As the poet-philosopher Sturgill Simpson once said, “Woke up today and decided to kill my ego.” Leadership is a funny thing. Especially as an organization scales. It takes a healthy amount of ego to think you can do what others deem unthinkable. But if your only speed is full speed ahead, you can run into… … Continue reading Ego At Work – Public And Private
Tag: work
What Deadlines, Pumpkin Spice In Summer, And Ambitions Have In Common
“Do you believe they have pumpkin-flavored everything already?! It’s still summer!” - people (worrying about mostly pointless things) “To achieve great things, two things are needed: a plan, and not quite enough time.” - Leonard Bernstein (but he didn’t really say this, h/t Laurie H. and then Quote Investigator) “Two necessities in doing a great … Continue reading What Deadlines, Pumpkin Spice In Summer, And Ambitions Have In Common
Andreessen Thinks Offices Are Archaic (And He Has A Point)
Marc Andreessen has a great take on offices: “There was no office of the Roman Empire. There was no office building. They didn’t go to work. They ran the world.” Offices and schools are byproducts of industrialization. They made sense in the factory-era. They don’t make as much sense, in their current form, especially given … Continue reading Andreessen Thinks Offices Are Archaic (And He Has A Point)
Earn Your Fans (Bielsa At Leeds Edition)
When Marcelo Bielsa took over as head coach for Leeds, the first question he asked his players was “how much does a ticket cost?” The second question he asked was, “how much, per hour, does our average fan earn?” And so the first activity he coached his players through was to pick up litter in … Continue reading Earn Your Fans (Bielsa At Leeds Edition)
How To Know If It’s “Creative” Work
How you'll know if it’s creative work: you can’t do it perfectly. You can’t write the perfect message, play the song exactly right, fully nail the presentation, crush teaching the class, figure out where the blender looks best on the countertop, etc. Maybe you think “they” can. But that’s not how creativity works, it’s how … Continue reading How To Know If It’s “Creative” Work
Why Teams Bond (And How They Can Bond Stronger)
In my great tradition of watching things way after seemingly everyone else but me has seen them, I just got into Friday Night Lights. Yes, that means inevitably there will be a “clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose” post in the near future, but as of right now, I’m thinking of it (a lot) in … Continue reading Why Teams Bond (And How They Can Bond Stronger)
Back To (Office) Work
I’m still sticking with the mantra “Stay at home to work, go to work to collaborate.” We aren’t even in a post-pandemic world yet and the way we think about “the office” continues to shift. These are essential conversations to be having right now. Fred Wilson’s commentary in "Office Utilization" is worth a read as … Continue reading Back To (Office) Work
Once The Resistance Is Removed…
I had a huge project hanging over my head for months. It occupied every spare moment of thought, like water seeping in through the tiniest spaces to remind me, “I’m here, you have to address this.” It did have a deadline though. And that meant an end. The problem was that end kept flipping back … Continue reading Once The Resistance Is Removed…
Delete, Delegate, Or Do It Yourself
My buddy Dan told me his 3 rules for taming the inbox. I loved the succinct way he framed this so much I had to share it. Step one is to only look at email during email time. The frequency is up to you, but recognize that it’s in your control. Step two is to … Continue reading Delete, Delegate, Or Do It Yourself
Stay At Home To Work, Go To Work To Collaborate
For a lot of us, work from home hasn’t been so bad. I’m loving my dog walks and on-the-phone-pacing freedoms, but I get why others are eager to be in the office again. Consensus seems to be the future has some balance between the two, but what’s that actually look like as businesses reopen? Especially … Continue reading Stay At Home To Work, Go To Work To Collaborate