When in doubt take a step back, give support, be generous, help. Building barricades and having it your way might give you a temporary sense of control, the feeling you are about to win. It is very rarely the case. Kindness is the only way forward.
Ideas out
When you put your idea out, it is the whole world to you. For anybody else, it is just one of the hundreds heard in the past few days. This is a gap that drives a lot of misunderstanding ("that's not what I meant!"), frustration ("they do not care!"), and missed opportunities ("I give up!"). … Continue reading Ideas out
Gripes go up
If you are in a position of power, be mindful not to complain to people who report to you. Work is probably tougher, you are asked to juggle a load of different tasks, you are supposed to find time to talk to people, you negotiate, compromise, often work after hours, and I am sure at … Continue reading Gripes go up
Not listening
Not listening is not only ignoring. It is also finding weak reasons to continue on the path that is less risky, motivating the current situation with urgency, hiding behind busyness, coming up with own ways to define reality, diminishing the arguments of others, expressing agreement with words and not follow up with actions. And most … Continue reading Not listening
Better not ask
Sometimes we do not ask because we do not want to be an annoyance. Our team needs a new tool to do their job, but the company is going through a difficult period, better not ask. Our customers need a new feature, but Product already has their hands full, better not ask. Our prospects do … Continue reading Better not ask
Rewards
If everyone gets a reward, is the reward less important? I guess it depends. If you are on the receiving end, you should be proud and celebrate. I know somewhere deep inside you will feel like it does not matter, like you are not truly the one whose work is being rewarded here, like it … Continue reading Rewards
Outcomes
We do most things because we expect an outcome. But we have this wrong, in that it is not the outcome that defines the things we do. If we write a blog post, and nobody reads it, likes it, shares it, we still have a blog post. There is nothing different in the work we … Continue reading Outcomes
Bandaid
When you launch a rebrand, it's often better to just rip off the bandaid. One piece of evidence. Google launched Workspace today, as a replacement to Google G Suite offering. Microsoft launched Microsoft 365 six months ago, as a replacement (?) to Office 365 offering. Judge for yourselves.
Crisp
Writing long email messages is a disservice to your audience and to yourself. Your audience does not have time for long, they will at best skim through the message and forget about it the moment they close it (hopefully they will not decide to follow up with another message). You will fail to get through … Continue reading Crisp
The spiral
What are the things you absolutely need to get done today, this week, this month, this year? What are those things, and why, what purpose do they serve? If you do not have answers to these two questions, if you shrug them off with a "too many" or "they are important", it is very likely … Continue reading The spiral
