Writing

Give Your Team a Way to Say No

How exactly do you enable your existing team to get more done (without working overtime or burning out)? There are many strategies for gaining efficiency, but today, let's talk about one. Give your team the opportunity to say no.

How to Respond When Your Teammate Makes a Mistake

One of my colleagues at Zapier has been diving deep on the ins and outs of coaching. A few weeks back, she put out a prompt to our team. How do you respond when a teammate makes a mistake? My brain immediately started thinking about all of the more visible…

Build Your Own Red Team

At some point or another, I’d imagine virtually all of us have answered some form of the “money is no object” question. Essentially this: If you didn’t have to worry about money at all, what would you do? My standard reply is to open some form of bookstore and coffee…

Listen, Learn, and Help. Then, Lead.

I’m constantly drawn to leaders in military settings. I suspect it’s because of the immense gravity surrounding their specific situation. It’s hard to fathom what it’s like to lead a country being bombed on a nightly basis like Churchill or finding a way to stay positive when you’re facing a…

On Re-Reading and The Book Quantity Trap

It seems like more people are reading actual books these days. Admittedly, I have no data to back this up outside of my observations of friends in-person and on social media. However, more people I know are posting reading lists, book reviews, and photos of their physical library. I love…

The Importance of Keeping a Moral Ledger

Today’s post deviates a bit from the norm. I’ve been reading quite a bit about history and Stoicism in particular. A few concepts are sticking out like this idea of a moral ledger. So, let’s explore and start with a story! In September of 1855, John D. Rockefeller landed his…