Coaching From a Distance

With the sudden, COVID-inspired shift to WFH, one topic that has come to the fore is productivity. How do we get it? How can we possibly verify and measure it in light of physical separation? How can we coach people to better outcomes? Fair questions. One emergent point of view is that the manager/leader should […]

Leading from a Distance

see our keynote and workshop on leading from a distance If you’re a manager, right now your leadership skills are being tested, and evaluated (by those you lead), like never before. Add to that the challenge of trying to lead from a distance, and… well, I don’t have to tell you… The US Patent and […]

Four Words You’re Gonna Have to Stop Saying to Customers

There’s one simple change that you and your team can make that’ll yield happier customers right away, and it means simply purging your language of one four-word phrase. Over the last few months, service providers who I’m sure didn’t mean to be rude, made each of the following pronouncements to me (and many more like […]

Are You Listening, or Just Waiting to Talk?

Almost universally, the leaders I have the good fortune to coach find that one of the skills they most need to work on is listening… really listening. That need has been ever-present, but in an age when we’re attempting to multi-task, to compress more activity into each day, and babbling more (because we can), the […]

Stop Ghosting, Keep Your Word, Your Reputation. It’s All You’ve Got!

Lately, I’ve observed unprecedented levels of people ghosting scheduled appointments. One involved a wasted 400-mile drive (grr!). I learned of others in conversation with two independent businesswomen, both of whom complained of NCNS by clients with confirmed appointments. Still others reported that post-interview ghosting by corporate recruiters remains very much in vogue, and as aggravating […]

Assume Positive Intent

In April, 2008, as part of a Fortune Magazine segment in which notably successful people were queried about the best advice they had been given, Pepsico Chairman and CEO, Indra Nooyi volunteered a nugget given to her by her father: “Assume positive intent.” At its core, Mr. Nooyi’s knowing advice to his daughter capitalizes on the positive expectancy […]

Huddles or Hurdles? It’s Your Choice

Let’s start with some locker room talk. No, not that kind… This morning, at the Y, I overheard a conversation between two guys who were, like most of the rest of us, getting dressed and groomed in preparation for a day at the office. Guy Number One observed aloud that Guy Number Two seemed to be […]

Preventing the Next Uber Dumpster Fire

Nobody in their right mind flies an aircraft, rewires their home, performs surgery, goes skydiving, or engages in many other activities without the benefit of training and/or certification. And if we cared about someone, we wouldn’t stand idly by while they attempted such an endeavor. So, why in the hell do investors and boards with […]

Speaking Each Other’s Language

Let’s face it. Communicating at work is tough enough when both the speaker and the listener speak the same native language. Add different tongues to the dynamic and, sacré bleu! You’ve just hit a wall, and not the kind that’s proposed for the US’s southern border. To be clear, language, as well as literacy (the […]

Eight Lessons Learned While Trapped in an Elevator

Earlier this week, I spent about a half an hour trapped, by myself, in an elevator that I’ve traveled 27 floors up, and down, an average of twice a week every week for the past 25 years. That I so regularly frequent this conveyance at all is slightly amazing, given that I’m a moderately afflicted […]