If you read my last post, you may have discovered a new word. After I wrote it, I was curious – is there an actual meaning to the word “chit”? Turns out there is! The definition of the word chit is: a short official note, memorandum or voucher, typically recording a sum owed. That led Read More
A recent workshop attendee, who I’ll call “Jim”, works in sales. During the workshop, Jim shared the following story: Jim called on a current customer and the customer started the meeting by saying, “We are going to have a chit.” When Jim gave the customer a questioning look, the customer responded by saying, “You’ve heard Read More
As we enter the holiday season, most of us will be spending time with family. Sometimes it can be challenging to be around family. Because of that, I wanted to share a story that I learned about Supreme Court Justice, Ruth Bader Ginsberg. Ginsberg was asked by a reporter about some of the best advice Read More
Magicians use the magic word ‘abracadabra’ as they perform their tricks. I learned recently, thanks to a TedX talk by Andrew Bennett, the origin of the word is Aramaic, and it means what I speak is what I create. Words have power to create or destroy. This is an invitation to pay attention to the Read More
Disagreements happen. It is how we respond to them that will improve the relationship or break it apart. There is no benefit in trying to re-hash what happened and force agreement on the details. Every time we remember an event, our memory of it changes just slightly. In addition, no two people see things in Read More
Several years ago, Tom Hanks starred in a movie called Cast Away. If you recall the movie, Hanks’ character is marooned on an uninhabited island after his plane crashes in the South Pacific. He attempts to survive on the island using remnants of his plane’s cargo. His wife, played by Helen Hunt, is certain he Read More
A friend of mine, who is a referral marketing expert, says that in order to be terrific, you need to be specific. He suggests that business professionals who want to do business by referral are often far too general in their requests of other people. Leaders (supervisors, managers, team leaders etc.) are often guilty of Read More
The other day, I was teaching a workshop and after one of the activities, I asked the group to share their thoughts, comments or questions. One of the participants said the model for conversation that I had just reviewed was familiar; he had learned and used similar things many times in the past, and this Read More
There is a lot of attention on diversity and inclusion in our workplace today. The idea is that many perspectives (diversity) and making people feel an important part of the team (inclusion) pay dividends for today’s business. One of the reasons these concepts are becoming popular can be found in a relatively new field of Read More
When we think about Valentine’s Day, we often think of romance and personal relationships. With relationships in mind, I’d like to propose you take time this Valentine’s Day to improve your workplace relationships with customers, vendors, co-workers, etc. – and not at all in a romantic way. I’m sure some of you may work with Read More
