Several years ago, Google ran a study to determine what made teams effective, and later published the results, including sharing a summary in a New York Times article. While one might think that an effective team depends on having the most capable individuals, Google’s researchers discovered that the members of the team mattered far less […]
The Courage to Be Disliked, by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga
Amazon link Written as a dialogue between a passionate but unhappy youth and a wise philosopher, this book takes on big questions like what it means to be happy, and how to live a meaningful life. It’s based on the work of psychologist Alfred Adler but you don’t need to know anything going in, as […]
If you see something, say something
When confronted with an uncomfortable situation, we often stay silent because we don’t know what to say in the moment, or we don’t want to get involved. For instance, when we witness people making potentially racist or sexist comments, it’s easier to say nothing, because why take the risk of an uncomfortable confrontation? And yet, […]
Organizational Cognition Revisited
[n.b. This post got completely out of control (2200 words!) as I tied together way too many ideas with too little explanation as I relied on heavy hyperlinking. Skip to the end for a couple actionable takeaways.] I recently read Jeff Hawkins’s book A Thousand Brains after Ben Thompson referenced it in a Stratechery update […]
What’s Our Problem? by Tim Urban
Amazon link I was a fan of Tim Urban and his page Wait But Why, and have been supporting him for years on Patreon. So I was excited to read his new book, subtitled “a self-help book for societies”, which finally came out after years of waiting. Alas, I was very disappointed with it. My […]
Us: Getting Past You and Me to Build a More Loving Relationship, by Terrence Real
Amazon link There is a path toward us, toward integration, connection, wholeness. And there is a path toward you and me, trauma, scarcity, selfishness. Choose connection. This book centers around a simple idea. When we were children, we adapted to our environment to get our emotional needs met. We used our parents as role models, […]
Practicing Celebration
Celebration is really hard for me. I used to feel that celebration is only for achieving something you didn’t expect to achieve, but after I’ve done something, I was clearly expected to have done it, so what is there to celebrate? Instead, I historically have pushed on to the next challenge. Yet researchers like BJ […]
Generous Selling
I regularly talk to new coaches to share my experience, because I believe that the world benefits from more people with a coaching mindset, and as a way to pay it forward for the coaches that advised me when I transitioned into coaching. These new coaches often ask me about my sales process, and since […]
2022 Year in Review
Another year is in the books, and, as usual, I want to take the opportunity to reflect on 2022, and set my intention for 2023. In last year’s reflection, I added self-care as a priority for myself along with family and coaching, and that went surprisingly well. I managed my commitments better, as I realized […]
DEI Deconstructed, by Lily Zheng
Amazon link I’ve been following Lily Zheng (they/them pronouns) for years on LinkedIn to get their DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) insights, and their book is even better. They call out the DEI industry for failing to live up to their own saying that “intentions do not equal impact”, because despite the best of intentions, […]
