Communication

If a staff member is grieving

July 29, 2022
The workplace functions on elements that are naturally in opposition to anyone trying to heal; it demands and prizes focus, productivity and the ability to keep emotion out of all processes. But stepping around a colleague’s difficulties, in most situations, is not the best way to deal with it. Here are some basic governing principles to adhere to when someone’s going through a dark time.

9 negotiating mistakes you’re making

July 13, 2022
Be mindful of these common pitfalls in your next process.

Monitoring remote workers can backfire

July 7, 2022
Managers trying to electronically monitor their remote employees might want to rethink their snooping strategy. Even as online searches for “how to monitor employees working from home” have increased dramatically since the pandemic began, being Big Brother can backfire.

Deal with people who refuse to read

June 24, 2022
Have you ever known or worked with someone who just won’t read communication? Before you stew about these “information vacuums” too much, consider a few things.

The 10 tenets of a group dynamic

June 8, 2022
“A group or co-operative enterprise is more likely to succeed,” wrote researchers Malcolm Harper and A.K. Roy in a study published in 1980, “if the following conditions are satisfied.”

Choose and sequence the issues correctly

June 8, 2022
In Bill Scott’s book The Skills of Negotiating, he argues that selecting the exact issues to be negotiated, and the exact order in which this will be done, “often becomes itself a preliminary round of negotiation.”

Want to start saving time on circular conversations?

June 8, 2022
As you initiate a talk with someone—whether in person or by phone—begin by saying in a firm but friendly tone, “I only have five minutes and I need to ask you a question that requires either a yes or no answer.”

Don’t turn off that Zoom cam!

May 11, 2022
Employees should think twice before switching off their webcams during those seemingly endless Zoom meetings. According to a new study by software company Vyopta, 92% of executives in medium-to-large firms say people who turn their video cameras off in team meetings won’t last long.

3 deep-dive performance principles

May 11, 2022
The podcast “Think Fast, Talk Smart,” produced by the Stanford Graduate School of Business, recently featured a conversation with psychology professor Philip Zimbardo on the most powerful influencers of human behavior.

Heed the ‘blemishing effect’

May 11, 2022
“Can a negative ever be a positive when it comes to moving others?” asks sales expert Daniel Pink in his book To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others. He cites a 2012 marketing study in which information about hiking boots was presented to online shoppers.