Insights lane
Holding a room is a skill, whether the room is a comedy club, a negotiating table or a termination meeting. These articles bring what the stage and the court teach into the workplace.
November 8, 2026
Most online sessions end with one person talking and everyone else on mute. The Facilitator's Field Guide is my 12-chapter book on running live online sessions where everyone takes part, from the…
November 7, 2026
Becoming a business partner is a change in how you spend your time and what you are trusted with. A four-quarter plan with skills, projects and proof for each stage, how to…
November 7, 2026
Textbook HR models are useful when you know which problem each one solves. Six well-known frameworks in plain English, who developed each, a small-employer example, a quick chooser by problem, and what…
November 7, 2026
Titles do not make leaders. Seven observable behaviors that separate leaders people follow from leaders they endure, a one-week self-test for each, the California duties that come with supervising people, and how…
November 7, 2026
Owners fund what they can count. A four-step way to turn engagement into dollars using your own turnover, vacancy and productivity numbers, a worked example with round figures, the mistakes that sink…
November 7, 2026
Every HR professional eventually gets asked to roll out a decision they think is wrong. A three-question test, a script for pushing back, the lines you must never cross in California, and…
November 6, 2026
Good managers switch between coaching and telling. A four-level ladder for choosing, the questions that work, the mistakes that undo coaching, and the California rules that keep it fair and lawful.
November 4, 2026
Most performance problems start as a conversation nobody had. A four-part script structure, three kinds of hard conversation (feedback, boundaries and repair), what to say in the first minute, and when to…
November 4, 2026
Exit interviews tell you why people left. Stay interviews tell you why they have not. Six questions, how to run the conversation, what to do with the answers, and how to pair…
First-Generation Professionals
October 24, 2026
Work friendships that cool, politics you did not sign up for, an HR department you cannot read and conversations you keep avoiding. Seven career pain points about people and power, each turned…
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