From the course: Leadership Stories: 5-Minute Lessons in Leading People

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Learn jaw-dropping candor

Learn jaw-dropping candor

From the course: Leadership Stories: 5-Minute Lessons in Leading People

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Learn jaw-dropping candor

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- Two people who are used to being told they're right about everything are your boss and your customers. And that's why one way to make an unforgettable impact on those people is to tell them they're wrong. And it can be done with as little as a single word. Consider the following examples from Gary Kaufer. Gary was an executive vice president at an analytics company specializing in retail sales data. In 2010, he was just finishing up a meeting with one of his clients, and as they were walking out, the CEO asked him what Gary describes as an affirmation-seeking question. You know the type. It's the kind of question people ask in hopes you'll say yes and reaffirm whatever flattering notions they have about themselves already. Well, in this case, the question was this. "I understand we're best-in-class among your clients "using your data. Isn't that right, Gary?" It's a pretty safe question for the customer to ask the hired help. The customer's always right, after all. Well, Gary's…

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