Does the title of this post not explain itself? People who know what they’re doing stay calm under pressure. Things that bother some people don’t bother them. People who don’t know what they’re doing freak out at little things. In money terms, if you don’t have enough to live on, problems on the scale of a few dollars may bother you. If you have millions, problems of a thousands of[…] Keep reading →
Two nights ago I walked with a friend past an exclusive resort she told me had a stunning rooftop infinity pool overlooking the city (pictures here). Entrance required getting a minimum $400 room. Instead I talked to a few people, got invited up, and we enjoyed the pool and view as invited guests. (I still had to swim in my boxer shorts because how was I supposed to know I[…] Keep reading →
Leadership and acting have a lot in common. Both crafts require practitioners to be aware of and to manage their emotions and those of people around them. They evoke different emotions — leaders generally don’t try to get people to cry and actors generally don’t get people to work weekends — but their crafts overlap nonetheless. I’ve linked to Inside the Actors Studio before and I’ll keep linking to them.[…] Keep reading →
You learn leadership through experience. I’ve had occasion to recall some of the most challenging and educational experiences of my development. I’m not proud of them. I wish they had never happened. But they formed me as much as anything. The painful experiences I co-founded Submedia in the late 90s. By the early 2000s we had nearly run out of money and were having trouble paying our debts. My PhD[…] Keep reading →
I’ve been talking to my American friends overseas about differences between the U.S. and the countries they’re living in. Top on the list are infrastructure and what the government does for the people it represents. I think government services rank so highly because when you get to know them, people tend to be the same everywhere. They usually know differences in food before they go. After the people you notice[…] Keep reading →
Almost daily I face what I see as the key misunderstanding between how to lead your life to everything you want from it and how to follow what society tells you to. If you’re lucky the latter will bring you what you want. You’re guaranteed to produce for others, but you may never create what you want for yourself. By contrast, the former — leading your life based on your[…] Keep reading →
A couple clients recently thanked me for some advice I had given outside our main conversation, almost as asides, but that worked. Every word counts I told them that every word you say contributes to your identity, even if only to yourself. And that every word influences how everyone, including yourself, perceives you. Context They were talking about some problems they were working through. They said things like “I have[…] Keep reading →