In fall of 2016, I learned about a simple technique to explore business weaknesses with your team. Ask them this: “If you were a competitor, how would could you put us out of business?” I was very excited about this … Read More
About seven years ago I wrote a post about “disruption,” which was a common buzzword at the time. The basic point was this: It’s important to pay attention to people who are different than you, rather than to surround yourself … Read More
Shortly after Patrick Lencioni’s Ideal Team Player was published, I wrote a piece explaining and extolling the virtues of Hunger, Humility, and People Smarts. These concepts hold up well, and I haven’t lost my passion for talking about them. I … Read More
In 2016, I wrote this piece about the way to apply the Kübler-Ross stages of grief to organizational change, and made the case that a person’s needs change depending on their stage. The “dos and don’ts” definitely hold up. It’s … Read More
A few years ago, I wrote a piece dedicated to the dangers of starting sentences with “to be honest,” and I still think it’s not the best choice. However, there’s a point I’d like to emphasize, because it’s buried at … Read More
A few years ago, I summarized a recent four-post series with pointers on how to “be easy to work with.” You can read it here, with links to all four in the series. The overall implication was that being easy … Read More
A few years ago, I shared a vivid phrase to describe being passive-aggressive: “Violently polite.” I think it holds up, but I had forgotten about it. I’m glad for the chance to revisit this. In the years since then, I’ve … Read More
A few years ago, I shared a story about a nosy man in a checkout line, and used it to make the point that it’s a bad idea to plan for the worst-case scenario. You can read it here. Does … Read More
A few years ago in a post titled “Strong Team Members Hold Each Other Accountable,” I wrote that once people get in the habit of holding each other accountable without making it personal, teams hum with productivity and gossip is … Read More
A few years ago, I wrote in Healthy Conflict Leads to Commitment that great teams can expect commitment when trust is solid and conflict is productive. Today, I want to emphasize that commitment has two other important components: clarity and … Read More