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I have now been in two companies trying to implement guilds. In both cases the first attempt failed. Before we get to my theories around the reasons why, let’s first start with some background. A guild is [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guild] “an association of artisans and merchants
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> Nikola Tesla visited Henry Ford at his factory, which was having some kind of difficulty. Ford asked Tesla if he could help identify the problem area. Tesla walked up to a wall of boilerplate and made a small X in chalk on one of the plates. Ford was thrilled,
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At the risk of sounding like some sort of motivational speaker, here’s what I believe to be true: failure is a choice. Well, at least my definition of failure is a choice. You can solve any problem by simply redefining your terms. Therefore, let me redefine, or perhaps refine
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I don’t consider myself a risk-taker. Far from it. The entire last chapter was about figuring out ways to reduce our risk by no longer having to take big bets. Now — just to mess with your mind — let me try to push you in exact opposite direction. I’m
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> “All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” — Blaise Pascal When I first moved into a management position, I struggled. I felt everybody was bringing their problems to me now, and I had to solve them. I was
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Where does our obsession with feedback come from? “Please give me feedback!” “Here’s a feedback form, please fill it in!” “The first 10 feedback submissions get a sticker!” And as we wait for feedback to trickle in, we read books on receiving books well, such as “Thanks for the
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“I think what you’re attempting to do here is really great...” “But…?” “Right… but I think it’s not going to work.” This is one of those classic aha moments when people first learn about it during some communication training: if there’s a “but” in your communication, people
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In 2008 the world went through a severe financial crisis. A large part of our economy collapsed, in large part because financial institutions had created a pretty unsustainable system of mortgage-backed securities. It was pretty bad. Fingers were pointed; new rules put in place; people yelled at. “Oh them financial
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> “It doesn't make sense to hire smart people and then tell them what to do. We hire smart people so they can tell us what to do.” ― Steve Jobs Any book that covers management at some point has to mention Frederick Taylor’s Scientific management [https://en.
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Think of the three people in your organization that you consider your top performers. The three people that if they’d tell you they’d quit, they would leave a significant hole in your organization. Got them in mind? Alright, now pick one of them, and compare them to their
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There are all sorts of reasons for managers to dread performance reviews. For one, it’s a lot of work. In preparation you need to request people to send peer feedback, write peer feedback for others, and write your own self reflection. Then comes the real fun part: the judgment,