Newsletter
Every week I publish a post with something interesting, meaningful, and hopefully helpful around workplace conversations. I occasionally try to answer questions from readers.
Subscribers to my newsletter get so see everything first - but you can browse past posts on this page.
What’s weak about weak signals?
Weak signal is often a misdiagnosis. It suggests a problem of detection when the problem is usually interpretation, legitimacy, or response.
The power of collective conversations
No single person sees the whole system. Collective conversations bring together partial views, helping groups see more, understand more, and act more effectively than any individual can alone.
Talking together, alone
Expression directed at someone is not the same as exchange with them.
Practicing on taxi drivers
The limitation is often the quality of attention we bring to other person, rather than what they bring.
The executive conversation
The executive conversation is about closing that distance that turns safety into numbers and a problem to manage from afar.
The case against safety conversations
The safety door opens into a room most people have already tidied.
A cure for chronic unease
Chronic unease is one of the most important concepts in safety leadership. It's also terrible language.
What gets counted and what gets heard
Some things absolutely should be counted, tracked, and treated seriously. The problem is when we begin mistaking what is measurable for the totality of what is meaningful.
The case for conversations
Conversations have the potential to reach what the system hasn't learned to see yet.
The Power of No Questions
When we fill silence, we don't just move the conversation along. We send a signal: this moment is over, we're moving on. People read that signal and adjust. The harder thing stays where it was.
Where to start
You can't predict where the exchange will go, and that's not a problem to solve. It's the point. The moment you arrive with a script, you've already closed most of what matters off.