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Photo by Cytonn Photography on Unsplash Sales is the butt of many jokes, but it might be more important than we realize — especially if it’s done the right way. In his 1849 essay historian Thomas Carlyle dubbed economics “the dismal science”. The title was a joke, based on the fact that for decades, music had been referred to… Read More »The Hopeful, Helpful Science: Why Sales Gets a Bad Rap, But Deserves Just the Opposite

Photo by Vadim Sherbakov on Unsplash Some candid thoughts about how the very things that make us feel more in control can end up derailing us, and how to make peace with the messy business of doing. I write primarily about productivity and self-improvement. I also struggle immensely with both of those things. I have days where… Read More »The Seductive and Destructive Appeal of Productivity Porn

How a 2,000 year-old theory of human motivation can still help both individuals and organizations become the best versions of themselves. Photo by Hello I’m Nik on Unsplash What makes a great leader? What qualities does a great leader have that compel people to follow her? What gives a great leader that gravitas — that ability to inspire,… Read More »What Plato Can Teach Us About Personal and Organizational Excellence

Photo by Marcel Heil on Unsplash Against the imaginary hierarchy of jobs, and our arbitrary acceptance of it, and in favor of a richer concept of work. When I was 16, I attended the graduation party of a guy that I worked with at the local supermarket chain. He was a year older than me, and was… Read More »What Makes a Job Meaningful?

image courtesy of the Candy family On the 25th anniversary of the comedian’s death, some thoughts on life, laughter, love, and the gaping hole left in our collective sense of humor. On March 4th, 1994 — 25 years ago today— news began making the rounds that actor and comedian John Candy had died while filming the comedy Wagons East!… Read More »Where Have all the John Candys Gone?

credit: gerait (via pixabay) How the Boundaries of Thoughts and Minds are Being Re-shaped, and What that Means for Us I’ve been obsessed with thinking for some time now. I want to understand how we can do it better. But in order to improve any process, you need to have some understanding of how the current one… Read More »New Minds, New Thoughts, New Future

Photo by Beatriz Pérez Moya on Unsplash Sometimes, doing a big, hard thing really is as easy as doing a bunch of small ones. The phrase “I’m writing a book” evokes all sorts of feelings, doesn’t it? After all, books are, well…they’re books! The only people who write books are authors — not regular people! Writers place these and… Read More »How I Finally Wrote a Book (Without Even Really Writing One)

Photo by Tim Gouw on Unsplash How a destructive hustle-focused culture is hurting both our professional and personal lives, and what we can do about it. A few years ago, a term emerged from the annals of the internet, and exploded into mainstream discussion: toxic masculinity. It’s a general shorthand for the harmful set of beliefs and… Read More »Toxic Taskulinity

Photo by Paul Dufour on Unsplash For the past 2 years, I have chosen 3 values to focus on at the beginning of the year. This year, I’ve chosen 1, and I think that will make all the difference. Every January for the past couple of years, I have chosen 3 values on which to focus… Read More »My Singular Focus for 2019

Photo by Andrew Neel on Unsplash And other magical myths we hold on to at our own peril From time to time, I will hear someone talk about their “dream job”. It used to be that when I heard mention of that magical thing, I would almost involuntarily start wishing for that mythical job that I could… Read More »The Dangerous Illusion of the “Dream Job”