Comments on: Book Club: What Got You Here Won’t Get You There

By: Brad West

Brad West — Wed, 28 May 2008 14:12:08 +0000

The next time you are analyzing the another person’s work/ideas, try switching the word “but” with “and”.

Example: “That’s an excellent suggestion AND how will we address (possible challenge here)”.

The change in thought process and attitude is interesting. Instead of coming off as being adversarial, your thoughts and words naturally take on a more cooperative tone.

By: Christopher

Christopher — Mon, 26 May 2008 04:21:56 +0000

Thanks for the heads-up on the book. I agree, it’s a great read for those wanting to strive to do better, but just don’t know where or how to start.

By: Waldo Galan

Waldo Galan — Thu, 15 May 2008 10:25:57 +0000

New commenter…
My name is Waldo, and I’m a communications officer in the US Army. I am dealing with a boss right now who, to put it bluntly, is a jerk. As he was giving me my annual review, he saw fit to give me advice for my upcoming command. In a nutshell, it was that to be successful, I have to be a jerk.

I’ve been in the army 11 years, and have never seen that style be effective. I wish that more leaders outside of the business world would find these resources and take their lessons to heart.

Thanks for the blog, and posting what you do. It’s pretty inspiring.

By: Dan Peay

Dan Peay — Wed, 14 May 2008 22:43:13 +0000

A timely lesson for me… I could really use help in this area right now. I often struggle with making the right trade-offs of when to back off and let an idea run and when to take a stand to modify the idea to “increase efficiencies”.

This happens as often in Ward Correlation as it does in the business boardroom.

Thanks for sharing this!

By: Jordan

Jordan — Wed, 14 May 2008 15:44:21 +0000

These actually sound like ways to treat others as Christ would. Hm…

Saying “but,” I think, can be even more detrimental with friends and family members. How often do we apologize, saying “I’m sorry, but” (implying that they actually deserved it and we’re not sorry?), or how often do we say “I love you, but” (implying that we won’t love them unless they do what we’re about to add?)?

Sounds like an interesting read!