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🗣️ "Normal is forgotten. Only weird survives." -George Mack

🗣️ "What makes you different or weird, that's your strength." -Meryl Streep

🗣️ “If you want to be the successful fish in the pond, the key is making your own pond.” -Ben Thompson

🗣️ "No matter what you do, it should fit your personality. Don't try to play the game that goes against your natural instincts." -Garry Kasparov

If your manager is sending these warning signs, you can hopefully use the tips in this article to turn the ship around before it’s too late. ​Read more​

Well-chosen goals can be the difference between productivity and aimlessness. Here are 10 tips to set better goals for your team. ​Read more​

​The Spotify Play by Sven Carlsson & Jonas Leijonhufvud​ ​Nonfiction: Business, Entrepreneurship I listen to Spotify every day, so it was fascinating to learn how they got started. Just like most startup stories I read, I was shocked at how many times the company almost didn't make it. (Remarkably, the path to world dominance often contains one existential risk after another.)

​Write Useful Books by Rob Fitzpatrick​ ​Nonfiction: Writing, Marketing If you ever plan to write a nonfiction book, you should read this. It's insanely helpful (definitely lives up to the name). Instead of offering writing craft advice like On Writing or Bird by Bird, Fitzpatrick explains how to design and sell books (find beta readers, position your book, etc.). Thanks to my friend Matt Hutson for the rec!

🗣️ "I've found that 20 percent of any change is knowing how, but 80 percent is knowing why." -Tony Robbins

As a leader, one of your roles is to be a change agent, driving projects and helping employees adopt new processes.

I've run more company projects than I can count, and the ones that went poorly often shared the same flaw: I did a poor job of communicating the WHY behind the project.

It's easy to get into a mindset of just trying to push the change through the company. (I've even heard plenty of leaders use that exact terminology.)

But the most effective changes aren't pushed, they're shepherded.

And one of the most important aspects of shepherding a project is ensuring everyone understands why the company is doing it. This involves:

• Explain the problem you're trying to solve (What's the issue?)
• Share what alternatives you've considered and which employees you've consulted along the way (Who's driving this change?)
• Paint a clear and compelling picture of the end state (After you've completed the project, what will be different?)
• Acknowledge the difficulty of making the change, along with why you think the end state will be worth it (What challenges should people expect along the way?)

The more people understand the purpose behind the initiative and feel involved in it, the more likely they'll jump on board.

I've botched this plenty of times in my career, so I sometimes have to remind myself of this quote:

I attended a Learning & Development (L&D) conference in San Diego this week. On Wednesday night, I took a nighttime stroll around the neighborhood of La Jolla.

As I walked near the beach, I heard a chorus of sea lions barking. I followed the noise to the La Jolla Cove, where I found the largest gathering of sea lions I've ever seen. (Picture below.)

Apparently, this is a big tourist attraction, and I didn't even know it was there. I love stumbling on random stuff like this. It's one of my favorite aspects of travel. ❤️

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