“People, quite literally, see themselves as more desirable than they actually are,” says Nicholas Epley, a professor of behavioural science at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business. (Click here for another post on his research.) “When people rate themselves on any dimension that’s ambiguous – their managerial skills, their interpersonal skills, their grammar, or their test-taking ability – there’s zero correlation between their self-perception and their performance. When the picture is ambiguous, people give themselves the benefit of the doubt.” …
The researchers discovered this nearly universal self-distortion by photographing university students, then altering the digital images in tiny increments. Using the real photograph as the model, they created 10 other photos, five approximating an idealized version of the student’s face, and five approximating an unattractive version. When the students returned to the lab several weeks later they were asked to pick out their own face from the 10 other photos in the lineup.
The result? Two-thirds of the students selected a photo that was artificially enhanced by 20 per cent.
… but when I said that nothing had been done I erred in one important matter. We had definitely committed ourselves and were halfway out of our ruts. We had put down our passage money— booked a sailing to Bombay. This may sound too simple, but is great in consequence.
Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves, too. A whole stream of events issues from (more…)
Teleseminar participants had a deep and practical conversation with CEO executive coach Tony Mayo about trust–a vital topic for business, family, and every human relationship. We also practiced a calming and centering exercise together.
You can join these drop-in, no-set-fee executive coaching teleseminars by registering at http://tiny.cc/calllist.
The pace is slow for an online video but Brené Brown’s message is deep and true. Use the extra time to think about your own life, relationships, and desires.
My CEO executive coaching clients frequently wonder how best to motivate and retain key employees. The question often takes the form of, “Should I give her an unscheduled bonus or a raise?” The business owner often tends toward a raise because it defers the cash outlay. My study of psychology recommends the bonus.
I have written about Professor Christopher Hsee of the Booth School of Business before. Recently he spoke explicitly about the bonus vs. raise question. “If you ask a typical employee, he or she will tell you they want the salary. But that’s because they don’t understand psychology,” Hsee said. “You should give them the bonus instead. Salary is stable and people adapt to the new salary level quickly. Bonuses are not as easy to adapt to.”
Hsee also supports my advice about giving a gift, particularly something the employee wants but might not indulge in. “Give somebody something they like but won’t (more…)
The telephone and Internet were still not connected three days after moving our office. I had spent way too much time on hold and hearing excuses from Verizon. I needed to get free of their bureaucracy to focus on running my business. So I called in the Marines. Actually just one former Marine, a recently retired Colonel. For some jobs one Marine is plenty.
“Chet,” I said, “I know you are an executive here and you have plenty to do. So do I. We need telecomm restored ASAP. Do what you can. Okay?”
“Sure, boss.” Chet replied, “Whatever it takes.”
I was a little concerned by the martial fire in his eyes when he said, “Whatever it takes,” but I was determined
to get the business back online and myself focused on other tasks.
“Right,” I said, “Get it done.”
When I walked into the office the next morning (more…)
I just noticed an interesting feature on Twitter. Under “Profile” is a “Similar to You” section. Tens of millions of people have Twitter accounts. Every executive coach, consultant, and adviser, it seems, has a Twitter account.
I have been very happy with an easy, free, browser-based screen sharing facility called Join.Me. That is also the web address: join dot me (not dot com).
I often “dig into the numbers” with my CEO executive coaching clients, sometimes with the help of my free Excel templates (see them here). This tool allows us to see and work on the same screen together though we are miles apart.
Join.Me is so simple, with no software to download or install and no firewall or security issues, that even top executives can use it on the fly.
we are fundamentally free:
free to view our life,
and respond to it,
as a loving gift
or not.
To love or not to love, that is the question. No argument or evidence can strip us of this freedom that lies at the root of our being and is therefore so ineradicable. How we choose to respond to this awareness—the awareness that love makes us whole and that we are free to love or not—seals our character and defines who we are. An awareness of the power of love and forgiveness forms, in John Fetzer’s phrase, “a community of freedom.”
How we choose, in that freedom, to live out our awareness of the power to love and forgive can completely transform our lives as well as the life of, and the lives in, the world around us.
My CEO executive coaching clients frequently wonder how best to motivate and retain key employees. The question often takes the form of, “Should I give her an unscheduled bonus or a raise?” The business owner often tends toward a raise because it defers the cash outlay. My study of psychology recommends the bonus.
“Sure, boss.” Chet replied, “Whatever it takes.”
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