Blog: What I Learned From Being on the Bench
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This month we have a blog post from our newest Project Manager, Ari Feldberg. Ari joined Menlo last March after completing his Masters at the University of Michigan. As someone new to project management, he has done a lot of learning in his time at Menlo by "being on the bench" and managing internal projects. Working internally has given him opportunities to be involved in other areas of the business as well. In this blog post, Ari reflects on all of the activities he has been a part of and how they have helped him grow in his first year at Menlo.
Read Ari's blog post here!
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Shingo Systems Design Workshop - April 1-2, 2026
We are excited to announce that Menlo will once again be the host site for a Shingo Workshop, this time in-person at our office in Ann Arbor, MI! This two-day Shingo Systems Design Workshop builds on the foundation established in the DISCOVER EXCELLENCE™ workshop and deepens your understanding of how systems enable organizational excellence.
Through a blend of classroom learning and on-site experiences at Menlo, participants explore the Systems and Tools diamonds of the Shingo Model™, beginning with a core truth: all work in an organization is the outcome of a system. When systems are not intentionally designed to achieve a clear objective, they evolve on their own - driving inconsistent behaviors and variable results.
Learn more or register here! |
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It's a Good Thing to Drop the Ball?
How to let go so you can be happier in work and life
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You’ve probably heard the phrase “dropping the ball” used as a negative when you fail to deliver on something. But what if intentionally "dropping the ball" could actually be a good thing?
In today’s work culture, people are often rewarded for taking on more and feel constant pressure to say yes to everything. We wanted to share an article by Chaitali Narla that offers a refreshing counterpoint: the benefits of strategically “dropping the ball,” both at work and in your personal life. When you take on too much, it becomes nearly impossible to truly excel at any one thing. Giving yourself permission to not do everything can be genuinely life-changing.
"Dropping the ball" in a healthy way means being intentional about what you let go of and making sure it’s handed off thoughtfully. This often looks like passing a responsibility to someone else who can not only handle it, but also grow and learn in the process. While this sounds simple, it can be surprisingly hard to give ourselves permission to step back. Narla uses wonderful examples from her own life to paint the picture of how and when to effectively "drop the ball".
At Menlo, our paired work structure makes this much easier when someone recognizes a task they need, or want, to hand off. For our High-Tech Anthropologists® and Developers, working in pairs every day ensures there’s always at least one other person with context on a task, making it easy for work to keep moving. For those of us in roles like marketing or project management who don’t pair day-to-day, we use pairing more strategically—often to ensure no one becomes a tower of knowledge on a single task.
When we recognize our capacity is stretched, or just that we're the only person who knows how to do something, we can find a pair partner and share the knowledge. That way, if we do need to “drop the ball,” there’s already someone ready to pick it up. The work continues, and no one burns out in the process!
Read the full article here!
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Going Slower Gets You There Faster
Slow down your workload to accomplish things faster
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Continuing with the idea of not overworking yourself, sometimes the answer isn’t fully handing off a responsibility, but simply slowing down. We’re often trying to do a million things at once, which leaves little time for the deep thinking required to solve complex problems. In a Wall Street Journal article by Rachel Feintzeig, she argues that if we slow down and focus on one thing at a time, we actually become more productive in the long run.
Of course, slowing down can be hard, especially when someone needs something now. But communicating realistic timelines and being transparent about what you’re currently focused on can go a long way with managers and teammates. You can only do so much. Instead of constantly jumping between tasks, focusing on one thing at a time helps ensure the work is done well and builds trust that you consistently deliver quality results.
We practice this idea religiously at Menlo. Our planning game gives clients a clear, visual understanding of how much work we can realistically complete each week, based on thoughtful estimates. Our developers work for the week is planned out for them and they only work on one task at a time (what we like to call “freedom through tyranny”). By planning deliberately, we create space for people to think creatively and do their best work. If you’re working hard, having limits isn’t a personal failure. Clear communication, realistic estimates, and resisting the urge to overpromise make all the difference!
Read the full article here!
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Why Workplace Wellbeing Matters: The Science Behind Employee Happiness and Organizational Performance
Authors: Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, George Ward
Recommended by: Ari Feldberg, Project Manager
I recently listened to Why Workplace Wellbeing Matters co-author George Ward give a talk as a part of a University of Michigan Center for Positive Organizations speaking series, and many of the lessons shared related to Menlo practices.
For many business leaders, there needs to be a business case for there to be willingness to invest in a new idea. If you're a CEO, you may wonder why you should prioritize employee wellbeing if it takes time away from work. Having employees be happy and prioritizing wellbeing sounds nice, but it can be difficult in practice. In fact, while most US executives believe that a happier workplace would make it easier to attract and retain talent, and unhappiness hurts work performance, only about a third make wellbeing a strategic priority .
In their book, De Neve and Ward discuss four main topics: how do you define wellbeing, techniques to improve workplace wellbeing, the benefits of improving workplace wellbeing, and the future of work and wellbeing.
They define workplace wellbeing as how we feel at work, as well as how we feel about our work. He goes on to discuss how when considering the determinants of workplace wellbeing, compensation may seem like the most important aspect, but actually a sense of belonging, flexibility, and inclusion are top of the list. Personally, one aspect of all of the jobs I’ve had that I’ve enjoyed most is flexibility and knowing that myself and my work are valued. Compensation is of course important, but a workplace is not truly joyful if you do not feel a sense of belonging.
While mindfulness programs and activities like therapy dogs are fun, they next argue that taking a serious look at how work is structured, managed, and organized can be vital actions to take when considering workplace wellbeing. I know through Menlo’s weekly schedule that I can be focused on one task at a time, such as writing a podcast review, without being distracted by the 10 other things I may have going on. Everyone else will know this too, so I will not be given more and more work, making it so nothing will be completed.
While it may be easy to make a business case for workplace wellbeing, Ward's talk leaves us with a final question: should we even need a business case to prioritize workplace wellbeing?
Check out the book here and if you have a University of Michigan login, check out his talk here!
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As you probably know by now, we have many daily and weekly rituals at Menlo. You may have heard about our daily standup every day at 10am, called by the famous dartboard alarm. For each of our client projects, we also have weekly estimation sessions, Show and Tells, Planning Games, and Kickoffs. While there is a typical format for each of these meetings, sometimes different needs require running experiments.
We recently held a uniquely formatted internal Kickoff meeting for the Eagle project. A typical Kickoff involves a group gathering to individually raise and then discuss topics, with the goal of generating actionable outcomes. In this Kickoff experiment, the larger group of us broke out into smaller groups of three or four, and were given some markers, a big easel paper pad, and six guiding questions to discuss.
The breakout groups were a great opportunity to learn from each other and work with others that you may not pair with frequently. After going through the six questions, each group gave a mini Show and Tell to share their thoughts. These presentations sparked many larger group discussions, as well as allowed for many more opinions to be shared than during a traditional Kickoff structure. Newer Menlonians also got the chance to present in a safe environment, and there were even two 3-week trial interview candidates in the group. As a bonus, it was also pretty fun!
So often in business settings, you’ll be drowning in meetings, many of which could have been an email. Menlo Co-Founder, Rich Sheridan, refers to those as “mind numbing, spirit sucking, energy draining devices of management”. We try to avoid mind numbing meetings as much as possible, and being enabled to run experiments is a big part of that. Next time you schedule a meeting with your team, try running an experiment!
Have you recently ran an experiment? Email us!
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