When NOT to ask a question

This post is part of our Monthly-ish Tips series.

Many of you know my Mom passed away a couple of months ago (I wrote about three trust lessons as a tribute), and some of you know she was actively dying over a two-week period. I learned an important lesson about asking questions during those two weeks. The lesson is applicable to a lot of different circumstances and relationships, including the comparatively more mundane everyday business interactions—particularly between consultant/advisor and client.

Indelible trust-building lessons from my mom (RIP)

This post is part of our Monthly-ish Tips series.

Photo by Jessica Earle, 2005.

In my last tip about influencing a skeptical audience I promised more on that topic. Life events intervened in the meantime, so this week’s tip is dedicated to my dear mom who passed away on June 18 at the extraordinary age of 94. Here’s a recap of three prior tips that feature the things I’ve learned either from her, or through her, about relationship building.

A mind-bendy approach for your skeptical audience

This post is part of our Monthly-ish Tips series.

I’ve been immersed in the topic of influencing a skeptical audience of late, thanks in large part to public webinar I led last week where I outlined three “simple” steps to doing that more effectively. (“Simple” is in quotes because simple doesn’t mean easy.) This week’s tip focuses on one of the two most mind-bendy steps.

A celebratory recap (con’t): four personal favorites

This post is part of our Monthly-ish Tips series.

The celebration of my recent 300thWeekly-ish Tip continues a little longer. Last time I shared seven “fan favorites”; this time I offer a recap of my own personal favorites.

I started with a list of 25 or so in a few different categories: my favorite rants, my favorite explorations of trust paradoxes, my favorite reflections on trusted advisor mastery as personal mastery. In the end, I chose to feature four favorites in the category of “humorous and/or clever but also poignant.” (Which also happens to be my favorite movie formula, but I digress.)