Working remotely can be convenient and productive, but it can also be frustrating, particularly when it comes to meetings. We have all experienced terrible Zoom meetings. The team member whose connection is spotty. The dog that keeps barking in the background. The moment when everyone tries talking at the same time. There are other challenges, […]
Archive for Meetings
The Secret to Great Meetings: Preparation
Have you ever sat in a meeting and wondered what was happening or where the conversation was going? Maybe the point of everything seemed lost. It’s frustrating when no one in the meeting knows what’s going on. You’ve probably attended several meetings like this, and maybe now you’re in a position of scheduling meetings yourself. […]
How to Decide If a Meeting Is Essential
Your days are full, and it can be hard to get everything on your list done. You were finally making progress on a task when your focus is disrupted yet again with a meeting reminder. You don’t know how you’ll finish what you need to do today, and it’s probably going to be yet another […]
The Secret to Achieving More: A Good Night’s Sleep
Caught between the demands of life and work, sleep is often one of the first things to get cut. It’s even become a sort of value-signaling to prioritize work over sleep. But what if sleep is the very thing you need to actually accomplish more? The National Sleep Foundation recommends that healthy adults get between […]
5 Reasons You Need to Get Better at Saying No
Finding the Positive in the Negative
I have a hard time saying “no.” Perhaps you do, too. I think it is more common than we think, especially for those who are empathetic or nurturing. Here are five reasons why we must get better.
Seven Rules for More Effective Meetings
People get “trained” to come late because they know nothing significant will happen until well after the announced start time…. For example, “the purpose of our meeting is to report on the results of our latest market research and give you a chance to ask questions.” Or, “the purpose of our meeting is to evaluate prospective titles for Don Miller’s new book and determine which one we are going to recommend to the author.”
The Science of Naps
Snooze Now, Conquer Later
My two-year-old is asleep for the third time today. I thought I had developed a clever disciplinary method when I started telling him that cranky kids need naps, and sending him to bed multiple times. Turns out I was being more clever than I knew. Instead of being better behaved, he just keeps going to […]
Bouncing Back After Burnout
Real Stories from Leaders Like You
The intentions are noble: You want to buy a house with a backyard for your kids, pay off debt, or do something to actually justify the $50,000 worth of student loans that feels like a noose around your neck. You vow to work harder than everyone else on your team, to be the first one […]
The Importance of Play
Have an Adventure, Wherever You Are
This past weekend our family had to cancel a special trip to a friend’s lake house that had been circled on the calendar for months. Our initial weekend plans had play and adventure built into them to recharge the grownups, help us finish a busy season well and open our minds up to new possibilities […]
Get a Life!
Leave All Work and No Play in the Dust
For my first job in Washington, DC, I worked very long hours. One night, a rare dinner date was lined up. “What time do you get off?” my date asked to coordinate. A long, awkward pause followed. “It’s kind of a philosophical question,” I finally admitted. That was fine by me at the time, but […]
Self-Care As a Leadership Discipline
For leaders, there never seems to be enough time in the day, and our own needs are often the ones that get shortchanged. Now imagine what your life would be like if you really did have time for career, family, and self-care.
5 Ways to Hold Shorter Meetings
Take Things to the Next Level, in Half the Time
When Bryan Stockton was pushed out as CEO of toymaker Mattel, he fingered a complacent company culture for dipping profits. In fact, he went one step further and blamed the lack of innovation on bad meetings. Stockton’s story has been on my mind because I’m releasing a new book today called No Fail Meetings. Meetings […]