Tag: blind spot

Year In Review, Disappointment, Annual Review, Crummy Year, Awful Year, Failure, Business Year, Disappointing

What to Do If Your “Year In Review” is a Disappointment

Published on by Grace LaConteLeave a comment

Some years, things go really well.

And some years, they do not.

If you’ve experienced a lot of difficulties in your business, you may be tempted to see it as a massive failure:

“What a crummy year! It was so terrible. I can hardly wait for it to be over.”

“The new year can’t come soon enough.”

Even you were not able to meet your strategic business objectives this year, I encourage you to consider the positives that happened, rather than speeding past it.

Continue reading “What to Do If Your “Year In Review” is a Disappointment” →

fear, fear response, responses to fear, leader, leadership, fear as a leader, Nice Girls, Nice Girls Don't Get the Corner Office, Lois Frankel, Lois P Frankel, Dr. Lois Frankel

The 4 Responses to Fear as a Leader

Published on by Grace LaConteLeave a comment

What are you scared of?

As humans, we are biologically hard-wired to treat every perceived threat in an extreme way, with one of four reactions:

  1. Fight: go on the offensive, reacting aggressively to eliminate the problem
  2. Flight: avoid the problem by retreating to a safer position
  3. Freeze: shut out the problem by pretending like it’s not happening, or
  4. Face: confront the problem directly.

Continue reading “The 4 Responses to Fear as a Leader” →

implicit bias, bias, strategic bias, reputation, reputational risk, Starbucks, Starbucks Coffee, Starbucks Corporation, Chicago, Philadelphia

How to Recognize Implicit Bias After What Happened to Starbucks

Published on by Grace LaConte1 Comment

A recent event at a coffee shop in Philadelphia has stirred controversy about subconscious bias, corporate policies, and how to repair a company’s fractured reputation.

In this article, I explain:

  • the facts behind this event (including quotes from the young men, Starbucks leaders, Philadelphia police and Mayor, and other experts)
  • What are Policies and Procedures?
  • When the Enforcement of Policy Shows an Underlying Bias
  • Starbucks’ Official Statement
  • Taking Action: What You Can Do to Prevent a Starbucks-Like Incident
  • The 7 Symptoms of Implicit Bias, and
  • My Conclusion

Continue reading “How to Recognize Implicit Bias After What Happened to Starbucks” →

painful, struggle, pain, organizational management, discussions

5 Painful Discussions That No Organization Should Ignore

Published on by Grace LaConte9 Comments

This is the final in a 3-part series about Pain and Decision-Making.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

In previous posts, I described ways to see pain objectively, and how to identify pain points, and ways to fix them. In this article, we’ll be examining some difficult topics that most leaders tend to avoid.

Continue reading “5 Painful Discussions That No Organization Should Ignore” →

pain, good pain, bad pain, painful decisions, decision-making, management, risk management

How to Use Good and Bad Pain in Decision-Making

Published on by Grace LaConte5 Comments

This is the second in a 3-part series about Pain and Decision-Making.

 

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

 

Although pain is usually viewed as harmful (“bad pain”), it can also help us (“good pain”). Let’s examine the useful kind.

Continue reading “How to Use Good and Bad Pain in Decision-Making” →

pain, pain avoidance, avoid, avoiding, decisions, decision-making, management, risk management

What Happens When We Avoid Pain in Decision-Making?

Published on by Grace LaConte8 Comments

Pain isn’t something most of us want to experience. We are hard-wired to avoid unpleasant conversations, experiences, and memories. And most of the time, this instinct serves us well.

But when it comes to recognizing risks — vulnerabilities and threats that could cause harm — avoiding pain is dangerous.

This is the first in a 3-part series about Pain and Decision-Making.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

In this post, I will review the basics of pain, our unique thresholds, corresponding fears, and how to evaluate and properly both pain and managing risk. Continue reading “What Happens When We Avoid Pain in Decision-Making?” →

yin and yang, risk, risk roles, executives, executive leaders, leaders, management

Yin and Yang and the 5 Risk Roles of Executive Leaders

Published on by Grace LaConte6 Comments

Diversity, transparency, empathy.

When organizations welcome these qualities while maintaining structure and stability, they’re ahead of the game.

It is often difficult to find the right balance between an aggressive approach and a passive one when managing a business. In this article, I will describe the 5 types of risk, the 5 risk roles of executive leaders, and how these apply to balancing the Yin and Yang of Management.

Continue reading “Yin and Yang and the 5 Risk Roles of Executive Leaders” →

blind spots, define, definitions, blind spot, vulnerabilities, unknowns, management

[Video] Let’s Define… What are Blind Spots?

Published on by Grace LaConteLeave a comment

What are blind spots, and why do leaders struggle with them? In this Let’s Define episode, I will explain the 3 types of blind spots and how to overcome them.

Read my definition of Blind Spots

Watch the video, or read the transcript below:

Continue reading “[Video] Let’s Define… What are Blind Spots?” →

dollar signs, Euro symbol, Yen symbol, Dollar symbol, Pound symbol, payment

What is Transaction Avoidance Syndrome? Part 3 of 3

Published on by Grace LaConte3 Comments

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Evaluating your own professional worth can be very difficult. As mentioned in previous posts, our underlying discomfort with transactions can cause us to make long-lasting mistakes.

Even outwardly “successful” business owners often struggle with Imposter Syndrome: the fear that eventually, someone will find out we were faking it all along. As a practitioner, you may feel uncomfortable discussing costs with your customers. You might wonder when you’ll get paid but take extreme measures to avoid discussing the topic of money.

These are all signs of Transaction Avoidance.

Practical Solutions

If you are having trouble charging what you’re worth, here are some tips:

Continue reading “What is Transaction Avoidance Syndrome? Part 3 of 3” →

dollar signs, Euro symbol, Yen symbol, Dollar symbol, Pound symbol, payment

What is Transaction Avoidance Syndrome? Part 2 of 3

Published on by Grace LaConte2 Comments

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

A transaction is what happens at the end of a business exchange. The word comes from the Latin: trans- (“through”) and -agere (“to drive”).

As discussed in Part 1, many things can go wrong when we exchange payment for a service or product. A lot of us feel an underlying discomfort when we receive money.

This discomfort can look harmless at first. As a practitioner, you might spend “a few extra minutes” with each patient, or put off discussing payment options until the end of the visit. But the subconscious avoidance can have a very damaging effect on our business profitability.

Let’s take a look at why this happens.

Continue reading “What is Transaction Avoidance Syndrome? Part 2 of 3” →