All things are difficult before they are easy. Thomas Fuller
Image source: Flickr – 190.arck (aka bymamma190) (CC-BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Author: admin (Page 28 of 82)
The word diplomacy often invokes power and intrigues. Nonetheless, diplomats deal with the world’s biggest problems. Although people have often the impression that diplomacy does little for the wealth of the world, the world would be worse without it.
In this article Anna Mar, underlining the role of diplomacy in the relations among countries, suggests to use diplomatic techniques and strategies in everyday business negotiations.
She points out 15 diplomatic strategies that can be used:
- Use an advocate (Shutter diplomacy)
- Superrationality
- Use of objective criteria
- Tit for tat
- Buy time
- Ignore imposed constraints
- Name the trick
- Call bluffs
- Build golden bridges
- Avoid escalation
- Anchoring
- Make your ideas seem their ideas
- Never allow your opponent to lose face
- Code words and politeness
- Set uo your opponent’s victory speech
To read more about these strategies, click here
Image source: Flickr – Immaginario diplomatico (CC – BY – NC – ND 2.0)
Nowadays, we do everything fast. “We used to dial; now we speed dial. We used to read; now we speed read. We used to walk; now we speed walk. And of course, we used to date and now we speed date.And even things that are by their very nature slow — we try and speed them up too”.
In this TED talk the journalist Carl Honoré, recalling his book “In praise of slowness”, underlines how the Western world erroneously believes that to do things better you should speed them up. Instead, doing fast impairs our productivity and, above all, the quality of our life. Fortunately, according to Carl Honoré the trend is…slowly changing!
Courage is Grace Under Pressure – Ernest Hemingway
Jet lag is a pain for every traveler. For diplomats and leaders it can be a killer. The effects of jet lag can impair leaders, diplomats and the negotiations they are engaged in.
In this article, published by The Washingotn Post, Dan Caldwell and William G. Hocking give us some examples of well-known leaders who suffered from the effects of jet lag.
This is the story of Secretary of State J.F.Dulles. In 1956 he agreed to provide Egypt with economic aid to build the Aswan dam. After a long return flight to the USA, he found out that Egypt had bought weapons from the Soviet Union. Therefore, he immediately decided to cancel the agreement just signed. Years later, Dulles regretted this decision and affirmed that it was due to the effects of jet lag.
The article indicates other anectodes involving leaders such as J. H.W. Bush, H. Kissinger, H. Clinton.
Possible strategies to cope with jet lag are the use of melatonin, a substance that helps sinchronysing the cyrcadian system, or the use of sleeping pills, as many leaders admit to do.
Another alternative for the Gouvernments could be the return to residential diplomacy, that means relying more on their diplomats posted in the foreign countries.
Read here the full article
Image source: commons.wikimedia.org
The Diplo calendar 2016 realized by Stefano Baldi and Ed Gelbstein presents a selection of quotes from the Classical World for living and working better.
For the month of March the selected quotation is by Heraclitus, Greek philosopher famous for his insistence on ever-present change in the universe.
Everything flows
Photo credit: coloneljohnbritt (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
Learning experiences are like journeys. The journey starts where the learning is now, and ends when the learner is successful. The end of the journey isn’t knowing more, it’s doing more – Julie Dirksen.
Image source: Flickr, ‘The Road to…’ by Lorien, Joe & Moshe
The need for an apology might suddenly emerge in organizations. At some point, every company makes a mistake that requires an apology—to an individual; a group of customers, employees, or business partners; or the public at large.
Maurice E. Schweitzer, Alison Wood Brooks, Adam D. Galinsky inquired into the “The Organizational Apology” on the Harvard Business Review September 2015 issue.
Should we apologize? We need to consider the “psychological contract” – the expectations customers, employees, business partners, or other stakeholders have about an organization’s responsibilities and what is right or fair.
When an apology is needed, setting up a strategy might help convey remorse and minimize the damage or defuse a tense situation.
As a general rule, the more central to the mission of the company the violation is and the more people it affects, the more important it is that the apology be pitch-perfect.
Suggestions for a tailor-made “sorry”.
- Who. The more serious and the more core the violation, the more necessary it becomes that a senior leader make the apology.
- What. Choose words to express candor, remorse, and a commitment to change. Leave no room for equivocation or misinterpretation.
- Where. Strive to control the coverage of an apology to determine how loud—and widely heard—the message will be.
- When. The quicker, the better.
- How. The way an apology is delivered can matter just as much as the content of the apology.
Read more here.
Image source: themuse.com
An article by The Guardian includes 10 tips on how to keep healthy at work by exercising and taking breaks:
1. Stand up: stand up frequently and do the same exercise you would on a long distance flight.
2. Get some fresh air: get out of the building and take a walk around the block.
3. Take the stairs, not the lift: great way to exercise!
4. Look away now: look away from the screen and at the furthest place you can see.
5. Turn your devices off in the evening and overnight: don’t give up your resting time!
6. Go to sleep: get enough sleep and nap if possible.
7. Take time for your lunch: no sandwiches at the desk!
8. Drink water: keep hydrated.
9. Cut down on caffeine: coffee is dehydrating and it can affect how we sleep.
10. Do tasks for other people: altruism makes you feel better.
Image source: tao-wellness.com
Toleration is the greatest gift of the mind; it requires the same effort of the brain that it takes to balance oneself on a bicycle. Helen Keller
Image source: Wikimedia Commons
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