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

Defying Categorization

People often ask me the question, should I do have two twitter addresses — one for business, one for personal? And authors I know that are experts on innovation then

Is My Work Important?

I’ve been helping someone. And helping. And helping. And now I seriously want to stop. You might think, Nilofer, girlfriend — this is easy: Say NO to the next request,

Fearless Learning

To learn, we must be willing to not yet know. And that means we need to stop silently criticizing ourselves and others for not already knowing the answer. When we

Cherish The Toughie

“My start-up is creating a new market.” “The new market project is taking tons of cycles to get off the ground.” “I’ve gotta get a new job; my boss is

Living the Dream

An entrepreneur & CEO wrote me an email around the holidays that sounded just a bit desperate; enough for me to take time out of family time over the holidays

Never Gender, Rank, Title

My son is reading Harry Potter and is literally devouring it. Soon, I’m thinking, he’ll reach Book 4, which poses a little problem. Not to be a spoiler or anything

Duality

Life is quite often about dualities. And the role of leaders is especially so.  Do I pay attention to executing today’s strategy or envisioning the future? In the consulting world,

The Critic Must Die

When product lines fail, product managers feel responsible. When children steal, parents often feel like they haven’t taught ethics and self-control well. When a business team doesn’t want to work