Here’s a question: which would you buy, a product with a well-known label of inferior quality, or a product with an inferior label of better quality? What did you say? High quality? Yes? Sorry, wrong answer. You’re delusional. In an ideal world, quality brands = quality products, and we’d all think rationally about making a quality/affordability trade-off, but this world …
How to Self-Destruct During a Management Training Session…
There are many ways to make the least of a training session. Some of them are quite colorful, thank you very much. But it’s some of the more subtle forms of self-destruction that are so fascinating to me. Like the building suspense of a violence-free Hitchcock movie, self-destructive behavior can grow from an innocent comment to an undeniable pattern that …
You’re Not Rational. You’re Rationalized…
It’s one of the cruel ironies of human nature that we are blind to our own rationalizations. We think we’re rational, reasonable, logical… but we’re anything but. True, our brains possess the ability to overrule emotions through something called an “executive process,” but the power of the executive processing part of the brain, relative to the power of our emotional …
We Need a Way To Measure “People.” FAST!
Quick: what’s the most important determinant of a company’s success? Did you say Culture? Leadership? People? Something like that? If so, good for you. You’re onto something. Now, here’s your challenge: since people do what gets inspected (not expected), and what gets inspected is what gets measured, you’re going to have to fight a torrent of pressure pushing you to …
HR’s Turd Sandwich: Open Up, It’s Yum Time.
Sometimes, it’s just your turn to take a bite of the turd sandwich. In Michelle Rafter’s article on the challenges facing HR today over at Workforce Recruiting, with regards to managing a contingent workforce, she includes this gem: “Everything HR does to drive employee engagement is [being] thrown on its head.” Well, it’s about friggin’ time. I know people are …
Can You Finish This Sentence: “…Teach a Man to Fish, He…”? I Betcha Can’t…
“Give a man a fish, he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish, he…” Do you know the next line? The way I learned it, it goes: “Give a man a fish, he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish, he eats for a lifetime.” But that’s wrong. The way it really goes is, “Give a …
Communication. Is. Everything.
Everything you do is part of your communication to the world. Everything. Even when you’re walking alone, you’re communicating. Your clothes, your gait, the expression on your face… they are all being read by others… at all times. If I tell you a story about a client who found himself in a political fight because he had unintentionally walked by …
FOTv Show #3 – Is a One-Page Resume the Secret to Job Search Success?
FOTv IS BACK. And we’re pissed off, and we’re not going to take it anymore. OK, I jest. A little. But we are eating our own today. The target of our dining experience? Jason Seiden, who had the audacity to say that in order to have a successful resume, you need to keep it to one page. Here’s what the …
Liar, Coward, Politician: The Office Politics Game With No Right Answer…
Hi, and welcome to my presentation! I’m at your company, I’m at the head of an auditorium, and you are one of about 300 people in attendance to hear what I have to say. (We’re pretending here. Play along, please.) Out of nowhere, I put up a slide that has one word on it. A controversial word, too. The word …
Hey, Mr. Smooth: Here are 3 Ways Your Management Style Telegraphs Your Intentions…
The silly things people do when they think they’re being so clever can be so much fun, don’t you think? Like the cute kid who asks, “Mom, would I be in trouble if I broke the TV?” Mom hears that and bolts for the remote to see what the problem is, leaving the rest of the world caught between wanting to …
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