Your Go-To-Negotiation Expert
This year my Mother’s Day gift was to meet Lynda Carter, the Wonder Woman from my childhood. Do you remember her invisible plane or “Lasso of Truth” that forced others to tell the truth? Wouldn’t that lasso be handy at times? My friend Elizabeth and I, with several hundred others,
When we talk about gossiping and spreading rumors, we often think of people with nothing better to do. Surprisingly, research supports the fact that workplace rumors are usually true. But work drama caused by gossiping and “stirring the pot” is common and expensive as I discuss in this recent FOX
Early in my career, a boss really intimidated me. He was so unpredictable and at times a bully. Each day, I would call his administrative assistant to ask about his daily mood. We had a code. I’d ask, “How’s the weather today?” and she’d say “It’s stormy,” or “It’s clear but
I try to follow my own advice about being a good – and frequent – communicator. Recently, I got a little carried away. You may have heard my TEDxSMU Talk where I shared a story about Jay Leno. Years ago, I failed to ask for a picture with Jay while I
Some of us don’t need to watch scary movies or go to haunted houses to get our monster fix. Instead, we just need to go to work. Monsters in the workplace include the “ghosts” who disappear when the going gets rough, the “witches” and “warlocks” who stir up trouble, the
My Business Manager, Zan, recently told me a story from her previous job at an elevator company. Her best customer called and complained almost daily about the elevators in his facility. These weren’t safety problems or even major concerns. She finally determined that the source of Mr. Complainers frustration was
In the spring I spoke at the beautiful Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas. I even played a little video poker. Three hours of playing seemed like a good entertainment value for my $20 investment. Most of us know the odds aren’t in our favor when we gamble. How would those
Ever try to make things better and you only made things worse? Recently the JV cheer moms and I were sitting around waiting to make our appearance at an event. We were hot. I pulled out a hand-held battery operated fan to cool us down. One mom didn’t really like
Really, this shouldn’t be funny – but I can’t stop laughing and shaking my head about it. I was recently at our neighborhood homeowners’ meeting where several of us disagreed with actions taken by our association leadership. Apparently, my words made one of my neighbors very angry. He wanted to make
Last week I spoke at a convention with Captain “Sully” Sullenberger, the pilot who safely landed a passenger airplane in the Hudson River. That day he faced a surprise –true work drama. All Captain Sully had to do was walk out on the stage and we gave him a standing ovation.
“That will never work,” the senior partner told me during my first job out of law school. I had asked if we should call the opposing counsel. “Why?” I countered. “Phone calls won’t work,” he replied. “We only write letters. You won’t get anywhere. You’re wasting your time.” Sound familiar?
If you’ve been to Geno’s in Philadelphia, then you’ve seen people who know how to get things done. Once, while attending the National Speakers Association (NSA) Convention, a group of us (pictured above) took the Philly Cheesesteak Challenge. We compared Geno’s to Pat’s (competing restaurants across the street from each