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....
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...
The Complainer: one of the 52 types of difficult people.
#41: The Complainer We've all complained about something, right? Have you ever said to someone you’re unhappy about something? And gone on to say you...
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...
The six essential ingredients for delivering a brilliant customer experience. Have you got them covered?
I'm on holidays I couldn’t be happier. I’m on holidays and sitting in one of my favourite cafes. And I’m looking forward to relaxing...
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...
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...