Reggie started with a serious performance problem in his department. He said his staff was “under-performing”, and he was insistent that I find out what the problem was and “fix it”. So I did. The problem was Reggie. He was a technical whiz, but not a very good manager. Here’s what I mean: He was […]
Dear Reggie, The “discussions” are working. Your people said that you are listening to them in a new way, and that should raise their performance. That was your original goal, wasn’t it? So here’s the next place to put your attention: your Step 3. I am hearing some confusion among your staff people – it’s […]
Complaining. Blaming. Gossip. Those conversations are usually unproductive. The word “productive” comes from the ideas of “leading and moving forward”. In that sense, being productive is a good thing. Unproductive conversations are everywhere – they aren’t wrong, but they don’t produce much value. Complaining could be productive if you are committed to following through to […]
Sometimes cynicism is a symptom of a problem from the past. It’s worth fixing both the problem and the symptom.
The first rule for getting what you want is to Pay Attention to spelling out exactly what you want. Then make a request for it.
How to get yourself to Do something you don’t want to Do? Add a Listener and a Due date. Here’s how.
A local college teacher called last night and asked if I had another recommendation for a technical support person to help with his Public Speaking class, because the first guy I recommended wasn’t working out. Here’s how that dialogue went… Me: “What happened to Ed? I thought he was your guy for that?” Teacher: “Ed […]
Wishing is a waste of time. Invest some brainpower in getting clear about what matters.
You can make a resolution to reach a goal – just include a communication plan to support your successful change.
After years of saying that a consultant’s job is not to change people’s attitudes, I might need to eat my words. Here’s what I learned from reviewing a Harvard Business Review case: a bad attitude can blind an employee – even a good one – from seeing who to communicate with and who needs […]
Awarded "Best Management Book" by 800-CEO-READ.
Rated #5 "Best Business Book" by The Toronto Globe and Mail.