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.
World's Best Newsletter Archive
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.
If it’s urgent, call my cell
December 27, 2023
Do this work long enough and every aspect of the human condition will at some point show up for someone you manage. Or for yourself.
What to do with a gift you can’t return
December 13, 2023
That sad, not particularly thoughtful gift with your name on it? That’s how many people experience performance review season.
Still uncool, but finally useful
November 15, 2023
A great performance review is not an evaluation conversation, it’s an alignment conversation.
Standing alone at a cocktail party
May 17, 2023
So much of the hard work of management is unsexy. Unglamorous. It is a grind, and often thankless. And nowhere is this more true than in performance reviews.
Peanut butter efficiency
May 3, 2023
Efficiency doesn’t come from cutting people, it comes from cutting waste.
Smile more?
June 15, 2022
The correlation of smiling and thriving is pernicious.
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.
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
That smug satisfaction about what you would do if you were in charge? We understand the appeal.
Long on empathy and short on patience
August 25, 2021
We told leaders to be empathetic. We told them to be understanding. And they are doing that. They are phenomenal about understanding the conditions for underperformance in their teams. But it’s not working…They are patient to a fault.
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