Too often too many of us are intimidated by our boss or our boss’s boss or our boss’s boss’s boss. Why?

There’s a story about me that’s been reported in a couple of national publications. I’ve never confirmed it and I’m not going to now, but I am going to repeat it because it illustrates perfectly a point I want to make. (Which means I’m passing on hearsay and rumor about myself, refusing to be an authority on my own life.

Have you ever met someone who deliberately tried to intimidate you? Then this article is for you.

We all know that you can motivate people for the short term by pumping them up with illusion and wishful thinking, by sugarcoating the facts, even by out-and-out lying. We’ve all seen it done; we’ve all had it done to us. But if you want to your meetings to stimulate change and affect long-term behavior–to get your people where they want to be, to get the organization where it needs to be, to have a financial impact and improve the bottom line–you’d better start by dealing with reality.

Doesn’t it feel great to receive commendation for the work you do? There’s nothing better than knowing you’ve truly made a difference in someone’s life or business and have helped them reach a new level of success.