Ellipsis Advisor

Don’t defend it

Your team thought of the product Your team justified the product your team launched the product Your team is proud of the product. How often have you been in a customer meeting, selling your product and your customer starts to give you feedback about it and someone on your team starts to defend it? It

Do i step in?

As a leader, you find yourself evaluating daily, how much to engage, how much to insert yourself: With your employees – how much latitude do i give? how much oversight is needed? Negotiations – at what point do i engage? With your peers – at what point do i inform them of potential issues While

Sausage, Spaghetti and Sushi

I was discussing the other day, how much I like to eat, and that my tastes reflect experiences and periods in my life. I have always liked liverwurst for breakfast, love a nice bowl of pasta for lunch, and sushi is a must before a good karaoke night. In other words, I have always enjoyed

There is no such thing as a bold idea

There is no such thing as a bold idea. Good ideas are good ideas but they are in your head or on a piece of paper. The boldness sits in the execution. Many a great idea has died the death of stagnation because, as my friend Essa would say, we didn’t have the “edge”, the

Your Style – it matters

I pay attention to style. When i coach and lead people, understanding style perspectives. I have done this for many years, and its hard wired in me (like muscle memory). Understanding your dominant behavioral style is critical. I use a methodology called PI Predictive Index. It helps managers understand their style, what motivates and drives

Guide to conduct

My boarding school had a code of conduct that has always held me in good stead: 1. Consider the comfort and convenience of other people. This is the hallmark of courtesy and good manners. 2. Don’t make unnecessary or exaggerated noise. 3. Don’t draw attention to yourselves. Never be loud or vulgar. 4. Show restraint

Seth Godin – Avoiding False Proxy

Avoiding the false proxy trap Sometimes, we can’t measure what we need, so we invent a proxy, something that’s much easier to measure and stands in as an approximation. TV advertisers, for example, could never tell which viewers would be impacted by an ad, so instead, they measured how many people saw it. Or a

Bill Drayton Quotes

Some of my favorite quotes from Bill Drayton, the Founder of Ashoka: ” Its not gender. It’s not race. Its whether or not you are a change maker that determines whether you will be a success or failure” ” Social entrepreneurs are not content just. To give a fish or teach how to fish. They