Communication

I recently read a great article that talked about the four behaviors most responsible for killing relationships at home. The article quoted John Gottman, author of “The Seven Principles That Make Marriage Work.” And Gottman was quoted in Malcolm Gladwell’s book “Blink.” I like the way this guy thinks and writes. In the article, Gottman […]

Last week I had a conversation with a long-time friend and business partner, Mary Ann. And she shared with me that the Oxford Dictionaries has selected “post-truth” as 2016’s international word of the year, after the contentious Brexit referendum and an equally divisive US presidential election caused usage of the adjective to skyrocket, according to […]

My colleagues and I have a long-standing policy with this blog… no politics. We have clients and friends who sit on both sides of the political divide, and this blog is about business, not politics. Given the current state of US politics, it is almost impossible to address issues without offending SOMEONE. But our business […]

My colleagues and I always talk about the five ingredients for great communication. And those five things are as follows: Clarity, brevity, context, impact and value. Now, as you think about the last line I just wrote above, which word do you think is most important? Clarity, brevity, context, impact and value. Which of those […]

Earlier this summer, I wrote a short post about giving up my mobile devices for part of my vacation. So many of us struggle with the balance between being connected with the world vs being connected with the people right in front of us. And our mobile devices have become toxic roadblocks to attention span, […]

Here’s a challenging one, with no easy answer. Do you make your work life harder if you become friends (non-romantically) with a colleague or colleagues? Does it become harder to do your job when your professional relationships are overlaid with personal friendships? I think the answer is “maybe.” Adding a personal component to a professional […]

A 2004 survey from Raindance Communications looked at the issue of multitasking. And for those of you who regularly lead conference calls (like me), brace yourselves… the numbers ain’t pretty. These stats are a little dated but still eye-opening. According to this survey: 90% of people surveyed said they multitask while on conference calls; 70% reported doing other, […]

A strange, true, recent and very personal story. The 2016 Olympic Games are underway in Rio, and because of my history with the US Olympic Sailing Program, I am (and always will be) a devoted fan of the Games. I attended two Games (2008 and 2012) as the Team Leader, and I was an alternate […]

According to some sources, more than 30 million business presentations are created each day. And you know what? Most of them are terrible. We’ve all sat through the proverbial terrible presentation with no purpose, nothing memorable, no clear action items, too many slides, the monotonous drone of the boring presenter. There is a reason business […]

I spent the last week on vacation with my family. Which means that for a few days prior to the beginning of vacation, my wife and I had our annual negotiation about mobile devices and the boundaries during vacation. In general, she and I agree on the basic premise… it is healthy to turn off […]