Blog da Alê

"King Lear, Act I, Scene I" by Edwin Austin Abbey (1902) In the play King Lear by Shakespeare, the king, now elderly, decides to divide his kingdom among his three daughters based on each one's demonstration of affection. Goneril and Regan flatter him. Cordelia, the most loyal daughter, responds with sincerity. Her frankness provokes the father's wrath, and he disowns her. When Kent, his loyal advisor, tries to warn him, he is also banished. This scene offers many lessons app

Anxiety, like stress, is common in all our lives. Stress is a response to an external stimulus, and ideally, once the stressor is no longer present, we return to our "normal." Anxiety, on the other hand, is usually triggered by excessive thoughts about the past (judgments) and the future (worries)—the stimulus that brings anxiety is typically internal. Both are normal responses to challenges and uncertainties and, like almost everything in life, have their positive side. Mo

Negotiation can be and has been defined in various ways. A definition that I quite like is from Leigh Thompson, a professor at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University: "An interpersonal decision-making process necessary whenever we cannot achieve our goals alone." Before, during, and after a negotiation process, several decisions need to be made: from values, deadlines, and the team that will negotiate, to how to react to unforeseen events, how much to b

The creation of alternatives is a very important stage in decision-making processes, and one of the most well-known and used methods for this is brainstorming. But what to do when brainstorming isn't yielding results? When the team has already debated the topic so much that the ideas that come up are all similar? Or when, simply, people are stuck, uninspired? The executive director of the MIT Leadership Center, Hal Gregersen, created a solution to this issue: a brainstormin

Who has never put off replying to that nitpicky client's email, updating the spreadsheet the boss asked for, or having that difficult conversation with their partner? Or did you stop to take a quick look at social media before starting an unpleasant task, and when you realized it, an hour had passed, and you hadn't even started what you were supposed to be doing In the vast majority of cases, procrastination makes our situation more difficult: the picky client becomes more

Among the many decisions a negotiator needs to make, one of the most important is whether or not to make the first offer. To have a basis for making a good decision in this regard, it is necessary to understand the anchoring bias. Our brain gives disproportionate weight to the first information it receives. As a result, our judgment becomes anchored in the information, impressions, and estimates we receive. This effect is called the anchoring bias. In a negotiation, when your

Lessons from Roger Fisher, Daniel Shapiro and William Ury. Our emotions influence us both positively and negatively. They provoke thoughts, physiological changes and push us to act. Emotions often influence our speech, actions, and decisions without us realizing it. “Don’t make promises when you are happy; don’t argue when you’re angry; do not make decisions when you're sad,” says popular wisdom. We cannot avoid emotions or ignore them. Analyzing each emotion as it arises i

Some insights to enhance comprehension and provide guidance on addressing this significant matter. In 2004, the U.S. Supreme Court heard Cheney v. U.S. District Court for D.C. The central issue in this case was whether or not the then US vice president, Dick Cheney, had an obligation to provide information about the task force he led on energy sector regulation. It turns out that one of the Supreme Court justices, Antonin Scalia, was Cheney's golf partner. An environmental gr

The Challenger, the space shuttle that exploded seconds after launch on January 28, 1986, killing all crew members and Christa McAuliffe, a teacher who would be the first civilian to travel outside Earth, is a famous case of groupthink in which it is possible to identify the presence of all the symptoms of this phenomenon that can be so damaging. Analyses revealed that the explosion was caused by the failure of an "O-ring" due to the low temperature to which it was exposed. A

Photo: Wikipedia It seems like an easy question to answer, but knowing who your interlocutor is is a very relevant question in negotiations and one that is often neglected. Let's take, as an example, Churchill's famous speeches during the Second World War. The Second World War began in September 1939. Following the Nazi invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany. As a result, when Churchill became Prime Minister on May 10, 1940, the war was already in full

When asked in an online mentoring session how to decide whether to continue in a position or accept a job offer, a friend of mine who is an entrepreneur, mentor, consultant, and advisor highlighted one aspect of her response: Watch your ego. And she is correct. The ego is a poor guide and a terrible counselor. It is all too easy to confuse an inflated ego with self-confidence. Self-awareness is key for understanding how to make this distinction. Self-confidence comes from wit

(Photo: Kylie Osullivan on Unsplash) The NBA, the American basketball league, has many inspiring stories that teach us a lot about personal development: how to be more resilient, more courageous, and more focused. One of them involves two of the greatest players in NBA history: Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan. Despite being of different generations, Kobe was born in 1978 and Jordan in 1963; these two myths came to face each other on the NBA courts as Kobe began his profession

If you are an introvert, you usually need to expend a lot of energy to be in groups, talk in public, be more assertive, and show yourself. There are several helpful strategies for saving and utilizing your energy more effectively, and thereby managing and using your introversion as an ally. The first is to save energy on other things so you can focus on what you know will take up a lot from you. Take a few minutes alone, relax, and review the important points you need to get

The English magazine The Economist published yesterday, April 12, 2023, the article “Jonathan Powell on preparations for peace-making in Ukraine – Tony Blair’s former chief-of-staff says lessons from the Good Friday Agreement can help bring peace.” Jonathan Powell was the head of the negotiations that led to the Belfast Agreement (or Good Friday agreement) that ended decades of bloody conflict in Northern Ireland. He was also part of the team of negotiators who worked with Pr

Negotiation requires preparation and planning. A strategy-only approach to planning is insufficient. It is necessary to prepare for the exchanges and conversations that occur during each negotiation round, whether via text, voice calls, video call platforms, or face-to-face. Preparing for conversations involves the use of several communication techniques. Among them is a powerful tool that is often overlooked: silence. It's fascinating to observe the dynamics of our conversat

In negotiation, there are three types of power. The power of position, which is an implicit power to a specific position or titles and the influence that the person who occupies them has on the course of conversations and negotiations. This form of power is static, that is, there is not much we can do about it, after all, we cannot stop talking and negotiating with our hierarchical superiors and authorities, right? Psychological power is another type of power. It's the way yo

This is a topic that always sparks heated debate and has been the subject of numerous studies. Some argue that making the first offer is not advantageous for two main reasons: The first is that when you make the first offer, you indirectly transmit a lot of information. The other side can infer the ZOPA - Zone of Possible Agreement - that you calculated and, as a result, the accuracy of your information after hearing your proposal. The second and most important point is that

Several decisions, both big and small, are made during a negotiation process. We determine the scope, values, and information to share. We also decided on table seating, language, and who would be our representative. We frequently question whether we are on the right track and making decisions that are not only effective but also ethical. Walking the ethical path is always important. We must remember that our reputation as negotiators and professionals is built and strengthen