The thing that feels better than I told you so
December 10, 2025
Even as we’re setting up something ambitious, we can often spot the things lurking in the shadows that are going to get in the way.
World's Best Newsletter Archive
The price of admission
October 15, 2025
It’s hard to push decision-making to the edges if we’re not sure how the edges are making decisions.
What’s the opposite of mercenary?
December 11, 2024
There is no narrative arc more dystopian than insecure people with power and limited accountability.
An immersive mismanagement experience
June 12, 2024
No one wants to work in an org that’s hopeless or doomed.
Find the through-line or make one
May 1, 2024
“How do I set goals without a strategy?” Or “How do I get my team working on the right things, when no one has told me what the right things are?”
You already know how your year is going
January 24, 2024
So much of being an effective operator is noticing problems early, because groups react differently to problems early on.
Director means something
January 10, 2024
And pretending it’s a title or a pay bump without a new set of responsibilities is a disservice to everyone.
Still uncool, but finally useful
November 15, 2023
A great performance review is not an evaluation conversation, it’s an alignment conversation.
Sorry I’m getting kicked out of this room
September 20, 2023
If we want to understand the nagging sense, the underlying frustration, the thing that’s screaming in blinky red lights. We’re gonna have to say it out loud.
The future of work is in pieces
August 9, 2023
When we talk with bosses about their work today, we don’t hear about commutes. We don’t hear about summer hours, or four-day-work-weeks, either.
Hot goal summer
July 26, 2023
The opportunity in July (or whenever your mid-year review period lands) is to go back to the whole point of the exercise.
Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right
July 12, 2023
How do you know? How is it that you can listen to someone talk about work and consistently know what’s going to happen next?
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