Three guys walked into a bar: a partner from a well-respected accounting firm, the general manager of a local retail store, and me. When the partner complained to the general manager, “It seems like your store never has my size,” the general manager responded to the criticism. And it was fascinating to see how that
To help bring about an outcome by providing indirect or unobtrusive assistance and guidance. I was thinking about my favorite skill of a leader, and I came across this definition in Webster’s dictionary. Do you know the skill? Maybe this story will help: I didn’t expect to get much out of a recent meeting I attended. I
What comes to mind when you think about consultants? It’s a word I used in my last post, and I realize the image we have of consultants isn’t always a positive one. We often think of them sitting across the table, giving us condescending advice or asking us judgmental questions. Who wants to set a
A consultant was meeting with an executive recently when the executive opened up about his stress and anxiety. The consultant was in a dilemma. He had an agenda and goals for the meeting, but this executive clearly had a need to be heard. Maybe you’ve been in a similar situation—on either side of that conversation.
We were in a meeting when people started whooping and screaming. In the middle of a weekday, in our office lobby, one of my teammates had gotten engaged. Her boyfriend had borrowed a car identical to the one in the movie Sixteen Candles—her favorite movie—and had dressed up like the boy in the movie. I
A recent youth soccer match gave me a surprising insight into organizational psychology. The players fell into two categories: the shooters and the passers. When shooters got the ball, they drove toward the goal, regardless of the screams from the coach or wide-open players on the field. Passers’ first instinct, on the other hand, was
In his book Give and Take, Adam Grant provides abundant research to support his thesis that givers are more successful than takers. He qualifies that these givers are “strategic givers.” While people who are selfish don’t get far, he also points out that people who are selfless get run over. People who are otherish, on
Of the 50 or so graduating seniors that heard me speak last week, two of them sent me an email asking for advice and help with getting a job. There’s something a little awkward about boldly taking that step, but they did it. What inside them made them do it? I thought about this after
I generally hear enough of what people say to know how to respond. Just like continuing to “read” even when my mind is wandering, it works for me to take quick mental breaks and still stay on track with what the person is saying. I was in a meeting this week, for example, when someone
“Listening is a magnetic and strange thing, a creative force. The friends who listen to us are the ones we move toward. When we are listened to, it creates us, makes us unfold and expand.” –Karl A. Menniger I was sitting across the lunch table from a client as he let me inside his most
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