News & Tips
Dear Dan: I Have an Employee Who Makes Repeated Mistakes
Dear Dan, I have an employee who rushes through her work. I’ve tried to get her to slow down, but she is always worried about getting in trouble for not getting work done. She has never gotten into trouble for not getting work done while working for me. When she rushes, she makes mistakes on...
We Need Imagination Now More Than Ever
The idea of “crisis management” requires no explanation right now. Something unexpected and significant happens, and our first instincts are to defend against — and later to understand and manage — the disturbance to the status quo. The crisis is an unpredictable enemy to be tamed for the purpose...
My Principles of Company Building
Here’s a list of 20 values I’m going to remember as I build Write of Passage. Stay nimble: I want to keep the business small. I want to have a personal relationship with everybody I partner with. I have no plans to IPO or sell the business, so I'm going to build the kind of company I want to run...
Virtual Presentations, Meetings Require New Approaches for Success
As more people work from home, many are being asked to take on tasks and use technologies with which they have only a passing familiarity, such as leading team meetings and presenting online rather than in person. Presenting Online Giving presentations online rather than in person requires...
3 Obsolete Business Strategies That the Pandemic Has Revived
The coronavirus crisis revealed the fragility of conventional wisdom and will revive three long-discredited concepts. The 1980s started with the popularization of the personal computer and ended with the advent of the commercial internet. This onslaught of new technology quickly gave birth, in the...
55 Federal, State and Nonprofit Relief Efforts and Funds to Help You Through the Coronavirus Pandemic
Is your small business struggling? These resources can help you get through this difficult time. In 2018, over 30 million small businesses accounted for 99.9 percent of the total businesses in the United States. Over 59 million small business employees accounted for 48 percent of the total...
How to Use Time Blocking to Manage Your Day
Whether you work a nine-to-five job, telecommute, or stay-at-home with the kids, everyone needs an effective method for managing their day. After all, perfectionism, procrastination, and the myth of multitasking are all very real dangers that can keep even the most productive people stuck in one...
The Five Levels of Remote Work — and Why You’re Probably at Level 2
COVID-19 has forced companies the world over to enact — or create — remote working protocols. The likes of Box, Amazon, Airbnb, Facebook, Google and Microsoft have all told their employees some variation of “work from home”. But so too are more traditional organisations across fields such as real...
Getting Started with Zoom — and Using It Securely: Some Advice
The coronavirus pandemic has forced a lot of firms to use videoconferencing to “meet” with co-workers and clients. One of the more popular videoconferencing platforms is Zoom. While we can’t cover all the options and settings for Zoom, here is some advice on the best way to use and secure Zoom for...