Fred had a difficult decision to make: to continue to grow his consulting business or to accept a permanent position with a local startup company that offered salary, benefits, and shares in the company plus fewer transportation costs. He enjoyed consulting, the freedom it offered, and the chance to travel. But he recognized that steady…

The nonprofit board had been debating for months over whether to ask for payment from clients for the first time in its history. Finally, the newest member of the board said, “We all want to continue to give free services. I want that, too. But if we continue to lose money, we can’t give any…

In both business and personal life, we often must follow decisions made by other people—higher up the corporate chain, with authority we do not have (for example, changing an airplane schedule), or with competing priorities (for example, canceling an  ). Responding to a Decision Whether communicated face-to-face or in writing, most decisions require acknowledgment. If…

“Individuals can generate bad ideas, but it takes a committee for a real disaster.” ~ Erik Sherman Commitment is an important factor in any organizational decision: is the group responsible for seeing the decision through and committed to achieving the expected results? Any group action in relation to a decision is more difficult to implement…

Businesses and business leaders have long assumed that innovation and creativity are linked. Research published in the Journal of Business Venturing questioned that link and confirmed it, “especially at the individual level.” Surprisingly, the researchers found that larger firms with “moderate levels of uncertainty avoidance” were more likely to develop a strong creativity and innovation…

Stress is the hallmark of tough situations, and yet stress itself makes it even harder to pull yourself and your team out of those situations. Leaders often have an overwhelming sense of responsibility—so overwhelming that it interferes with their ability to see what is working, what needs changing, and what is actually under their control.…

A challenging task in professional and personal life is accepting decisions made by other people. Whether those decisions are good or bad in our own frame of reference, you are still dealing with the effects of organizational or personal change over which we have no control. A lack of control is a common stress trigger…

In both business and personal life, we often find ourselves required to follow decisions made by other people, who may have more power, greater expertise, or different priorities. Our response to those decisions helps us demonstrate our professionalism and hone our leadership, conflict resolution, and project management skills. Responding with Professionalism When you acknowledge decisions…

Whenever you gather a group to make a decision, you are going to run into good old-fashioned contrariness: someone will disagree with the group. In fact, researchers have long agreed that the best size for a decision making group is about 5; after the 7th person joins, performance decreases by 10% for each additional person.…

Ever since Dale Carnegie published his book on How to Win Friends and Influence People, everyone from politicians to salespeople and spouse hunters has looked for ways to bring people around to a different way of thinking or a different course of action. The following tips are based on the latest research about how to…