From Volume 4 Issue 8We only have one opportunity to make a first impression, and sometimes we don’t even get that opportunity. Almost universally, we make judgments about people as soon as we meet them. Tall, short. Fat, skinny. Attractive, unattractive. Cool, uncool. Rich, poor. My kind, not my kind. Are the judgments you’re making getting in the way of your success?
From Volume 4, Issue 7:U.S. corporations spend an estimated $2.7 million per year on in-house wellness programs to help employees stop smoking, lose weight, and get fit. They aren’t investing for purely altruistic reasons. They’re investing in their own health, dramatically cutting healthcare costs. Yet they—and, I am willing to bet, you too—are neglecting to invest in another area that is costing American companies billions each year: playing nice.
From Volume 4, Issue 7:At Tim O’Neil’s Rally School and Car Control Center in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, students learn how to avoid “committing to the crash.” Important for the survival of rally car drivers. But in a very real and damaging way, we’re all committing to the crash in myriad ways every day.
From Volume 4, Issue 6: Do you remember the first time you drummed up the courage to kiss your girlfriend or boyfriend? Everything changed, right? How about the first time you moved over to the driver’s side of the car and took the wheel? The first time you raised your hand in class? The time you decided to quit that job or take that ballroom dancing class? In just one moment, you changed your life, and you can do it again whenever you like.
From Volume 4, Issue 6: Your spouse needs to lose some weight. Your boss needs to change how she deals with people. Your young adult child needs to stop partying and get serious about his education. If you find yourself thinking about everyone else’s bad habits, you may have the worst habit of all.
From Volume 4, Issue 5:Have you ever found yourself saying exactly what you didn’t want to say…again?
From Volume 4, Issue 5:When we think of the conversations we conduct—with our superiors, with direct reports, with family, even with ourselves—it’s difficult to believe that we are addicted to our roles in them. It may even be tough to recognize that most of our conversations fall into repeated patterns at all. But they do.
From Volume 4, Issue 4: Can you imagine toilet paper being the root cause of someone’s murder? Well, structurally, I can.
From Volume 4, Issue 4:This past week I had the pleasure of keynoting an organization and conducting an in-depth breakout session on the subject of communication. One attendee specifically chose to attend my breakout because she had a problem and was hoping I had the answer. She’s a member of a very experienced department (average age about 50 with an average tenure of 20 years) that had just been graced with a new manager—and things were not working out.
From Volume 4, Issue 3: How many times have you turned on a fake smile? Chances are, you’ve done it a lot, with colleagues, prospects, family, and friends.
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