce Springsteen came on the radio. Except he wasn’t singing. He was answering questions from a local radio host. At some point in the interview, Springsteen shared an uncanny observation about parents, paraphrased as best as I…