Use my name, please!

Consider what happens when you hear someone use your name.  If you are within earshot, your ears prick up.  Whether you intend to or not, you start to pay attention. So when you send emails to your customers or prospects, use their name if you want them to pause before hitting “spam” or “delete”.  Using a person’s name implies that …

Is personality testing any better than a horoscope prediction?

“It’s no better than a horoscope”, a former employee once said to me when she declined to be “typed” (type – industry lingo for taking the Myers-Briggs test).   I am generally a sceptic and admit to having been less than complimentary about various personality and psychological tests that I’ve been compelled to take in the past, especially as employment screening tools. …

Listening vs Hearing

Hearing – you noticed a sound. Listening – you made an effort to understand that sound and find its meaning. Yes, there is a distinction and it’s important.  Pay attention because many conversations go awry because of this distinction. In some circles, listening properly, as I would call it, is referred to as active listening.  In the simplest terms, it means you …

Why Men Don’t Listen and Women Can’t Read Maps

Some of you might wonder how I could follow the Brain that Changes Itself with something as fluffy as this.  Well, sometimes it pays to be open-minded.  A book like this wouldn’t ordinarily catch my interest because I don’t like stereotypes and I particularly dislike “being” stereotyped but the title “…. and women can’t read maps” was a glaring challenge …

MBTI at work

Type Talk at Work

Have you ever wondered why some people have work habits that completely annoy you?  Are you an organised person who can’t understand how anyone could wait until the last minute to complete a project?  Do you find that you love having abstract, conceptual discussions which other people don’t seem to understand?  Or, are you the reverse? This book explains how …