The Commitment Muscle

Most people tend to overplay the risks involved in speaking up. “Our natural bias is to start by imagining all the things that will go wrong.” Your counterpart might be surprised and a little upset at first.

But chances are you’re not going to get fired or make a lifelong enemy. First, con...

For any problem, the more apparent solutions will be discovered first, perhaps because you have encountered it previously. Generating the initial ideas feels very rewarding. Further ideas will come slower and require much more effort. This gives the impression that your creativity is ...

• The organic route: As you become more respected in your sphere, you gradually increase the parts of your job that you like at the expense of those you don't. This route is more common, but also slow and uncertain without the promise of real freedom.
• The two-j...