I love the phrase, “The more talk, the less substance.”

And this one to, “The more you argue, the less certain you are.”

Either one of these would make a great addition to any Living Life 101 textbook.

For managing, I wish I could make some kind of magic pill that would implant a revised version of these golden sentences permanently in our daily awareness:

“The more we lecture, the less clarity we provide on expectations.”

And “The more we argue, the less we are focusing on objective facts.”

So much of managing can end up whirling and swirling around in overly emphasizing, convincing, and judging, when simplicity and solid ground can be found by focusing on these questions:

What are the expectations and how do those size up to objective facts of behavior and performance?

What is the gap and the impact?

Just think of all the energy that can be saved from remembering these questions.