How can you be so good at something and so bad at explaining it or helping others to do it? I’ve been working with some folks recently who fall into this category. All of them are brilliant, incredible thinkers and achievers. I hope to achieve the kind of mastery they have. Each of them, however, … Read more
Decision making is all about odds. You can make the right decision and still get the wrong outcome. Similarly, you can make the wrong decision and get the right outcome. And, of course, there are levels of “right” and “wrong.” It could be the superficially right decision, but when analyzed at depth, it was made … Read more
Your team needs support. As I wrote about last week, in low-support environments, people will trend toward hopelessness or defiance. But, there is a fine line between providing support and stifling people. I’ve crossed it many times in my career as a manager, leader, and business owner. It sucks for everyone involved. Self 1 vs … Read more
It’s not always obvious what is holding me or a team member back. There is a cool matrix in the book, How Learning Works, 7 Research-Based Principles for Smart Teaching, that can help. One of the core principles in the book is that motivation effects outcomes. Not a shocker. However, the authors drill into what … Read more
I think we crave pressure because it forces us into focused action. But we don’t need it to get there. You might disagree. The human body, for instance, needs pressure to function. Literally, at sea level, we live at ~15lbs per square inch of pressure. Remove that pressure and we’re in trouble. It’s not the … Read more
We’ve probably all had the frustrating experience of explaining things “perfectly clearly” only for the other person to not have a clue what we were talking about. I used to be an enterprise software architect. I once worked very hard to figure out how to explain a complex system to a non-technical F500 VP. Five … Read more
Years ago, I joined a US Standards technical committee because I wanted to master a certain technology. What I learned instead was how to deal with fundamentally opposed factions and help them find a way forward. The committee I joined was a backwater of a backwater committee. It was considering whether or not to recommend … Read more
On this USA Independence Day, I want to wish all of us independence from ourselves! In his classic book, The Inner Game of Tennis, Tim Gallwey describes a conversation he was having with himself. Startled, he wondered who are the two people involved in this conversation? He identified two selves and named them, rather uninspiringly … Read more
We all have blind spots. If we want to grow through the, we should encourage and seek out real feedback. In that sense, think negative feedback is a gift. I’m not talking about the kind of feedback you get on the highway from your fellow drivers. That kind of feedback is more a reflection on … Read more
As business owners, we can get so caught up in our solutions that we can become the best in the world at something that doesn’t matter anymore. The problem space can drift right on by without us noticing. This sounds like a pithy business school abstract thing to say, but it has happened to me. … Read more