Last month I wrote an article about the way that technology impacts the nature of human work. (You can read that article here if you care to, which you should – it’s awesome.) But I realized later that nothing I said is especially valuable if computers eventually destroy all of humanity. And since that particular…
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As everyone in the writing world knows, ChatGPT has come, and the end is nigh. Pretty soon the written word will be owned by machines, and all the people who used to make their living with words (like yours truly) will be thrown onto the proverbial streets. At least that’s the way some of the…
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I’m just coming off a very lovely few weeks with my family. We saw friends, went skiing, and spent 12 solid hours on Christmas day together in the living room playing with new toys and games. It has been great. And it has also been educational. Because sometime during all this family-ness I realized that…
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As 2022 draws to a close, there are two issues that seem to have completely dominated the year – supply chain, and labor shortage. Those have been the two key drivers at pretty much every conference I have attended this year. Fixing the supply chain is beyond my ability. But dealing with our persistent labor…
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At its most basic, effective leadership consists of two key components. One of them is the human element – that’s the part where you’re showing and telling the people who work for you that you’re glad they’re there. This is the piece of leadership that gets the most attention, because there are an endless number…
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One of the things I’ve always enjoyed about my job is the opportunity to meet people living in places I would otherwise probably never go, doing things I know almost nothing about. It’s given me a chance to see a much broader cross-section of the world than I think most jobs allow for, and my…
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Last month, something happened to me at an event that hasn’t happened in well over a decade. I wish it were something cool like audience members throwing money and candy at me as they cheered “Bravo!” and “Encore!” But that’s never happened, and probably never will. No, this thing was far more mundane, and far…
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Recently my wife and I were in Barcelona, visiting her family and 87 of their closest friends. (Not quite, but there were a lot of people.) We were outside, it was a beautiful day, and it was time to decide where to have dinner. The only thing everyone agreed on was that we wanted to…
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In the last several months I’ve spoken at a few dozen conferences. And at every single one of them – big ones, small ones, and basically every industry there is – the people at those conferences have been talking about exactly two things: supply chain, and the labor shortage. Your company probably is, too. Those…
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When I was a kid, I wanted to be an astronaut. I also wanted to be a builder (which was my Lego-inspired term for ‘construction worker’), and I also wanted to dig up dinosaurs. I have done none of those things, and it’s perfectly OK. I chose a different path, and I’m happy with it. …
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To be fair, there are probably more than three things all employees want. Most employees would probably take a million dollars if you felt like giving it to them. Or a jetski, the ability to talk to animals, telekinetic powers – the list goes on. But in this article we’re going to talk about three…
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Every minute, approximately 765,000 articles about leadership are written. That’s only a slight exaggeration, because we are collectively obsessed with the notion of leadership. But I run across relatively few articles that contrast a leadership mindset against some of the other mindsets that are equally critical to a company’s success, and so I thought it…
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Recently somebody got mad at me for something they shouldn’t have. That’s not just my opinion, either; they even agreed with me that they were mad about something else and took their anger out on me. However, they didn’t apologize for getting mad at me when they shouldn’t have. And it’s bugging me. It’s still…
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So it’s a new year, which means it’s time to do something different. At least that’s what everyone else seems to think. So half the world has just joined a gym, or bought some language-learning program, or maybe signed up for those piano lessons they’re constantly putting off, and this is going to be the…
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Everybody’s heard of the power of positive thinking – and if you’re like me, then the phrase is vaguely annoying. “So I’m just supposed to think happy thoughts and everything will magically work out?” That’s kind of how it’s presented, but life doesn’t exactly work that way. For example, I once had a happy thought…
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By now you’ve heard the news – everyone is quitting every job everywhere. Nobody is actually employed anymore, and the great engine that runs our global society is grinding to a shuddering halt. In fact, it’s probably a good time to start stocking up again on toilet paper. Chances are the people who make it…
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Since many businesses are currently debating whether or how to return to the office – and meeting planners are debating how exactly to host their events – I thought it might be helpful this month to give you some insight into the state of in-person events today. My first live event post-apocalypse (my cutesy way…
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My wife is from Spain, and ever since I met her I have been fond of saying that the best way to live is somewhere between the American way and Spanish way. I’m pretty sure that statement could be applied more broadly as well – somewhere between my way and your way is the best…
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By now you’re undoubtedly aware of the latest pandemic paradox: at the same time millions of people are out of work, millions of employers can’t find workers. The explanations for our current labor shortage have been chalked up to a variety of causes from health concerns to unemployment benefits to remote schooling. I’m not going…
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(Hint – It’s More Than You Think) For most of us, the issue of control is a pretty big one. We like the idea of being in control at all times – of our diets, our schedules, our financial future, our children. There are times, of course, when we relinquish control and do wild and…
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In the last few months I’ve read countless articles and had dozens of conversations with people regarding the reality of remote work. For the most part, there seems to be no good consensus. Some people seem to love it and other people hate it, still other people like it a little but don’t want to…
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