Agalia Tan

If you read Influence by Robert Cialdini, what you realize is that many things are successfully sold by opposites. Everybody has one of these, so it must be good. Or: not many people have one of these, so it must be good. You can achieve the same emotional effect with opposite messages. There are two great ways to check into a hotel. One of them is... See more

• What’s one word on your mind right now?

• What’s an idea that jumped out at you from what you just heard?

• What did this remind you of?

• Share one way you might make this better. 

• On a scale of 1 to 5, how confident/excited/clear are you on what you just heard?

• Raise your hand if you felt ____ about this. Raise your hand if you felt _____ about this. (Bonus

... See more

"My Uncle...taught me something very important. He said that when things are going really well we should be sure to notice it. He was talking about very simple occasions, not great victories. Maybe drinking lemonade under a shade tree, or smelling the aroma of a bakery, or fishing, or listening to music coming from a concert hall while standing in

... See more

Dialectic conversation is about an exchange of views and ideas which resolves itself in consensus. The goal is to align the participants under a mutually agreed resolution they can all support from that point forwards.

Essentially, there is one right answer.

Dialogic conversation, on the other hand, isn’t about reaching a consensus. It’s about an... See more

Agency fees and margin are under relentless pressure. That’s hardly hardly surprising. When procurement departments have their people systematically re-qualify to keep pace with business, market, and technological change and we don’t systematically train any of our people in anything it’s just not a fair fight. And as ever more pressure is put on... See more

There are infinite quotidian human experiences ripe for interpreting: putting off housework, caring about who I sit next to at a dinner party, struggling to get dressed. They stack up every day. I’m particularly fond of using them to draw ungenerous conclusions: I’m shallow, selfish, lazy, dishonest. I’ve trained myself away from defending my... See more

Presence is not a feature. It is a choice made moment by moment by someone who could leave but chooses to stay.