Nora Stolz

“What gets measured gets managed.” Every December, otherwise intelligent people sit down to write their year-end review and suddenly discover they have apparently achieved nothing since February. This is not because they did nothing. It is because twelve months of work has disappeared into a fog of meetings, deadlines, client calls, small wins, difficult conversations, rescued projects and the occasional miracle nobody remembers because by 4pm everyone had moved on to the next problem. Then...

“Marry in haste, repent at leisure.”— Proverb There is a peculiar moment in every recruitment process when common sense quietly leaves the building. You have spent three weeks trying to convince a company that you are brilliant, and then, suddenly, they agree. They want you.Champagne! Validation! Tell your mother! Except somewhere between the final interview and the offer letter, we often forget something rather important: you were supposed to be interviewing them too. A job offer is not a...

“Your reputation precedes you.” Years ago, someone explained promotions to me in a way I have never forgotten. By the time you are officially told that you are being considered for promotion, quite a lot of the deciding has already happened. Somewhere, perhaps over coffee, perhaps in a talent meeting with a terrible sandwich, your name has come up. Someone has said, “She’s excellent.” Someone else has said, “Yes, but is she ready?” A third person may have said nothing at all because,...