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.
Improve both efficiency and effectiveness with a clear and complete request.
A normally upbeat and productive guy was suddenly downcast and discouraged yesterday morning. I went in to see Chuck and talk about progress on his most important project – implementing an employee development program – and he wasn’t even interested anymore. Wow. “This project doesn’t matter,” he said. “I thought it would make a huge […]
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 […]
Ever feel overwhelmed by unexpected requests from people who are important to you, or surprises in your schedule with sudden “emergencies” or when meetings go longer than you planned? Being “semi-retired”, I’m finding that lots of things are unpredictable – like when the phone rings with another client that I can’t turn down, and then […]
Most managers have some confusion about “accountability”, but one manager I talked with recently takes the cake. Howard complained about the poor quality of employees, saying that his (mostly young) staff people are “not accountable”. “They just do the work they think they should do, but they are not accountable for their results,” Howard explained, […]
Conversation at a lunch meeting with a world-class manager the other day was centered around one word: “tracking”. Jake said, “Communication is important for managing, but the way I know if someone is going to be a good manager is when they tell me they are good at tracking.” Tracking what? Tracking certain communications! Jake has […]
A manager I know came up with the best idea I ever saw for having her staff meetings be short and smart. Her name is Sharon, and she has a staff of 14 direct reports. I borrowed her idea myself when I managed a conference, and I have recommended it to every manager I […]
Rachel has created quite a stir – after reporting herself to be a black woman, her parents, both white, publicly demanded she tell “the truth”. Now they want her to apologize for lying. It appears that other untruths are suspected on Rachel’s part – the story is so interesting that reporters are digging up her whole […]
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Rated #5 "Best Business Book" by The Toronto Globe and Mail.