DEVELOPING THE ART OF SPEAKING UP What lies beneath communication is want or need. Finding a way to identify these drives correctly then express them with deftness and heart lies at the core of the art of speaking up. We were taught at a young age, that “if you have nothing nice to say, say …

DEVELOPING EMPATHY THROUGH PARALLEL THOUGHT To be able to truly modify a behavior there is a chair that sits at the center of The 5 Chairs: The Wait Chair. Here is where we observe, take a breath and collect ourselves before reacting. This is indeed a place that is the lynchpin to our journey. Here …

ON THE ROAD WITH THE 5 CHAIRS One of the most exhilarating things for me about The 5 Chairs is bringing the teachings about the human side of business to places where the people are excited to open up to new ideas and experiences. The journey is as beautiful for me as it is for …

THE 5 FUNDAMENTAL CHARACTER TRAITS OF LEADERSHIP What are the fundamental cognitive capacities and character traits that a person absolutely must have to fulfill a leadership role when lives and fortunes are at stake? TRUST Leadership has a fundamental role to play here. Only when a culture feels ‘safe’ will people dare to open up more. Only …

LAOS AND THE LESSON OF THE WAIT CHAIR Last week I was on my way to deliver a 5 Chairs Leadership program to the Ontex Executive team in Russia, but I didn’t make it. On the plane, my stomach started to seriously play up due to a virus I’d picked up somewhere, and I ended …