Nov 3, 2022What Slack and Tennis have in common.I play a lot of tennis. I play singles, doubles, with men, with women and best of all mixed doubles. In a good week, I play 3, 4, 5 or more times. So, even though my view point is purely subjective, I do have a fair number of data points…2 min read2 min read
Jul 7, 2022The Sweet Taste of Humble PieThere is nothing so humbling as trying to take your skills to the next level and realizing that you suck. We live in a braggadocios culture. Social media, especially LinkedIn and Insta, are platforms to tell the world how brave, accomplished and talented everyone is. And yet, we all know…2 min read2 min read
Jun 9, 2022Receiving feedback can be hard but giving feedback can be even harder.Giving feedback is a skill that most have never learned but is possible to master. We have all been in that situation where we blurted out “honest feedback” in a moment of anger and frustration. …2 min read2 min read
Jun 1, 2022Myth: I am just going to get better at x,y,z over time.In this post, I am addressing people primarily working in the knowledge sector. When I talk about my work, I have had some people say, “why bother with personal/professional development. The one and only thing that matters is hard work!” These people believe that development just happens with time. They are right, it might happen. Then again, it might not. Of…2 min read2 min read
May 31, 2022Building psychological safety in a remote workplace — how to and why bother.There is a lot of talk about the importance of psychological safety these days in the workplace. What is psychological safety anyway? It is feeling like you belong, you are valued, you have a voice and you can even ask stupid questions without fear. Unfortunately, building and environment that allows…2 min read2 min read
May 30, 2022Want to get better at strategy? Play tennis.Last week, I got a piece of advice that has dramatically changed my tennis game and shifted my thinking about strategy, in general. The tennis pro suggested that we think about not how we are hitting the ball but how we are receiving the ball. At first I thought that…2 min read2 min read
May 27, 2022The #1 thing we don’t learn in school — how to learn.School teaches us lots of “things” but the one REALLY important thing it does not teach us us how we learn best. Not only is this a problem when you are in school, but this is a REALLY big problem in the workplace where we all need to be learning…2 min read2 min read
May 26, 2022Build soft skills for a hard worldBusiness success in the digital age depends on high level tech talent. But technology workers need more than tech skills. With remote work and increasingly complex undertakings, higher level soft skills like ongoing learning, communication and collaboration have never been in greater demand. Higher level soft skills allow people to…2 min read2 min read
May 25, 2022One phrase you never want to hear from employees.You might be thinking it is, “I’m bored,” or “I hate this place.” The first is passive aggressive, the second (even if overwhelmingly negative) actually has some fire and passion to it. The words you never, ever want to hear are… “why bother.” “Why bother” means that someone has totally…2 min read2 min read
May 24, 2022Unicorns needs unicornsThe success of a company depends on its people. Period. You want employees who are self-motivated, need little nurturing or daily care, who bring personality to the table, add to culture and generally who just “get-it”, not to mention, who get along with others. Imagine… a self-watering plant that flourishes…2 min read2 min read