This year our family spent two weeks together in hotel rooms and friends’ houses up and down the coast of New England. I loved the togetherness. And they also got on my nerves. The hot buttons and shortcomings that we know so well about each other were on full display as we debated directions and
The tension was heavy in a recent meeting. The participants had competing agendas, different personalities and diverse perspectives. Being privy to side conversations before the meeting, I knew that they were making judgments about each other. Instead of coming together as “we,” they were defending and protecting the “me.” In his classic book “Nonviolent Communication,”
Have you ever written an email while feeling angry or upset? Have you ever read an email that made you feel angry or upset? Last week my wife and I got an email from a company that we hired to help us with work at our house. The work we agreed to cost $1,000. Their
I attended a leadership conference several years ago, and two things I heard still stand out. One had to do with parenting; the other was one line: Leadership is influence. The reason that line was memorable is that the speaker, an executive from a large, well-known company, repeated it many times throughout his presentation. And
Have you ever been thoroughly excited about your ideas, only to see them shot down without any serious consideration at all? I still vividly remember the experience of presenting my exciting new idea to the senior leaders in our company years ago. Expecting enthusiasm, interest or at least alternative solutions, instead my carefully prepared plan was
When U.S. economic leaders gathered in April 2000 to celebrate ten years of prosperity, Alan Greenspan announced that they had figured out the model for success. “I do not believe we can go wrong,” he said. Well, he was wrong. After that meeting, the economy was hit with two recessions, the largest financial crisis in
I was given the gift of space on my calendar this morning when a client asked to reschedule a meeting. And within that space, several serendipitous things happened. Initially, I sat in my chair listening to the chatter across the office. I reflected on our culture, on teammates and on the work we do. Moments
As I listened to a senior leader from a well-respected company review the findings of its latest employee survey, I wondered: Do people do this type of self-confrontation often enough—like, really dig into the brutal facts about themselves? Confronting your own weaknesses requires substantial humility, courage and insight. In the book Good to Great, Jim Collins
The past week brought communication of conflict and crisis. I read news of human violence, learned about friends in difficult circumstances, and I had hard conversations. My mind was on high alert. As situations arose, I was one part anxious, one part awkward, and one part focused. Have you been there? Where I was directly
My favorite partner at Accenture (my brother-in-law) likes to say that “delivery trumps all else.” He’s right, but “delivery” is only your ticket to play. People who do good work and also sell their work have far greater control over their success than those who just do the work. In other words, the winner will
Matt Norman is president of Norman & Associates, which offers Dale Carnegie Training in the North Central US. Dale Carnegie Training is a global organization ...READ MORE