“Engagement has consistently fallen for three years.” This statement was one of three pieces of evidence that I provided to support my recommendation that we needed a new employee engagement strategy.  I thought it was a pretty straightforward. I continued my presentation to talk about our new ideas for engagement. But, the senior executive stopped me. …

Read more “No, you actually don’t have to see the data. Stop looking backward.”

This is a repost from Sept-2016. A recent conversation with a friend made me think it might be time for a reminder. ————————————- Several years ago, when I started my consulting practice, I needed to purchase life insurance. I contacted three insurance agents and told them my need (the type of policy and coverage amount). Two …

Read more “Do you want to be a trusted advisor? Know when to take orders.”

Does your team understand their goals for the year? I bet they do. Most good leaders know how to set and communicate goals. What about expectations? How well does your team understand your expectations? What’s the difference? Goals reflect what you want accomplished. Expectations reflect how you want it accomplished. For example, your goals might …

Read more “What kind of culture are you trying to create? Does your team know?”

Do you prefer busy, overfilled slides? If you’re like most people, I’m guessing you don’t. OK, now a harder question. Do you present busy, overfilled slides? If you’re like most people, I’m guessing you do. Why the disconnect? Why do so many of us do something that we don’t like for ourselves? More importantly, why do we do something …

Read more “Your presentation shouldn’t do double duty as your “leave behind” document”

Mr. McGuire: I just want to say one word to you. Just one word. Benjamin: Yes, sir. Mr. McGuire: Are you listening? Benjamin: Yes, I am. Mr. McGuire: Plastics[1] That conversation from the 1967 film The Graduate is one of the most famous pieces of career advice in pop-culture. Of course, if the movie were …

Read more “Four considerations for someone who wants a career in “data””

A few weeks ago, the internet went crazy over a letter that US President Trump sent to Turkish President Erdoğan. One of the criticisms of the letter had to do with its readability score. The letter was written at a third-grade reading level. This criticism reflected a common misconception. It confused simplicity and clarity with sophistication. …

Read more “Simple doesn’t have to be superficial”

“Our contract of carriage, that you agreed to when buying your ticket, allows us to remove, cancel, or change a seat assignment at any time for any reason.”  Those were the first words I heard from United’s empathy and customer-experience challenged customer service agent. I had just asked him why my son’s seat assignment “disappeared” …

Read more “Decision-making as if people mattered”

There is no better indicator of reality than reality. At one time, that statement wasn’t particularly controversial. In fact, it was hard to get people to trust data. But times have changed.  Now data rules. When reality contradicts the data, people seem to side with the data.  That’s a problem.  Data are not reality.  Neither …

Read more “Reality trumps all other data. Trust it. And pay attention.”

Good news! Christmas is a tiny bit less expensive this year – at least if you are buying the “traditional” gifts. The 2019 PNC Christmas Price index puts the price of purchasing all of the gifts for each day of the twelve days of Christmas at $170,298.03 (about $400 down from last year). Holiday time can be expensive …

Read more “The Twelve Days of (Leadership) Christmas”

“Why should I present data that don’t support my argument?” I get this question a lot. Many people believe that presenting the other side of the argument will weaken theirs. In my experience, presenting the counterpoint actually strengthens your argument.  It also helps build your credibility. There are four reasons that presenting the counter argument …

Read more “Why should I present data that don’t support my argument?”