Author Archives: Konrad

As is giving people the latitude to do what they need to do. 1. Figure out what each person on your team is responsible for. 2. Set a clear goal with a clear metric that they’re bought into. A SMART Goal: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time Bound. 3. Set a date to check in…More

Donald Trump pushed it. He took the gloves off. He saw a system where people played by unwritten rules and realized that by playing dirty he could win. In the past, everyone was too scared of the tactics he used backfirign. It turn out they work. And now everyone knows it. Its another layer of…More

#1 advice for managers and successful people in general. Active listening is often discussed but less often implemented. Once you get to a position of power you tend to stop paying attention to others. You start to think that only you know what you’re doing and all others are wrong. Taking a little time for…More

Imagine if every food producer or clothing manufacturer or legal professional could do whatever they wanted. I don’t mean that they’re regulated. I mean that customers would have a fit if high quality standards were not exercised. Yet, management is low quality. Which is too bad because it affects every single person and company. This…More

The world hasn’t ended. Yet. In fact, its been all pretty boring. We’re waiting for the next shoe to drop. Things that I’ve learned so far: 1. Donald Trump cares more about his image than anything else. This seems to be the only consistent position he holds. He will do whatever is most likely at…More

This is a complex topic that I have not figured out how to talk about simply yet. Underlying it, is my belief that the #1 largest factor in success of any individual is luck. I know thats not a popular opinion. We’re brought up, especially in the United States, to believe that hard work can…More

They aren’t fun. But, they do begin the process of getting in sync. Of understanding how the other person is thinking. Of understanding their goals. They need to be conducted constructively. But when done so can create weeks if not months of progress in one hour. The worst action to take is to avoid confrontation.…More

Its comfortable but leads to nothing interesting. Use small talk to build initial rapport. But don’t let it last longer than a minute or two. Get to difficult questions. Share your story. Ask about their story. You’ll come away with a deeper connection. A new relationship. Next time you find yourself saying “That weather huh?”,…More

Our lives would lose much of their meaning. Much of our time is spent learning things that someone else already knows. All that time would need to be spent in a new way. Ideally we’d all start to work only on creating new knowledge. But would there be enough different ways to create new knowledge?…More

Some of you may know it as Thanksgiving. Its actually a celebration of the Europeans takeover of the American continent from the Native American population. Now you may be thinking that I mean this to condemn Thanksgiving as a celebration. That we should focus instead of the plight of the Native American population. I think…More