INSIGHTS FROM THE TRENCHES

The Time = Efficiency Construct Sucks!

The Time = Efficiency Lie Last weekend, I caught up with a good friend I hadn’t seen in a while. Over plates of chimichangas, chips, salsa, and iced tea, we talked about work—specifically, how his organization still measures productivity. What surprised me wasn’t the workload.It was the obsession with time

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Lessons of Partnership

Most Partnerships Fail Before They Start One of my early mentors once told me: “Partnerships are like a marriage—without the benefits of good sex.” It stuck. Because it’s true. Over the years, I’ve partnered with friends, family, near-strangers, and people I trusted more than I should have. I’ve had great

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The Weight of Not Letting Go

Closure Is Optional There Frank and I were at Einstein’s—bagels, orange juice, and the kind of conversation that only happens when two people stop pretending they’ve figured it all out. We landed on a topic most entrepreneurs avoid because it forces honesty: Letting go in order to move on. Not

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The Character Conundrum

Character Is the Missing Variable Most businesses don’t talk about character. Not because it doesn’t matter—but because it doesn’t fit neatly on a spreadsheet. You won’t see it in budget reviews.It doesn’t show up in board decks.It’s not part of quarterly targets or hiring dashboards. And yet, when things go

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Devaluation Starts with Us

Over Christmas break, my nine-year-old daughter taught me something about value—without realizing it. It started with a penny. She told me kids at school say pennies are worthless. One cent. Barely money. Not worth bending down to pick up. So we dumped out the jar. Hundreds of pennies we’d collected

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The Grateful Index: 2018

Gratitude Is a Strategy I’ve had the privilege of working with nonprofits since 2006. Some grow steadily, retain supporters, and build real momentum. Others constantly scramble—burning through donors, volunteers, and staff while wondering why it’s so hard to sustain progress. The difference is rarely mission.It’s rarely effort.And it’s almost never

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What You Don’t Learn Until It’s Yours to Carry: 2018

Guidance Is a Mirror Yesterday, a young man—on the edge of turning thirty—sat in my home office and asked for guidance. It was humbling.And, if I’m honest, a little heavy. Not because he was lost—but because he wasn’t. He’s smart. Charismatic. Driven. Thoughtful. The kind of person with real optionality

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