From the category archives:
A silo used to refer to a large feed storage tower. Thousands of them dotted farmland—tall bins rising to the sky keeping safe the precious crops. You wouldn’t want to fall into one because there was no way out, other than the top, and there was no way to communicate through the walls. Sometime in [...]
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On August 5, 1997 a Korean pilot, the recipient of a flight safety award with 8,900 hours of flight time, crashed into the side of Nimitz Hill in Guam, killing 254 people. This was not an isolated event, however. The loss rate for Korean Air in the period between 1988 and 1998 was seventeen times [...]
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This week the news of an Alabama professor shooting others in a meeting dominated the news. Apparently, the professor had been expecting an announcement of her tenure (Seriously? She came to the meeting with a loaded gun, after all). On the heels of this and the shooting in St. Louis a couple of months ago, [...]
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As the holidays quickly approach, many will face difficult people not only at work but also after work. At many of these functions, difficult people will consume alcohol–never a good combination. What’s a person to do? Here are my ten tips for managing difficult people and the thorny conversations they invariably introduce: Give yourself a cooling [...]
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You might be the emperor who has no clothes if you have created an atmosphere of “yes” people around you. Do people tell you when they think you’re running amok? Or, do you intimidate them? Will people readily bring you bad news, or wait to see if things get better? At some point in the [...]
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In my executive coaching work I frequently “shadow” clients so I can give them feedback about their behavior with their direct reports. Usually before the meeting we talk about their goals and messages. No client, ever, has asked me how to improve listening in these meetings. Recently I attended a meeting during which the president [...]
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For myriad reasons, few ever confuse me with Tiger Woods. I play golf—after a fashion—but no one scrambles to add me to a team for a tournament. Why? I can’t be trusted. Sure, I’ll show up on time sober, but beyond that, I can’t be counted on. I will hit the odd brilliant shot that [...]
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Remember your mother’s advice not to talk about politics, sex, or religion at parties? Good advice for your social agenda, even better in your role as executive. In the last few years, I have noticed the pervasive tendency of some people to weave their views into ordinary conversations. As if they were unable to control [...]
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