I’ve been coaching clients one-on-one for a few years, as readers have noted from my references to clients. I’ve coached nearly a hundred clients by now, most of whom found me through word of mouth. I added a new coaching page to this site to help people find coaching with me. Why? My clients succeed. That’s why I love coaching. You can achieve more too. Because coaching works. I have[…] Keep reading →

There’s no getting around that deciding if something is positive or negative means judging it. If you want to avoid judging, thinking positively undermines your goals. If you can’t think of an alternative, you’ll conclude thinking positively is your best option because it’s your only option. But that conclusion just indicates sloppy or incomplete thinking. Sloppy thinking like that reminds me of some criticism someone gave me when I was[…] Keep reading →

Fred Wilson, a prominent New York City based venture capitalist, wrote about the size of the New York City technology sector in terms of number of jobs. I couldn’t help but think about a major issue about New York’s technology sector compared to other markets — the competition for talent with money coming from banking, finance, media, etc. While some people love working in start-ups and would never do otherwise,[…] Keep reading →

Here’s an anecdote from a woman named Elle Luna: I was using Uber all the time in San Francisco, even though I hated the design. And then I went to the Crunchies awards ceremony and at a post-ceremony event, where I was in a ball gown, I saw the CEO of Uber, Travis Kalanick, sitting at the bar. I was three whiskeys deep at this point and I walked up[…] Keep reading →

I have an easy way to tell when I’ve completed a deal with someone: A deal is done when the contract is signed. Or as I think of it: An unsigned contract is not a signed contract. I’ve found it valuable to distinguish between them. I’ve learned not to spend money due on an unsigned contract. Many people consider a deal done with people have agreed on terms. People often[…] Keep reading →

Two days ago a guy named Satya Narayan Goenka died. Who was Goenka and why should I care? First, I’ll mention how I found out about him. I had no experience with meditation when a longtime friend I hadn’t seen in a while suggested I try it. The idea made no sense to me because meditation made no sense to me. I didn’t know or care about it to that[…] Keep reading →

I know some people like working in big companies. They like the feeling of stability, the benefits, the uniformity, I guess. Regular readers know I prefer small companies, especially having co-founded one. Why? Because of big company culture. One incident cemented this perspective for me. I’ll tell you the story that made me not like big companies. You may feel I extrapolated too far. Maybe. What turned me off from[…] Keep reading →