Essays on creative leadership,
culture, and the human side of work.
Published weekly, with an original illustration. Two series: Becoming and Advisory Notes.
In order to negotiate better, freelancers need to learn to love the fear of asking for more. (It’s not bravery or some magical power that helped me become a better negotiator; it was raw fear.) Fear can make us unable to think, unable to move. I’ve been so gripped by fear that my feet felt…
This evening a grade school classmate of mine arranged a Zoom reunion call. Thirteen of the eighty-five of us who graduated from Maple School have signed up for the call. A good turnout considering our graduation was in 1958. We’re all in our seventies, and seventeen of us are dead. My first memory of those…
(published in Fast Company today) “I want to raise my rates from $90 to $125 an hour.” That was the first thing Jessica said on the call. It was followed by, “My accountant advised it.” Quickly followed by, “How do I tell my clients?” It’s a question I get asked all the time. Before I…
News flash. Fast Company asked me to write for them again. Thanks to Arianna O’Dell, who introduced me to a new editor there, I’ve been asked to write a piece on how to get a raise if you’re freelancing. Well over 30% of Americans are now considered freelancers, so it’s a near and dear subject…
“You must separate yourself from your work.” I listened. Took in the thought. But didn’t connect completely with his meaning. (My writing is personal. I write to help others and so readers and my clients come to know me better.) There I was, sitting in a seminar about negotiation with a bunch of business types.…
If you’re any good at all, you know you can be better. And teams make us better. I’ve been a runner off and on over the course of my life. Being adopted and fostered left me with a tendency to be a loner. Yes, I could relate to people. I wasn’t only a loner, but…
This is the epic story of the birth of the brand NED, which stands for Not Entirely Dead, a brand inspired by Eason Yang’s personal cancer treatment experience. Doctors use the term NED when all symptoms of cancer are gone –– which, in their terms, means “No Evidence of Disease.” Once Eason reached that status,…