Tag: perception
What Happens When We Misread Cues and Get Things Wrong
We like to think we understand what’s going on. But sometimes we get things completely wrong. Take a look at this very short video about how, even with the best of intentions, our attempts to... Continue reading
How to Screen Out a Star to Save the Team
In the Harvard Business Review article “How Facebook Tries to Prevent Office Politics,” Jay Parikh, Facebook’s global head of engineering and infrastructure, advises against hiring “empire builders, self-servers, and whiners” -- even if they’re also... Continue reading
4 Practically Proven Ways to Disagree Productively
Disagreements and conflicts occur in every organization, no matter how high-functioning the team, how clear the mission, or how lovely the people. As we’ve seen in the last two posts, conflict-averse executives who don’t share... Continue reading
How to Handle the (Un)Intended Disruptions Leaders Cause
Even the most moderate and democratic executives can morph into erratic, mercurial autocrats -- and they may not even be aware of their transformation or the havoc it wreaks. Here’s a sample scenario: A senior... Continue reading
Are You a Creative? Or a Critic?
It’s so much easier to critique what you can see than it is to conceptualize something that doesn’t exist yet. Michelangelo said, “Every block of stone has a statue inside it, and it is the... Continue reading
Going to the Dogs: Not Everyone Feels the Way You Do
There’s always another point of view. In old fables about whether any specific event or circumstance signifies good luck or bad, the moral always depends on your individual context and outlook. I’m interested in hearing... Continue reading
Listen. Do You Want to Know a Secret?
When people talk to you, do you hear everything they’re communicating? Do you recognize the meaning in people’s voices as well as their words to understand what they’re really telling you? Once you’ve known someone... Continue reading
Expectations Can Be Blinding
Here’s a small example of how we prevent ourselves from recognizing reality when our expectations get in the way: Last week I was scheduled to fly to Las Vegas for the Marketing EDGE board meeting... Continue reading