You can make software if you choose to. Not just the expected version of software that runs on a computer, but the metaphorical idea of rules and algorithms designed to solve problems and connect people… Apple started as a hardware company with the Apple II. Soon in, they realized that while hardware is required, it’s…Read moreRead more

…is to get promoted. And the best way to get promoted is to learn something new and get good at it. Take a course. Learn to sell. Public speaking. Statistics. Become the person that your organization wants in a bigger role. You can accelerate that process with deliberate learning and practice. Smart companies will pay…Read moreRead more

That would be today. And every day, if you’re up for it. The things that change our lives (and the lives of others) are rarely the long-scheduled events, the much-practiced speeches or the annual gala. No, it’s almost certain that the next chance you have to leap will come out of nowhere in particular, and…Read moreRead more

If you can learn it, it’s a skill. If it’s important, but innate, it’s a talent. The thing is, almost everything that matters is a skill. If even one person is able to learn it, if even one person is able to use effort and training to get good at something, it’s a skill. It’s…Read moreRead more

Here are 40 pointers for Scaling Up Mastering the Rockefeller Habits and Fortune: The greatest business decisions of All Time. Hire fewer people but pay them more. No team is so big that it cant be fed with two pizzas. If more than one person is accountable, then no one is accountable, and thats when…Read moreRead more

The first step is to invent a thing worth making, a story worth telling, a contribution worth talking about. The second step is to design and build it in a way that people will actually benefit from and care about. The third one is the one everyone gets all excited about. This is the step…Read moreRead more

I attended a senior financial womens conference recently and heard two very prominent leaders in the industry speak. Interestingly, though both very successful, one seemed to exude much more of that magical quality called executive presence than the other. What was the difference? Its the Little Things The less impressive speaker peppered her comments with…Read moreRead more

One of my clients raised an interesting problem recently. What do you do if you tend to fill in peoples extended pauses between thoughts? You want to jump in to fill the gap but you know that interrupting risks alienating the other person. Try any of these five tips: When you realize you are with…Read moreRead more

I watched a supposed communication pro deliver a webinar recently on successful presentations that was arguably one of the worst presentations I have ever seen. She rambled. She took forever to get to her key points. Her pacing was off. She didnt seem to know her own slides. She peppered her remarks with “ums.” You…Read moreRead more

Every day, we change. We move (slowly) toward the person we’ll end up being. Not just us, but our organizations. Our political systems. Our culture. Are you more generous than the you of five or ten years ago? More confident? More willing to explore? Have you become more brittle? Selfish? Afraid? Grumpy and bitter isn’t…Read moreRead more