Steve

Measured habits lead to measured results

What gets measured isn’t always what gets done. Almost every day, I step on a Bluetooth scale and record my weight in an app on my phone. From April to November of 2019, I lost more than 20 pounds. By February of 2023, I gained it all back, plus at least ten more. And I…
How does your small-a agenda serve your Big-A Agenda?

I start most coaching sessions asking my clients how they’d like to invest the time together that day. I get different kinds of answers: “I want to resolve a conflict.”“I want to be prepared for a presentation.”“I want to improve my weaknesses.”“I want to communicate better / focus better / manage my time or money…
Good by default: Make ethical decisions without thinking.

“We’ll handle the downtime penalty. Take the production system offline immediately.” About ten years ago, I remember our CEO declaring that decision within seconds of hearing that a bug in our portal software had the potential to display lab results associated to the wrong patient. We had an “uptime” guarantee. We paid penalties to our…
Success needs the space and safety to fail

I don’t know how many times my former boss, my SVP, had to report bad news to the C-Suite because I failed to accomplish what he hoped I would. But I do remember being given the space and the safety to experience my own non-fatal failures. He would help me find perspective when I asked…
The kind of clarity that creates conflict and kills creativity

Sometimes, seeing the exact path from one place to another doesn’t solve problems; it creates them. We crave clarity. But one kind of clarity comes with a danger. It’s what we get when we look backwards. It’s the clarity that comes from hindsight. In hindsight, it’s trivial to see how earlier actions led to bad…
What do your low performers need to succeed?

When a reorganization puts you in charge of employees who scored poorly on their most recent performance review, navigating the Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) can be a challenge. Success depends on treating each person as an individual human being. Here are three different examples I’ve faced in my career: 1️⃣ The Culture Clash A recent…
Analysis paralysis? Set yourself a decision deadline.

I was asked, “How do I stop overthinking this decision?” It’s not that the choice was unimportant. In a few years, it would lead to what Jeff Bezos calls a “Type 1” decision – one that can’t be reversed. But the immediate options were reversible “Type 2” decisions. (See my earlier musings on Type 1…
Having failed doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have tried.

Conventional wisdom told me not to do it. I tried anyway. Over ten years ago, I started a business. On paper, the target market I was going after wasn’t supposed to be a profitable one. On paper, my market wouldn’t think they needed the service I was offering. On paper, my market wouldn’t think they…
“I don’t see how anyone can possibly believe that.”

Over twenty years ago, I discovered a pattern that has shaped how I approach controversy. It used to be that when I pondered my opposers’ perspectives, I thought, “I don’t see how anyone can possibly believe that.” As I looked for clever ways to prove my own point of view on different topics, I kept…
When I learned colorblindness is not a virtue

“I don’t see people as black or white. I just see people as people.” As a representative of almost every stereotype of privilege, I believed that successfully becoming “colorblind” was an antidote to prejudice. Then I heard a black woman expand on the phrase. At first I vehemently disagreed with how she presented it, but…
How do I figure out what I need to change?

I thought I needed someone to share a creative idea with me. It turns out I just needed a tool I already had. I don’t find much power in the discipline of daily, scheduled journaling. Sure, many people find wisdom in the habit of documenting their gratitude or answering three daily questions. There were times…
How do I get my team to act like owners?

“It’s so hard to get people to act like owners.” I keep hearing people say that. The truth is, people always act in accordance with their identity. If they’re not acting like owners, it’s often because they don’t see themselves as owners. Here are six questions leaders can ask: 1️⃣ Are they actual owners? Do…