Blog
Stop Losing Great Employees to Bad Promotions
Promoting first-time managers can feel like a leap of faith. You see the spark and potential of a new leader… their technical skill, work ethic, and enthusiasm…but handing them the reins of a team? Feels a little risky, right? What if they’re not ready? What if they stumble? Most first-time managers do stumble. Some of ...
Stop Being Afraid of Getting Fired
Yes, you could lose your job for being inept, incompetent, missing deadlines and milestones, or simply failing to do the work. But you will not be fired for taking chances, and embracing risk and then accepting the responsibility that goes along with it. And if you are fired for taking an honest chance, with positive ...
A Small Shift to Ask More Powerful Questions
Typewriters with ribbons, developed in the 1950s, were excellent at speeding up typists, but not so good at erasing their mistakes. Bette Nesmith Graham was a typist by day, and a painter by night. She wondered, “What if I could cover up my typing mistakes the same way I cover up my painting mistakes?” She ...
Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda, and What People Actually Regret
Here’s a real story, but let’s anonymize him. We’ll call him Joey. So Joey, a local mild-mannered grown-up went to a high school soccer match in Virginia, and sat with friends and colleagues in the stands, on the home side, the side hosting the game. The game got competitive, the kids got all riled up, ...
How to Recognize the Mindset of Your Company
Think of a time in your life when you were doing something new, and exciting, and fun. Maybe you were learning a musical instrument, trying a new sport, learning to paint, or even solving a sodoku puzzle. And then, after the thrill was gone, it got hard. It got difficult, and not easy, and not ...
Real Moments Will Not Be Televised
The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place. – George Bernhard Shaw It’s school vacation week here in New England and we’re out skiing with the family. It’s pretty cold, and early afternoon yesterday, we sat on the chairlift chatting about taking a break and warming our toes. There ...
