I gravely misunderstood the Growth Mindset. Here’s what I learned.

Carol S. Dweck’s work, ‘Mindset,’ is seminal. It is one of these must-read non-fiction books, up there with The Seven Habits, and Thinking Fast and Slow. Until recently, I did not read the book: the web is full of infographics explaining the Growth Mindset. After reading the book, however, I discovered that I had a …

My preferred food for thought and brain function

My brain is a crucial body part for my work. I want to keep it in pristine performing condition. Part of that effort is providing it with the proper fuel: food and drink. There are an awful lot of food myths, however. I list the ones I used to believe in and explain why I …

The Culture Map – cultural dimensions for teamwork

Working with people from different cultures can feel like a challenge. They can have incompatible habits and expectations. Most people are flexible, but trouble begins when these expectations remain implicit. The Culture Map by Erin Meyer gave me a set of lenses to help clarify expectations and hopefully prevent trouble. I’m sharing my notes in …

Teamwork tip 3: Escape the road to hell by looking at intentions

This is the third article in a series of teamwork tips & tricks. The first tip was about aligning the things you do with the things you want. In the second article I discussed work-life balance. This article is about looking beyond other people’s actions and working with their intent. I once worked in a …

8 teamwork insights from an ice skating champion – summary of the book ‘Effect’

‘Effect’ is a book about effective teamwork. The title refers to the strange fact that your conscious actions don’t always have the effect you desire on other people. The book is written by ice skater J.O. Koss and psychologist B.M. Ihlen. They wrote down their team coaching insights after winning several olympic gold medals. Their …

Choosing by Advantages in 6 steps

I have seen many decision making methods. Of all of them, the Choosing By Advantages method by Jim Suhr stood out as the most effective and rational. Here’s a step by step guide. Choosing by Advantages (CBA) is a decision-making system that acknowledges all decisions are subjective. It guides users however to collect, prioritize and …

Ideas from Peopleware

In 1999 Tome Demarco en Timothy Lister published their second edition of ‘Peopleware’. Their insight is that software development projects fail not because of technology, but because of communication. Yet what managers do is manage technology, not the communication in the team. Why? Technology, stuff, procedures, and such are tangible, orderly and easy to influence. …