“Only a fool learns from his own mistakes. The wise man learns from the mistakes of others.” – Otto Von Bismarck I’ve always loved this quote from the former Prime Minister of Prussia. I try to look for lessons to learn all around me, whether they’re good or bad. Fortunately, not every lesson is a […]
“Time management is an oxymoron. Time is beyond our control, and the clock keeps ticking regardless of how we lead our lives. Priority management is the answer to maximizing the time we have.” – John C Maxwell, best-selling author, speaker, & consultant on Leadership. If you’re a knowledge worker, you’re probably undervaluing your time. If […]
You’ve just lost your 3rd straight game to your biggest rival by an embarrassing margin in front of your home crowd; they’ve won dozens of championship since your last win and they eliminated you from the playoffs in heartbreaking fashion last year. Would you persevere? Would you be able to rally the will to try […]
“Forget this. I’m going home,” I said to myself as I closed my laptop and packed my bags. I was frustrated and decided it was better to pick things up tomorrow than force myself through it for another hour after everyone else had gone home; this wasn’t the first time, and wouldn’t be the last. […]
As a manager, you’re often playing a guessing game. You’re asking yourself questions like: What are my people really thinking? Why did they just do what they did? Do they really understand what I meant to convey? It can all feel like a big secret to you. What if you could see the secret thoughts […]
Much has been written here and all over the web about what managers need to know about one-on-ones and why they must have them. But what about when you’re an employee? Being new to one-on-ones, wondering what to expect, and wanting to know what you can do to make the most of them applies to […]
In our interrupt driven society it is easy to get drawn into the trap of reactive management. It can even feel good, because you’re being so “responsive” and “available” by letting team members ping you any time and always responding right away. You can sit for hours in email doing your best to keep up […]
There’s a tool at the disposal of every manager in the world that is the key to solving many of their most pressing problems. But like a swiss army knife being used as a hammer, most managers are wasting this tool by only using it to a small fraction of it’s potential. That multi-tool is […]
So you’re having one on ones. Great. You’ve taken an important step in being a good manager for your people. But having the meeting is just the first step in being effective. You need to follow through on what’s discussed and stay out in front of the problems and opportunities that come up. Like any […]
Congratulations! You got the promotion to manager. Unfortunately, everything you know as an individual contributor is about to be turned on its ear. Many of the skills that made you succeed before won’t help you now. The demands for your time, who you have to worry about, and how to get results are all different. […]
