How to Stop a Complainer

Oh no…she was back…and she was bringing more complaints. Unfortunately, I didn’t have 30 minutes to hear “Diane” vent and describe every slight she suffered that week. My exploding at her, “Sorry, I just don’t have time to fix YOUR problems today,” certainly did not improve our work relationship. Ever have people

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How Getting My Credit Card Stolen Had a Silver Lining

BAD NEWS- My credit card and I were parted for a number of days-not of my doing. The thieves didn’t buy much. Luckily, they didn’t have my PIN number and I reported the card as stolen once I discovered it missing. SURPRISINGLY GOOD NEWS- There are good Samaritans out there. Meet Aysha

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How to Communicate with Good Cheer

Wow. I had a bad customer service experience over the holidays. While visiting one of my favorite stores, I encountered a Scrooge who did not like working. To be fair, it was busy and the dressing rooms were a disaster. (Don’t you wonder about people who won’t hang up the

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How to Negotiate for Anything

I was thrilled to be to invited to speak at the Professional Convention Management Association’s Convening Leaders Conference last week in sunny San Diego.  The local CW television channel found out I was going to be in town and asked me to appear on their morning show to discuss my favorite

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How to Refocus a Complainer

I’m embarrassed to say that heading over to the launch for my book Stop Complainers and Energy Drainers, I wasn’t pleasant. In fact, I was a big whiner – but I had “good” reasons. First, there was the late start because I forgot to load boxes into my car. Then, there

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The Worst Thing to Say to a Complainer

Some things you never forget. Quite a few years ago I was in the San Francisco airport after attending a three-day jam-packed National Speakers Association conference. Overwhelmed by all I had learned,  I was now at a tipping point in my career and not sure which direction to take. An industry

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How to Avoid the Top 10 Speaker Mistakes

Contrast this to the programs where I help technical leaders improve their ability to negotiate and influence. These engineers usually don’t enjoy public speaking at all. What do professional speakers and technical leaders have in common? More than you think. We all want to communicate in a way that others

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Stop Complainers & Energy Drainers Survey Results (Part 2)

Jerks are worth complaining about! As I put the finishing touches on writing the book Stop Complainers & Energy Drainers: How to Negotiate Work Drama to Get More Done, I’ve added an entire section on how to handle an office jerk who complains and drains your energy. After reading your survey

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Why You Shouldn’t Send Emails on Monday

Not surprisingly, 54.5% of survey participants say they experience Complainers or Energy Drainers the most on Mondays because, “It ends their weekend, so they come to work cranky and fired up to complain the rest of the week.” The challenges and challenging people you face are unbelievable. Thank you for sharing your

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I Need Your Help for My New Book

As of today, it’s official…I’ve got a contract to write a book called Stop Complainers and Energy Drainers: How to Negotiate Work Drama and Get More Done. I really need your help with the research. Can you take this short, 5 minute survey ? We’ll share the preliminary results with you first

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How to be a STAR Performer

I loved watching the World Series. It was even more fun for me because I’m from St. Louis and now live in Dallas – so either way it was a win for me! (This was not the case for my husband and friends….all Rangers fans.) Both teams had incredible coaching.

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