Your starting point for building a powerful relationship is always the other person’s agenda. An agenda embraces someone’s goals, but it’s even broader. To highlight how important this is, let me introduce you to Richard Major. Richard taught me a…

One of my clients, Catherine, was a senior partner at a major law firm. Before that, she had been the General Counsel for one of the largest companies in the world. It’s a powerful and important position. For most, it…

Recently, NJ Governor Chris Christie and Dr. Ben Carson both endorsed Donald Trump as a republican presidential candidate. I strive to see positive qualities in everyone, regardless of whether I share all of their beliefs and views. Christie’s and Carson’s…

Innovation at the Intersections Sir George Martin, the Beatles’ producer, passed away this week (see NY Times Obituary here). He was a gifted classical musician who did an extraordinary job of drawing out the Beatles’ innate musical ability and creativity…

Scientists recently proved that gravitational waves, predicted by Albert Einstein in 1915, actually exist. The great physicist believed they would never be detected because they are so faint. But new technology has allowed their measurement. These gravitational waves, which were created…

Empathy is the ability to understand and share another person’s feelings and emotions. It is essential to building good relationships, both at work and in your personal life. People who don’t exhibit empathy are viewed as cold and self-absorbed, and…

In the last week, my inbox has been flooded with advice about New Year’s resolutions, goal setting, and achieving personal success next year. Some of it is valuable, much of it tedious. Everyone tells me that goal setting is an…

I went on a long business trip to the UK and Russia earlier this summer. I had never been to Russia, and was in fact a bit concerned, beforehand, about going there. It was a fascinating and rewarding experience, however.…

These days, Russia may not be a favorite destination for American businesspeople, but I just returned from a very interesting trip there. My trip was fascinating and I learned a lot. I learned a lot because I asked a lot…

Thoughtful client feedback is always illuminating. Of course, you have to be careful about taking what just one client executive says works or doesn’t work when it comes to building long-term relationships, and generalize it to all clients. But, having…