Meetings get a bad rap and I confess that I’ve sometimes been guilty of piling on. Traditional public meetings are often the least effective way to engage a community, in light of all the other options and formats. But it’s not necessarily the meeting itself that’s the problem, but how ...
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A full third of all internet traffic today is generated by “bad-bots,” computer programs designed to do bad, malicious things: SPAM, Malware, other kinds of attacks that overwhelm legitimate websites or take needed services offline, and some that just spread dangerous lies and effective bull$%&#. The bad guy ...
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Somebody said to me recently, “You must be a real extrovert to do what you do.” As a guy who has always avoided large social gatherings, that made me laugh until tears ran down my leg. But I’ve discovered that I might very well be an ambivert. Until recently, I ...
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Your body language and vocal tone have an oversized impact on the message you’re delivering – meaning how you’re delivering what you say. When the audience’s trust of you is low and their concern about the issue that you’re talking about is high, which is often the case in the ...
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Mark Twain said, “All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence, and then success is sure.” We see stupidity and confidence in any number of successful people these days. (I’ll let you decide who they might be.) Confidence comes in handy but, like beer, too much just isn’t ...
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I was talking with one of our more experienced clients on the east coast the other day. She told me they’re encountering a consistent challenge with new hires, smart people often fresh out of school, who are really uncomfortable talking with folks beyond their own age bracket and out of ...
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When the premise of democracy, statesmanship and compromise is under attack, as it is now, the mere idea of collaborating seems quaint and old fashioned. But the fact is it’s probably the only thing that will save us. Getting people to the point of willingness to collaborate is challenging. The ...
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If people can’t or find it uncomfortable to come to you, go to them. Yo, Philly!...
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The us against them mentality is no clearer than in local planning and zoning issues. As the price of real estate keeps home buying out of reach for more people, housing alternatives are struggling to find traction. The mere suggestion of “affordable housing” sends a lot of adjacent, existing homeowners ...
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Well before Eurythmics wrote and sang those immortal words, “Sweet dreams are made of cheese,” I’ve been interested in popular music lyrics and how they reflect the mood of the time. Every era seems to lean into the emotional state of people experiencing their time from the “...
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