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..Don’t Regret Working Too Hard
by Peter on July 30, 2010
in Harvard Business
I was lying in bed, safely reading a magazine, when the fear arose. It started somewhere between my stomach and my chest, and it radiated outward. Like adrenaline coursing through my body after a sudden fright, it was a physical sensation, but it felt slower, deeper, wider, as it radiated to the tops of my arms and legs. It felt hot. I started to sweat. My body felt weak.
Read more..Friends at Work Could be Good for the Bottomline (Charlie Herman Interview on WNYC, NPR)
by Peter on July 28, 2010
in Interview, National Public Radio (NPR), Radio
WNYC’s Charlie Herman talks to management consultant Peter Bregman who wrote in the Harvard Business Review online about people who develop friendships in the workplace and tend to do better in all kinds of ways.
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..Advice for hard times: Take sips from a full cup
A few thousand years ago, the Bible story goes, Pharaoh woke up from a dream he couldn’t understand: He was standing by a river and saw seven robust cows emerge, followed by seven emaciated cows. "I have not seen such ugly ones throughout the entire land of Egypt," he would later say to Joseph, who he was hoping would interpret the dream for him.
Advice For The Job Search: Spend Less Time Looking (Amy Eddings Interview on WNYC, NPR)
by Peter on July 2, 2010
in Interview, National Public Radio (NPR), Radio, WNYC
Why Friends Matter at Work and in Life
by Peter on July 1, 2010
in Harvard Business
Susan Harrison, my mother in law, died several months ago after a long and courageous battle with cancer. Like most of us, she was not famous. If you didn't know her you probably didn't know of her. She lived in the relatively small community of Savannah, Georgia.
Read more..Why I Returned My iPad
by Peter on June 16, 2010
in Harvard Business
A little more than a week after buying the iPad, I returned it to Apple. The problem wasn't the iPad exactly, though it has some flaws. The problem was me.
Read more..