When my friend Elly taught in a middle school, he never hung out in the teacher’s room. He told me he couldn’t bear the badmouthing of students, the whining and the blaming. Of course, not all teachers are like this. In fact, most of them aren’t. And of course, trolling isn’t reserved to the teacher’s…Read moreRead more

is surprisingly easy. Weve done all this work and things havent gotten better, so, apparently, we should stop trying and go back to what we were doing. Weve done all this work and things are getting better, so that means that theres no need to keep trying and we can go back to what we…Read moreRead more

When innovation arrives, the logistics people have to scramble to keep up, because innovation always makes it hard to do things the way we used to. Over time, an innovative company thrives if it can get its logistics in order. Ship the right stuff to the right people on time and on budget. Once this…Read moreRead more

This is a very different task than snake charming. The first is far more common, but it requires heavy equipment and is often dangerous On the other hand, if you have empathy and patience, its possible to learn to charm the snakes instead

There is the kindness of please and thank you. And the kindness of I was wrong, I’m sorry. The small kindnesses that smooth our interactions and help other people feel as though you’re aware of them. These don’t cost us much, in fact, in most settings, engaging with kindness is an essential part of connection,…Read moreRead more

Interesting business lesson learned on a bicycle: it’s very difficult to improve your performance on the downhills. I used to dread the uphill parts of my ride. On a recumbent bike, they’re particularly difficult. So I’d slog through, barely surviving, looking forward to the superspeedy downhill parts. Unfortunately, I had a serious accident a few…Read moreRead more

The only way to get initiative is to take it. Its never given. And some people hesitate to take it, perhaps because theyre worried that well somehow run out. Were not going to run out. Its a self-renewing resource. From an early age, most of us were taught to avoid it. Do your homework. Take…Read moreRead more

Some days a motivational quote can provide a quick pick-me-up for employees and even management. They can be a breath of fresh air when it comes to a drab afternoon. These are also a great way to jazz up a newsletter or a memo or even to simply print and attach to a bulletin board….Read moreRead more

Guts, because it might not work. And generosity, because guts without seeking to make things better is merely hustle. The innovator shows up with something she knows might not work (pause for a second, and contrast that with everyone else, who has been trained to show up with a proven, verified, approved, deniable answer that…Read moreRead more