I attended an Agile New England event this past week. One of the roundtable facilitators mentioned there was a difference between collaboration and cooperation. When you collaborate, you work with other people. When you cooperate, you do your work and make sure the work fits with other people’s work. I thought that discrimination was quite insightful. […]
Are You Collaborating or Cooperating? Read More »
Last month, I took a short vacation in Eilat while Mark went on a bike ride. I ordered some lunch in the lobby “bar.” (No, I don’t drink my lunch!) The bar manager took my order and we continued our discussion from the other day. How was my husband’s bike ride? I said he had
Do You Look for Mistakes or Happy People? Read More »
The past few weeks have been quite stressful for me. I had some international travel with terrible wifi so I could not finish some planned work, a close relative died, a ton more client work, and more international travel. When my relative died, it was clear to me that I was not going to finish
What Do You Do When You Are Overwhelmed? Read More »
I recently got a FitBit Zip. I got the small one that fits in your pocket and tracks steps. It supposedly counts calories, too, but I’m not using the calorie part. I have transparent data now. I am astonished at how quickly I have changed my behavior. I knew I was barely moving. I knew
How Often Do You Look for Feedback? Read More »
Early in my speaking and consulting career, I doubted my abilities. I was concerned I wouldn’t give a good talk. I was worried I would let my clients down. Now, I’m concerned about my ability to write fiction that people will want to read. When you doubt yourself—even when you have the skills—you suffer from
Do You Ever Doubt Yourself? Read More »
We all have assumptions. I recently flew on JetBlue. They are beta-testing their wi-fi. I assumed I would have to pay for it. Imagine my surprise when it was free! I was thrilled. (There was no wi-fi on the return trip, and that was fine with me.) When I teach my agile and lean project
What Are Your Assumptions? Read More »
On vacation, I saw a young girl—maybe 5 years old—throw a ring into the pool and carefully put her head into the water to retrieve it. When she started, she wasn’t very good. Over the course of three days, she became quite good. She hesitated less. She threw the ring farther. She started using her
Can You Think, “Until Now”? Read More »
I fell down again the other day. I was crossing the street, didn’t see that the ramp had a curb and my rollator’s front wheels stuck. As my rollator fell over, so did I. I skinned my knuckles and banged my knee. I’m fine. I was thrilled I didn’t hit my head. Two lovely people
I was at a client event this past week with several other consultants. Over a dinner, we discussed some of our choices—when did we say yes and when did we say no. I said something like this: “I have been saying yes more often to new and different experiences, as long as they meet certain
When Do You Say Yes? Read More »
We all have some resilience. How much? I am a creature of habit for many parts of my life. For example, I like my food routines, such as having the same breakfast every day. I like eating one of the same three lunches each week. While I can change what I eat, I choose not
How Do You Build Your Resilience? Read More »