A reader wrote with some questions common enough from other readers to share. His second message is the common one. The first sets the context of dealing with a difficult person. Here’s the first message: I’d like to know how to deal with the type who is indifferent to the possible adverse repercussions for his actions (or lack thereof) and may actually want to deliberately trigger you to intervene and[…] Keep reading →

Take my 4-session in-person course in influence, persuasion, and creating and closing deals! I’m offering this course by popular demand, organized by the students who took my leadership class in-person last semester. They knew I’ve offered this class and wanted to take it so they took initiative to make it happen. How could I refuse? I often call it Entrepreneurial Selling, but it’s deeper than “just” sales. It’s about creating[…] Keep reading →

Continuing my series of responses to the New York Times’, The Ethicist, without imposing values, here is my take on today’s post, “Should Parents Be Expected to Donate to a Public School?” Our granddaughter is in kindergarten at a highly ranked elementary school: Test scores average in the top 1 percent of the schools in the state. Only 1.2 percent of the students are on a free or low-cost lunch.[…] Keep reading →

Continuing my series of responses to the New York Times’, The Ethicist, without imposing values, here is my take on today’s post, “Is It O.K. to Find Sexual Satisfaction Outside Your Marriage?” I am married and have three children with my husband. For the most part, our lives are happy. My husband and I have a good relationship and are active in our children’s lives. However, I am utterly unsatisfied[…] Keep reading →

My reasons for teaching leadership experientially today are mainly To enable people to create meaning, value, importance, purpose, and passion in their lives and in the lives of people around them Because the challenges the next several generations will face require changing behavior on a global scale, which are social and emotional challenges, not technical, and I hope to help create a community of people with the skills to overcome[…] Keep reading →

Do you ever get a gift that’s almost what you want, but not quite? People who know me know I don’t like books, as I wrote about in “Less, please“. Sometimes someone gives me a book. I don’t want it. I can get it from the library across the street from me. Now I have to feel weird selling to a bookstore for $5 something you paid $25 for. What[…] Keep reading →

A reader and former NYU collaborator sent me this article from Fast Company under their “Leadership” heading: “27 Questions To Ask Instead Of “What Do You Do?” She knows my passion for effective and meaningful conversation, making people feel comfortable sharing their vulnerabilities, and supporting them on things they care about. Longtime readers will remember how I disparage “So what do you do?” as a leach that saps passion from[…] Keep reading →

Continuing my Saturday series on posting my answers to questions from Quora, here are my next questions answered: What makes a man feel loved? Which business thought leaders do you follow and why? It seems that guys nowadays are just interested in no-strings-attached-sex. How is it possible in this day and age to find a guy for a committed monogamous relationship (ages 25-35)? Where can I learn a whole package[…] Keep reading →

Michael Roderick is a superconnector—the type of person that gets written up and interviewed for his passion for connecting people and helping people make things happen. I owe several extremely productive relationships to him as well as close friendships. I’ve learned that when he suggests a connection, it’s worth making. If I share with him what I’m looking for in life, a few days later I get an email from[…] Keep reading →