June 22, 2010
Recently, we had a potential client ask us a very pointed question…”What will I see in my organization on day one after my staff sits through one of your Intelligent Disobedience workshops?” It is a great question…yet I hope our answer was even better, and…
June 9, 2010
In our Intelligent Disobedience workshops we encounter many people who are looking for new and improved techniques for influencing others, communicating critical needs and dealing with emotionally charged issues. For most, the techniques we present do not disappoint. Others, however, will come to our workshops…
May 13, 2010
In his latest book, Linchpin, author Seth Godin discusses making a significant mark in your workplace by doing things differently. Godin says “We need you to stand up and be remarkable. Be human. Contribute. Interact. Take the risk that you might make someone upset with…
April 13, 2010
Some of the best conversations we have had with influential stakeholders involved suggested actions that were ultimately rejected. In most cases, these were proposed acts of “intelligent disobedience.” Why were they still great conversations? Because they helped us as individuals stand out. As an employee,…
March 16, 2010
This story came from a friend and colleague in Brisbane, Australia. I’d love to hear from someone in the rail industry to substantiate this story – it is a good anecdote for thinking twice about following ”the rules.” Good news: It was a normal day…
February 27, 2010
Sometimes the most powerful way to engage in Intelligent Disobedience is to say no, especially when a task “opportunity” enters your office. You are busy, juggling priorities and multiple initiatives, and you have an ambitious manager. At the same time we want to approach our…
February 8, 2010
Recently, a colleague of mine turned around a situation with her manager by posing a VERY powerful question. She had been struggling with an ever expanding workload due to a senior manager with ambitions that outreached his ability to prioritize. What was this impactful question…
October 4, 2009
We received this story from an attendee at a recent keynote presentation which demonstrates that a simple and common image can show decisions in a different light. Here’s the story: In an Executive Program Review today, I used clipart of a person walking around with…
September 6, 2009
Truth from our own point of view – truth only each of us as individuals can bring – is the essence of intelligent disobedience. Packaging it, selling it, promoting it and bringing your truth to the “pool of information” that is used to make important…
August 25, 2009
Recently in a legal document I encountered a section titled “Reasonableness”. It read as follows: “Wherever a written consent from a Unit Holder is required it shall not be unreasonably withheld.” That struck me as wholly subjective and therefore rather unusual in a legal document….
August 6, 2009
Leadership requires an extraordinary degree of skill and integrity – the ability to know when to intervene, when to teach, when to coach, when to provide feedback and in what venue to provide all of this. Leadership requires very deliberate and thoughtful consideration of those…
July 26, 2009
Sometimes a sound can trigger the needed reaction! After delivering a conference keynote on intelligent disobedience a delegate approached me to share this story… As a business analyst at a major hospital, he was frustrated by project sponsorship that wasn’t stepping to the plate to…