Essays on creative leadership,
culture, and the human side of work.
Published weekly, with an original illustration. Two series: Becoming and Advisory Notes.
Lifelong lessons no kid should ever have to learn. “Teddy, what’s three times five?” It’s asked in a voice I can’t ignore. “Fifteen.” “And what’s four times five?” More demanding now. “Twenty,” I say, dreading the next question, knowing exactly where he’s going with this. Knowing, too, that tears are about to spill. They do.…
Standing between you and the offer is a hard-driving recruiter who’ll decide whether you get to meet with the hiring manager. What now? As soon as Mike walked into the room, the recruiter opened with, “I can’t believe you’re 15 minutes late.” Then, in a louder voice: “Don’t you have any respect for the company, for…
“Do you mind if I ask what you’re working on?” I’d been sipping coffee and sketching at my coffee shop when he asked. “Hi, no I don’t mind. Thanks for asking. It’s for a story about the twists and turns that lead to accomplishments.” I could see it was raining harder now. Lots of wet…
Back in my Leonhardt Group days, when I was selling brand design, I often used personal experiences to help our clients understand the power of our work. Stories, I found, could breathe life into what was otherwise is a pretty dry subject. Design, is of tremendous interest to designers, but most clients don’t find the…
Sometimes our idealistic goals break down in a drama packed moment – a moment where we think the end justifies the means. This is an incident, underpinned by shame, that I’ve remembered for years. A moment where I departed from my principled methods and paid the guilty price. My strategy director met me at the…
This story describes how sexual harassment plays out differently in the workplace depending on which gender is on the receiving end. These experiences showed me, again, how the power of male privilege shapes expectations and outcomes. It was the final stretch of what had been a long, competitive battle. One final dinner, with the prospective…
We evolved the ability to size each other up instantly thousands of years ago. Now, it is generally known through psychological studies, that our snap judgments of others are quite accurate. Separating friend from foe is all about self-preservation, after all. How we present ourselves to others instantly sets the stage for how the relationship…