All in Communications
One of the hardest things to get our heads around is this idea of culture, and specifically, cultural fit, in terms of people we work with.
We’re well versed in assessing technical capabilities and the “how” we do the work that we do. You need to have these specific qualifications or you need to show those particular process skills, or you need to demonstrate that you’ve delivered on that defined platform in your prior experiences. All defined, all measurable, all tangible.
I think it’s ingrained in us, this desire to get things done by ourselves. In many ways, it’s a compulsion, and the bigger, more complex the issue, the stronger the desire to go it alone.
It might be an issue of strategy or one of people; a difficult relationship or a complex initiative. When we’re in its ‘throes’, we absorb ourselves in, well, ourselves.
This month's podcasts focus on people - the teams we work with, the people we surround ourselves with, and how we should think about them. People make all the difference.
Today's episode discusses that the worst thing that can happen to an organization is for its most passionate people to go quiet. The truth is that we need their passion and despite how difficult they might seem to be, we need to nurture them, not turn them off.
This month's podcasts focus on people - the teams we work with, the people we surround ourselves with, and how we should think about them. People make all the difference.
In today's episode, I discuss the importance of surrounding yourself with people who believe in you. As much as you need to believe in yourself, it's as important to have an open, welcoming, encouraging environment for us to flourish.
We seem to have arrived at a place where, for many, the measure of a person’s worth and value to society is based on their net worth. And the proxies for this are in the titles we hold (and covet), the toys and trinkets we own and the clothes we wear.
We talk a good game, though. We talk about the value of hard work, the need to be happy, that love and caring trumps all.
This month's podcasts focus on war stories, recounting situations and experiences that were unique, intriguing and (always) educational.
In today's episode, I talk about my early experiences traveling - something I originally wasn't happy about, but soon came to realize that it is, actually, a hygiene factor today.
This month's podcasts focus on war stories, recounting situations and experiences that were unique, intriguing and (always) educational.
In today's episode, I share a story about a very unique experience I've had - and keep having on Twitter. Specifically, about how I'm regularly confused with the Former Chief Minister of Kashmir, and what that tells us about how to effectively communicate.
The problem is apathy.
When we’ve been burned long enough, when we’ve been ignored long enough, when we’ve been taken for granted, we might decide we don’t care. So, then, we ignore the issue or avoid it. We get on with other aspects of our lives, and deprioritize those things that have caused our problems.
More often than not, we tend to judge how a particular situation will turn out based on how easily that outcome comes to mind, which is influenced by what we’ve seen, experienced or heard most recently.
This is called the Availability heuristic or Availability bias, which suggests we weigh our judgements towards the most recent news.
This month's podcasts focus on war stories, recounting situations and experiences that were unique, intriguing and (always) educational.
In today's episode, I recount one of the most unique interview experiences I had, back when I was interviewing for management consulting. It taught me that no matter how much you prepare, you don't always get what you expect, and so, you need to be ready to think on your feet.
The thing about respect is that it isn’t something that’s bestowed upon us. We can’t simply expect respect as some sort of birthright, a product of our position or title or so-called standing. We have to earn it.
Our actions and behaviors are what enable us to earn it, enable us to command respect. That’s all on us. We own all of our outcomes.
This month's podcasts delve into the seeds of entrepreneurship, where these crazy ideas come from and what they mean for us, as entrepreneurs.
In today's episode, I discuss the nature of ideas, and specifically great ideas. What is it about great ideas that makes them endure? What kind of environment allows such ideas to break through? What do we need to keep in mind to make sure these ideas break through?
I’m not a big fan of the TV show, Shark Tank. It has too much of a contrived, over-the-top vibe to it with an extra helping of meanness served up by a couple of the “sharks”. I also don’t like it when entrepreneurs with good ideas give away too much of their company in return for, at least what I perceive as, too little in return. (You can chalk this off as the grumblings of a fellow, aging entrepreneur…)
This month, the podcast is focused on talent, specifically what we can and should expect of our people, as well as how we evaluate and manage them.
In today's episode, I discuss a simple way to assess whether a performance problem is solvable or not, and that is to ask, whether it's a problem of content or values. The answer to that questions indicates whether the relationship is worth working on or not.
This month, the podcast is focused on talent, specifically what we can and should expect of our people, as well as how we evaluate and manage them.
In today's episode, I talk about the difficult decision to let capable people go from your organization. People who've grown with you, contributed significantly, and continue to do their work. But, for reason's I discuss, you simply can't keep them any longer.
This month, the podcast is focused on talent, specifically what we can and should expect of our people, as well as how we evaluate and manage them.
In today's episode, I discuss performance evaluations and how the best organizations spend the most time on the hardest aspect of it: managing the talent at the margins.
Every deal has a point at which it doesn’t make sense anymore. The point at which the ‘ask’ is just too much.
In a sales deal, it could be when the price is too low, or when the accompanying demands (product add-ons, service level demands, ongoing performance expectations, etc.) aren’t worth the cost.
Of course, this isn’t only the case with sales deals - it happens in all aspects of our lives.
It seems to me that being smart isn’t enough.
Not when you’re trying to get something personal, something important, done.
You can intellectually understand what you need to do. You can comprehend why you need to do it. You can even detail how you need to get it done.
But there’s still no guarantee that you’re going to do it.
There’s many things to consider when we’re making a decision that relates to people - whether we’re hiring someone for our company, deciding on a contractor for a particular job, or choosing between candidates for elected office.
We need to assess their qualifications, their technical competency, their work experience as well as their proposed plan of action (what they’ll do once they’re in the role). All of these are important indicators of the individual’s ability to be successful in the role and it makes sense that we be diligent in evaluating these factors.
When we’ve done things a specific way, acted in a particular manner or simply held a specific point of view for any period of time, we tend to get comfortable. We decide that this is how things work for us, and develop our world view (and accompanying behaviors) around these models.
They might be models we’ve been taught or ones we’ve developed for ourselves, based on our own experiences. But they become ours, whether we think they’re good for us or not (and even when we know they’re not).
