Things go wrong. Your plan might be brilliant, well resourced and deftly executed, but there will always be obstacles in your path. Learning how to deal effectively with these unexpected difficulties is an essential leadership skill, and also an effective way to stay calm in a crisis. Back when car…

In every organization, project or community, the reliance on written messages can lead to conflicts that impact both productivity and wellbeing. But by adopting easy-to-learn strategies, anyone can reduce or avoid these conflicts, minimizing their impact, smoothing interactions and reducing stress. …

You have an important presentation coming up on Monday. But now it is Sunday and it is still not ready. From the beginning you had planned to work on it for weeks and make the best presentation of your life, but then came an unplanned project, a few days of…

Entrepreneurs and other innovators often worry if they will find enough ideas, and they are usually wrong. Some also worry about transforming their ideas into viable businesses, and they are usually right. Very few ever stop to think about the problem of persuading other people to adopt their innovative ideas…

Most meetings are too long. This wastes time, creates stress and — in normal times — means that more space has to be allocated to meeting rooms. Any meeting can be made more time effective by following some simple rules. Start with a clear purpose. Unstructured, directionless conversation is not…

Ask anyone what they remember about a speaker they listened to a few months before and they will focus on the stories. People always remember the stories. They remember any story or narrative, anecdote or case, or any concrete example with vivid details. Nobody remembers the rest. That simple fact…