In A Geography of Time, Robert Levine points out that most people work on “clock” time: “It’s five o’ clock, I will see you tomorrow. While successful people work on “event” time: “My work is done when it’s done.” Event time people rest when they are tired, not when it’s resting time. Event time people…

If you are good at what you do and pursuing your career, opportunities will come your way. As your success grows, surprisingly, the real challenge might not be finding opportunities so much as choosing between them. It is important to recognise the difference between an opportunity and a distraction. An opportunity is not really an opportunity…

Traditional businesses, particularly large-scale service and manufacturing businesses are organised for efficiency, or consistency, but not joy. Joy comes from surprise and connection and humanity and transparency and new... If you fear special requests, If you staff your startup with cogs [people who follow instructions and do as they are told]. If you have to…

... and overdeliver. The problem with underpromising and overdelivering [in this connected world] is that if you underpromise in face of competition that is overpromising, you may not be chosen. It’s an old cliché in business that smart companies underpromise and overdeliver. But in today’s crowded market, that’s not enough. In today's crowded marketplace, who…

Phase 1: This is the best idea ever. Phase 2: Ok, this is harder than I thought. Phase 3: This is going to take some work. Phase 4: This sucks and it’s boring. Phase 5: Dark night of the soul: What was I thinking? Phase 6: It will be good to finish because I will…

The following are some of my 20 tips on how to live that I feel will be helpful when you feel like giving up: Appreciate happiness when it is there; Sip, don't gulp; Be gentle with yourself. Work less. Sleep more. There is absolutely nothing in the past that you can change. That's basic physics;…

Most people spend a lot of time to get an education. They wait for the teacher (hopefully a great one) to give them something of value. Many employees do the same thing at work. They wait for a boss (hopefully a great one) to give them responsibility or authority or experiences that add up to…

Deliver before you are ready, because you will never be ready. Ready implies you know it is going to work, and you can't know that. Waiting to be ready is hiding. My approach has always been, start and deliver it now and improve it as you go. You should deliver when you are prepared, when…

Some of us get so used to the adrenaline rush of handling crises that we become dependent on it for a sense of excitement and energy. How does urgency feel? Stressful? Pressured? Tense? Exhausting? Sure. But let’s be honest. It’s also sometimes exhilarating. We feel useful. We feel successful. We feel validated. And we get…

Actors spend months and months getting into role. They also spend time getting out of role. The dangers of actors not getting out of role [i.e de-roling] is that the roles they play affects their personality, creating depression, acting out or heavy drinking because they didn’t leave their impersonation characters behind at the end of…

Cincinnatus was an emperor in the Roman Empire. Cincinnati, the city, is named after him because he was a big idol of George Washington. Cincinnatus is a great example of successful leadership because he was asked to reluctantly step into power and become the emperor and to help, because Rome was about to get annihilated…

Tantrums are frightening. Whether it is an employee, a customer or a dog out of control, tantrum behavior is so visceral, self-defeating and unpredictable, rational participants want nothing more than to make it go away. And so the customer service rep or boss works to calm the tantrum thrower, which does nothing but worsens the…