The Bent Archive

How do I grow someone who doesn’t want to grow?

A conversation about Steady Eddies and why having people who aren’t overachievers on your team is a good thing.

Who else read that millennial burnout article?

We did and so did everyone on your team. This week, we talk about how we can’t fix the problem, but we can have The Conversation.

It’s February! Already!

Partway through the first week of February, it’s easy to feel like you’ve slept through your alarm. In this week’s newsletter: How to handle being “behind” when Q1 is more than a third over.

Meetings are too unpredictable to say “here’s how to do a good one.” Instead, we’re going to talk about how we approach the concept of meetings, and some of the things that have helped make them less scary.

How do I give feedback when I can just do it better and faster myself?

Newsflash: Doing it yourself doesn’t make you a Bad Boss. This week, the 3 things to say when you’re going to dramatically change someones work, breaking up feedback into digestible chunks, and 8 on-the-fly coaching strategies we use.

Replying to angry emails

The best thing to do when you’re on the receiving end of a “What the hell happened here?!” or a “This is unacceptable!” email is to think of it as a great opportunity to show how cool you are under pressure, not as you getting in trouble. This, we realize, is pretty worthless advice.

Know your numbers

Knowing your numbers means you can make decisions very easily. The numbers turn questions into answerable math problems, so when you ask the CEO of your company to add hundreds of thousands of dollars of overhead to his company, you can do it with unadulterated confidence. You have numbers to back it up: Tripled output! 5X revenue! In the next 12 months! This is a real example!

Working hard around the holidays

For lots of managers out there, the holidays are the worst time of year. You’re cranky. Your team is even crankier. You don’t have to be a hero, but you can make things easier. We share 10 ways to be a good boss during busy holidays.

How to go on vacation

If you’ve never felt able to go on a real vacation before, or always find yourself compelled to just “hop on real quick to check in” while you wait for the rest of your family to finish getting ready to go to the beach, your work is fourfold.

‘Tis the season

The big problem is that everyone thinks November and December are special months where you get to relax a little bit and recharge. Everyone: C-level senior management all the way on down. ‘Tis the season! But on paper, November and December are just months — and if you work in any sort of retail business, they are the Most Important Months of All. We answer four questions about balancing the holidays with all the working you’re supposed to be doing too.

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