Build a great company on a powerful foundation!
This is a great time to celebrate springtime in the northern hemisphere.
And it makes me realize that I tend to accumulate stress over time. Lots of actions to take, decisions to make … so maybe it’s time to take a fresh look.
That’s what weekends and holidays are for, right?
Read the rest of this entry »There’s an attraction to making things complicated.
I get that. It makes you feel smart and capable. You can feel pride in being the best.
But it surprises me how often it helps to go the other direction – make things as simple as they can be. This is especially true in leadership.
Read the rest of this entry »My mother had a running joke with me: “You’re going to ask if I rebooted, right?”
That’s what happens when you’re tech support for the family, I suppose.
But the concept of “rebooting” is very useful in other situations, especially when you feel like things have gotten too chaotic and unpredictable. Which is happening a lot in business these days.
Read the rest of this entry »I’m an introvert, which means I’m more comfortable building energy by being alone rather than in a group.
I used to think that was a disadvantage for me being in a leadership role, or building my networks, or giving presentations. But it in fact it can give me just as many advantages.
I’ve learned how to come to peace with going out and networking. My trick is to realize that every person is someone I can learn from and has an interesting story. Which is actually true most of the time.
Read the rest of this entry »Last week I had the chance to see a virtual tour through the International Quilt Museum in Lincoln, Nebraska, USA.
It took me back to when my wife created a quilt much like what you see here. What impressed me was the careful detail and commitment to such a long project.
We don’t tend to do that much anymore, instead focusing on instant gratification.
Read the rest of this entry »I’ve found that this is the kind of attitude you’re trying to nurture in leading a group: Let’s do this!
It captures precisely the kind of energy that we’re going to need to do some hard work while having fun. And it conveys a sense of personal commitment to achieving the group’s result.
Even pride.
Read the rest of this entry »I have to confess that I’ve been cynical about AI. Which is a bit weird, given my tech background and inquisitiveness.
But I’ve seen some demos recently which are pretty interesting. Here’s what I learned: these tools don’t replace human intelligence. But they can simplify drudgery.
There are a couple of places which are particularly useful: Pulling together tons of data, and creating summaries.
Read the rest of this entry »I made a mistake this week. I overloaded someone with so much information that they backed away from a project. It became just too scary for them.
It wasn’t my intention, of course. I was trying to be helpful.
So what do I learn from this situation? Well, it’s not about hiding information. It’s about communicating in layers.
Read the rest of this entry »I had a great conversation recently with a speaker who introduced me to the phrase “Tyranny of How”. It took me a few minutes to get my mind wrapped around the concept, and now I see how it can be very useful.
Like many people, I like to map out all the steps – to have a clear plan – before I get started. It gives me the confidence that I know what I’m doing and can just follow the steps to success.
Unfortunately life doesn’t work this way.
Read the rest of this entry »I find out that I get much more done when I have a clear deadline.
I’m not saying that I let everyone else schedule my work – I don’t. But I do look for useful deadlines and then link my thinking to those.
I’m presenting at a conference coming up in a few weeks. My experience tells me that the last week should focus on practicing and coordinating with my co-presenter. So that means all the content needs to be created before that, which means the structure should be in place by … this Wednesday.
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The Values-Based Business 