During my first marriage, I thought the goal was to stay married. In jobs, I thought the goal was to get promoted to the next big title/level/responsibility. When I used to seriously run, I thought it was all about completing a marathon. This lens on life caused a vise-like grip onto certain outcomes. The wrong [...]
Archive | The Personal Story
More about Nilofer’s back story and path she’s walking as she’s walking it.
Infected with Comparisonitis
I got infected with a terrible disease this week. I didn’t realize it for a bit, but the diagnosis is now complete. I almost don’t want to tell you about it, especially in the gory detail, because it is hideous. It is equally raw, and ugly, and festering. I fear you will find me hideous [...]
Quotas / Women / Boards
One might wonder why I would choose to write about an issue of women and board seats just after taking on a new role as a corporate director of a public company. So before you read this post I’ve just done over at Harvard (below), I want to take a minute to share my context. [...]
And, Who Are You?
The quiet and art-filled office space overlooking majestic oak trees, the joy of working with Mike Mace, the significant source of income for our family. These were things I thought of when I thought of what I was losing when shutting down Rubicon. What I didn’t think of until it happened was this: when you [...]
Don’t Give Up
Life is full of twists and turns and it is sometimes easy to get sick of the many gyrations that are needed to make a business thrive, a project launch, or even to get internal signoff in some bureaucratic version of the Hokey Pokey. It would be so easy to quit. But a part of [...]
Asking for Help
From the back seat, he coached me, “Mom, you should apologize to Dad”. I had just finished snapping an abrupt and snappish response to the driver of the car, who was also, um, my husband. I knew what I had done was wrong, but I was more focused on being mad, defensive, and frustrated. But [...]
Integration Matters
Wallace Stevens once said, “Perhaps the truth depends upon a walk around the lake”. Well, my own walk has been along a creek. But it did lead me to find my truth. And, my truth is this: Integration matters. Let me explain how that matters in this context. You might remember, I shut down my [...]
Cells Regenerate. Machines Compute. Humans Create.
Probably the only concept I still remember from when I programmed in Basic was this: Everything is a series of inputs, or outputs. Inputs are the signals or data received by the system, and outputs are the signals or data sent from it. Business can be seen as a series of inputs and outputs, too. [...]
Lesson from the Precipice
More than once I have stood at the very edge of a precipice before a grand vista, and each time has given me an unforgettable experience. The Grand Canyon, Yosemite’s Half Dome and the top of the Eiffel Tower can all thrill me like nothing else. Or they can terrify me, setting my knees aquiver, [...]
The Snot Factory Story
People say that their faith is tested during tough times of job loss or divorce. But, I’m not so sure I had much faith to test. You likely know my story of getting fired because it was shared in Harvard Business Review’s forum on failure. That is the secular part of the story. I have [...]