Playbooks

For the moments when leadership philosophy gets tested.

These aren't scripts. They're scaffolding; moves I've thought about ahead of time so I'm not improvising under stress. When something hard happens, I want to pull the relevant one off the shelf and re-read it before I act.

Reading a playbook cold isn't the same as having run it, though. So each one comes with a prompt you can paste into an AI to rehearse — the hard version, where the other person doesn't make it easy. Better to fumble the conversation with a machine than with the person it's actually about.

• The First Underperformer

  The first time a team member isn't meeting the bar. The team is watching. So is the person.

  • performance

• A High Performer Who Suddenly Disengages

  One of the strongest people on the team has quietly checked out; a leading indicator, not a lagging one.

  • performance
  • engagement

• A Team Member in Personal Crisis

  Someone on the team is going through something (illness, loss, a family emergency, a divorce).

  • crisis

• The Day Someone Resigns

  A team member gives notice. How people leave is part of how the team feels about staying.

  • transition

• A Major Incident

  Production is on fire, customers are affected, and the team is in the war room.

  • incident
  • crisis

• Delivering Bad News to the Team

  A project is canceled, a reorg is happening, layoffs are coming; something the team will not want to hear.

  • communication

• Peer Conflict

  A peer is blocking the team or working against shared goals. Usually it's structural, not personal. Or we just disagree on something that matters.

  • conflict

• Receiving Hard Feedback I Disagree With

  Someone gives me feedback that lands wrong. Maybe it's unfair. Maybe it's partially true. Maybe I just don't want to hear it.

  • feedback

• Being Asked to Cross a Line

  A request to misrepresent, hide, or look the other way. The implicit ask is often worse than the explicit one.

  • ethics