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Naomi Karten's Blog

Blog

Naomi Karten's Blog

Naomi Karten has always been fascinated by human behavior. In this blog, she focuses on observations, thoughts, ideas, and the wisdom of others as it concerns people and how they function (or don’t), particularly in organizations.

Blog Post
Jan 30 2011 - 6:31pm
A vendor left me a phone message. He began by thanking me for visiting his booth at a conference at which I was a speaker. He told me his product was just what I needed—it would solve some of my biggest problems—and he assured me I’d benefit in many ways. He then asked if I’d call him back so we could continue the conversation.Conversation? What conversation? This fellow had mastered the Art of...
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Blog Post
Jan 19 2011 - 9:19pm
My lunch-mate and I were seated quickly. Time passed, yet no one took our order. I’m not the most patient person in the world, but on this occasion, I was willing to wait my turn. Why? Because the waitresses were dashing about breathlessly. They never just sauntered. They never moseyed. They never even dillydallied. They hustled and bustled, racing from table to table, into the kitchen, out of...
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Blog Post
Jan 5 2011 - 8:35am
Have you ever had to contend with a demanding developer? A testy tester? A cantankerous customer? Why oh why do people act that way?When people behave in a troublesome manner, it could be that their behavior is intentionally troublesome. But it could also be that their attitudes and actions make sense when considered in terms of their particular view of the world. Rather than wondering why they...
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Blog Post
Dec 21 2010 - 5:00am
Responses to ratings-based surveys are particularly prone to misinterpretation if the surveys don’t allow space for open-ended comments. These comments offer insight into what respondents are really thinking, which may not be obvious from their ratings.
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Blog Post
Dec 8 2010 - 12:16pm
I once attended a presentation by an executive who began by saying, “I want to get through the initial slides so we can get to the interesting stuff.”How would you react to this remark if you were in his audience?
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Blog Post
Dec 3 2010 - 6:21am
I have a colleague whom I used to view as a loud mouth. He was intelligent, articulate and full of life, but also arrogant and opinionated. He never talked quietly; he shouted, hurling his voice across the room.One evening, he appeared just as several of us were leaving for dinner after a day-long meeting. I tried to send him go-away vibes, but he wasn’t in receive mode. When one of the others...
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Nov 22 2010 - 4:06pm
Procrastination is sometimes called the putting-it-off disease. However, I think procrastination is vastly underrated. I rarely get as much done as when I'm putting off doing something I really don't want to do. It's amazing how many things I can find to do.
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Blog Post
Nov 10 2010 - 9:11pm
If organizations really want customer feedback, why do they make it so difficult for customers to provide that feedback? Here are some examples of common flaws and how to avoid them.
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Oct 27 2010 - 5:40pm
It's easy to get so caught up in your busy-dizzy life that you neglect to compliment others on their efforts and accomplishments. The intriguing thing is what a powerful impact a compliment can have on both the giver and the recipient. It was at 35,000 feet that I came to realize exactly how powerful.Near the end of the flight, I started speculating that most passengers, myself included, are...
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Oct 13 2010 - 8:08pm
"You made a good presentation at yesterday's meeting," you tell your employee, "but you should have begun with an overview of the key points."
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