Reader, Help me help you. There's a quick poll at the end of today's email. Please give me your quick feedback. I was giving a keynote to a small group of CEOs when I noticed a woman sitting about five rows back. She was asleep. I wanted to be compassionate, telling myself she must have been up late watching the Knicks. At least that's what I hoped. But it really rattled me. My mind then went straight to the negative:Maybe this isn't landing.Maybe I'm not good at this. Maybe I can't hold the...
1 day ago • 3 min read
Reader, On Wednesday night, the Knicks were down by 27 points at halftime. No team had ever come back from a deficit that large in an NBA Finals game. I looked at my husband at the half and confidently announced, "We're going to bed." I had a keynote the next morning and needed sleep. "It would be impossible for them to come back," I confidently said. The next morning, I woke up to discover the Knicks had won. The impossible had happened while we were was sleeping. What struck me wasn't that...
9 days ago • 2 min read
Reader, The problem with status meetings is right there in the name. Status. Meetings designed to discuss where we are and likely talk around the status quo. You have status meetings, status reports, progress updates, and quarterly reviews. You spend so much time managing the current reality that you've forgotten to schedule time to create a new one. We're halfway through the year. You can read that and feel stress — not enough time, too much ground to cover, goals that feel further away than...
16 days ago • 2 min read
Reader, On the rainy Memorial Day weekend, my husband and I visited a casino. I hadn't played blackjack in years. A few good hands in, and you feel like you're on a streak. The cards are landing. Confidence rises. You start thinking you've 'got this.' A few hands later, the table humbles you. Bad cards, wishing I hadn't made that bet. But emotions quietly whisper, "Just one more hand, Christina." You can't force a winning hand at the blackjack table or in life. Winning has less to do with...
23 days ago • 2 min read
Reader, One of the highest-pressure creative environments in the world relies on laughter to produce results. Saturday Night Live. By Saturday at 11:30 p.m., an entire live show has to be ready — ideas pitched, sketches written, costumes built, sets designed, timing perfected. The pressure is relentless. The way they know they’re onto something: Laughter at the table read. Laughter isn’t separate from the work. Laughter produces, recognizes, and makes the work better. Most of us do the exact...
30 days ago • 2 min read
Reader, A client was leading the charge on a product his organization believed would launch a new revenue stream. His bosses were all-in. The energy was high. The roadmap was set. But months in, despite the investment and initial optimism, something in his gut said the payoff wasn't coming. He raised his doubts. Carefully at first, then more directly. And every time, he got the same response: You're being a naysayer. You're not a team player. Get on board. He wasn't resistant to innovation....
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Reader, If you’re anything like me, you can go from that feeling of Let’s go! to absolute dread in the blink of an eye. You’re having a great day, and then an email or text comes through that hits like a brick. A trigger. And then suddenly, the anxiety hits and your day takes a turn. Here’s what I’ve learned to help me manage the swings that each day brings. Both optimism and anxiety ask us to do the same thing: To think about a future that hasn’t happened yet. This is so important that it’s...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Reader, There’s a version of success no one warns you about. It’s the one where you become the one. The default problem-solver. The decision-maker.The go-to-gal. Over-ownership. Over-responsibility. Over-functioning. On paper, it looks like leadership. In reality, it starts to feel like… weight. It doesn’t show up as burnout at first. It shows up as: Being the one everyone relies on A mind that never fully shuts off Carrying pressure you don’t talk about Performing “fine” because you have to...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
Reader, It's finally Spring. Although this week in New Jersey, it dropped to 30 degrees. Twice. While driving earlier this week, I saw the Cherry Blossoms and the early buds from the Lilac trees - my favorite - and it make me think... Spring is the only season on the calendar where growth is non-negotiable. Nothing in nature debates it.Nothing waits to feel ready.Nothing holds onto what no longer works. Flowers bud.Trees bloom.Grass turns green. Growth even through the 30-degree day delays....
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
Reader, I remember my boss of six years greeting me e.v.e.r.y. d.a.y. with… ☀️ Hello Sunshine! ☀️ Each day. In texts. At the top of an email. When she greeted me after a tough meeting with Martha. Here is why this is important. It wasn’t about being polite… it was neurological. Think about that smile someone gives you when you are checking out groceries or when you get your morning coffee. Our brains are wired to mirror emotion—so when you smile at someone or give them a warm hello, their...
2 months ago • 3 min read