"I hate my mailman!" my friend exclaimed. "Why?" "Because I was expecting an important package and he just left me a notice in my mailbox. In fact, I saw him earlier in the day in another part of the condo complex." My friend lives on the fourth floor of a condo...
Grow Your Key Talent Blog
Is your self-reliance dooming you?
A pal has been a supervisor at our local hardware store for 8 years. He recently shared a story about Eric, the new general manager -- someone who'd never worked in a hardware store and was hired about 6 months ago. Eric is a nice guy, but he doesn't see how he's...
Silicon Valley Product Managers Assn. workshop on influence
A wonderful way to spend a Sat. morning -- I presented a very interactive workshop called "Influencing without Authority: Herding Cats with Tuna Not an Electric Prod" for the Silicon Valley Product Managers Assn. What a great group of smart, fun, nice people. They...
Sweating the small stuff
I appreciate when people are positive and easy going. However, sometimes one can be too laid back and not take care of details when adopting an "It will all work out" attitude. Then stress -- at the minimum -- ensues, and sometimes chaos and failure. Recently I worked...
Spinach in your teeth
What do you call someone who tells you that you have spinach in teeth? A friend! Do you have a mentor or savvy friend who tells you when you have the equivalent of spinach in teeth for your behaviors at work or in your career? You probably have pals who want to...
Intriguing is good. Confusion isn’t.
Whether you're an entrepreneur or corporate professional, you need to persuade people with your writing. Even if it's enrolling folks to come to a meeting or assist in a project, you are writing sales copy. Working recently with a client on her marketing materials, I...
Article in Better Business Focus
My article, "14 Tips for Calming Upset Customers" was recently published in Better Business Focus magazine . Go to page 18 to read it. Better Business Focus October 2013
The benefits of intentional chaos
Most people loathe chaos. It causes them a lot of stress. They don't know where to start to create order. They feel overwhelmed and disoriented. Nothing seems familiar. So why would one create chaos intentionally? Usually it's because they believe life on the other...
Ensure your customers want to kiss you, not curse you
A pair of young men have started a service in our neighborhood to help fund their college education. They will do nearly any chore for $15/hr. I've engaged them to transport furniture, clean out my gutters, move all the furniture out of 3 rooms for floor refinishing,...