The human side of business
I recently came across a newsletter style blog, similar to what I publish here, penned by someone I worked with in the not so distant past. There was a strange similarity to it – with some of the tics, cadence, and themes, that I recognize in my own musings. At first, I was shocked. Then, annoyed. And after that, I…
At a time when being acknowledged feels like the exception rather than the norm, opportunities to connect with your people are everywhere. Giving attention, in the right way, is like sending an emotional gift certificate. Most of us reading (and writing) this blog grew up on autoresponders. They were invented solely to help businesses stay in touch, without all…
The other afternoon, I struck up a conversation with a fifth grader, a friend of the family, about how school was going this year. She described something her teacher was doing prior to a test, that to me felt stressful. It doesn’t matter what it was as it relates to this story, but when I pressed her for an explanation,…
At the root of most anxiety is the unknown. I’m feeling a lot of this lately. What if it doesn’t work? What if it’s bad news? What if this escalates? What if it ends? Our ability to cope with what is not yet known ends up defining so much of who we are, how we behave, the decisions we make,…
Like some of you, I operate in the feedback space, constantly and methodically evaluating what is working and what isn’t. But this post is about an entirely different sensation; being a goofy, unrestrained, unadulterated fan; being swept away in the perfection of a thing, and seeing it for all the good that it is. As consumers, we need unapologetic fan…
I’ve talked about singularity in this blog, as well as belonging, long-term relationships and the difference between good and great. I’ve obsessed over design (or the lack thereof) and extolled the power of words. All of these themes thundered through my chest as I learned that one of my longtime collaborators, Clive Piercy, the creative director of LA-based design shop…
