Blog

If you've played sports or watch sports, you may be familiar with the concept of "taking what the defense gives you." In football, this might mean noticing the "soft spots" in the zone defense where your receivers will be open to catch passes. In hockey it might mean...

Show them respect and trust them to distill knowledge, discern what matters most, and make decisions. This week, I studied a book about helping children exercise agency. And I listened to a podcast about how to lay off direct reports. As I pondered the words of the...

Would you like to hear from individuals who rarely speak up in meetings? Have you ever sensed some attendees weren't telling you how they really felt about an issue? Or have the solutions the group devised not reflected the combined wisdom and creativity of the whole...

The movie Worth portrays the work of Kenneth Feinberg and other attorneys assigned by the U.S. Attorney General to manage the 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund. The film is based on Feinberg's book, What is Life Worth? The film shows the attorneys wrestling with the...

"We're all capable of greatness," this 10 year old Nike campaign taught. "If greatness doesn't come knocking on your door, maybe you should go knock on its door."But what does that mean in daily practice? How can I be great at 9:30 in the morning when I have a long...

People power organizations. And networked organizations change communities and industries. In his book, The Power Law: Venture Capital and the Making of the New Future, Sebastian Mallaby wrote that, when working well, "venture capitalists transform a mere...

An experience at my law school graduation and a recent Supreme Court filing may seem unrelated. But, I hope you'll understand why I've combined them here. Our son was 18 months old when I graduated from law school. Walking on the university lawn after the graduation,...

Deciding to invest in a business is hiring people. Approving a grant application is hiring people. Authorizing a public school is hiring people. Much of my current work revolves around the practice of chartering public schools: having a school district, a university,...

I have been asked a couple times recently if I was a conservative. I have been thinking for a while about how to answer that question. Here is my first attempt: I try to be conservative in my approach to finances, meaning I try to live within my budget and save for a...