We had an interesting presentation about influence at work recently. One of our executives led us through an exercise where each of us had to sell a “magic” pen to the person sitting next to us. It was a compressed timeframe and the pressure was on. Afterwards, she asked which person talked the most in…
With the proliferation of webinars as a common communication vehicle for business, odds are that you may eventually be asked to present in one – maybe as a featured speaker, or as a panelist sharing the virtual stage with others. I’ve heard plenty of advice on how to be a good moderator, but not as…
How do you tell someone when their work needs improvement? We’ve all been there… one of our co-workers or bosses (or children) brings us something for review and it’s just not good. Ideally the person knows they need help and readily accepts your critique. What happens when the person really believes it’s up to snuff,…
Another good friend from work just announced she was leaving for a new job. When you work in a large company, change is inevitable. The more people in your company, the higher the odds are that your work friends will move into other positions inside or outside the company. But it’s still a shock to…
When interviewed about the secret to American Idol’s success, Simon Cowell replied, “It’s all about the humiliation.” He is of course referring to the early audition trainwrecks they invite in to sing for the judges, knowing full well they will be laughed at. We used to get Paula Abdul mitigating the pain for these delusional…
Some of us hide our emotions better than others. Sometimes we can’t help showing the world how we’re feeling. I remember rushing through the airport on the way to a tradeshow. I was responsible for setup; worried about the booth and brochures arriving on time; finishing the script for the sales team; and whether everyone…
“Ah just loooove to see ‘em walk into mah courtroom in chains,” grinned the judge. I had joined a bar conversation in Atlanta, after a long day at a business conference. The old judge’s name was Earl, and he had that look of southern royalty – grey in the temples and red in the nose;…
The Walmart mechanic was standing there staring at my ’99 Accord with the hood up. He had just broken the cable connector that attaches to the battery terminal post. It really wasn’t his fault. This is my extra “train station” car and it sits outside in the cold a lot. The battery had an acid…
1) Listen more. 2) Talk less. The truth of these two rules was reflected to me in a management training class a couple of years ago. We sent out advance surveys to 10 co-workers to get their feedback on our strengths and “areas for improvement.” On the day of the workshop the facilitator posted everyone’s…
How much time and money does your company spend launching new products or sales campaigns? So much effort goes into a successful launch… the planning, the collaborative brainstorming, the creative energy, the detailed follow-through and the big launch training event. There’s nothing like an immovable date on the calendar to drive action and agreement to…