Communication

Want to communicate at the Olympic level? Work on the 4 skills of great communication one by one, and when you put them all back together, you’ll be communicating at a much higher level. What are the 4 skills? Dean lays them out for us in the video below:   At The Latimer Group, our […]

Ask anyone who performs at a high level: athletes, dancers, singers, etc. They all prepare and practice their skills the same way. They break their skill down into smaller “sub-skills,” then practice each one individually, then put them all back together, and their overall skill level has improved. The same is true with communication. “Great […]

We’ve all been to THIS conference call… too many times in fact. While Tripp and Tyler absolutely nail the inherent comedy in the ways we conduct conference calls, let’s take the conversation to the next level. How do we run better conference calls? Here are a few simple ideas: 1. Set context and get the […]

Years ago, before the age of the internet, when you got sick, you went to the doctor, she told you what was wrong, and what to do about it. The doctor had all (or most of) the information, so her job was to distribute that information to you so you could decide how to proceed. […]

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 […]