#Hamilten #Hamiltuesday
Stephen Sondheim would have been 95 years old this Saturday.
He was our art form’s greatest writer and our greatest encourager.
When we first met in 2009, he told me to keep him updated on my progress with Hamilton, and I did, via dozens of emails and drinks at his townhouse over... See more
Being nice is all about making the other person feel good. Being kind is about providing them with what they actually need. Nice is about feelings. Kindness is about concrete help. And if you want to do great work together, you should aim to be kind rather than nice.
When delivering tough feedback, use this framework:
Start directly: “I want to chat with you about [specific issue]”
Share observations: “What I’m hearing/seeing is [specific examples]”
Connect to impact: “We both know that to be successful here...”
Focus on future: “Let’s discuss how we can improve this going forward”
Instead of telling people what I think of a proposal, a product, a feature, whatever, I ask them instead what they think. Were they thrilled with it? Absolutely love it? Most of the time I would hear, “It's okay,” or “It's not bad.” They would surmise from my facial expression that this wasn't the answer I was looking for. Come back when you are... See more