Articles
Explore over 350 articles that will help you grow your client relationships and improve your personal effectiveness.
Eight Ways to Improve Your Empathy
Empathy is the ability to understand and share another person’s feelings and emotions. It is essential to building good relationships, both at work and in your personal life. People who don’t exhibit empathy are viewed as cold and self-absorbed, and they often lead isolated lives. Sociopaths are famously lacking in empathy. Conversely, someone who is […]
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Ask and Listen: Insights from my Recent Trip to Moscow and St. Petersburg (Part Two of Two)
I went on a long business trip to the UK and Russia earlier this summer. I had never been to Russia, and was in fact a bit concerned, beforehand, about going there. It was a fascinating and rewarding experience, however. I met many interesting people and learned a lot about the history and culture of […]
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Ask and Listen: Insights from my Recent Trip to Moscow and St. Petersburg (Part One of Two)
These days, Russia may not be a favorite destination for American businesspeople, but I just returned from a very interesting trip there. My trip was fascinating and I learned a lot. I learned a lot because I asked a lot of questions and I listened carefully. I asked about Stalin, the Soviet Union, Perestroika, Putin, […]
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Relationship Building From the Client’s Side of the Desk
Thoughtful client feedback is always illuminating. Of course, you have to be careful about taking what just one client executive says works or doesn’t work when it comes to building long-term relationships, and generalize it to all clients. But, having interviewed over 1000 senior executives on this topic, it’s remarkable to me how consistent the […]
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Move In With Them Until You Love Them
The New York Times Science and Health Editor Barbara Strauch recently passed away at the relatively young age of 63. She was a brilliant journalist who, according to the article about her death, led a Newsday team that won a Pulitzer prize in 1992. I’ve always found the science reporting in the Times exemplary and illuminating (less […]
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How Much Are You Willing to Pay for a Bottle of Mineral Water?
I was at a concert the other night at Avery Fisher Hall at New York City’s Lincoln Center, and decided to buy a bottle of mineral water at the bar. An 18-ounce, medium bottle was $4.00. I really didn’t think twice about the price (hey, this is New York!), although my wife suggested that the […]
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The U.C.L.A. Uproar: Don’t Kid Yourself–We all Have Biases
The New York Times reported today on the troubling case of the U.C.L.A. Student Council. A Jewish student at U.C.L.A., Rachel Beyda, was being interviewed for possible membership in the council. According to the Times, the first question she was asked was this: “Given that you are a Jewish student and very active in the Jewish […]
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Upside Down: How to Change Behavior Through Questions Rather than Commands
Many of my clients are successful professionals. They have good clients, make good money, and enjoy their jobs. The challenge is getting them to recognize that they could be even better at what they do. Just because someone is successful doesn’t mean that everything he or she does is effective (that’s why I don’t bother […]
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