The room that stopped talking

We have all been in that meeting. The one where the agenda is full, the slides are polished, and nobody says what they are actually thinking. A founder we know called it “the most productive meeting we’ve ever had.” Ninety minutes. Decisions made....

The second mistake

We all mess up. Daily. Sometimes loudly. Sometimes quietly. But it happens. The first mistake is rarely the one that defines us. We make the first mistake, and then we face a fork. Own it or explain it away. Absorb it or redirect it. When we deflect, we make a second...

The half-truth teller

There is a kind of dishonesty that never lies. It simply omits. Selectively. Strategically. With a straight face. The colleague who shares the news, but not the part that reflects poorly on them. The vendor who highlights the upside and buries the risk. The leader who...

Are you having fun yet?

Life is finite. You already knew that. What you might be avoiding is the second part: misaligned, unappreciated, and stagnant is a choice. Not always a conscious one. But a choice. The research is unambiguous. Gallup’s decades of workforce data show that engaged...

The one who annoys you

I’ve been in rooms with brilliant leaders who hadn’t been challenged in years. You can feel it. A certain settled quality to their thinking. Confident in ways that have nothing to do with evidence. Surrounded by people who have learned, often through hard...