If you can't think of three things that might go wrong with your plans, then there's something wrong with your thinking. The Rule of Three can be used to check any thinking

FEATURING FAILURE Once upon a time, a man went to Levine the Tailor because he heard that he could get a cheap, custom-made suit. When the suit was finished and he went to try it on, it didn't fit him at all. "Look," he said, "the jacket is much too big in back." "No problem," replied Levine, showing him how to hunch his back to take up the slack

"So what I need is a bell system of my own." And that's what this chapter is about: how to build your own bell system, a system of triggers you simply can't ignore.

Over the years, I've discovered that what I do has no commonly accepted name. The best name would be jiggler, but who in his right mind would pay for the services of a jiggler? Sounds too much like juggler, or giggler, or even gigolo. So, after trying various alternatives, I still use the public name "consultant," although secretly I know I'm a

The Eighth Law of Trust must be accompanied by The Ninth Law of Trust: Always keep your promise.

Over the years, I've come to believe that the effectiveness of jiggling is governed by one simple law: Less is more. This is The Law of the Jiggle, sometimes called The First Law of Intervention. In most cases, the only jiggling that's required is a tiny modification in the client's way of seeing the world. But how can we make such a change in a

At times I can circumvent the subconscious defenses by saying, "I know you can't think of anything you'd like to change about this plan, but if you could think of something, what would it be?" At least half the time, this paradoxical question gets right to the core of the matter. It does so because paradox is the language of the subconscious.

more like living systems. For instance, many wild animals cannot breed or even be kept alive under laboratory conditions. The first radar systems were a bit like wild animals: They would work under combat conditions, but not in the sterile laboratory environment. Before World War II, no artificial system was sufficiently complex to display this

The Label Law I laughed and showed him how he could see from her posture and the way she wagged her tail that she wasn't about to bite him. In fact, his only danger was that she might lick his hand. "Okay," Rick said, cautiously extending his hand for a tongue bath. "I believe you. You see, it's just what I meant when I said, 'The bigness is not