All tagged Relationships
A measure of ambition is a critical ingredient of success. We have to want what it is we’re after.
But too much ambition is a turn-off - and I don’t just mean for others, but to ourselves especially.
There’s probably many measures of this and we all have our own bar for what constitutes “too much”. For me, one of the most critical is when we calculate every interaction in terms of its payoff.
Trust is something we all intuitively believe in. We understand that it forms the foundations of each and every relationship we have, in every sphere of life.
We're, therefore, very careful about doling out our trust. It's worth realizing though that trust is a two way street - and that it's as much our responsibility to foster it, as it is the other person's.
Tribalism is an idea with which I have something of a love/hate relationship.
I mean, it certainly has plenty of value, delivering significant benefits if you happen to be a member. You’re with like-minded individuals who all have the same professed goal. You share a specific set of values. You speak the same language.
Email has become a necessity in today's business environment - and it's brought us plenty of value and efficiency in both our personal and professional lives.
But email can sometimes also be used as a way to avoid real conversations, to sidestep issues or frankly, to not make the effort. In the long run, this has real consequences, as I discuss in today's episode.
Lack of patience isn’t a helpful trait at the best of times. But in sales, it pretty much kills your ability to be effective.
It tends to manifest itself in the desire to close the deal yesterday i.e. a not-so-subconscious need to convert discussions into Dollars by the end of the call or meeting, no matter how little conversation has actually taken place.
I went for a walk with a client today.
We were supposed to meet in a conference room at his office building and talk through our plans for 2022. But as I waited at reception with my colleague, our client came down and asked if we wanted to sit in the office or perhaps go for a walk.
Today's episode focuses on the myth of the all-rounder.
We're programmed to try and be good at everything, and when we don't hit the mark, we taught to judge ourselves negatively. But the fact is we all have spikes and, while general knowledge is a good thing, our spikes are what really matter.
This month's podcasts focus on the art of communication - a critical skill no matter what we do for a living.
In today's episode, I speak to the fine line we walk when we're in the midst of combative communications. In particular, I speak to the four elements that allow us to tell when it's constructive and when it's not.
This month's podcasts focus on the art of communication - a critical skill no matter what we do for a living.
Today's episode focuses on the idea of conflict, and the fact that it can actually be a good thing for our relationships at home and at work. The question is one of intent and ego (or lack of it).
This month's podcasts focus on the art of communication - a critical skill no matter what we do for a living.
Today's episode focuses on the idea of objectivity in what we believe and what we communicate. It's important to believe in ourselves but still be objective enough to understand the reality of our situations.
This month's podcasts focus on the topic of mindset, and the kinds of traits and ideas we need to embed to achieve what we want.
In today's episode, I discuss how we often want to be nice to someone in our orbit, but hold ourselves back because we pre-judge the way it will be received. It turns out that that we overthink things and in fact science backs us up.
When I was in Business School, I was asked to take part - along with another student - in an experiment run by a couple of PhD students. We were given a store of currency and had to decide - over multiple rounds - how much of that currency we would give to the other person. (We might even have been given some rules as to how to do it, but I don’t quite recall.)
Episode 26 of the podcast is now available and this episode continues this month’s theme of Management Consulting war stories, specifically the lessons I learned working with difficult people.
In my last post, I included an excerpt from a post by David Whyte that spoke to how enduring friendships are based on a measure of forgiveness and an acceptance of our own imperfections.
That same post also spoke to how our friendships act as a window into our lives:
“The dynamic of friendship is almost always underestimated as a constant force in human life: a diminishing circle of friends is the first terrible diagnostic of a life in deep trouble:
When we enter into a negotiation (in particular, a B2B deal), our usual (and natural) goal is to push for the very best deal possible. We analyze our situation, detail our requirements, assess the competition and evaluate alternative options that meet (or come close to meeting) our needs.
