I have often heard it said that you should never work with friends. It’s risky, complicated, and too easy for boundaries to become blurred. My entire career stands in opposition to this advice. In my experience, working with people you genuinely like, admire and enjoy hanging out with is one of the great pleasures of having a career. Relationships are not something I try to keep separate from my professional life. Rather, they are one of the central pillars that make my career meaningful. So...

I am working with some truly brilliant researchers, world-class polymaths who are shaping their fields. As the coaching call starts, I often notice a certain wild look in their eye, as if they are being hunted by wolves. This goes beyond burnout. These are super high-functioning people drawing on the “mystery tank” of energy and mental bandwidth every single day, for years. They are working the dawn shift; they are working nights. Here are three things I want to say to my high achievers:...

As a social entrepreneur, I am constantly working on my business to make it more sustainable, impactful, and enjoyable to run. Here are some of my recent reflections, which I hope might be useful for others who are setting up their own shop, be it a business, research lab or nonprofit. I am also curious to learn from the experiences of other people running small enterprises. Recent learnings: 1. Tailor my business to my own nervous system Fancy folks call this “building a lifestyle...