A colleague is supposedly writing a book. He’s amassed research, taken and written notes, and told (too many) people he’s writing. But he’s not writing. No book excerpts, no blog posts, nor articles. His “writing” is invisible to other people. Another colleague thinks he wants to run a marathon. He researched the “right” way to run …
Despite all the uncertainty we see these days, some people still value predictions and certainty over adaptability and resilience. Then, when their predictions and certainty don’t work, these folks suddenly value adaptability. When we show others the value of our flexibility, we don’t surprise ourselves with fake certainty. We can, especially if we show others …
Three Ways to Show Others the Value of Your Adaptability and Resilience Read More »
I love the summer. The summer sunshine helps me do more—inside or outside. I even get a bit of a tan. Summer rejuvenates me. It’s also the time of year when I review my goals. That’s because July means half the year is over. Or, if you’re an optimist like me, you still have half …
Back when I was a software developer, I excelled at certain mistakes. I could write an infinite loop faster than anyone. Then there was the off-by-one mistake for arrays or tables. I repeated certain mistakes too often. Until I started an engineering notebook. Once I started to learn about my mistakes, I stopped those mistakes. I …
Mistake vs. Success: When Do You Learn from Each? Read More »
We often talk about “spending” time. I often think about spending in two ways: To expend, as in energy. To exchange some value for something else. For example, I spend money in exchange for goods or services. I’m not so sure I like the idea of “spending” time. I can’t ever get another second of …
I’ve been speaking a ton this year, primarily around the Modern Management Made Easy books. Some meeting facilitators have a little trouble with the idea I wrote 18 books. Some people can’t believe it. (Literally. They say, “I can’t believe it!” I laugh.) Some facilitators ask how many more I plan to write. (Many!) One …
Are You Competing With Others or Modeling Yourself After Their Accomplishments? Read More »
Do you ever reflect and realize you didn’t accomplish something you wanted to? I don’t regret much in my life. I have one big exception to that—when my mouth says something before my brain realizes I’ve even said anything. (Some of us extroverts have the mouth-engage-before-brain problem. Infrequently, introverts also have this problem.) If I realize what …
What Do You Want to Accomplish so You Don’t Create Regrets? Read More »
2020 has challenged all of us. We’ve learned to work at home and live where we work. Some of us have learned to teach and parent and work. All of us have learned the art of social distancing, mask-wearing, and hand-washing. So why am I asking about how we might challenge ourselves in the future? …
I have not created or maintained a sustainable pace this week. I’m finishing books. I discovered my checklists now miss some steps. I’ve been working too early and too late. Sustainable pace? Not right now. Under normal circumstances, I use these tactics: Start work at roughly the same time every day. Stop work at roughly the …
When Can You See You Have an Unsustainable Pace? Read More »
Let’s assume you want to learn a new skill. I’ll choose fiction writing because I’m still learning. What do you do to master new skills? Here’s what I’ve done: Found successful people to learn from. Found a support system. Used deliberate practice with feedback to improve. I’ll take each of these. Learn from Successful People …