Introduction to the Blog
First off, who starts a business blog these days?
Aren’t all the topics covered?
I read Forbes articles and LinkedIn posts every day. There are so many voices, so many authorities already.
But there are still things that I’ve seen and learned that I don’t hear people talking about in a realistic, open way.
We digitize, commoditize our experiences, distill them into lists for convenient digestion.
But there still aren’t a ton of real examples of where people went wrong in business or management and what they learned in public articles (other than on forums where people can hide with some anonymity and also can’t be verified).
In the business community there is still a stigma around failure - this old-school mentality that you can admit no wrongdoing, never apologize, never back down from your position.
It limits everyone.
We know the value of a growth mindset - hundreds of articles tout the benefits and how to achieve it every day.
It’s time to take action by broadcasting to our colleagues that times have changed. Failures happen. They suck. They are painful. They cost money. They should be avoided. But they are most importantly learning opportunities, and openly sharing them as we reflect on them and as case studies for others to dissect has value.
Example:
I left home at 17 to start college. I almost failed out and lost all my scholarships my second term because I was working three jobs on a full courseload and I hadn’t yet developed any sort of time management skills. Did I fail out of college? Of course not. I picked myself up, quit two of the three jobs, begged my advisor to let me through to the next term, retook everything that summer and although it was f*cking hard I proudly made it through engineering school.
That was my first taste of failure, and it led to success. It taught me that when we fail we’re really learning something new.
At first, it takes time and effort to openly acknowledge our role in failures, process them, and convert them into deep lessons we apply to our lives. With practice it gets easier and we grow faster; my sincere hope is that by sharing some of my stories (alongside some fun articles too because we can’t be serious ALL the time) I can help normalize the process it takes to achieve success rather than hiding it behind that old-school corporate mask I mentioned.
If you’re still with me, thank you for joining and coming along while I start this company.
In addition to this blog, I want to serve the business community by providing consulting and coaching, leading training events and providing useful (and just lovable - check out the Store) products to you.
If you’re curious to learn more about me or the logo - check out the About page and also my personal LinkedIn page.
Index of Blog Posts:
5 September: Help Yourself and Everyone Else: Don’t be a Shrugger
6 September: 15 Low-Carb Desk Snacks
7 September: How to Lead a 10-Minute Meeting
8 September: Illness in the Office in a Post-Covid World
13 September: How to Stop Saying “I didn’t have time”
14 September: Aspects of Safety Culture in a Real Laboratory Manufacturing Environment
21 September: How to Keep your Sh*t Together when Everything is on Fire
23 October: TED Talk Highlight Week 1: Good and Bad are Incomplete Stories we tell Ourselves
Join me in the comments section for lively discussion of each of these topics. I’d love to hear your ideas, experiences, and thoughts.
