1 Sentence To Get Past Any Difficult Conversation With Honesty
You feel it but you don't want to say it.You might hurt them.You might say the wrong thing.
No matter what words you pick or what tone you use, whatever comes out of your mouth is going to be interpreted by the lens of the receiver.
You're allowed to try to get it right, but you're not allowed to belabor over the delivery.
Here's one easy sentence you can steal to precede difficult conversations:
"I care about you so much, I have to tell you this. I don't know if I'm using the right words so stick with me, I just have to make sure I am being totally honest with you because I respect you and you deserve no B.S."You can steal this and retool it for your own use, since many flavors of this work.
2 Minute Action
Pick someone in your life who needs a dosage of honesty.
- Your supervisor.
- Your direct report.
- A long-time friend.
- A salesperson you just met 2 seconds ago on the phone.
You can be honest and respectful at the same time. It's your responsibility to make sure you're both if you want to improve this planet.As always, it starts with you and it starts right now.
How Seeing The Rain Can Launch You Toward Success
You know the guy selling sunglasses on the street?Well, that guy does something smart.As soon as it starts raining, he's selling umbrellas and ponchos.Might sound pretty obvious but there are many businesses that just don't adapt to market conditions.
The tricky part is seeing the rain.
Blockbuster said: "our data show that people still like the experience of walking into a brick and mortar store."The trouble is that this was true--at least, it's what people reported to be true. It's what the customers themselves thought to be true.It's just that, when faced with the choice, people prefer sitting on the couch and watching Netflix."Self-report" is a pretty poor assessment of the truth unless you're literally just looking for people's perceptions.A better assessment, in science, in business, and in life is the assessment of actual behavior.Measure actual market behavior and you will find the truth.See the rain and it'll be obvious that you need to sell umbrellas.
2 Minute Action
The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior.What are the ways you're measuring your success?Sales? Impact stories? Market Share? Lives saved?Take 2 minutes to identify 3-5 ways you're measuring success.Once you've got a few, ask yourself: "how will I know when it's raining?"