Sorry? Say So Effectively!

Last Friday the 13th (somehow fitting) was “sorry” day at  Back West’s world headquarters; three occasions that someone said to me “I’m sorry.”

How effectively those apologies were tells you the things that make a sorry work, and how saying you’re sorry can also make the situation even worse.

Here’s the three:

  • Stephanie Smith, the person who cuts my hair was a no-show (as in the lights were off, the door locked, and no one in her shop) for my appointment late Thursday afternoon.
Read the rest

When Is It Time to Fire Your Co-Founder?

Start-ups are a lot like some relationships; great when when you first meet and date, perhaps a little bumpy and not-so-hot as you spend more time, grow, and start wanting different things from the relationship.

The fact of the matter is that the road is littered with co-founders or co-founding teams that needed to split apart – some stay, some leave – in order for the start-up to grow.… Read the rest

The Job Market: Quickening Thaw or Just a Hot Flash?

Image by bgottsab via Flickr

The job market – something I survey as unconsciously as most people breath air as part of my work  –  seems to be telling us something this first week of the Gregorian new year.

But what it is?

For a large part of the US population the Great Recession is like a parallel universe; heard about, but not part of anyone’s day-to-day existence.… Read the rest

“How long should I wait until I look for another job after realizing the one I just got isn’t the right fit for me?”

Albert Einstein during a lecture in Vienna in ...
Image via Wikipedia

My twitter friend Hutch Carpenter noted (tweeted actually) that “Quora is the new black” – always a signal that something may become popular – the website provides an interesting mix of questions and answers in a quasi-curated format. Co-founders Adam D’Angelo and Charlie Cheever and the rest of the team have created for the moment a site what provides a rich collection of questions and answers on a host of topics.… Read the rest

[Ways to Say Thanks] “Great Articles”

There are a number of benefits from working with individuals as an executive coach, and working with start-up and leadership teams as a team coach. Some of them are financial, and some of them are pride in accomplishment.  Some of the benefits are the unexpected thank you’s that make you smile from the inside. Here’s one of the latter:

“Dear Mike,

I was referred to your blog by another former BGIer [Barclays Global Investors – now part of BlackRock].Read the rest