Doing Things Right

Stanford Knowledgebase had an interesting article recounting a presentation by Paul Idzik chief operating officer at international financial services firm Barclays PLC.

One of my favorite comments was...

• "Conflict-driven discussion leads to really enhanced decision making as the best ideas battle for supremacy."

Additional commentary by Paul Idzik was summarized as follows:

• “Separate fact from opinion. One of the constant errors that bright young people make is they mix their opinions in with the facts. It lets people avoid the topic because you have put your opinion in there, and they start focusing on your opinion rather than the facts.”
• “Try to find a target that is difficult to deny the attractiveness of, and therefore you can at least agree on the point that you want to get to.”
• “Try to agree on a short timeframe … something we can solve in a reasonable time.”
• “Focus on the situational conflict, and steer clear of the personal conflict.”
• “Make sure you create a time and place to have one-on-one discussions.”
• “Don’t think you’re Henry Kissinger. Don’t think you can help two senior people negotiate the peace treaty, because you are likely to become either a prisoner of war or a casualty.”
• “Try to get the boss to put a deadline on moving forward.”
• "Keep your resume updated.”