1: Ever experienced a sleepless night?
Ever lie in bed “contemplating the end of a relationship, a job transition, our physical health, or concerns about children and family members?” Diane Button asks in her powerful book What Matters Most: Lessons the Dying Teach Us About Living.
The next morning, we typically get up and start the next day. When we stop to pick up our coffee, the barista … continue reading
1: “John was your classic self-absorbed, narcissistic jerk,” David Brooks quotes therapist Lori Gottlieb in her book Maybe You Should Talk to Someone.
“By day he worked as a writer on fabulously successful TV shows, winning Emmy after Emmy,” David writes in How to Know a Person. “But he was a monster to everyone around him, cruel, inattentive, impatient, demeaning.”
John sought out a therapist because he wasn’t … continue reading
1: Getting better at getting better is what RiseWithDrew is all about.
Monday through Thursday, we explore ideas from authors, thought leaders, and exemplary organizations. On Friday, I share something about myself or what we are working on at PCI.
One of my goals for the year is to experiment with different approaches and tools to strengthen my relationships with the people I love and care about.
We will revisit … continue reading
1: “Comparison is the thief of joy,” Teddy Roosevelt said many years ago.
Dr. Ben Hardy learned it’s still true today on his family vacation to Disney World.
It was lunchtime. One of the meals they had ordered came with a cookie. Ben’s wife split the cookie into four pieces so each of their four kids would get a part of the cookie.
“After eating his piece, my son complained … continue reading
1: Brandon Voss was six foot two and weighed 250 pounds.
What did he like most about high school football?
He liked to hit people.
“He loved to knock every player wearing an opposing jersey to the ground,” writes Chris Voss in his book Never Split the Difference. Chris is the FBI’s former chief hostage negotiator and Brandon’s dad.
Brandon’s senior year, his coach moved him to linebacker from … continue reading
1: August 2000. The Philippines. The militant Islamic group Abu Sayyaf announces it has captured a CIA agent.
“The truth was not as newsworthy or as valuable to the rebels,” writes Chris Voss in Never Split the Difference. The Muslim rebels had actually apprehended Jeffrey Schilling, a twenty-four-year-old California native traveling near their base in Jolo Island.
The rebel leader Abu Sabaya announced the ransom amount.
$10 million.… continue reading
1: The Washington (then) Redskins CFO was worried. And cranky. It was two weeks before the season opener.
“He walked by TJ’s desk and slammed down a folder full of paper,” writes FBI hostage negotiator Chris Voss in Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It.
TJ was the assistant controller. He was also taking Chris’s negotiation class at Georgetown University.
“Inside was a list … continue reading
1: “It was 1998 and I was standing in a narrow hallway outside an apartment on the twenty-seventh floor of a high-rise in Harlem,” Chris Voss writes in Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It.
Chris was the head of the New York City FBI Crisis Negotiation Team. At least three heavily armed fugitives were inside. Earlier in the week, the fugitives had fired … continue reading
That is an understandable question, writes FBI hostage negotiator Chris Voss in Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It.
The answer? Everything.
Because “life is negotiation,” he writes. “The majority of the interactions we have at work and at home are negotiations that boil down to the expression of a simple, animalistic urge: I want.
“I want to free the hostages,” may be relevant only … continue reading
1: The CEO had a problem.
“Marshall, I’ve got this guy running a big division who delivers his numbers and more every quarter,” said the CEO. “He’s a young, smart, dedicated, ethical, motivated, hard-working, entrepreneurial, creative, charismatic, arrogant, stubborn, know-it-all jerk.”
The first nine traits all sound great. The last three? Not so much.
“Trouble is, we’re a company built on team values, and no one thinks he’s a team … continue reading
