Live Life as an Experiment
by Peter on August 17, 2010
in Harvard Business
It was an experiment. I was returning an item to the store from which I had bought it. The item was well within the return period, but there would be a 20% restocking fee. Could I evade that fee? What would I have to do or say to persuade them not to charge it to me?
Read more..The Best Way to Handle a Power Struggle
by Peter on August 9, 2010
in Harvard Business
My flight from New York to Paris was delayed — maybe it would be canceled — and the passengers at the gate were frustrated. Most were sitting quietly in their frustration, periodically looking up at the screen and mumbling the things that people mumble when they feel annoyed but powerless like, "we're never gonna get out of here!" and "can you believe this?"
Read more..Should Steve Jobs be more apologetic?
by Peter on July 24, 2010
in Financial Times, Interview
How to Avoid (and Quickly Recover from) Misunderstandings
by Peter on July 21, 2010
in Harvard Business
To be fair to me, I was pretty focused at the time, working in my office on an article. When my wife called my name, I really didn't want to be interrupted.
Read more..An Effective (and Underused) Way to Reassure and Motivate
by Peter on April 8, 2010
in Harvard Business
Yoga is astonishingly predictable. Invariably after an hour class I feel light, supple, strong, and refreshed. But Liz's class felt even better than others. Afterwards I felt stronger and more refreshed.
Read more..Manager Employee Communication
Peter Bregman writes for the Harvard Business Review, and he’s also CEO of Bregman Partners, a global management consulting firm. Bregman authored an article in January titled "When your voicemails and email go unanswered, what should you do?" The article’s primary focus was on the issue of applicants and clients waiting impatiently as managers and companies fail to respond. The issue is similar to managers who don’t respond to their own employees, so Life in the Cubicle emailed Bregman to see if he could shed some light on the subject. True to his word, Bregman triaged the email and politely responded. The fact that he responded at all puts Bregman into the Life in the Cubicle Hall of Fame (which currently consists of two members – Tom Selleck and Peter Bregman).
Q: Should managers ask employees to CC them on all communications?
Peter Bregman: That could be appropriate. But only for a week or two. If the manager doesn’t trust the employee after that, she should fire the employee since she’s doing the employee’s job anyway. If it turns out that the manager is firing all her employees because she doesn’t trust any of them, then she should fire herself and move into an individual contributor job. She’ll be a lot happier and so will everyone else."
Q: If an employee emails a manager on a rather important and urgent topic, and the manager never responds, whose fault is it…manager or employee?
Peter Bregman: It doesn’t matter whose fault it is. What matters is that the urgent topic gets handled. The employee shouldn’t wait around to see where the finger gets pointed. If you don’t get an email response, call. If that doesn’t work, knock. If that doesn’t work, text. And if that still doesn’t get the manager’s attention, go ahead and yell."
As Bregman points out, a "get it done" attitude should be adopted by all employees and managers. However, in the opinion of Life in the Cubicle, employees shouldn’t have to spend their day getting their manager’s attention. An office would be far more efficient by just firing the manager and finding someone capable of responding to critical emails.
The Cardinal Rule of Rules
by Peter on March 10, 2010
in Harvard Business
I was in my home office, on the phone with a new client, when I heard a knock on the door. I looked at my watch: it was 4pm, the time my daughters Isabelle and Sophia come home from school. Generally I love taking a break at this time and hearing about their day.
Read more..How to Help Others Through a Difficult Transition
by Peter on February 23, 2010
in Harvard Business
"I don't want to go to ski class!" Sophia, my four-year-old daughter, was crying. I knelt down on the snow so we could be at eye level and asked her why.
Read more..How to Handle Silence, the Worst Kind of Feedback
by Peter on January 19, 2010
in Harvard Business
Last week I shared the problem of Alex, a marketing consultant who was left in the dark when Sam, a prospective client, didn't call him back. My suggestion to Alex was to reach out to Sam once and then let it go.
Read more..When Your Voicemails and Emails Go Unanswered, What Should You Do?
by Peter on January 12, 2010
in Harvard Business
A few months ago Alex, a marketing consultant I know, met with Sam, the head of marketing at a pharmaceutical company, to explore the possibility of doing a branding project.* They had a great meeting. Or so Alex thought.
Read more..