You have what you believe is an important thought to share with management. You're concerned though that management may dislike your message. How do you assess how safe it is to share your thought with management? It's certainly perilous if management regularly scowls, aims their finger at you and fires words such as: "You have no right to … [Read more...]
The Art of the Discovery Interview
"What?" raced through Janet's head as she read the email. "Now that's a surprise." The message was from Jack Johnson, vice president of development. It said she would receive a meeting request from Rajan Alak, an outside consultant, to interview her about the problems with the new system. The message went on to say the company had made a … [Read more...]
We Know Best
"We know better than they do about what's needed." Whenever you hear an influential member of your team utter those words, fasten your safety belt. The team is nearing the Twilight Zone. The person saying, "We know better than they do about what's needed," is referring to the customer. When decision-makers say "We don't have time for their … [Read more...]
What Haven’t You Told Me?
What vital element of business communication is the most forgotten? Discovering what hasn't been said. Marianne, Jamshid, Johanna, and Dave are participants in a project retrospective for the CRM system. Lan, the retrospective leader, asks the group to brainstorm the question, "What problems did you experience working with your clients … [Read more...]
I Won’t Stand In the Way
What do you do when a teammate says, "I won't stand in the way of the team accepting the proposal." and when asked directly whether they will support the proposal, they hem and haw without clearly saying "Yes."? In my post on Decide as a Team, I discussed how a team can use the Roman Evaluation Process to make a consensus decision and, if … [Read more...]