Q&A – What are some things truly awesome bosses believe?

Question: What are some things truly awesome bosses believe? They believe in hiring people who are smarter than they are, and they don’t feel threatened by that. Likewise, they believe in hiring people who are more talented than they are in their specific profession (e.g., Design managers hiring more talented designers). They believe in hiring…

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How to be a Humane Leader in 7 Surprisingly Simple Steps

A spark floating above someone's palm

Your power and influence must be carefully managed Promotion into leadership isn’t just a reward for doing great work. It’s a serious responsibility. You are now accountable for the work of your entire organization. You are now responsible for the careers of your employees and their livelihood. You may not realize it, but you are also now…

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Career interview with Mike Tschudy, Head of Design at Mint.com

I had the pleasure of talking with Mike Tschudy about his career path recently. Mike is the Head of Design for Mint.com. He shared a ton of good advice about intentionally planning your career, finding good sounding boards, and taking a step back occasionally to reevaluate your path. The full transcript of our discuss is below…

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When you lead, you set the pace

Jets in formation

Leadership One lesson that I learned in the military is that when you lead, you set the pace. But, it took some bad advice and a few hard knocks before I discovered this. When I first joined the military (many, many years ago), one recurring piece of advice was; “Never volunteer or be up front, but…

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UX Talk – Designing for Love & Money – Video and Slides

Designing for Love and Money

In this UX talk at the Fluxible conference, I explored the battle between love and money as it applies to products, organizations, and even our own careers. Over the past 20 years, I have developed strategies to deal with this problem, both as an individual contributor and as an organizational leader. Regardless of where you…

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Designing for Love and Money – Fluxible 2013

Virtuous cycle of love and money

In this talk, Larry explores the battle between love and money as it applies to products, organizations, and even our own careers. Over the past 20 years, Larry has developed strategies to deal with this problem, both as an individual contributor and as an organizational leader. Regardless of where you happen to work, or in what context, it’s an unavoidable issue that every designer must face and resolve.

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Investing in Your Leaders – The ROI of Leadership Coaching

I had the good fortune during my career to participate in leadership coaching for the first time when I was a VP at Yahoo. I had certainly heard about career coaching over the years but had never really considered trying it. My experience with companies in Silicon Valley has been that the majority used to…

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Why Do Businesses Fail to Successfully Adapt to Change?

Interesting infographic on GigaOM on why businesses are failing to successfully deal with disruption, competition, and change. Many of the reported causal factors will be quite familiar to anyone who has worked in a larger corporation. Although this highlights some of those factors, there isn’t much offered in terms of potential solutions to overcome these issues. Some…

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