It’s often somewhat uncomfortable to come to terms with privilege, especially if there are ways that you’re underprivileged. So you might want to look away from something that makes you feel uncomfortable, like poverty in India, or the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, or the femicide of a young, white woman […]
Category: leadership
Shipping Expectations
My wife was told her package was late, and she was pleasantly surprised when it came a few days prior to when she was expecting it. It was still later than initially planned, but quicker than her most recent expectations. I ordered something online and was told due to warehouse […]
Doing Things Differently
There’s a cost to doing things differently, as by definition, you’re diverging from the norm.People aren’t hesitant around change and uncertainty, and the more innovative and radical you are, the most hesitancy there will be. But what might be the opportunity cost of doing things the same way as you’ve […]
Hiding in Excellence
It can be tempting to continue to do what you’re excellent at – after all, our society generally ties excellence to value. Starting something new, unlearning old behaviors, or developing a new skill can especially be frightening because it’s likely we will not be excellent at it. But it’s easy […]
Clay Softener
Polymer clay is a clay that requires baking to harden. However, if you leave it out for a long time with baking, it can get brittle and much harder to work with. There is also a clay softener that allows you to restore the brittle clay and make it more […]
Cavities
Running a team or an organization is difficult. Often there will be many small problems that get ignored or pushed to the side in the pursuit of the greater goal. And while this is understandable, you don’t want to let these issues fester. Especially if they’re things that don’t often […]
Pass It Forward
Especially in hierarchies, it’s easy to pass things forward. Whether it’s being treated humanely or being treated poorly, we usually model what we’ve seen and then others model that behavior as well. But if you were treated poorly, you can always choose to stop the cycle of abuse and follow […]
Problems with Authority
I have a huge problem with authority for authority’s sake. Without a reason to follow authority, it makes no sense to listen – “Because we said so” is the worst justification for anything ever. But if we’re willing to rebel against a system, we need to understand a few things […]
Having it Both Ways
When arguing something we’re factually correct about, we often expect the other party to admit that they’re wrong and learn from the experience. But how often are we willing to admit that we’re wrong and learn from the experience? It’s foolish to expect that if we’re right, the other party […]
Pools of Chocolate Pudding
So often we can see the obvious solution for someone else’s problem. Next steps, new ways to think about the solution, all of this is so clear to us when we look outwards. Looking inward, however, often seems like we’re trying to glean some answer through a pool of chocolate […]