Walking away from a negotiation
Most of negotiations in my class have resulted in an agreement. But, when executive education students do the same exercises, few of them make deals. My »
Burden of proof in quality assurance
Large organizations often have cultures where seniority is required to effectively dissent. Sadly, NASA fell victim to this when diagnosing problems that led to the Columbia »
Understanding through code
One of the best ways to test whether you understand a concept is to try teaching it to someone else. As you're asked clarifying questions, you're »
Grim trigger strategy
I've been surprised by how much people lie during classroom negotiations. To me, the downside of having people not trust you going forward seems like it »
Where's the best place to fall in the ZOPA?
For the uninitiated, ZOPA stands for zone of possible agreement. In a negotiation, this is the range of outcomes that the parties should be willing to »
Fly the weather not the forecast
Making decisions based on stale data is inexcusable. There's nothing more dangerous than making a decision and praying that things will magically work out. Actively acknowledging »
Philanthropy and social services
Many Milton Friedman disciples argue that social services, typically offered by government, would be better left to free market philanthropy. They claim this would lead to »
Evaluation meetings by the numbers
If you're being evaluated, keep things efficient by showing that you've hit your numbers. Because objective data is harder to dispute, you're less likely to be »
Lipstick on a bulldog
People are probably more familiar with the phrase "lipstick on a pig" to convey a futile attempt to change the true nature of something. »
Disagree without being disagreeable
Managers need to seek out dissenting views. Because it's difficult and often intimidating to deliver bad news to one's superior, managers need to actively encourage their »