Two years ago, at Emergence Foundation retreat near London, I had a moment that struck me to the core. Sitting around the circle sharing about our culture The facilitator of a session asked about culture: “Who are your people, and what do you value?” Being the youngest among a group of social entrepreneurs and activists from 40-60 years old, I was surprised to find myself sharing something deeply personal. I shared something every Vietnamese student learns from Ho Chi Minh (“Uncle Ho” as we...
2 days ago • 1 min read
Hello everyone, Happy September, Hope you are well wherever you are. Here in Dubai is getting slightly less hot. Hot BUT the sunset is super nice though Speaking of hot topic, have something to share today. -- You know how growth mindset people like us often say, "Everything has something for you to learn from?" I thought about that nice-sounding quote, and it turns out to be not what most of us think. Here's a bit of a story. -- I used to work with somebody who was so driven by his goals...
4 days ago • 2 min read
photo from 2 weekend ago in Promtep Cape - what a beautiful sight Last weekend I almost put my phone away for almost two days. I was present for a human connection instead of work. You know that feeling when you’re fully engaged? When your nervous system is actually processing real connection instead of the constant ping of notifications? That’s what I had. — Why does it matter? Because work is important. Earlier last week, I read this piece by a Buddhist teacher, Ken McLeod, about right...
17 days ago • 2 min read
Yesterday I went for a walk with a colleague. Smart, strong work ethics Asian lady. The kind any team would fight for. She’s looking at opportunities in other departments. But she’s carrying this weight. “I feel terrible,” she said. “My team invested so much in me. They’ve been good to me. How can I even think about leaving?” I’ve watched this play out dozens of times in my years working with people. Good people staying in situations that don’t serve them because they’ve confused loyalty with...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
I try to make people talk about feeling at work, and here is what I am learning… (cringe warning) — As the People & Culture role, I’m the guy who is trying to create more appreciation culture at work. Among a bunch of people (mostly highly intelligent men) who don’t express their good feelings. Things like “When you responded to my travel crisis at 11pm, I feel so cared for. “When you spent so much time walking me through the entire database on day 1, I feel so supported. (caveat: this is not...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Hello friends, hope you are well. Work is good and challenging and rewarding. I've been enjoying going for walks on the sunset with colleague to do deep chats on work & life. A lot of conversation happened here that I thought of sharing. View like this everyday WHILE WORKING .. I'm grateful -- A colleague just got promoted. Confident guy. In a new, stable relationship. Spend weekend with his serious golf hobby. “Happy, no?”, I teased. “Yeah, it’s nice… and “ I can notice some consideration on...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
Hello from Phuket. Can't resist some wings :-) Had a chat with a colleague yesterday who is wrestling with some doubt about his performance. As trader, he makes bets on whether certain moves will profit. Essentially, it's educated gambling. He wanted to feel more confident. So I asked him what a confident person would think, say, and feel. He said "They'd know what they think is right. They'd be sure of themselves." I waited, and asked: "So a confident person knows they're always right?" He...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
I had a walk & talk conversation today with a colleague, a star performer and true rain maker who is transitioning to team leader. where we go for walk- Phuket Strong man. Strong posture. Always folding his arms. But something was off with his new team. The team member wasn’t as connected. Weren’t responding to his leadership. He kept using the word “but” in every sentence. “I want them to succeed, but technically they should figure it out.” “I believe in teamwork, but I don’t know if they...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
Hey everybody, hope you are well. Sharing some thoughts from my work that could be useful to some of us here. I'm working with leaders & teams in Cobblestone, essentially elevating the overall performance. And I saw the team planning for a work sprint & their quarterly goals, I had an idea. What if in addition to planning for tangible goals, we also plan for intangible ones? So I tried. Each person plans & declares two things: A tangible goal (the usual stuff. Launch X, complete Y, hit Z...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
Last week, I was catching up with my colleague who was wrestling with a major life decision. A major move. New city. New friendships to build. “I’m terrified of starting over again,” she said. “It takes years to build the kind of friendships where people really know you. Where they care enough to fight for you and challenge you.” The exhaustion of explaining yourself to new people. Of slowly building trust. Of hoping someone will see you clearly enough to challenge you when you’re being...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read