Regardless of who and where you are as a leader, refusing to admit that we’re wrong or take responsibility for our actions is one of the most destructive interpersonal flaws. And that because for most people expressing regret or apologising is a painstakingly tricky experience. Why? Because they think it’s akin to losing a contest. […]
I don’t know of any other talent that comes naturally to all human beings as making excuses. It’s something that we pick up; maybe from our parents, who picked it up from theirs, and so on. I don’t know the genesis of how we came about mastering this art, but there are simply no excuses […]
One of the most super-annoying habits is to overestimate one’s contribution to any team’s successes. Even if you genuinely believe you saved the day, chances are, you didn’t do it all by yourself. There are exceptions, of course, but let’s not go there for now. Instead, try this exercise: a) For one day, take a […]
If failing to communication is one of the biggest mistakes of leaders, starting with a “no,” “but,” or “however” is anathema. Now, we may not think much while slipping these words in our day-to-day conversations, but they act like subtle qualifiers that say, “I’m right, you’re wrong.” And the messaging doesn’t change regardless of the […]
Never been a fan of getting credit and recognition — it makes me uncomfortable for a simple reason that I ain’t no one-person island. Every little or big achievement I’ve had wouldn’t have been possible without those unsung heroes, be it my parents, classmates, peers, acquaintances, superiors, and even those with evil intentions. Most people […]
I’ve been labelled a rebel, a nonconformist, and someone unlikely to succeed when I was in my senior year of high school. Not because I was any of those, but I wasn’t going with the flow as was expected of young adults back then. And honestly, that wasn’t intentional. I was following my curiosity and […]
Tony Hsieh’s passing is a sad day for those who study, admire and practice leadership. He was quiet, humble, unassuming, kind, generous, billionaire, philanthropist, and had changed the world with Happiness as a business model. I first read about Tony in a Wikipedia entry about Zappos in the mid-2000s. Later in 2010, his book “Delivering […]
I rarely peruse through the New York Times for management and leadership insights. Not that I don’t expect any from their incredible panel of award-winning journalists, but the idea of finding a useful piece (for me) amidst all that content feels like an arduous task. Every once in a while though, I bump into something […]
I loved this story from James Clear’s post on [Why Trying to Be Perfect Won’t Help You Achieve Your Goals (And What Will)]. It might spark an argument depending on which school of thought you belong to. Nonetheless, let’s dive into the story: On the first day of class, Jerry Uelsmann, a professor at the […]
I love this bit from Jason Fried and David H. Hansson’s book “It Doesn’t Have to be Crazy at Work.” No is easier to do, yes is easier to say. No is no to one thing. Yes is a no to a thousand things. No is a precision instrument, a surgeon’s scalpel, a laser beam […]