Commonplace Pages

More wise words on leadership. This time from Pixar’s president Ed Catmull. Specifically, I enjoyed: 

We say we are director led, which implies they make all the final decisions, [but] what it means to us is the director has to lead.. and the way we can tell when they are not leading is if people say ‘we are not following’.

… when you see your entrepreneurial venture (or your career, or your goals in general) as being about the potential for advancement, achievement and rewards, you have a promotion focus.

Write down several goals you have for your venture (or for your career). For each goal, make a list of ways in which you will gain something if you are successful. Read through these goals and potential gains on a daily basis, or before undertaking any important task.

File under: must do.

Curious to understand what the person is saying and to understand what’s underneath what they’re saying.

Aka: empathy.

Employee happiness and productivity is linked to trust—and enforcing hours shows exactly the opposite.

So very true.

Homogeneous groups have shown to be better able to get along, but it comes at a cost: they are less creative. This even applies to the social groups you keep, so beware of being surrounded by people who are too similar all the time, you may end up in a creative echo-chamber.

I found that you won’t notice this until you get out of the echo chamber.

Creative people thrive on having others impacted by their ideas.

Obvious, but always a good reminder. Great overall list

What it really comes down to is creating a universal story and surrounding yourself with people who believe in your vision enough to see it come to life.

Wise words

There’s just so much out there. I think one of the real criminal things in the industry is that you see all these stories of somebody that wants to live in Los Angeles or New York, and there are all these other people in the world who are so talented.

Slowly… but changing.

… three professional negotiators walk us through techniques that members of Congress may be using right now. They explain these techniques not with textbooks, but with examples from their everyday lives.

From BATNA (Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement) to Disarming Empathy… some great business and management lessons. Thanks again Planet Money!