New York

October 15–17, 2025

Berlin

November 3–4, 2025

Doing “the most important thing” is a trap.

This talk is little about why you need to say No to people more, and how things can go wrong when you don’t learn to do it enough. 

Speakers: James Ford

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October 08, 2024

We get into our roles and progress in our careers by sampling a little of everything, by being adaptable and capable of understanding and doing many things.

But sometimes “the most important thing” isn’t the thing that you should be doing – you’re a part of a broader team, remember! And maybe, just maybe, someone else should be doing the thing instead. It’s especially tough to remember this when companies and teams are changing, but it’s a slippery slope to ending up doing the things which are essential, but not your responsibility, and never being able to find time for the critical IC Leadership stuff that only you can provide.

This talk is little about why you need to say No to people more, and how things can go wrong when you don’t learn to do it enough.