Sorry? Say So Effectively!

Last Friday the 13th (somehow fitting) was “sorry” day at  Back West’s world headquarters; three occasions that someone said to me “I’m sorry.”

How effectively those apologies were tells you the things that make a sorry work, and how saying you’re sorry can also make the situation even worse.

Here’s the three:

  • Stephanie Smith, the person who cuts my hair was a no-show (as in the lights were off, the door locked, and no one in her shop) for my appointment late Thursday afternoon.
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Your Career: How to Say Goodbye

There are few things that are more important than first impressions (that tagline: “You only have one chance to make a great first impression“), the time in-between, and leaving that lasting impression by how you say goodbye.

People can forget at times a lot of bumpiness in that in-between period if the bookend hello and goodbyes are done well.

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What Do You Do When Your Boss Throws You Under the Bus?

She had been a life preserver of wisdom when my career as a senior exec hit the intersection of homophobia and high corporate politics (“I think,” she had offered, “that someone in your situation should get good legal counsel quickly.”) and now over a decade later we had the chance to reconnect over hot chocolate and conversation.

This time – unfortunately – she was the one who was on her way out, and it was my chance to offer advice and guidance.… Read the rest

Little Things Count Big in Your Career: How to Stay in Touch

Many times the most important things to do with managing your career are the easiest and the simplest: it just takes a little thought, a little planning, and a little discipline. More often than not it’s these small things that make big differences in who succeeds, and who struggles in the long run.

Today I got a contact information update note from Tom Taggart, who recently took a role as the Senior Vice President and head of Corporate Communications with Union Bank at their San Francisco headquarters.… Read the rest