What are you failing to notice?

It’s a tough question. There is one obvious way in which we may be failing to notice.

Ask yourself, “What am I focusing on?” So much of what we are taught is about focus. And as our focus becomes narrower and narrower, we may miss the very information and situations that hold the key to moving ahead. Yet, we are taught to systematically ignore that which doesn’t fit into our focal point.

There is another, less obvious, way in which we may be failing to notice. In interactions with others you may be so focused on listening for particular information, that you miss what else is being communicated. The problem here is magnified by our sensory limitations. There is so much information coming from a speaker – words, inflection, gestures, body language – that we can’t track it all. When our conscious mind reaches its limits, the overflow of information spills into our unconscious minds. If something does break...

January 14, 2016

Donald Trump is all over the media these days and savvy leaders can learn a lesson from one specific element of his behavior. This element has been a part of his business and media persona in the past, and now it is on full display in his political presentation. (For those concerned, this article is about behaviors employed by leaders and not about politics.)

What does Trump’s behavior have to do with the law? There is one particular law that Trump has mastered. It’s a law not from the legal realm but from the cybernetic realm. Let me illustrate and then explain it.

When I talk about this law most of my audiences can relate to this example:  Imagine you are at the supermarket checkout line with a cart full of groceries. You have with you a 3-year-old boy who looks innocent enough, but he has had his fill of sitting in the grocery cart. He also has decided that he wants a candy bar from the display next to the checkout.

You know that he...