Two things about failure we should accept
The other day, someone told me they don't use the word 'failure' in their house. No one is ever a failure they said....
How to tell someone their behaviour is unacceptable: the FEWER script
Being Diplomatically Assertive is the key Sometimes we need to tell someone their behaviour wasn’t acceptable – what they did was against the rules,...
Put-Downs: How to respond to them
Put-downs can hurt "If your brains were dynamite, there wouldn't be enough to blow your hat off." (1) How’s that for a put-down? Not bad....
The customer is always right. No they’re not.
Some customers are a little annoying The simple reality is some customers are a little annoying and frustrating. Some can't make up their mind,...
How to Master Tough Conversations. The Golden Rule: Only Use Facts. (It’s harder than you think.)
First, the video (It has captions so you can watch it without disturbing others.) Second, the transcript. What's the one thing? Hi, I'm Mark McPherson. After...
Nine handy hints for giving compliments and avoiding the pitfalls
It’s a tricky business Giving a compliment is easy, isn’t it? Well, yes. It is. But here’s the thing. If you’re not very careful...
If someone doesn’t ‘get’ what you’re talking about, do everyone a favour: say it’s your fault.
Trevor asked for a second chance My friend Trevor told me a story and it went like this: "Earlier in the week I was at...
The Patronizer: one of the 52 types of difficult people.
#37: The Patronizer: a devil in disguise. The Patronizer is condescending. How’s your little job going? It was a Saturday morning and as usual I was...
Things to avoid saying when suggesting an idea
Twenty odd years ago we had a rule for my team at work. It went like this: “When we make a suggestion, put forward...
The Dismissive: one of the 52 types of difficult people.
#38: The Dismissive type. Dismissive people are real downers. The Dismissive type of poorly behaved and difficult person let's you know they're not interested...