My new favorite book is Debugging Teams by Brian Fitzpatrick and Ben Collins-Sussman, two engineers who are deeply converted to the importance of communication and collaboration. Here’s their opening epigram, from Bill Coughran: “Engineering is easy. … [Read more...] about Read Debugging Teams!
Be a human.
You are a person who is motivated by strong core values. You are a person who’s so deeply interested in something that you’ve immersed yourself in it for years. You are a person who’s been through triumphs and mistakes like everyone else who’s alive. … [Read more...] about Be a human.
Get narrow!
“Focusing exclusively on what is in our power magnifies and enhances our power,” says Ryan Holiday in The Obstacle is the Way. This is great advice in times of real difficulty. It’s also great advice just for planning your business, your life, … [Read more...] about Get narrow!
What to do when things get sticky
Sometimes, even if you’re a lovely person, even if you have best of intentions, things go awry. Communicating helps you create great things. But when communication breaks down, the way out can seem impossible to find. Kerry Patterson, Joseph … [Read more...] about What to do when things get sticky
The ‘Seven Habits’ approach to delegation
You know that whatever your professional goals, you can’t achieve them alone. You need a team. The definition of ‘scalable’ in a human is the ability to successfully find, delegate to and manage great teams. Here’s Stephen Covey’s exceptionally … [Read more...] about The ‘Seven Habits’ approach to delegation
The power of the Spring
Pablo Neruda said, “You can pick all the flowers, but you can’t stop the Spring.” Maybe it’s seeing all the flowers of our glorious San Francisco spring after a super rainy winter that keeps putting this quote in my mind. Maybe it’s that I keep … [Read more...] about The power of the Spring
The nine virtues of innovative leaders
The Innovators Way remains one of my favorite books when I’m working with an innovator scaling up to become a great leader and evangelist. If you’re courageous enough to take on changing the world you are a person who demands a lot of yourself. … [Read more...] about The nine virtues of innovative leaders
What to say, how to say it, why to say it
I always say that I “pair the principles and practices of executive coaching with 30 years in communications – a rare and powerful combination.” But what does that mean? Well, in helping innovators become great communicators I do basically three … [Read more...] about What to say, how to say it, why to say it
Personal mastery is the key to communicating
Personal mastery is a huge theme in Peter Senge’s Fifth Discipline series. It’s a huge theme in Ryan Holiday’s books. It’s a huge theme in Crucial Conversations. In fact, it’s a huge theme in every book I’ve read about leadership. WHY? Because … [Read more...] about Personal mastery is the key to communicating
Mental models and communication
Peter Senge’s The Fifth Discipline is a classic management text. It’s full of gems any leader working to become a great communicator can immediately use. For example, Senge talks a lot about mental models – a person’s pre-conceived, typically … [Read more...] about Mental models and communication
