Dec 20, 20205 hard-skills for product managersLearn these key product management skills Product managers probably spend 90% of their time influencing cross-functional team members, communicating requirements to engineering, and adapting to strategic changes and ambiguity from leadership. …Product Management7 min readProduct Management7 min read
Published in BigTalker·Sep 5, 2019How to manage client expectationsIs there such a thing as client-relationship etiquette? We may not think of communication skills as the key to client engagements, but it’s alarming how quickly a project can fail without prioritizing frequent communication. Freelancers (and agencies) should not be tempted to take a creative brief, not ask any questions…Design6 min readDesign6 min read
Published in BigTalker·Dec 21, 2018Learning presence and self-regulation in conversationThe key to effective team communication — 65% of startups fail due to co-founder conflict. This means that despite our best efforts, teams implode when communication breaks down. The stress of big projects leads to personality conflict and friction on a team. The internal friction builds, leading to dysfunction and disengagement. How do we fix organizational dysfunction? Presence in conversation …Leadership4 min readLeadership4 min read
Published in BigTalker·Nov 13, 2018Upcoming sessions: Vocal presence, persuasion, and identify your work styleThree free hosted sessions coming up at General Assembly SF 11/27 Communication skills: Learn to sharpen your vocal presence with Lauri SmithLeadership3 min readLeadership3 min read
Published in Startups.com·Nov 9, 20185 strategy questions for every founderDefine and socialize your startup vision Every startup journey begins with an existential crisis: Who are we? To answer this question, startup founders typically lay out their vision for the future in a pitch deck. The pitch deck describes a problem worth solving and paints the picture of your solution…Startup7 min readStartup7 min read
Published in BigTalker·Nov 8, 2018Learning to embrace conflict and contribute in teamsYour team expects you to speak up. BigTalker recently hosted a teamwork communications professional development session at General Assembly. The premise of the ‘Teamwork dynamics’ session is that teamwork is critical, but messy. Per the Atlassian teamwork project: “Working in teams is challenging. There are many things that get in…Leadership4 min readLeadership4 min read
Published in BigTalker·Oct 1, 2018Teamwork communicationTeamwork is a learned skill that we can keep improving According to Atlassian’s teamwork research “Teamwork has never been more important than it is today. Did you know that 90% of companies report they are working on projects so complex that only teams of people working together will be able…Leadership3 min readLeadership3 min read
Published in BigTalker·Sep 25, 2018How do employers measure corporate wellness?If at all When it comes to corporate wellness, most of the companies I’ve talked to simply track their wellness initiatives by surveying employees. Employee satisfaction. They present a perk like free food, a kegerator or a learning fair and ask “did you enjoy this?” If the answer is yes…Health3 min readHealth3 min read
Published in BigTalker·Aug 17, 2018New manager trainingHow to develop core leadership skills It’s a typical corporate scenario — a high performing employee finds themselves taking on a management role. The go-getter employee is proud of her upward mobility. She is eager to learn new skills required to handle the challenges of leadership. In addition to her…Leadership3 min readLeadership3 min read
Published in BigTalker·Aug 11, 2018Reclaiming our ability to concentrateTeaching skills to strengthen focus If there is one unique Millennial experience that is undeniable, it’s that Millennials grew up with the Internet and the rest of us didn’t. Non-Millennial generations, you may recall, grew up in a constant state of unintended digital detox. Like it or not, we were…Technology4 min readTechnology4 min read
