I was talking to a friend, Jake, recently when the phone rang. When the caller id displayed the name I heard him say “I bet Steve just lost his job.” When I asked how he knew that he responded “Steve only calls me when he’s looking for a job.”

Oooh, that hurt because the reason I had asked to meet with him was to let him know that I was going to start a job search and (more…)

 

One of my favorite Dilbert strips is one where Dilbert, Wally and some old guy were having a lunch discussion.

 

Have you ever had one of those “Word of the Day” calendars or email services that gave you a new word to learn with the intent of improving your vocabulary? The idea was to expose something you weren’t aware of and then to find opportunities to put it to use.

What if we applied the same idea to our behaviors? What if everyday we were to all get together and look at one practical life application (PLA) and try to apply it through out the day? (more…)

 

Several months ago I was on a phone interview for a job when the interviewer asked “How do you motivate your employees?” In a moment of mouth before brain I responded with my initial thought, “Why? Are your employees not motivated?”

Reality was that I wasn’t that interested in the position and I don’t think they were that interested in me otherwise I would have been more careful. But I was dead serious about the question. My reply was simply (more…)

 

Did you ever watch someone apply their best mental jujitsu in a heated discussion only to see them flame out with a look of “what just happened?” Not only have I seen this, I seem to be a regular participant.

One of the reasons it happens to me is that I make a simple incorrect assumption about how to approach the other person. While I think I am doing the right thing the Law of Unintended Consequences comes (more…)

 

Creativity is a fascinating beast. Some people seem to have it in droves – others, “Bless their hearts” as southerners would say, weren’t so equipped. But what makes a person creative – is it nature or nurture?

The answer is a resounding “Yes?” We all have different physiological profiles that makes us more or less capable, but the people around you have just as much influence on whether you are creative or not. To get to the nurture we first need to step through the nature and a tiny bit of science. I promise it won’t hurt.

You may have heard the expression “scientists have never found a gene responsible for creativity” and it is technically (more…)

 

There’s a busy street corner in the northern suburbs of Atlanta that seems like a great location for a restaurant. Lots of traffic, a movie theater across the street, a Home Depot next door and a WalMart across the street. That’s apparently what at least eight other entrepreneurs have thought over the last 15 years – each one having put in a low end Mexican eatery into the exact same location after the previous one failed.

Let me replay what I envision the conversation between the last owner and the loan officer (more…)

 

You know those little pieces of advice that you love to tell others but forget to use yourself? I have one of those that recently made all the difference in the world for me and my family.

I was in a mentoring session with a dear friend when they explained to me that they weren’t feeling fulfilled in their role as a manager. After going through countless, complicated stories of unhappiness, I told them that there is a magic formula that I employ to determine if I am in the right job.

“Do what you love in the service of people who love what you do.” – Steve Farber, The Radical Leap

No sooner had I uttered those words then the sound of something similar to 2000 pounds of brick crashing to the ground rang through my ears. I had forgotten to use my own advice. When I finally did, there, in perfect three part harmony stood the source of what had been brewing inside of me for the last several months. (more…)

 

It’s been a difficult week – a week of highs, a week of great introspection and a week where I discovered something very painful about my role here. To get to this discovery, I need to introduce a little bit of history.

Thirteen years ago I became the first engineering manager at a very small startup called Internet Security Systems. Like many startups, it was the wild west of times. We were brash, confident to a fault, energetic, willing to do whatever it took to conquer the world. It was the definition of (more…)

 

I believe that no matter how happy you are, you have at least 10% of your psyche dedicated to bitching. For many, it can be quite a bit more, but everyone has at least 10%.

If you are a leader and want to help your teams it is critical that you know a little bit about this and how it may cause you to do exactly the wrong thing despite your best intentions.

Despite having a great day, week or life, there is always some natural tension eating at us that we need or would like to change. This dissonance (more…)

 

I had lunch this week with a friend that works in another company. Their firm was recently acquired which left him a bit nervous about his future. He decided it was time to leave. When he gave his notice his boss told him what an incredible future he had in this new acquisition because the new company’s team was mediocre at best and that he would shine like a star without having to do anything.

Hmmm, that was supposed to be his motivation to stay – being surrounded by mediocrity.

Actually, being surrounded by mediocrity may be exactly what you are looking for in a company. Not for the reason that my friend’s boss indicated, (more…)

 

I really despise suck-ups. In building a management team I first look for someone that can challenge me and my ideas. There must be an honest, respectful tension of ideas in order to build confidence in the decisions we will make.

The key word from that previous sentence was not honest or tension, but rather respectful. (more…)

 

“ ‘Our employees our are best assets.’ What do we do with assets? We use them. We buy and sell them. We depreciate them.” – Dennis Bakke, Joy At Work

If you want to learn a lot about an organization, listen to their words. Words are often a hidden tunnel into the soul of corporate belief. What words permeate your office?
(more…)