Frances Horibe's

Benefiting from the Need for Agreement In the last post, you attempted to table a proposal but were left hung out to dry. You hadn’t realized that the need for agreement trumped support for a good idea. Are you doomed to let Tod run the show? Not necessarily. You can be aware, respect, and even use the need for agreement. Let’s rewind and redo the meeting. The second meeting (reprise)   YOU: I’d like to table my proposal. Tod: We have to d...

Challenging Aggressive Words In the last post, you had an ugly meeting. Tod from Finance tried to grab the whole contracting process and went ballistic when people objected. You’ve had an idea you think would work. But the way things are going, it’s likely to be tough to get the idea heard. Challenging Tod’s aggressive words may be the only way. What can you do to get your idea heard? If you try to table it over Tod’s aggressive approach,...

Combat in the Workplace Your boss has chosen you to represent Customer Relations in a cross-departmental group to streamline a process. Things have come to a head because your biggest customer is threatening to use a competitor if your company can’t fix the slow process. You expect some combat to get it done. The first meeting. Or combat Tod (Finance): The solution is clear. Finance taking the lead will speed things up a whole lot. YOU: How do ...

 Benefiting from Being In the Posse So you’re in the posse, the chosen in-group. You’re invited to the TGIFs and the bull session isn’t complete without you. Congratulations. However, a seat at the table is not enough. If all you do is laugh at their jokes and nod vigorously, you’ll gradually but surely slip out of the in-group. To stay in, you need a presence. How? This post will discuss what you need and how you to fake it until you fe...

Is It Worth Being an Insider? It’s a lot of work to manage your position in the group. And sometimes sacrifice. So do you even want to be an insider? The answer is usually yes Generally speaking, the in-crowd gang gets the most perks, the best assignments, the most forgiveness for screw-ups. There are more chances to strut your stuff and line up the next promotion. So, lots of good career reasons why it’s better to be in. But that isn’t alw...