To keep the support of their sponsors, black belts and other specialists will do well to manage the agreements they have with sponsors. The director of a lean management program recently approached me with a problem he was having with program sponsors prohibiting students from implementing their lean projects at work. According to the director, […]
Closure conversations are one of the most powerful conversations you can use. I want to share an email from a former MBA student that illustrates just what impact a closure conversation can have. She writes: Professor Ford, I had to write to you and let you know I had the most incredible closure conversation today. […]
All of us have failed to keep a promise we made to someone. It might have been we forgot to make a call, failed to get something done on time, or only did part of what we said we would. And even though we may have a good reason for breaking our promise, there are […]
How do you get credibility when you don’t already have it, particularly when you are new to a group? One way is to use a closure conversation. One function of a closure conversation is to acknowledge the facts of a situation. In this case, it is used to let other people know that you know […]
Tiger Wood’s recently addressed the world to apologize for his marital infidelity. If you watched the apology, you could tell that it was not easy for him. He was clearly ill at ease, unsure of himself, nervous, and at times, upset. For someone who values his privacy, this was difficult. In terms of The Four […]
Credibility is essential to being an effective leader. One of the most powerful ways to build credibility is to own up to something that didn’t work and apologize for it. When Ed Koch was mayor of New York, he was concerned about the number of accidents resulting from bikers darting in and out of traffic. […]
The State of the Union address is an opportunity for the President of the United States to inform the Congress, and the American people, his assessment of the state of the union – good, bad, or ugly. It is an opportunity to acknowledge accomplishments, recognize people for their service and sacrifices, and, where appropriate, make […]
A former student of mine sent me the link to a great blog article posted by Fast Company entitled “2010: The Year of Saying ‘I Got It’ “. The focus of the article, written by Lynette Chiang, is how companies, as well as individuals, have gotten into the habit of not responding to inquiries – […]
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