The risk of rejection may be high but being honest promotes learning and builds trust. Here is a simple way to demonstrate the benefits of bringing people together to create a knowledge pool. Using a marking pen place a large X on one side of a plain paper cup and place it in the center […]

Anytime an argument starts over who’s right or who’s wrong, it should serve as a warning that something is missing, and that rejection is the next likely step. It should also trigger the same question in everyone’s mind: How might what I don’t know impact what I do? Mutual exploration is critical whenever people don’t […]

Forming individuals into a collaborative body is a challenge fraught with the potential for rejection. Overcoming this challenge requires the application of a new ideology — a set of factors upon which participants can get to know and trust one another by working together on the same tasks at the same time for the same […]

Making decisions with limited information is fraught with the potential for rejection. When the degree of risk is high and you can’t get enough feedback to minimize it, you may put off making the decision until you have more information. On the other hand, if the decision is of little consequence and the risk is […]

Think about a time when your expectation wasn’t met, and you felt rejected. Say, for example, you applied for a job and were scheduled for an interview. If the interview went well your expectation was met, and you were pleased with yourself for making a good impression. If it went badly, you probably experienced what […]

Rejection is not a random act. There is always a reason for it, so look for the “why” behind the “no” before you respond. Now that you understand the importance of finding what’s behind the “no” see if you can find the “why” in the following true story. The human resource director of a manufacturing […]

In your quest to better understand rejection, it is critical that you get your head around the concept that “no” may not be the final answer. Often a “no” is situational or conditional depending upon how the people involved are feeling at that moment. Keep in mind there are three time-dependent conditions to consider before […]

Failure can be a major impediment to a successful career. The hurt from it can last a lifetime. The fear of it can stifle your ambition and diminish your potential. So, you might ask, what’s the point of learning about a subject that’s known to cause such grief and suffering?  The answer is that by […]

Seeking to understand what you don’t know, and then responding proactively to the rejection that occurs when you realize you’ve been wrong is a life-long endeavor. By accepting the challenge to discover the unknown you become a Doer: someone who seeks to do the right thing the right way for the right reason. Doers have […]

The vitality of any organization depends on its ability to overcome the inhibiting consequences of rejection. Applying Performance Management (PM) and Process Improvement (PI) makes the data collection effort less personal and more practical. And, therefore much easier to get “buy in” from those immobilized by the fear of rejection. PM and PI are two […]