Business is noisy. Business is full of people worrying loudly about projects, processes, and other people. These people have opinions, and they share them all over the place — all the time. This collective chatter is part of the daily regimen of a healthy business, but this chatter will bury the individual voice unless someone… more
I bag on meetings. I bag on meetings because like any nerd I expect the universe to be efficient and orderly and there is no more vile a violation of this sense of orderliness than a room full of people randomly bumping into shit and calling it a meeting. There are solid meetings out there.… more
My favorite part of finishing a book is when the index shows up. I’m not sure who the magicians are who are responsible for building this index, but it’s an unexpected glimpse into a book that you thought you knew, but actually do not. This is a welcome perspective because at the end of a… more
I’m going to jump right to the punch line. I’m going to start by telling you exactly what you need to do to finally write that book you’ve promised yourself for the past three years. Are you sitting down? Good. Don’t write a book. Even better, stop thinking about writing a book. Your endless internal… more
In my teens, I got migraines. Maybe it was growing pains, but all I knew is that randomly and without warning, I’d get a splitting, seeing spots, curled up in a dark room headache. Painkillers didn’t help. Meditation merely distracted, diet was out of the question — hello, teenager — and I got regular exercise… more
Weather permitting, the Netscape pick-up roller hockey game has been played every Saturday since 1996. 14 years. This hockey game has outlasted all but one of my former employers. This is pick-up hockey. If you were to arrive with skates, stick and protective gear, you would discover a chill game where the expectation is that… more
Until recently, I’d never been to IKEA, mostly because of fear. I knew there would be things I wanted, but the IKEA reputation kept me away. What I heard: It’s huge It’s a maze You can’t get out in less than three hours It’s full of people. While I guess I need flat-pack design furniture… more
You know this meeting. It’s the meeting where, when anyone hears the attendee list, they instantly know, “Oh, it’s that meeting.” Something is up: a product is at risk, a strategy is being redefined, or a decision of magnitude is being considered. Slide reviews are conducted via email, rehearsals are performed, and demos are fine-tuned.… more
There’s a meeting going on right now. It’s a cross-functional meeting, which means that not only are multiple departments in the organization represented, but multiple expertise types, attitudes, and agendas as well. The cross-functional nature of this meeting means a program manager is present and they are likely serving in their role as translator. See,… more
My management team was bickering. Two managers in particular: Leo and Vincent. Both of their projects were fine. Both of their teams were producing, but in any meeting where they were both representing their teams, they just started pushing each other’s buttons. Every meeting on some trivial topic: Leo: “Vincent, are you on track to… more