Michael Bungay Stanier is the author of several top-selling books, including The Coaching Habit and Do More Great Work. He's also the founder of Box of Crayons, a company dedicated to helping organizations and business leaders do great work. This is his story on work, goals and why you should learn to say no ----- The snowball started back in 2002 when I wrote my…
We’ve talked before about Dan Ariely’s Payoff, which tries to answer the question of what motivates people. According to Ariely and the studies he cites, motivation is best when it comes from within. When people feel engaged, important, and excited about a task, they’ll perform it to the best of their ability, regardless of any external incentives offered to them. That’s the theory, anyway, but…
When you open Kevin Hart’s new book I Can’t Make This Up, the first thing readers might notice is that the introduction is labeled “Mandatory.” The message is repeated in the first two sentences: “This introduction is mandatory. That means you have to read it.” In this mandatory introduction, Hart introduces three words to readers that he explains are important for understanding the lessons he…
If you're finding a new job – or if you'd like to progress in your current one – then you're probably looking at salaries to determine if that new job is worth the switch. But is salary enough? In The Upside of Irrationality: The Unexpected Benefits of Defying Logic at Work and at Home, behavioral economist and New York Times bestselling author, Dan Ariely, examines…
Life is a jumbled mess, just by nature. Take a moment to think of all of your obligations. You might have a family to feed, school work to study, a career that demands more and more of your time, friends who are asking you to go out with them, a partner who wants to spend time with you, parents who ask why you don’t visit…
We spend our whole lives preparing for a time where we can finally “do the things we want to do,” as if those opportunities weren’t already available to us. It’s this philosophy that Tim Ferriss challenges in The 4 Hour Work Week. Ferriss defies traditional work customs in favor of a simpler, happier lifestyle that gives us the chance to live now, not when we’re…
Crucial conversations happen when the stakes are high, opinions vary, and emotions run strong. These conversations can happen anywhere from the boardroom to the bedroom and can happen between any two people. Crucial conversations are sensitive for everyone involved, and people usually respond to them in one of three ways: We avoid the problem Face it head-on but handle it poorly Face it head-on and…
