01Jul 20, 2026/4 minThe Meeting Before the MeetingBy the time the decision meeting starts, the decision is usually already made. The meeting exists to ratify it, distribute it, and put it on…thinking principlesorganizationspolitics
02Jul 19, 2026/5 minPolitical CapitalCredibility is a budget. Every ask beyond your formal authority is a withdrawal, and the account is funded only by past delivery. The budget…thinking principlesorganizationspolitics
03Jul 18, 2026/4 minThe Shadow Org ChartThe org chart shows who reports to whom. Decisions, information, and unblocking flow through a different graph — and that graph is not…thinking principlesorganizationspolitics
04Jul 4, 2026/10 minCookie Licking: Claiming Work Without Doing ItClaiming a piece of work or territory so nobody else can take it — without actually doing it. The claim destroys value for others without…thinking principlesorganizationspolitics
05Jul 1, 2026/4 minNever Surprise Anyone PubliclyRaising someone's problem in public without warning them first converts a solvable engineering problem into a status attack — and the fix is…thinking principlesorganizationspolitics