Part 2! Mark interviews Mark Oelze, founder and director of PLEDGEtalk. Through more than 30 years as a marriage and family counselor, he developed the PLEDGE tool to help clients walk through the steps of healthy conflict. Mark says, “There is an ORDER to follow if one is to resolve conflict and restore healthy communication.” Clients are asking him to …
A marriage counselor’s secret for conflict at work (or home), part 1
Mark interviews Mark Oelze, founder and director of PLEDGEtalk. Through more than 30 years as a marriage and family counselor, he developed the PLEDGE tool to help clients walk through the steps of healthy conflict. Mark says, “There is an ORDER to follow if one is to resolve conflict and restore healthy communication.” Clients are asking him to share PLEDGE …
Our three picks on our third anniversary
Listen here … subscribe on Spotify, Amazon or Apple … or watch below the text. Once a week for three years straight! Mike and Mark share the episodes that most resonated with them and with our listeners. Mike’s picks: Episode 30: Ship it. Just Ship It! Quit listening to the resistance. The resistance is that voice in the back of …
Size matters: Debunking the conventional wisdom of team size with David Adamec
Mark interviews one of the savviest coaches he knows, David Adamec, on his research into the best size for a team. There is a formula … Steve Jobs even had a Rule about it … and Dave wishes he had known all this when he assembled a team to break a Guinness World Record. For more on how David can …
AI rewrites a memo: From foul-mouthed to corporate vanilla–is this a good thing?
Have you ever wanted to tell off a coworker? AI can help you … not get fired. A memo rewrite has gone viral–but is the rewrite really any better? “Karen from Accounting” is going to be replaced … but what are the human soft skills that AI can’t replace? And could AI be a tool to help you engage with …
Just a few small words
My post encouraging people struggling with mental health inspired a reader to send this article: “Small acts of kindness matter more than you think.” Backed by tons of research, the article argues, “Text a friend, write a thank-you note, compliment a stranger — people appreciate these gestures.” Boy do they. If you give yourself a moment, you’ll be able to …
Hey manager: Please don’t be nice.
If there is one phrase clients have said to me over the years (besides “help me” and “thank you”), it’s this: “Mark, I know you’d tell me to be nice, but. …“ There are variations. “I didn’t do that the Hip Socket way.” Or, “I wasn’t very nice.” My goal in this post is to share one basic fact with …
You will never see yourself walk into a room
Hearing yourself in a recording is a jarring experience. And what the people around you experience in your communication may be jarringly different from what you intend. How can you experience what it’s like in their shoes? Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes? Email Mike and Mark. Listen here … subscribe on Spotify, Amazon or Apple … or …
The story of one particular Crucial Conversation
Another plug for the resources we are compiling here: We literally have a Resources page that features collections of podcast episodes, articles and downloads. Here’s one that my podcast partner, Mike Marshall, and I were particularly happy to bring to the world: resources for the important book “Crucial Conversations.” And let’s add to that with this wonderful–and true–story about a …
Before AI destroys us all … can it help you at work?
Mike is a believer! He has seen the light–the value of artificial intelligence–in the form of ChatGPT. He’s ahead of the curve … as we went to press, news broke that its creator was in talks with investors for a valuation around $29 billion. Tune in for a demonstration of the power that just may change everything. This is …