Take Your Life Back

The waiter was halfway through taking my family’s order when his manager called him away. “Where did the waiter go?” Sophia, our seven-year-old, asked. Daniel,…

Defend Your Sweet Spot

Spending time on projects that he considered unimportant was driving Carlos* insane. Carlos is an excellent leader. He’s turned around every business that he’s led…

Coping with Email Overload

A few weeks ago, I returned from a week-long technology-free vacation with my family. No computer, no phone, no email. When I got to the…

Do You Need a Checkup?

I had been feeling a little odd; a number of minor physical discomforts were leading me to feel anxious about my health in general. And…

Visualize Failure

This post is part of HBR’s special issue on failure. Several hours into the first day of our paddle down…

Manager Employee Communication

Peter Bregman writes for the Harvard Business Review, and he’s also CEO of Bregman Partners, a global management consulting firm. Bregman authored an article in January titled “When…

The Worth-Your-Time Test

Nate Eisman* recently started working for a large consulting firm after many years as an independent consultant. He called me…

Diversify Your Self

Recently, a woman working for France Telecom sent an email to her father. Then she walked over to the window…

Undo Send in Real Life

I am alligator man, a dangerous amphibious monster. I swim quietly toward my prey, a seven-year-old girl named Isabelle, who…

Why You Need to Fail

“Peter, I’d like you to stay for a minute after class.” Calvin teaches my favorite body conditioning class at the…