On Workcations, Part 2
My family and I just got back from a week in Cabo, Mexico, which we approached as a workcation. I say that because it was not meant to be a full-on vacation like many assume it was (say Cabo and it’s hard not to think that!). We were there meeting with business friends and doing…
The One Enduring Key to Effective, Successful Leadership
Wanna be a good leader and manager? I have found the ONE sustaining, redeeming, enduring thing you have to do. But it’s remarkably simple so you’re likely to dismiss it. CARE You could screw most of the other stuff up, but if you simply care about people they’ll follow you to the ends of the…
Two Epic Books for Your Heart and Head
I recently read two epic books and got so much out of them that we bought hard copies for every team member. Here’s the letter I sent to them that captures why these two books need to be in your library: March 19, 2014 Dear iThemes team member— I recently read both of these books…
30+ Ways to Secure Your WordPress Site
iThemes Security (formerly Better WP Security) is here … and we’re pumped to share it with you. This is the culmination of a lot of thought and hard work from Chris Wiegman, lead developer of iThemes Security, and our team. Learn more about my back story with Better WP Security and why we pulled it…
10 Questions to Ask Before You Take That New Job
If you’re considering a new job, or accepting an offer, I wanted to share some thoughts on how to make a better, rational and emotional decision. As the saying goes, the grass is not always greener on the other side. Through these 10 questions, I hope you can get clarify and feel more confident about…
Tips For Ordering Swag Shirts for Your Business
Want to order swag shirts for your business, but don’t know what quantities and sizes to order? We’ve been doing swag shirts at iThemes for a number of years now and wanted to share some tips for how we do it. (Big hat tip to Brad Ulrich and Cody Smith for their help along the…
Learn Your Character Strengths
As I’ve been plowing through The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor (on the high recommendation from my friend Jason Schuller, and yes, it’s now one of my all-time recommendations too), I stumbled on a new personality tool that is really neat called the Character Strengths Profile. I’m a big advocate of StrengthsFinder (and we use Strengths proflicly…
How to Eat Books: A Guide for Power Learning
I’m a Learner. It’s my top StrengthsFinder strength. And over the past 37 years, I’ve honed this strength and found books to be the best, most affordable way to learn and digest new topics and get answers to problems. I want to share the way I approach reading books and read so many of them…
Hiring Your First Employee: A Step by Step Guide
One of the most frequent questions I get asked by solopreneurs, developers and freelancers is about hiring their first employee. I love the question but it’s a tough one. There are so many nuances of why, when and how to hire and every business and entrepreneur is different. But I’ve been mulling it over for…
Using Daily Affirmations for Success
At the risk of being called a hippie, prepare for a fuzzy feeling post, but I think a good and vital one as I want to share some of the things I’m learning (and doing). As I was plowing through Scott Adams’ fantastic book “How to Fail At Almost Everything And Still Win Big” I came upon…