In business law, legal expertise is a basic requirement. But for the client, the quality of the collaboration becomes clear well before the final answer is delivered: does the lawyer take ownership of an issue that is still taking shape, ask the right questions, and make sure everyone knows what happens next after the discussion?

The same pattern can be seen in many workplaces as the summer holiday season approaches. Calendars fill up, unfinished matters are cleared from desks, and responsibilities are only resolved at the last minute. The thinking is understandable, but if the situation is managed poorly, the consequences quickly become visible in the form of excessive workload, an increased risk of errors and unnecessary bottlenecks. From a company’s perspective, effective holiday planning is not merely a soft...

As I write this article, I notice myself returning to the same thought again and again. Should I add disclaimers? Those just-in-case paragraphs in which I explain in advance what I do not mean before I dare to say what I actually mean. That this is not an argument against taking discrimination, racism, harassment or other serious misconduct seriously. There can and should be no compromise on those issues. Yet this very need for caution feels like an essential part of the phenomenon that...