In 1980, musician Abbie Conant was at the beginning of her career, playing the trombone at the Teatro Regio in Turin. At that time she decided to apply to other orchestras, 11 to be precise, all over Europe; she received only one response, from the Munich Philharmonic. “Dear Mr Abbie Conant”, began the letter. In […]

Captain, we’ve been waiting for a landing for over an hour and I have a feeling we’re running out of fuel. Beg your pardon? The fuel, Captain, according to the fuel gauge we have only a few minutes left. Shall I request an emergency landing? A few minutes? Maybe… We’re fallinggggggg! What I have reported […]

Have you ever experienced a feeling of discomfort in maintaining your opinion when everyone around you has a different view? No? Good for you! But if you have felt embarrassed at least once, you should be aware that it has been a difficult experience for many others. Anyone who tries to manipulate our thinking goes […]

Do you find the scene in the cartoon strip completely new? Good for you! The situation is quite common, mainly because dealing with objections is complicated: they often hit us like a punch in the stomach. The temptation to shift the responsibility onto others is always lurking… The circumstances in which we have to deal […]

It happens pretty often that we want to generate a change in a problematic situation, and the reasons can be the most diverse, personal or professional. Changing jobs, buying a house, changing cars, quitting smoking, managing time differently, changing partners, changing business strategy, having a child, making a significant investment. The above are situations that […]

Now, let me confess something. What you see in the cartoon is a type of upward delegation which I never managed to eliminate, as a manager. Why? When I needed to send out a letter signed by me, I couldn’t stop myself from reading it one last time. In some (very few) cases, just on principle. […]

I want to add a few comments. Which works better, in your experience? A pat on the back or a kick in the butt? If I’ve tickled your interest, you can learn more in the e-learning course Improving staff performance. Enjoy!

This scene stems from my first presentation as a business manager: the names are irrelevant. Indeed, none of those who participated in that meeting is still with the organisation, as far as I know. The presentation took place one week after I’d been hired, and it was about a strategic decision that was to entail considerable […]

How often have you heard that? The truth is that supervisors tend to refrain from praising, for two reasons. The first is that praising is complicated and can be damaging: better hold back. No action, no mistakes, right? The second reason is that for many managers their staff are invisible: they don’t notice the people or their […]

Changing people’s behaviour is an art. As we already know, the reprimand is used to change undesired behaviour. And as a loyal reader of my blog, you are undoubtedly familiar with both the constructive reprimand and the destructive reprimand. But what do you do when you want to reinforce a behaviour you wholeheartedly approve? I know, of […]