Crisis, Emergency, Problem
The label determines the response, and the label is usually assigned by how alarming a situation feels rather than by what it threatens. Five types, each…
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Stories of Idaho leadership.
Leader profiles, participant spotlights, leadership lessons, and updates from across the Idaho Leaders network.
What a Crisis Actually Is
A crisis threatens the organization's ability to continue functioning. An emergency is urgent. A problem is difficult. Most organizations mislabel all three and reach for the…
Read →When Persuasion Fails
Recognising an unwinnable case early preserves the capital you will need for the next one. The most expensive mistake is continuing to argue after the room…
Read →Building a Coalition
Support assembled by trading away substance produces a proposal that passes and does not work. The useful coalition is built on different reasons for the same…
Read →Pre-Wiring
Most decisions are settled before the meeting. Working inside that reality is ordinary practice; the line between preparation and manipulation is whether the meeting can still…
Read →Evidence and Its Presentation
More evidence is frequently worse. Volume signals anxiety, invites methodological argument, and buries the two figures that would have decided the matter.
Read →Making a Case
Persuasion is structured argument addressed to somebody else's criteria. Enthusiasm persuades nobody who is not already inclined, and the case that works is usually built around…
Read →When the Institution Should Say Nothing
There are four legitimate reasons for an organization to stay silent. There are considerably more common illegitimate ones, and they are easy to mistake for the…
Read →Public Meetings and Open Records
Serving on a public body changes what communication is. Deliberation belongs in the room, the record is the institution's memory, and the traps catch conscientious people…
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