Reading Time: < 1 min I’ve had a bad habit over the years that my team has rightfully called me out on, and it’s one that I’m trying to break. I’ll find an interesting article and send it to one of them and simply ask them “thoughts?”. That’s not helpful. Richard Millington recently had a great post where he unpacked […]
Leadership
Don’t let the HiPPO have the final say
Reading Time: < 1 min When you’re in a meeting of any kind and you’re working to make a decision, one person often has the final say, even if they’re not the one that should really be providing the answer. Don’t necessarily listen to the HiPPO (“Highest Paid Person’s Opinion”). Great leaders surround themselves with people that are experts in […]
When to honk
Reading Time: < 1 min Car horns are a funny thing. At times they can be incredibly useful, like when someone is sleeping at a red light or (more importantly) if someone is backing up and doesn’t see you there. A quick “honk” solves it. On the other hand, the horn can be a way to vent frustration. They can […]
That’s not my job
Reading Time: 2 min A few weeks ago, we bought a Jeep Grand Cherokee for my wife. It’s an excellent vehicle, but I noticed something interesting during the sales process. At one point they made a small financial miscalculation, but the finance manager ate the difference to make sure they stood by their word, which was appreciated. That was […]
Obscurity is still your biggest threat
Reading Time: 2 min There’s an old quote from Tim O’Reilly that I really love, and it seems to be getting better with age. Tim simply said: Obscurity is a far greater threat to authors and creative artists than piracy. While you can worry about people copying your content or stealing your ideas, your far bigger concern is having […]
Show people their super power
Reading Time: < 1 min In his book “Nothing you don’t already know“, author Alexander den Heijer shares a simple but powerful statement: You don’t inspire people by revealing your super powers; you inspire people by helping them reveal their own super powers. This applies to inspiration, but I also think it can apply to your website and marketing. As […]
Clarity of Purpose
Reading Time: < 1 min Going into the altMBA a few months ago, I had two very similar goals. To develop better: Clarity of thought Clarity of purpose Clarity of thought is a big reason why I’m writing every day. Each post comes from a small idea, which could just go out as a Tweet or something, but instead I […]
Thoughts on taking the altMBA
Reading Time: 3 min I recently finished taking the altMBA, described as “an intensive, 4-week online workshop designed by Seth Godin for high-performing individuals who want to level up and lead.“ Intensive is a great word to use. Throughout the four weeks, you work through 13 separate writing prompts. They ask us not to reveal the nature of the […]
“Good job” isn’t all that good
Reading Time: < 1 min I’m trying to work on how I give thanks to those around me. I feel like I’m pretty good about giving frequent thanks when it’s appropriate, but I’ve realized (in part from books like Thanks for the Feedback, and in part from other conversations) that my “thanks” isn’t all that good. It’s not that giving […]
A quick agenda beats no agenda
Reading Time: < 1 min It’s been true for decades, and with everyone forced to switch to Zoom for the past year it hasn’t changed much — meetings without a clear agenda are often a complete waste of time. While we have solid agendas for many of our meetings, there are times when we don’t have a chance to put […]