Archive for October, 2007
Best is No Better
Communicating well is vital to success in the workplace at all levels of responsibility and influence. We need to skillfully communicate via spoken words, silence, body language and what we write in letters and emails. A skilled communicator conveys meaning and engenders trust while providing information about something important. Skilled communicators avoid platitudes and lingo because they distract the mind from what is most salient.
Lately, I have seen the word best used as a closing in emails. It looks something like, “Let’s talk later in the week. Best, Steve.” But, what exactly does the word best mean?
Best is a positive word. Its connotation is easy enough to understand. Best is as good as it can be. Maybe Steve is “sending me his best.” That idiom has been in…
Loss of Composure Costs Team the Playoffs
Wow! What a difficult game to lose. Last night’s 9-8 loss to the Colorado Rockies in the bottom of the thirteenth inning was a heartbreaker for San Diego Padres fans.
The late night highlights and morning papers are talking about Trevor Hoffman’s back-to-back blown saves in two really big games. They mention Brady Clark’s errors in center field on fairly routine fly balls. But, any focus on only last night’s game misses the bigger point.
Back-up center fielder, Brady Clark, would not have been in the game were not regular center fielder, Mike Cameron, injured. Mike Cameron would not have been injured if not for Milton Bradley losing his cool in volcanic fashion at a crucial moment several games earlier. Milton Bradley’s explosion led to an injury that ended his season,…
