Thoughts on people, teams, organizations, communities, effectiveness and success
I could tell you that 23 years ago when I moved to San Francisco I figured out that my neighborhood in the Mission would be the hippest place to live west of Williamsburg in Brooklyn, if not North America.
I could say I predicted that the Chronicle’s C.W. Nevius would write “The vibe may be more Mission than Marina today” when talking about trendy neighborhoods in the City.… Read the rest
Jack Hawley, one of the smartest OD people I’ve ever known, once shared the Native American saying that “to travel fast 
you have to travel light.”
It applies to people (whether it’s actual luggage or their own personal baggage) but it also applies to startups and any other organizations.
The fact is that it’s hard to be nimble when you’re big, or small with lots of extra stuff that you’re carrying around.… Read the rest
In the search for the “great” job, it helps to offer something that employers value that they can’t easily find elsewhere. It’s not
always easy but it’s doable; here’s how.
Start by thinking about you want to avoid; being a commodity. A commodity, notes the Merriam-Webster dictionary, “is a good or service whose wide availability typically leads to smaller profit margins and diminishes the importance of factors (as brand name) other than price.… Read the rest
The interviewer with a candidate at the Starbucks in Hong Kong Central seemed nice, bright and engaging.
She was, unfortunately, conducting a train wreck of an interview in front of me; when she asked early on, “You’re not a micromanager, are you?” I thought she was a goner.
When the candidate smiled, said “Of course not” and she smiled back, I knew she was dead on arrival,
She had just confirmed that the candidate had a pulse and an IQ (e.g.… Read the rest
I bumped into a neighbor I’ll call “Sue” on the 4th of July who had a problem that many encounter at some point in their career; a bullying boss.
Sue is gutsy, and had tried several “talk it outs” with her boss to figure out a way to work better together and was getting nowhere. The boss was relatively nice in public and a monster in private.… Read the rest
They are the four most dreaded words to hear when you need help: “It’s not my job.”
Guess what? It just might be your job.
Maybe it’s the intersection of speaking this past weekend to 12 bright women enrolled in my colleague and friend Stacy Blake-Beard’s leadership and gender B-school class at Mills College or an upcoming call with Shereef Bishay (TedSF: Applying Open Source Principles to the Work Place here) but one thought came to mind when I heard those words.… Read the rest