I’ve had a few meetings I start this way. If there is dissension in the room and we’re discussing a key problem, I’ll throw out this statement – “Are we all on the same page?” If we are not on the same page, there is no reason to move forward. Everyone needs to be on the same page, to understand the problem, the reason that you are all here, before you start getting to solutions.…
Although it feels rude, the best way to get out of invites is to use the Decline button. But, you can add a message to the Decline button as to why you can’t attend – that gives people an indication that it’s not for flippant reasons. It’s a simple process, but we struggle to use it because someone might be offended, or they might never reach out to us again, or we might be ignored…
Schoo’s back. The leaves are changing colours. It’s your last 4 to get everything done you had hoped for. Go.
I can’t count how many times I have finished a project, only for a new version, an upgrade, a patch, an extended release, a beta, something, anything to come out that required change. I was once told that if you don’t want your software to change often, build software for hardware. (I’m not sure if this is true, but it has stuck with me). You gotta change, you gotta realize the only constant in life…
This is one of the hardest questions to ask at the end of a meeting: “Did we accomplish our goal?” This is why it is so rarely asked: no one wants to hear the answer. If, meeting after meeting, you were to hear the answer to this question being “No”, how demoralizing would that be? Massively. But the hard questions don’t come with easy answers, because the answers that come require work, hard work, tough…