We think we are open-minded. We assume we see all perspectives on an issue in a balanced, fair and Solution-Focused way. However research by Herbert Simon shows this not to be true. Our capacity to think freely is always bound by what we already know. And new ideas push us into the realm of resistance [...]
Sherlock Holmes uses key indicators. In one of the Sherlock Holmes stories he says “I watch these five people and when they do something different I know the game is afoot”. It would be great to have such an arrangement in our organisation. “We watch these eight measures and when one starts moving we know [...]
Dean Rusk with President Johnson and Robert McNamara. The very pinnacle of government in the USA at the time. No place for defensive reasoning - but... Dean Rusk was the 54th United States Secretary of State from 1961 – 1969, serving under John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. He has also been attributed with [...]
Your assumptions can destroy you. And everyone else! On October 27, 1962 eleven US Navy destroyers and the aircraft carrier USS Randolph dropped practice depth charges on a Soviet Foxtrot class submarine, B59, in international waters. This was at the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Unknown to the US Navy, the submarine carried [...]
This image comes from the artist Eric Geusz. Thanks Eric. You can see more of his work on his page 'entroz' on Deviant Art. No - A magic spell in two letters No is really short. It’s easy to pronounce. But like any magic spell, it is dangerous, sometimes difficult to voice and it takes [...]
“A conversation is a dialogue, not a monologue. That's why there are so few good conversations: due to scarcity, two intelligent talkers seldom meet.” ― Truman Capote While I would hesitate to argue with a writer of the stature of Truman Capote, good conversation is rich and complex and is based on more than intelligence, [...]
You have been developing an offer for months. Now as you are preparing to launch, one person on your team continues to disrupt meetings with negative comments about the product. What do you do? Well, eventually you fire him of course. And in so doing you rid the team of the annoyance. You also rid [...]
Build relationship in negotiation: a parable You meet with your boss to discuss an increase in pay. You have decided to stick to the facts; to avoid all emotion in negotiation. As you present your case you remember those who rely on you to do the work but earn more than you. Your voice takes [...]
In ‘The Mentalist’ Patrick Jane is a petty criminal turned consulting detective. Incredibly perceptive, with a deep understanding of human behaviour, he picks up all sorts of clues from people, alive or dead, that his likeable but flat-footed professional colleagues always miss. He then uses clever psychological ploys and strategies to get the perpetrator, whom [...]
One of the most common rules for workshops is “Candour”. “Speak your mind!” But this is often the most difficult to practice. To understand this reticence let’s consider our growth process and development from dependence. We grow in cycles. On entry into the world we see ourselves as part of our mother, “me and mom [...]
