Hello from the basement
July 27, 2022
One of us has COVID and so far, thanks in large part to the basement (and boosters! and masking! and updated rapid test procedures!), no one else in the house does.
Archives
The buzzing noise from the hotel closet
July 13, 2022
Vacations are a cross-training opportunity. They are a sponsorship opportunity. They are resilience and succession planning and visibility opportunities for your team. You just have to see them for what they are.
The opposite of coherent
June 29, 2022
So here we are. Faced with this disastrous ruling. And it makes us wonder: how coherent are your organization’s actions on this one? We heard about the relocation policy, what other actions are they taking? Do they line up?
Smile more?
June 15, 2022
If you start from the assumption that you need to make your team happy – that happiness is an input to work that you need to maximize – you reach for one set of tools. Tools that reduce stress, remove discomfort, avoid conflict. And maybe at a birthday party, or a summer camp, those would be appropriate.
The unloved doc with all the answers
June 1, 2022
The org chart is a power map. Not figuratively. Literally. It is a map of relationships, reporting structure, and accountability lines. When we talk about issues being structural, this is where that structure shows up.
The Clapback
May 18, 2022
Anywhere your senior leaders are not giving their full-throated support to a thing, you should be prepared for a clapback.
Pretend it’s a business
May 4, 2022
Faced with an extended stay in the squishy place, a lot of execs are opting out. They are making decisions with the information they’ve got. Trading liminal for solid ground anywhere they can find it. And, for a lot of workplaces, shit is about to get real.
The laziest form of management
April 20, 2022
At the core of every boss quoting some article about kids today is a two-part management failure. First, a failure to adapt to the changing workplace. And second, a failure to listen to the feedback that they are part of the problem.
The donuts aren’t working
April 6, 2022
We’re hearing from the bosses and people and culture teams asked to implement the Bums-in-Seats directive. Even when they, themselves, are skeptical.
New York’s hottest club is Competent Management
March 23, 2022
The massive competition for talent has every HR and Talent leader running after the same ball. And the visual effect, from up here on the hill, looks a lot like Bunch Ball.
Everyone’s a great manager until they start managing
March 9, 2022
It’s easy to dip into “I would never talk to my team like that. If I were in charge, I would be a way better boss than that.” That smug satisfaction about what you would do if you were in charge? Well, we understand the appeal.
The perks are great and the work is fine
February 23, 2022
Faced with that blandness, a lot of leaders are pushing back-to-office plans. They have nostalgia for the flavour of a packed and humming office, and feel like if people would just get back in there, it would fix things.
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