Engineering an Interesting Life
-
Q1 2025
Having set my intention for the year as “health”, Q1 2025 felt a bit like whatever the atheist, gender neutral equivalent is of the saying “Man plans, and God laughs”. I had a good start to January – all set with my intentions and my Trello board – only to get very sick in February…
-
Decisions
Recently, someone asked me for my “Leadership philosophy”. My initial reaction was to panic, but after taking a deep breath and a bit of time to think, I came up with this answer: “My job is to make it easier for people to make good decisions.” What does that mean? Firstly – that my job…
-
Book: Backlash
Backlash (Susan Faludi) is a long and not particularly easy read. Written in response to the Reagan administration’s assault on women’s rights (originally published in 1991), it was reissued in 2020 as history repeated itself. Two recurring themes in the book. First, the way that the data did not at all align with what was…
-
Questions for the End of a 1:1
I have a set of questions I ask in some variation at the end of my 1:1s. What are you taking away?What was most useful to you? These two I got from my coach and I use them both at work and in my own coaching. The concrete questions are useful, but it can also…
-
Comfort Reads
I really believe in the power of a good novel as an escape from Real Life. Some of my recent(ish) favorites I’ve been recommending. The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston – an absolutely beautiful novel, I loved it. Somali Dev’s Austin inspired series – I adore this series about an Indian immigrant family, each one…
-
Thoughts on Reviewing CfP Submissions
Recently, I reviewed ~150 submissions for a conference. It’s been a while since I did a CfP review, and here are some things I noticed. Noting this is my own personal experience – others may disagree! This was an anonymous review, which was interesting. There are a lot of great reasons to do an anonymous…
-
Explore / Pursue / Depth
My friends and I went pottery painting this year. Next, we’re trying crotchet. The pottery painting was fun, and my star shaped bowl painted in rainbow colors came out better than I expected. I’m thinking to go back and paint a dragon next. My friends and I, we’re exploring. Trying some new things. Seeing what…
-
Book: The Problem with Change
I think the thing I enjoyed most about Ashley Goodall’s The Problem with Change is the author’s cynicism about corporate America. In places it’s a little bit of a diatribe, but what can I say, I love it. I love it all the more that it comes from someone who successfully navigated the Byzantine ladder…
-
What Makes a Good Team?
No team is perfect, but I think it’s often kind of obvious when a team is bad – there’s usually a level of chaos or drama, a sense that they can’t be relied on or don’t really deliver the value that the organization needs. I think it’s also quite obvious when a team is good,…