Win or lose, black or white, on or off: Whatever the metric, a lot of management advice is wrapped up in binary thinking. We’ve all read the advice books and viral LinkedIn posts about the secret to winning, how to beat the competition, and other buzzy phrases that tell us that if we’re not winning, […]
A million years ago, I worked my first W-2 job at my local McDonald’s. And sure, it wasn’t my most glamorous role, but I did learn a lot in my time flipping burgers that I still think about today. At the time, the “cool” job was getting to work the grill. That’s probably counterintuitive—the main […]
If you’ve made it this far in the pandemic, the good news is that business is probably solid, at least in comparison to last year. Getting here took a lot of creativity: remixing products, adapting to digital tools, constantly updating for market trends, etc. And I wish I could say that as a reward for […]
I recently read Building a StoryBrand by Donald Miller, and it has some interesting insights into how you should bring a product to market. Specifically, it encourages professionals to put themselves in the shoes of the customer and ask one question of whatever they’re selling: “What do I get out of this?” I think in […]
We’re well past the halfway point for the year, and in many ways, it’s starting to feel like the new normal is setting in. It’s not quite what most of us were used to, but as new buying habits, new patterns, new products, and new services have changed everyone’s lives, we’re starting to see groves […]
When’s the last time you called your own phone system? If you don’t remember, now is the time to make that call. Literally, stop reading right now and call your own main number—not somebody’s office, call the one that rings to your auto attendant. If you’re like many people, that may have been a pretty […]
It may seem impossible after dealing with the pandemic for so long, but we are finally on the cusp of the world reopening. There’s some variance depending on where you are, your vaccination rates, and other important factors, but the overall trend is certainly that we’re inching closer to a post-pandemic world. And importantly, that […]
After more than 12 months of getting by in a pandemic, I think it’s fair to say that we’ve all learned a lot. We’ve all but made it through one of the biggest business disruptions in contemporary history, and that has required a lot of adaptation and flexibility from all of us. And while it […]
Dear Executive, Hey, it’s almost February! Congratulations. You’ve gotten your year started and the 2021 budget is officially in full swing. Bet it’s going just how you planned it, right? You put time and research into crafting your budget, you make educated assumptions, and put in the work to get ready for the new year. […]
The phrase “unprecedented times” has become a platitude at this point, and while this situation is unique, I believe that we can draw from past experiences to help navigate these new issues. Because while the current climate is new, having to manage under stress is as old as management. When I was first starting off […]
