
First Principles for Problem Solving
When I wrote my first draft of People Solve Problems, I was very clear that the tools were not where the magic was but I still referred to my favorite tools and methods a bit too often. After a structural edit and some great feedback, I committed further to write
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Forget Time Management—Manage Your Attention
On Forbes: Forget Time Management—Manage Your Attention Baseball players can easily hit home run after home run in batting practice. But things are different when it’s the bottom of the ninth and the game is on the line in a stadium full of people cheering (or maybe booing). The difference
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16 Important Skills Professionals Need To Build ‘Future-Proof’ Careers
Everyone is so busy trying to keep up, but how do you get out ahead? How do you ‘future-proof’ your career? Some skills, capabilities, and perspectives are timeless. You don’t have to be a futurist or a fortune teller to be prepared for the future. Here are 16 perspectives, including
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What Early Experiences Taught You Interesting Lessons?
What early experience taught you an interesting lesson? These are always fun stories, usually share when acting as a mentor, or perhaps over a drink. Here’s an example from my history, and how this little part taught me some valuable lessons. Those lessons may have helped shape my thinking.
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The Strategic Evolution of My Work at JFlinch
When I began JFlinch in January of 2020, I simply got started because I really wanted to decide slowly over time what work I truly wanted to do. While the pandemic forced some changes, it also set a path of my honing of my strategic heuristics for decision making, and
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Why ‘The Boss Said’ Is Not A Reason
Sharing my fourth article for Forbes: Why ‘The Boss Said’ Is Not A Reason So many action-initiating conversations lead in with some version of “the boss said,” as if that’s a good reason to complete any task. Of course, it is one reason, but it’s a reason filled with waste
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A Person Is Not a Proxy
I witness this breakdown in critical thinking far too frequently. Just because a person or an organization is highly respected and capable, does not mean that we should judge all of their decisions, actions, and opinions based on that respect. We should be skeptical. We should challenge. After all, Aristotle
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Stress Is Hopelessness, Tension Is Potential
Stress is hopelessness Stress is better understood today, and in particular its impact on our physical health. In our worst vicious circles, stress about poor health can lead to even further decline in health. Acknowledgement of stress is also now more acceptable, and not just a sign of weakness that
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Working Genius Review
The 6 Types of Working Genius by Patrick Lencioni is a thought-provoking and insightful guide to unlocking the potential of individuals and teams in the workplace. Lencioni, also known for books such as The Five Dysfunctions of a Team and Death by Meeting, identifies six types of working geniuses that
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The Misunderstood Impact of Misaligned Perceptions of Your Abilities With Your Boss
The Misunderstood Impact of Misaligned Perceptions of Your Abilities With Your Boss …or, why it’s not about your risk of getting fired. You might hear from your boss “you’re great, a rockstar, we have every faith in you, you’re going to go far, but…you could improve in these ways…”
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