Power Skills

Soft skills are hard, so we've renamed them to Power Skills.

Michael's thoughts on leadership, teamwork, communication, productivity and more. Everything you'll need to be successful in your career.

2026

Never leave on a no

The skill of knowing when to stop arguing and start aligning

#communication

Yes, if…

How can we say “yes” to people without overcommitting ourselves? We can say “Yes, if…”.

#communication

When Asking is Easy (and Answering Isn't)

Tactics for dealing with asymmetric questions in the workplace

❤️ #alignment #communication

2025

Say three things

Make every meeting count. By saying three meaningful things in each call, you’ll stay visible, engaged, and remembered

#meetings

Excellent pull request reviews

Pull request reviews are a critical part of building high-quality products, but too often, they become a rubber-stamping exercise—skim, “LGTM,” approve. Let's fix that.

#documentation #engineering

2018

How to ruin a career in 10 easy minutes

#presentation-notes