The Week in Review #22: Let me not die while I am still alive

In a past newsletter I wrote about the passing of David Goldberg. Earlier this week his wife Sheryl Sandberg wrote a very moving piece about her husband. The line which stood out the most was the headline of this post. Dealing with the loss of a close family member is always very difficult. I can’t even imagine what it would be like to lose your spouse. Throughout the entire piece you can see someone who is struggling intensely, yet doing her best to keep it together. Far too often we get caught up in the details of our lives and lose sight of the bigger picture. I know there have been several moments when I have been guilty of doing that. It is in these moments that we really aren’t living, just holding on until we get to the next goal.

Unfortunately, it takes getting the rug pulled out from under us to snap us out of this trance. All of us have the ability to make the necessary changes before that happens. The first step in doing that is to become aware of where we are today. Often our goals and priorities blind side us from paying attention to what truly matters. By taking control of our lives we give ourselves the best opportunity to enjoy the present for what it is.

Let me not die while I am still alive A moving piece by Sheryl Sandberg on the passing of her husband. The post talks about dealing with grief, gratitude and having the courage to moving forward. There is great advice on how to interact with people who have experienced tragedy in their lives.

The 9 Box Matrix Talent Model How would you categorize all the employees that work at your company? This post introduces us to a helpful 9 box model that can be used to answer that question. It provides employees with context as to where they are and how they can level themselves up.

The Organization is Broken The next 20 years is going to fundamentally change the way all of us work. With the current rate of technological advancements, robots are going to be taking over a large range of jobs. This post includes a deep dive into these patterns and where we are bound to see the largest changes.

Why A Values Fit Matters More Than A Culture Fit What are your organizations core values? This is a question that is usually very difficult for most people to answer. Very little thought is given to values in a majority of businesses. Yet, they form a critical foundation that is key to building a sustainable organization. This post talks about the importance of values and references some key examples.

The unproject culture (PDF) This is a fascinating presentation on project management. I specifically enjoyed the part where the author talks about the methodologies used by Spotify. If you are an entrepreneur or a project manager you should definitely review this presentation.

How to validate a startup idea? This post provides a great break down on how to assess whether a business has legs. The author used an actual example which made it more tangible. There are several great takeaways here for startup founders who are just getting started.

Wishing everyone a great week ahead!