Recently, I spent three days serving as a juror on a personal injury case. There were many lessons learned that I would like to share. One lesson I learned is that justice doesn’t always prevail in the courtroom. My naïve belief going into jury deliberations was that twelve reasonable people would come out with a fair and impartial verdict. That ...
Recently, I learned several lessons as I spent three days as a juror. The first lesson is how differently people can view the same set of facts. The defendant had run a red light, then crashed into the plaintiff’s car. The plaintiff’s car was “totaled,” and, she racked up $107,000 in emergency room and subsequent medical bills. Her request for ...
Google conducted “Project Oxygen,” a multiyear research initiative, to identify manager qualities that enhanced a given team’s success. According to the Harvard Business Review, Google discovered that drive and technical expertise were outflanked by some surprising character qualities. These qualities included: being even-keeled, making time for one-on-one meetings, working with a team in the trenches, and taking an interest in ...
Robin’s family has a moving business, now run by her brother, Jim. Robin shared with me that one client hired Jim to move a heavy safe into their basement. While navigating a narrow staircase, Jim scraped the wall slightly. Even though this wall was very scratched up already, Jim felt an obligation to admit his error. When he showed this ...
In most meetings, there’s one person in the room who everyone recognizes as high value. They speak, and the entire room listens. To become this type of person of influence, here are four critical practices: Be concise. Speak only when you have something meaningful to say. Be attentive. Actively listen and engage the other attendees with non-verbal communication. Ask questions. ...
My friend, Phil, serves on a local hospital board. After reviewing the hospital’s investments, Phil challenged the board with this question. “The mission of the hospital relates to helping people be healthy. Isn’t it hypocritical to own tobacco stocks?” Phil was surprised how few of the board members understood his concern. It seemed that they had compartmentalized their investments and ...
In the movie, “Legends of Bagger Vance,” Matt Damon stars as a washed-out golfer named Junuh, who gets a chance at greatness. On the final hole of an exhibition tournament against the two greatest golfers of the day, Junuh is positioned to win the tournament. But when he tries to remove something from in front of his ball, his ball ...
According to the Wall Street Journal, researchers Nina Mazar and her associates studied cheating. These researchers gave the same tests to three groups of students. The first group was paid $.50 for each right answer. The second group took the same test, but graded their tests themselves. The final group signed an honor code prior to the test, but they ...
One movie I’ve enjoyed watching multiple times is “Groundhog Day.” Phil Connors, played by Bill Murray, is a mean-spirited, egocentric, malcontented reporter who has been forced to cover the annual Groundhog Day ceremony in Pennsylvania. Caught in a time-loop, Connors relives Groundhog Day over and over again. At first, he exploits his knowledge of what will happen for personal gain. ...
Recently, my wife and I visited the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington D.C. On the north wall of the memorial, Dr. King was quoted as saying, “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of convenience and comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy." Unfortunately, our nation has been ...
Equipping Others to Do Work Differently
