Chasing the next song

A handwritten note. That’s how it started. Fifty years ago this week, a 14-year-old drummer named Larry Mullen Jr. pinned “Drummer Seeks Musicians To Form Band” to a noticeboard at Mount Temple in Dublin. Four teenagers turned up in his kitchen. Bono...

The metrics you’re watching

A CEO pulled up their phone during a session last month, scrolling through analytics before we’d even said hello. Follower count was up. Engagement was up. Everything looked good. Then I asked: did revenue move? Silence. That pause tells you everything about...

The lunch you never take

Somewhere between the second course and the third, it hits you. Nobody at this table is checking a phone. Nobody left their napkin to answer an email. Two hours in, and it’s still just food, conversation, maybe an espresso to close it out. Then you’re...

Plan the exit now

A key person leaves. Then the whispers start: is something wrong here? Then one or two more follow, and now everyone’s asking out loud. It looks sudden. It never is. There’s a question that has nothing to do with talent and everything to do with readiness:...

Thank the invisible ones

Nobody notices the janitor until the floor is dirty. That’s the trick of contribution. The better you are at your job, the more invisible you become. The mechanic who tunes the engine right. The assistant who catches the typo before it ships. The driver who gets...