Author: Rachel Hanson

Why do New Year's resolutions, somewhat famously, fail to work? One of the reasons is that huge shifts in behavior are rarely sustainable. Human behavior is predictable on the macro level. We know that dramatic and immediate behavioral shifts are, by and large, destined to fail. If we want to change our behaviors, get a … Continue reading New Year’s resolutions

As a builder, I don't find empathy to be a particularly helpful emotion. It too easily puts the wrong things at the forefront of building. If someone is high on empathy, they're likely to feel another's pain and seek to alleviate it. This can quickly become an unproductive focus on whatever is causing the pain … Continue reading Get better

Anxiety and depression tend to be birds of a feather, and are often characterized by the same mental habits - overly tuned to self. They're marked by a turning inward and a heightened awareness of self. Some versions of it need clinical and medicinal help. Not so for all, or perhaps even most. In our … Continue reading Take action

High performers fuel the engine of success. Culture matters, and so does talent. Both matter, and unfortunately far too many leaders sacrifice their culture on the altar of talent. How you treat your high performers, and the standard you hold them too, matter immensely. To them, and just as importantly, to their teammates. If you … Continue reading High Performers

Gandhi had it right - be the change you wish to see. I've got a client who came to me frustrated - he got dinged on a performance review with anonymous feedback that the system had not given him directly. That's a problem. A healthy functioning system doesn't wait for performance reviews, they give truth … Continue reading Be the change

I don't pay any attention to compliments from cheerleaders. I appreciate the intention, but they don't make their way past my shields. Why? Because cheerleaders hand out compliments like candy. A compliment from a cheerleader carries no nutritional value to me, so to speak. From a love cat? Well that's a different story. We've got … Continue reading Compliments…

If you've ever watched a high level softball game, you know it's a game of speed. From the moment the ball hits the bat until the runner's foot strikes first base, infielders have less than three seconds to read the ball, field it and get it to first. If you read it wrong, bobble it, … Continue reading Slow is smooth, smooth is fast…

I'm reading the Lion Tracker's Guide to Life and finding some good nuggets. Here's one that hit me square between the eyes - "no wild animal has ever participated in a should." Humans get lost in shoulds all the time. Lost in the moment and lost in life. I should attend that social function that … Continue reading The Wild Way…