Business communication

Comments for this Make Your Case installment are now closed. Thanks to all who participated. This week’s guest commentator, Marshall Goldsmith, has posted his response to your comments and shared some thoughts of his own below. The opening to your cube is darkened by the familiar figure of a longtime colleague. Though you’re his immediate […]

Is your company unintentionally keeping your most senior people from getting the feedback they most need? It can easily happen as an unintended consequence of success. Consider these situations: Senior executives at car companies drive only the newest models: For decades, the top executives at America’s leading automobile manufacturers always drove models fresh from the […]

It's about more than corralling apostrophes run amok.

It was an experiment. I was returning an item to the store from which I had bought it. The item was well within the return period, but there would be a 20% restocking fee. Could I evade that fee? What would I have to do or say to persuade them not to charge it to […]

Surprised by a gender stereotype? React calmly, directly, and move on.

Lessons from three CEOs facing crises.

“That was dreadful. Not only was I bored, everyone else was bored too. Disengaged. I’m terrible at facilitating these kinds of meetings. But they’re so important. I’ve got to get better at it. I need to find a better way.” I wrote that in a journal entry about seven years ago. I still remember the […]

There are still open questions, but the research can provide some answers about what works.

Create safety so people can open up.

Building relationships virtually takes training and effort.

“A good sketch is better than a long speech…” — a quote often attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte The ability to visualize the implications of data is as old as humanity itself. Yet due to the vast quantities, sources, and sinks of data being pumped around our global economy at an ever increasing rate, the need […]

Be specific about what you're asking for - or you'll keep getting crickets.

Four steps cut down on complexity.

1. Are they confident - or overconfident?

One organizational area that tends to tie a company in knots is the way leaders give assignments. Most managers struggle to find the right balance between...

Five rules to follow.

The position, not the person, often determines whether a manager has power.

It’s not just what leaders say; it’s also how they say it. In our research on executives who have instilled a great sense of purpose in others, introduced powerful brands, or managed successfully in turbulent times, we’ve found that they often use terms and metaphors that resonate with their employees. Walt Havenstein, the CEO of […]

George Stanton thought a new job would solve his problems. But now he’s facing similar workplace conflicts.

Research suggests that everyone benefits when leaders open up. Here's how to start.