You invite a 'rockstar' to give an opinion, and the first thing they do is tell you what you’re doing wrong. Trust them–they know what you should do. Or do they? What if being a guru is the exact opposite of knowing what you’re talking about? Should we even be hiring ninjas, rockstars, and gurus? […]

You know the advice you get that not only doesn’t solve your problem, it doesn’t grasp the nature of it? Suggestions are the fruitcake of communication. We smile, say thank you, and drop it in the donation box. There's an immunity to useless and unwanted advice–happiness. Happiness is bulletproof. […]

People were writing fives and sevens on the scoreboard. I looked around and thought “why lie?” and started putting up tens. “You’re kidding,” someone said. “Not about this,” I said. “Never about this.” I had Heisenberg and Heraclitus in the room with me, and trajectory was everything. […]

I was the guy complaining. Sure, he was across the table, but I was that guy only five years earlier. He didn’t want advice. He had a narrative. Besides, his problems weren’t tactical. He believed he was at the world’s mercy. Life was just happening to him. So I tuned out and checked my messages. […]

Your business hits 5 years, 10 years, 15–so what? Does it really matter if we hold a party, do a press release, and mark the day? It's not why time matters, but why any of it does. I was ignoring the dates, because I had neglected my "why". The answer lay in the secret life I led by night. […]

We may think business leaders, founders, and thought leaders are immune to bullying. But remember that blistering email you got from a client, or the RFP where you heard what competitors say about you, or the social media dust-up that started with a crazy complaint. That started when we were kids. […]