Last week, for the first time ever, I left my iPhone at a friend’s house. No, I didn’t panic. I have an iPad, and I can make phone calls from my iMac. Yeah, I’m an Apple guy. So I ended up not having the phone for about twenty-four hours, and I noticed something extraordinary. I…
I’ve had a number of conversations with my clients recently that sound kind of like this: Me: So how are your development meetings with your employees going? Client: Um, yeah, I’m kinda not doing those. Me: Okay, why not? Client: Well, I just don’t feel like I know how to do it yet. Me: What’s…
Someone asked me recently how I became a “business therapist,” a playful term I sometimes use to describe my role. It’s not a path I ever would have imagined for myself when I started on it, but looking back I can see the clear progression that got me here. As I relayed the story again…
I’ve written before about how the re-branding of Clear and Open challenged me to grow, and the process continues. It’s been a process of self-discovery and realization that is finally more harvest than toil. You may have noticed the tone of my writing changed. This was not an accident, it’s the result of realizing that…
The first time I got fired, I was twenty-three. It was 1997 and I’d just completed nine straight lazy summers as a lifeguard and swim instructor, followed by a disastrous attempt at substitute teaching in the Bay Area. Unpredictable, early hours and hardened city kids ate me alive. When it drove me to afternoon drinking,…
First, I want to say I created a new assessment that I would love for you to try. It could radically improve your ability to hire the right people the first time. I’ll tell you what it is, where it came from, and give you the link at the end of this article. The context…
I want to share with you the strange but true tale of how one of my biggest dreams came true. There’s a lot of teaching out there about manifestation—intentionality, goal-setting, and planning for dreams, actively going after them. Often overlooked and underappreciated in that teaching is the art of letting go, which is just as…
Last week in my newsletter, I told a crazy story about egg counting, and it prompted a former client (let’s call him “George”) to get in touch with me. He called me late in the evening, eager to talk about a project he wanted me to work on. “So I started thinking,” he said. “How…
You’ve probably heard of Fight/Flight/Freeze—the catchier nicknames used to describe the Acute Stress Response. Today I want to share with you a story about a fourth response that I see happening in business settings: Appease. It deserves special attention, especially as it relates to employee engagement. Appease is the most subtle and dangerous stress response…
“We’re closing down the location.” The words always make me smile. I’ve heard them dozens of times, and it’s almost always good news. This time it was Frank (let’s call him that), one of my Clear and Open Members. He was sober and pleased. “But why now?” he almost demanded. “Why did I suddenly realize…