Keeping the Peace

“Diplomacy is the art of letting someone else have YOUR way.”  Daniele Vare, Italian Diplomat Maybe it sounds sneaky, but sometimes the best way to get an idea adopted is to let someone else own the idea. There is a classic syndrome that occurs at many, many workplaces. It is called ‘Not Invented Here’ syndrome. [...]

“Where all think alike, no one thinks very much.” – Walter Lippmann Have you ever worked with a group of people where everyone is very similar? I am not just referring to age or ethnicity. Sometimes we tend to gravitate toward those who are like us. Perhaps they hold the same set of values or [...]

We all have them in our lives, the person who makes things challenging; the person who just will not cooperate with us. Even on something truly simple, if you say ‘yes’; they are going to say ‘no’. There could be one person who consistently tries to block your every move (at least that is how [...]

“You did not do a very good job as a team lead this year.” Reviewer to employee “Since when am I the team lead? I do not recall receiving a promotion.” Employee to reviewer If you do not know your role, how can you do your job?  This seems like one from the ‘obvious’ files [...]

Joan was finishing quite a day and she did not even know it. During the course of her work day she had: Consumed several hundred EXTRA calories Sent her sponsor a draft scope document and sent her business analyst a vendor contract (which was meant for her sponsor) Unknowingly agreed to participate in a presentation [...]