The Lori Dernavich Blog - Lori Dernavich

Hello, we’re Lori and Kate!

Let’s face it: there are dark moments in the world of work. It’s hard to talk about them, let alone know what to do. We created this series together because we wanted to help shed light on how to manage difficult work situations, drawing from both our personal experiences and our consulting work for clients.

Once a month or so, we pick a topic that’s rarely talked about and deliver to your inbox our perspectives on what’s happening, and what you can do if you’re caught in the same situation.

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The ABC Feedback Formula

December 8, 2022

Does this sound familiar? You know you should give someone feedback, but you avoid it because it feels awkward, scary, risky, or hopeless. The first step is to REFRAME the situation. If done correctly, feedback is HELPFUL to the person you’re giving it to. While you may also benefit from the person receiving feedback, it’s […]

New Job Remorse: When You’re Struggling With a New Position

July 12, 2022

You open the brand new laptop, register for your new email address, and update your LinkedIn profile. You introduce yourself to coworkers and try to get acquainted with everyone. You’re navigating the maze that’s called “onboarding,” slowly figuring out your place in this new environment. Then anxiety creeps in, “Did I do the right thing […]

Are You Joining the Great Resignation?

September 20, 2021

As we inch closer to the two-year mark since the beginning of COVID-19, we might be experiencing different feelings about our work. The shock effect of the pandemic got many of us reevaluating our job satisfaction and questioning our priorities. The familiar office setting where we got to socialize with our colleagues, walk to lunch, […]

When Your Meetings Aren’t Getting Enough Done

June 9, 2021

This is the sixth time you’ve looked at your watch since the meeting started. How much longer is this going to take? Most people are muted or have turned off their videos. All you see are off-white letters on a series of black boxes. Yet another colleague goes on a tangent, but nobody tries to […]

When You Don’t Have the Authority to Manage

March 2, 2021

Today’s workforce is more project-based. To achieve certain goals, you need to orchestrate multiple departments to work on different parts. For instance, a product manager needs to work with engineers, designers, data scientists to decide on product direction and feasibility; a salesperson needs to interact with product , customer success, finance and legal teams to […]

When You Feel Exhausted and Lonely At Work

December 8, 2020

Ryan Hoover created Product Hunt seven years ago as a side project. It started as an email newsletter and launched in a single tweet at Philz Coffee in San Francisco. Seven years later, Product Hunt has led to the discovery of over 100 million products across 50,000 companies, and is now a crucial part of […]

When You Can’t Bring Yourself to Terminate an Employee

October 27, 2020

Here we go again. You’re listening to yet another employee gripe about Joe. It’s become a pattern. Surely Joe can tell that his co-workers are avoiding him. Maybe it’s a bad cultural fit — you noticed that he’s barely doing the minimum these days. He keeps making mistakes, and you can’t trust his work anymore. […]

When Your Manager Storms Out of a Meeting

October 23, 2020

This is it: you’re finally in the room with your manager and senior leaders, presenting on a critical initiative you’re working on. You are sharing a recommendation that is controversial, but you believe is right. Things are tense. People are on edge. Stakes are high. The manager’s face is getting red. Before you know it, the […]