Ten-year old Billy Johnson just got home from school. He’s been thinking about an ice cream bar all day. He wants it badly. Unfortunately, the only person at the Johnson house is his teenage sister, Susie. As Billy approaches her, she quickly anticipates his agenda and cuts him off. “Billy, you can’t have an ice cream bar. It’s too close to dinner and it will ruin your appetite.”

It’s over. Billy’s cooked without a chance to negotiate or be heard? Why? He didn’t reach the ultimate decision-maker. But wait, who’s that walking in the house in good spirits and a … Read the rest

Kathryn walked into a prospective client’s office with low expectations of winning. In her mind, she knew the chance of her small marketing firm getting the nod for such a lucrative contract over her bigger, more established competitors was low.

When the senior vice president greeted her, Kathryn was pleasant but her enthusiasm and confidence level could be aptly described as “low voltage.” The meeting wasn’t terrible, but Kathryn was correct — it wasn’t going to win her firm a rainmaking contract. And it didn’t. Poor Kathryn.

Question: What do the weather and how old you are have in common?… Read the rest