FIRST IN COMMUNICATIONS (meaning the publishing industry, in 1990), there were printed materials, and there was the telephone, and the fax machine. We had computers, but they were blinking green cursors on black screens. We communicated through the books we …
Clients and consultants: Thoughts
We take a break from the nonstop dumpster fire that is the ongoing news from 2020 to return to some more mundane work topics. Today’s topic: consultants. In thinking about today’s topic, I unearthed a blog post I had written, …
On standing still, and moving forward
This post is not about the heartbreaking deaths of George Floyd/Breonna Taylor/Ahmaud Arbery/Philando Castile/Michael Brown/so many other black people at the hands of police officers and white supremacists, and it’s not about the wave of anguish and rage, that’s being …
Getting past the anger
In Myers-Briggs lexicon, I’m an ENTJ—a decisive strategist, someone who you want on your team to get shit done, and maybe even to lead the team, but someone who has to be mindful of ensuring that other voices are heard …
Communicating a better future
Ten years ago, I moved with my family to our present home in Mountain View, California. Mountain View is the home of Google, in the heart of Silicon Valley—two towns over in one direction lies Stanford University and Facebook, and …
Winning narratives that matter
I am a big one for research in all areas of life, including parenting, and one of the evidence-based recommendations I took to heart is to have dinner with your family as often as possible. Apparently, research showed that sitting …
A plug for managers of the future
I have a remarkable memory, for some things. Once I share experiences with people, I remember everything about them: what they said and what they wore on particular occasions, the names of their spouses and kids and their friends, stories …
Company values: It’s complicated, I guess
At most organizations where I’ve worked, if organizational values were not already a thing, they became a Thing while I worked there. People realized that it’s not enough to have a clear mission; you also need guiding principles on how …
Knowing what you want in a job
In the two years since I left my last full-time organizational job (the two months in May and June of this year at a corporate comms job, I do not count), many, many people have told me that they are …
Going beyond work as identity
I have four nieces and two children and all of them are involved in some early stage of the process known as Real Life: college, jobs, first apartments, etc. Because of my very particular set of skills (channeling Liam Neeson …
