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 Continue Reading…
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 Continue Reading…
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 Continue Reading…
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 Continue Reading…
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. Continue Reading…
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 Continue Reading…
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 Continue Reading…
