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Outsider Consulting
Outsider Consulting emerged from lessons of leadership success and failure on the battlefield and in business.
Now, Outsider helps leaders map their own routes toward greater success.
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Outsider’s home office is located in Scottsdale, Arizona, but we travel all over the world for events and speaking engagements.
Outsider Consulting, LLC
15169 N Scottsdale Rd
Suite 205
Scottsdale, AZ 85254
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Don’t Eat That Sandwich!
“Say something positive. Say something negative. Say something positive.” Ever heard of this feedback technique? It’s sometimes called a feedback sandwich. I don’t think you should eat it. Or even put it in the lunchbox. In fairness, there’s good intent behind it. We don’t want to crush our teammates, after all. We’d also like to […]
Thumbs Up!
“Great job last week! Sara told me about your extra effort to get it over the finish line. I appreciate you.” “This month’s teamwork award goes to John. Here’s 3 specific things he hit out of the park…” Are statements like this commonplace for you? How much time and energy should we spend praising those […]
The Truth Changes
“The truth changes.” The first time I heard that sentence, my inside voice pushed back. It was a reflex from my belief in absolute truth. (Perceptions of it may be flawed, but it exists.) My friend wasn’t talking about absolute truth. Instead, he was describing the rapid-even-sudden way that reality “on the ground” changes, leaving […]
Conversational Capacity by Craig Weber
A client recommended Conversational Capacity to me in advance of an off-site. I bought the book and we applied a couple of Weber’s ideas, such as the line (conversational capacity) marking the boundary between productive and unproductive conversations.
The Transition Mission by Herb Thompson
I “met” Herb Thompson on LinkedIn. I think a contact had commented on one of his posts, so it showed up in my feed. I really liked the post. It was about how meaningful it is when someone higher up in an organization calls to check-in on you and you just shoot the breeze for a bit. Like two human beings. I connected with Herb, and began enjoying his other posts. I saw that he’d recently published a book on veteran transition, so I ordered it and read the Amazon preview.
The Advantage by Patrick Lencioni
Several years ago I was preparing for my first off-site “on my own” – representing my own business. Before that I’d worked for a larger consulting group, where I’d received excellent training and mentoring in the leader / organizational development space.
Punched in the Face – Moving Beyond Feedback’s Sting
Feedback is great. But when it comes out of nowhere, it can feel like a punch in the face.
If you haven’t had the experience, Mike Tyson summarized it well before his 2nd bout with Evander Holyfield, “Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” (Incidentally, Tyson lost the match, Holyfield part of an ear.) It goes like this:
Translation – An Essential Leader Competency
I used to work for a company that hired a lot of translators. But they weren’t linguists.
The role was one of “forward support representative.” A former soldier would serve as liaison between the engineers designing new technology and the soldiers using it.
Why was this job even created? Because engineers and soldiers do not speak the same language. Sure, in the U.S. they’re all speaking English, but they are not speaking the same language.
Trophies or Harsh Debriefs – Who Needs What Feedback?
“Just tell me how I can improve – I don’t need hugs or campfire songs to do my job!”
Ever hear a seasoned team member say something like that? Or said it yourself?
I’ve seen the value of both critique and encouragement. But what’s the right balance?
Stop Talking, Start Communicating by Geoffrey Tumlin
I first met Geoff Tumlin in the early 2010’s. He was delivering a seminar to leaders in the Austin area, and I’d been invited to observe with a couple colleagues. What struck me was Geoff’s ability to take significant concepts and hard research and deliver them in an easily digestible package. Geoff makes important learning enjoyable.