A helpful discipline when giving feedback to someone, or when having a tough conversation to help correct someone’s unproductive actions, is sharing three data points. Data points are examples of what the person is doing that demonstrates the bad behavior.

If you have to confront one of your people for bad behavior – let’s say he or she is treating people in the office poorly – you owe that person three examples. There is truly magic in three. Two is not enough and four is too many.

When something good or bad happens, or when we have an idea, we want to share it. When we have a question, we want to ask it. When we are frustrated, we want to vent.

Sharing our news, ideas, questions and frustrations whenever the urge strikes, consumes an incalculable amount of time and human energy, and that matters because many of us say we don’t have enough time to accomplish everything we want to accomplish.

Some people are great at avoiding conflict in the workplace. All you need to do is keep your mouth shut or yield to the strongest voice in the room. If I am describing you, I want you to consider how damaging that behavior is for both you and your team. I also hope to give you some simple, practical suggestions for becoming a healthier fighter.

Success comes from making good choices about what to do and what NOT to do. Often our biggest breakthroughs occur when we decide to stop doing something. So here’s something we can all put on our Don’t Do List that will change our lives positively forever: STOP discussing the past!

It’s history. Its only value is in what you can learn to help you make better decisions in the present.

From time to time, I have clients ask me if I can do anything to help them with personal time management. Typically, they have put too much on their plate and they can't figure out how to get everything done. Here’s what I’ve learned over the years as I transitioned from a poor time manager to a more effective time manager: There's a big difference between time management and effective time management.

For many of us, time management boils down to managing our to-do lists – trying to get more done and checking it off our lists within prescribed deadlines. But doing more doesn't mean we are achieving what we want.