This past weekend I listened to a really fascinating episode of the Radiolab podcast about stochasticity (which is a fancy word for randomness) and finding patterns. One part of the episode explored the story of Ann Klinestiver, a teacher who
Essentialism
Years ago, I read Keith Ferrazzi’s Never Eat Alone and was very taken by it. The book – which is very good – is all about networking and building authentic relationships with those around you. One of the things I
The Most Important Missing Lesson in Business
There are few things in life that I find more appealing than a well-constructed business lesson that has been developed into a system or framework. Here are a few of my favorites: David Allen’s system for personal productivity (Getting
DISC Assessment
When it comes to personality and behavioral tests, I’ve always had a “been there done that” attitude about them. I’ve done Myers Briggs – twice. I’ve even participated in a few facilitated sessions that discuss the significance of my Myers
Building a Collaborative Idea Environment
Just before the holidays, I gave a large internal company presentation on our 2015 strategic vision. A lot of work went into preparing for the presentation and it was very well received. Later that day, I was sitting at my
Org Changes
[Updated 12-21-14: thanks to my parents catching the misspelling of “tear” (was tare) and teaching me about heteronyms] Three and a half years ago, I left my comfortable job at a large multinational advertising agency and joined a small tech start-up.
Crucial Conversations
This past week I read Crucial Conversations by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, and Al Switzler. Immediately after I finished reading, I did something that I’ve never done before: I flipped the book over and started reading it again.
Product Management and Needs vs. Wants
It’s been roughly three months since I’ve had consistently hot showers in the morning at the gym. When the hot water first started acting up, I complained and complained – every day I’d say something to the manager of the
The Key to Being a Good Coach
Like many life lessons, I learned about how to be a good coach on the athletic field. I was playing in the last lacrosse game of my junior year, an away game vs. Clarkson University. Games at Clarkson were always
Workplace Politics
From my very first experience with a political working environment (at my first job, in fact) I’ve always tried to avoid and diffuse organizational politics. My stance: it’s distracting and a waste of time – the sooner the tension is