A few months ago, in October 2023, I noticed a strange pimple on my nose that bled after I washed and dried my face. I checked with my doctor who said to see a dermatologist. I didn’t panic, but I made an appointment as soon as I could. (An urgent reaction.) The diagnosis was squamous cell skin cancer. […]
How Can We Combine Our Feelings of Urgency and Calm to Be Most Effective? Read More »
It’s that time of year again—resolution time. I have never succeeded with resolutions, so I abandoned them years ago. I like what Daniel does with words for the year. (See his newsletter, Reconcile, for his first word of 2024 and how he adopted this practice.) However, while I write a lot, three words don’t quite
How Do You Choose to Measure Success? Read More »
At this time of year, many of us give and receive presents. I hope your gifting experiences were delightful. But we don’t just give each other—and ourselves—gifts at one time during the year. We often give ourselves gifts throughout the year. And while there are some physical things I would like to receive, I more
Which of Your Past Presents Do You Want to Keep and Which to Discard? Read More »
Professionally, I work in the tech sector. Right now, when tech is making money hand over fist, many companies are laying people off. Not one here and one there, but significant percentages of people. In my experience, companies do need to make rapid-enough decisions about when to lay some people off to save the company
Who Benefits and Who Loses from Other People’s Actions or Decisions? Read More »
Last week, I had two major social interactions. First, I spoke at the Tech Leader Summit, which was great fun. I had a blast reconnecting with my colleagues and meeting new people. And I got to talk mostly about the Modern Management Made Easy books. A total win. My role was that of the expert. And my
How Comfortable Can You Be With Your Changing Role, Especially in a Social Setting? Read More »
I finished a book a couple of weeks ago. Except, it was only close, not completely done. A couple of days later, I thought I nailed it! Again, I was close but not quite done. Another day or so later, this time I really nailed it. Yes, you know the punch line! Almost—but there were
How Many “Once I…” Experiences Do You Need to Be Satisfied? Read More »
At my instigation, Mark and I went to Norway last week to see the Northern Lights. We had a terrific time. (If you want to see just one image, go to the online version of the newsletter.) Mark found an accessible tour, so I saw the lights from two perspectives: standing in the cold—and sitting
When Do You Make Assumptions About Other People’s Abilities? Read More »
When my children were small, they (often!) complained that I wasn’t fair. I wasn’t fair in so many ways: when they compared themselves to their friends, to each other, and to “everyone else.” That’s because our values were different from all those other people’s. And I’m pretty sure that when they got old enough to
Do We Need to Choose Between Fair and Equal? Read More »
I learned a lot about my mental models last week. That’s when several people asked me “obvious” questions about specific software tools. I hope I was reasonable when I answered. But I assumed they exhibited learned helplessness. Wasn’t the answer obvious to everyone? Clearly not. Then, this week, I did exactly the same thing. Twice.
When Is the Problem Not Learned Helplessness or Confusion But Our Mental Models? Read More »
Long ago, in a company that no longer exists, my managers asked me to “stretch the truth” to a customer. I refused. One of them threatened me with the loss of my job. They didn’t fire me that day, and I left soon thereafter. I didn’t have trouble doing the right thing because I’d already
How Can We Make it Easy to do the Right Thing? Read More »