We’ve talked a bit on this web site about having a balanced life and the role that plays in keeping you creative and in preparing you for challenges and failure.
Reader Karen M. sent me a note pointing to a batch of new supporting scientific evidence in favor of balance. One form of it anyway: taking […]

I like giving presentations. (Go ahead, get it out of your system…done yet? Good.)
The Lessig Style
From time to time I look up and see if anyone is doing anything new. About 9 months ago I looked up and saw several folks talking about the “Lessig Style” of presentation. I watched a couple of sample presentations, […]

I spend a lot of time focused on trying to get people—especially people just starting their careers—to think about their career over long term and to identify ways that they can do something meaningful with their time. It’s fun, but I realize I’m leaving out a small but important part of the workplace: those who […]

My organization, like lots of large companies and government agencies, has a required regimen of courses and training that I am required to complete as the career clock ticks. To say that these are usually unremarkable is being pretty generous, but hey, spring is in the air.
But I got lucky and did an exercise in […]

So, how about it: what do you do for a living? What does your organization do? Why should anyone outside your company care?
We are special
I’ve made the argument before—and I genuinely believe—that those of us in science, engineering, and technology are special. We are going to create, invent, discover, and build the things that will […]

There is a lot to cover about private speaking that we haven’t talked about. And we’ll cover those issues as they come up over time. So far I have provided only the broadest outlines to get you thinking in the right direction. In some ways that’s the single most important part of really developing your […]

Seriously? Yes.
While I’m preparing for your difficult or important one-on-one interaction, I sometimes find that the process of preparation and of creating mind maps isn’t enough. Either the stakes (for me or the conversation partner) are so high that I’m not comfortable even having the conversation, or the conflict is likely to be so intense […]

Who says that speeches and public speaking gigs are the only times you should prepare ahead of time?
Before an important private interaction I always take a little time to sketch out in my mind how things are going to go. How will I open the conversation? How will she respond? Which responses are most likely, […]

At least some of the personal interactions you are going to have as a leader are going to fall into the category of a difficult conversation.
Difficult conversations happen when there is conflict, or anticipated conflict, between the ways two people perceive a given situation. For example, when you have to tell a coworker that […]

I’m not a fan of resolutions at the new year, but it is a good time to step back from whatever is consuming me and take a look at the big picture.
As I’m doing that for myself, I thought it might also be time to remind ourselves of the Big Picture about this site and […]