Essays on creative leadership,
culture, and the human side of work.
Published weekly, with an original illustration. Two series: Becoming and Advisory Notes.
When we overpromise and underdeliver, it costs us big time. “I’m so sorry, but we need another week.” “But you promised! I have ta present tomorrow!” “I know, I know, but things changed, and we need…” *** When you make a promise and don’t deliver your client feels betrayed. They can be thrown into a…
The keys to successful negotiations are inplace long before you reach the bargaining table. “Ted, if you decided to open your own business, I’ll give you all the Alyeska work.” Mike’s promise made my journey possible. We launched our business the following week. In that moment, Mike Dederer of Jay Rockey Public Relations became my…
I think of negotiation as investigation. When I investigate, I enter a learning mode, reducing my anxiety. By considering negotiation the first creative activity in a project, I create the opportunity to shape the project to meet my needs and those of the client. For me, replacing negotiation with investigation eliminates the potential for conflict…
Hubris ruins negotiations. Unrestrained pride can cost you friends, employees, clients, deals and even your life. Yep, hubris is dangerous and life-threatening. And, like the common cold, we can all catch it. Yes, I’m intimately familiar with hubris. Here’s how it rolls out for me. First, I find myself striving to achieve something; then I…
Sometimes avoidance, is key to survival. Just like home. I’d arrived. Twenty-one and a newly hired design illustrator at Boeing. Newly married and fully escaped from my adoptive family. I was now part of a group supporting management’s effort to sell Boeing’s whole Turbine Division to another company. Our little creative group — seven of…
A client shared this with me (details changed to protect my client’s privacy). I was struck by the raw emotion of the experience. A Google Doc holds my future. The email said, “A self-introduction will be required.” When I read stuff like this, I automatically go into ‘run for the hills’ mode. I know how…
How do you get work and, more importantly, gain a continuous supply of work with acceptable fees? Better yet, at greater than acceptable fees? Suppose you’ve done a few similar projects, the work makes you happy, and you’re making decent money. With that, you have the beginnings of a niche and the possibility of a…