There is one. Wait, two. No, three. Ok, four humans who directly inspired my writing. (Ok, five.) The list is not in order of importance, but by time: Robert Fulghum, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten (Fall 1988) Think what a better world it would be if we all—the whole world—had… more
I will now explain why at least 50% of your team finds your current All Hands to be a waste of their time. They believe: Now, I will describe how to build an All Hands that will exceed their expectations. Let’s define the All Hands: Everyone. Together. There’s an important organizational inflection point when you… more
Welcome, new leader. We’re glad that you are here. Your arrival fills a critical vacancy in our team, and we can’t wait to see what you can do at this company. We’re going to say that we’re not in a hurry and you should take your time, but we’re in a hurry. Before you arrive,… more
My problem with the phrase “Managing Up” involves a hard-earned historical observation regarding its weaponization. The helpful version of this practice is a clear understanding between you and your manager that there are uncommon, intriguing, or worrying developments that you — without hesitation — share with your manager. Isn’t that their responsibility, as well? It… more
In the hallway, late on Thursday, someone tells a bit of information about your product that is 100% provably not true. You laugh, wink at the person, and say, “That’s goofy. What reasonable human would believe that?” And that conversation moves on. Two hours later, different locations, different humans, and different contexts. Same exact piece… more
One of the challenges with writing a blog for a long time is it possible to repeat yourself. I’m not talking repetitious themes; I’m talking word for word writing pretty much the same article. Again. Meetings are on the brain again, so I quickly checked the Rands archives to make sure that I hadn’t already… more
I spend a lot of time listening. A non-trivial act for me because my mind… it wanders. However, I’ve got a system. Feet flat on the ground, slightly clenched jaw, staring you straight in the eyes. I am full body listening. You have my complete attention. I am not missing a word. We humans are… more
There’s a rumor wandering through your team right now. I’m sorry to report; it’s toxic. It’s the kind of rumor that contains so much interest and emotional energy that the humans can’t help repeat the rumor to each other. It’s about you, and it’s completely untrue. When you hear the rumor, the content will give… more
Everyone is just… sitting there. Six of you. All managers who report up to Evan, your boss, who decided two weeks ago that “it’s probably a good idea for this leadership team to get together on a regular basis and talk about what is up.” He dropped an agenda-less, sixty-minute recurring meeting on everyone’s calendar… more
Resignations happen in a moment, and it’s not when you declare, “I’m resigning.” The moment happened a long time ago when you received a random email from a good friend who asked, “I know you’re really happy with your current gig because you’ve been raving about it for a year, but would you like to… more
