Like Gnats Against a Screen Door
Among other businesses, I own a retail store in Los Angeles. Though I’m thrilled to have lines of customers at our checkout counter ever day, it amazes me when our front desk people, who are supposed to greet people and help them purchase our services and products, continue to have personal conversations with each other […]
My Desert Island Consulting Tools
If I was stranded on a desert Island with a client, and my client was open to passing the time with a little problem solving, I’m pretty sure we could make a lot of progress with only three tools. And, though I’m a technology consultant, the three tools I’d pick aren’t really technical. A whiteboard […]
Conference Catatonia
We don't actually go to conferences to confer.
The OV (Original Visionary)
We, the Sherpas have to hump or take off on our own trek.
The End of a Manager
In early 1999, my wife Beckie, our newborn son Hank, and I lived in a pre-fab log cabin in the shadow of Mount Tamalpias in San Rafael, California. On Tuesday nights Beckie and I took massage classes at Mill Valley High School and on weekends hiked up the Dipsea Trail with Hank in a baby […]
The Disembodied Bird
We were only half-way through our second song when a middle finger jutted into the spotlight in front of my brother Bob, our lead singer. The disembodied bird was raised high, waving back and forth like an angry fuel gauge. If you’ve never played in a band, from the stage, you might be surprised to […]
Inside the Bubble
We’re all pretty much living in ‘The Bubble.’ Like the recent SNL skit called it, we’ve designed “a planned community of like-minded free thinkers, and no one else” for ourselves. We hang out with friends who agree with us (the definition of a friend), block cranky commenters (and bad grammarians), and unfollow (but stay friends) […]
We Built This Annuity. Now Admit It.
Nobody wants to imagine the fruits of their labor dying on the vine or being savaged by the connoisseurs, even if financially successful.
Tend Your Garden First
Sometimes the best answer is not improving the existing service or product, but chucking it for something new.
Setting CLEAR Agile Goals
CLEAR goals encourage executives to work together with the development team to set the stage for successful large Agile projects.
Catch Someone
