I am done talking. No really…I can’t do it anymore. Funny position to take, given what I do for a living. But, I am done. I started a conversation just the other day and it went south…fast. I was being “schooled” on the difference between tolerance, compassion and endorsement, when I just disengaged. As I was crafting my witty, brilliant response, I just stopped. I didn’t need to have the last word. There wasn’t a last word to be had. We both had very different views about tolerance and compassion. I just didn’t want to try and understand anymore. And I knew I wasn’t being understood. (more…)

It depends on what you do for a living or the importance of the relationship. We won’t talk about professions where lives are at stake. But what about jobs like sales clerks, baristas, bank managers or writers? What does it cost a company if their customers (an important relationship, don’t you think?) are misunderstood by the sales or service team? What is the cost of missing business? I have been thinking a lot about this lately. Misunderstanding lurks around every corner and is the order of business in most meetings.

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