Two years ago I was deploying a high-technology project for a client. It was a worthwhile project, whereby we were going to give sales people the ability to communicate instantly with their developers in Asia. A few weeks into the project, the client’s own Security organization became very interested… and proceeded to shut us down! …

Until recently, most government grant proposals were developed in a defined physical space. The proposal team worked near each other, had frequent face-to-face contact, and used conference rooms in their work. The New Virtual World of Grant Proposal Construction Today, however, this traditional model of proposal development is rapidly changing. An increasing number of government …

Some of the best and biggest viral videos are the result of careful marketing plans. And if someone else did it, so can you.

SAIC, a major government technology contractor, just agreed to pay the City of New York $500 million to settle charges of fraud in the development of an employee timekeeping system. Yes, a couple of employees were the real bad apples, engaging in fraud, kickbacks, and money laundering. But SAIC’s real crime, the actions that cost …

When it comes to crisis management, choose your words wisely One of the most common requests from clients of ours are for ways to “say no comment without saying no comment.” Yes, communication and transparency are crucial in today’s business environment, but sometimes it’s just not in your best interest to discuss a particular topic. …

A hallmark of coaching, whether coaching oneself or others, is to ask generative questions — questions to help clarify a current priority, to address the priority and learn at the same time. However, are there times when a coach should “tell the truth” — to assert the coach’s perspective without the use of questions? In …

A four star apology Early last month, the United States Marine Corps issued one of the most concise and effective apologies we’ve ever seen. No, you didn’t read wrong, I said the USMC! Standing the years-long tradition of stodgy communication full of niche terminology on its head, the Marines, much like fellow government agency FEMA, …

In an ideal world, you would have an ideal manager: One who makes time for you, mentors you, defines her expectations, gives you feedback and supports you in getting your job done. But in the real world, you might find that your relationship with your manager is less than ideal. In fact you might have …

A couple of thoughts to start the new year: The Fundraising Appeal Donors tend to be (highly) selective in deciding whose name goes on the payee line of their checks. Non-Profit Organizations, therefore, must do all they can to get donors to want to give to them. At most times, especially in a “less than …

History of Organization Development: The Psychologists Part 2 (Guest post from John Scherer, Co-Director of Scherer Leadership International, with Billie Alban, President of Alban & Williams, Ltd. This is the second blog post in a six-part series about the history of OD.) Introduction to this Blog Series In our work as OD practitioners, whose shoulders …