by Franklin Wordsmith | Jun 11, 2021 | Leadership, Video
Keep These Ideas in Mind to Create a Better Experience for Everyone I’ve gained a reputation as a good resource when it’s time to have a tough talk. (I’m not sure if that’s a compliment …) Of course it’s always easier when...
by Franklin Wordsmith | May 14, 2020 | Communication Silos, Leadership
Asking Unusual Questions Is a Gift to Your People and Yourself We’ve all had leaders who were curious in the “odd” sense. One of mine was COO Mort Zalk. He was renowned for sitting next to new employees on the corporate jet and asking them to justify their salaries...
by Franklin Wordsmith | Feb 27, 2020 | Leadership
How Our Brains Deal with Uncertainty I believe we all have an inner actuary. This is the part of our brains that evaluates risk: in things we’ve done before and in others we’ve never tried. Its job is to keep us safe. If the risk profile of what we’re considering is...
by Franklin Wordsmith | Feb 18, 2020 | Persuasion
Don’t “Show Up and Throw Up” and Hope for the Best My first big presentation was as a senior in high school. I had to give a two-hour talk on “utopianism.” Little did I know that this would span the continuum between what makes a terrible...
by Franklin Wordsmith | Dec 30, 2019 | Leadership
A RAGGs to Riches Christmas StoryHave you ever been afraid to want something because you weren’t sure how to make it happen?That’s how I felt about getting a Christmas tree this year. I’d almost talked myself out of doing it, using a logical...