Blog

I want to talk about those events that wake you up and make you reconsider your path. For me, it started 5 years ago. Sometimes your drive to do what is right for "the business" comes first. You put it before your free time, your leisure time, and your mind is always racing. Some mornings, […]

A common question I get is… What is the most important skill a leader should improve? Storytelling is, or should be, on the top of every leader’s list. As a leader, your ability to tell a story can be the difference between inspiring your team to achieve great outcomes or leaving them uninspired and unmotivated. […]

I was curious about what people think makes a great leader. So, I asked the following question to my audience: I love the community of leaders I have built. Here is just a sampling of the insightful comments I got back: If you have more to add to the conversation, I'd enjoy hearing about it. […]

Especially with the never-ending stream of product releases, teams can get lost and lose track of the reason they are building the product in the first place. Like a beacon in the fog, a clear and compelling vision can guide them through the numbing repetition of endless product updates. However, many product leaders struggle with […]

Having a career plan that you can refer to, and work towards can frame your daily challenges, help evaluate new opportunities, and give you a greater sense of purpose in your work life. Background This framework was designed when I was on a long plane ride sitting next to two other passengers who were loudly […]

Failures of leadership are bad for both the leader, their employees, and the company. Luckily there are skills that leaders can improve on, that yield immediate benefits. To improve your leadership skills, do a survey of these 8 areas, and see what quick wins you can get. Jot down a few notes on ways to […]

1. Work that Matters Is your team mission-driven? Can your team answer what the company is trying to achieve and how they get there?  At my first startup, I had an offsite where I wrote questions about the company on index cards. I had my developers each pull an index card and respond as if […]

Remote teams are here to stay. I have been leading distributed product dev teams since 2001. Here are 10 leadership tips on how to optimize your remote team. Learn how often to meet face to face, and when to not meet at all. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fq5C3lz-0fw Summary 1️⃣ Think through the rhythm of the team. What needs […]

Getting my nails done is a newfound obsession of mine. It feels like a girly, guilty pleasure, and is something I enjoy doing to spend time with my daughters. This weekend, it was the last place I thought I would find inspiration for running my own business. But, small business owners can teach us all a lot about how to interact with the key driver of our business success, our customers.

Making incremental progress towards a long-term goal often goes without notice. However, building a pattern of consistently communicating about progress can both motivate your team as well as give others visibility into your team's successes. These short-term wins can anchor the change you are trying to work towards. A Simple Example of Capturing Short-Term Wins […]

On a cross-country flight to San Francisco when my girls were 6 and 9 years old, my laptop battery died.   I put aside the work I planned to finish, and I started reflecting on how my path as an entrepreneur might influence my daughters.   Since they were so young, they only saw my […]

When aspiring entrepreneurs ask me when is the right time to raise money, my answer always is, “Bootstrap as long as you can, until the lack of capital slows down your growth.” Once you start the money hunt, the amount of time you can spend building your business goes down significantly. Especially if you are […]