"I just wanna be liked, just want to be funny.... looks like the jokes on me" - John Mayer Earlier this week, I was speaking with an excellent project leader who shared a familiar struggle: his team was missing targets, deadlines were slipping silently, and momentum had stalled. When I pressed him on why he wasn’t pushing harder, he said something honest, a form of which I come across often: “I could push harder, but I want to work well with the folks I’m working with. If I p

The Stanley Cup Final wrapped up this week (I’m a lifelong Penguins fan, but congrats to the Hurricanes and their fans!) As someone who grew up at the rink, I couldn’t help but break from my usual format and reflect on how many lessons from hockey translate directly to project leadership and customer leadership. Two phrases in particular have shaped how I show up, on the rink and at work. 1. Know your role - but be ready to be the next player up Every hockey player is coached

“Integrity is telling myself the truth. And honesty is telling the truth to other people.” — Spencer Johnson Most customer escalations don’t come from the truth. They come from avoiding it. Over the years, I’ve watched teams spend weeks (sometimes months) trying to avoid one of the hardest truths in project delivery or customer service: Sometimes the customer (or a specific request they made) is not a fit. I once worked with a team trying to save a customer account. We spen