Your pencils are sharp enough
March 22, 2023
We’ve learned that there are two types of work that are the most prone to getting stuck like this. And there are different tools we’ve found helpful for getting them unstuck.
World's Best Newsletter Archive
This will only take a minute
March 8, 2023
You can’t live in hypervigilance. Well, let’s rephrase that. You can, it’s possible. But it’s unpleasant to be around someone who has stayed in that state for too long.
You can’t stand under my umbrella
February 22, 2023
Staring down a difficult reality and finding your way to acceptance is hard enough. But having a manager conceal that reality from you makes acceptance impossible.
We don’t know what we don’t know
February 8, 2023
Lowering your shields enough to get to real questions is the hard part. But once you have those in hand, there are still a few other mistakes to avoid.
My milkshake brings all the orgs to the yard
January 25, 2023
Someone else’s goals might be eloquently written, but that doesn’t mean they matter to you. Someone else’s values statement might seem so clear-eyed and attractive, but that doesn’t make it yours.
When meetings are outlawed, only outlaws will hold meetings
January 11, 2023
While collaboration, alignment, decision making, and unit cohesion can all happen outside of meetings, well-run meetings are a very useful and effective place to accomplish those things.
You need more of it than you think
December 28, 2022
When your brain learns that there are blocks of time when it can reliably expand and take on bigger things, it’s astonishing what happens.
Year of the pulse
December 14, 2022
When you look back at the last month, or the last year, what patterns do you see? What are those habits, and are they serving you, as you are now?
The strategists, the smugglers, and the silent
November 30, 2022
Effective strategic planning is an alignment tool. Alignment as in the whole team. Everyone.
Behind the scenes at the magic kingdom
November 16, 2022
We don’t need it to be all doom and gloom. But what does it mean when there’s no longer space to talk about what’s working and what isn’t?
Who gets Humperdinck?
November 2, 2022
For many bosses, it’s clear that the more you look and talk and vibe like Elon, the more permission you’ll get to be capricious and abusive and cynical.
What to do when you’re all out of puffins
October 19, 2022
The bullshit is supposed to be in service of something. Ideally, say, work that you’re proud of, whose impact matters to you, and which allows you to live a life you enjoy.
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