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The Compromise Trap is thoughtful, pragmatic, and provocative and a pleasure to read.
— Joseph L. Badaracco, Jr., John Shad Professor of Business Ethics, Harvard Business School
Twin Arts of Apology and Compromise

CompromiseTrap-Effective Apology Books

 

Last month I had the good fortune to partner on a joint talk with John Kador, author of Effective Apology, to explore how compromise and apology might be linked.

What I learned is that the ability to apologize when an apology is due is a healthy compromise. It means giving up the need to be right, to reinforce some fantasy image of who we are, because we value our relationships more than our egos. It requires owning up to our blind spots, weaknesses, and bad habits, but brings us back in touch with reality and frees us from the compromise trap.

 

Read more...
What's New

Recent and upcoming reviews, interviews, and events of interest:

8/5/10 - Tips from The Compromise Trap Featured in Investor's Business Daily

Steve Watkins' article, Stick to your Convictions, which appeared in the August 5th edition of Investor's Business Daily, outlines how individuals can stay aligned with their own integrity and values, and why it is so important to remain true to yourself. He uses interview responses and excerpts from The Compromise Trap, to illustate how an individual can also bring value to their customers and organization in the process of facing those workplace challenges. His article provides a list of tips that are concise and can be effective in helping professionals address the common workplace issue of balancing work pressures and personal values.

7/21/10 - Good and Green Radio Interview

Good & Green Radio logoElizabeth Doty was featured as a guest on Good and Green Radio. Susan Davis, the host of Good and Green Radio, conducted an interview with Elizabeth on her book, The Compromise Trap. The discussion talked about the subject of healthy and unhealthy compromise, and the difficulty and challenges that arise in the workplace when an individual tries to remain true to their integrity and values, while being a successful part of an organization when sometimes demands may challenge those personal values. Hear the interview live by visiting, Good and Green Radio online.

Friday, July 30 - Using Compromise to Diagnose Employee Engagement Issues

Despite the proven business benefits of highly engaged employees, organizations often struggle to keep employees engaged over time.  In this interactive session with the Bay Area Society for Organizational Learning, Elizabeth introduced the business side of The Compromise Trap, and invited participants to try out a new tool called an "Opportunity Scan" which allows leaders and teams to identify unintentional "commitment drift" that may be creating unhealthy pressure to compromise and eroding employee engagement. Learn more about the Opportunity Scan...

7/22/10 - The Twin Arts of Apology and Compromise, with Elizabeth Doty and John KadorCompromise Trap & Effective Apology

John Kador (author of Effective Apology) and Elizabeth Doty led a lively conversation with about 18 people about the ways that apology and compromise are both central to building successful relationships, managing conflict, and living with integrity. We explored apologizing when you are only partially responsible, delayed apologies, how to avoid the unhealthy compromises that lead to uncomfortable apologies and the art of saying no.

7/1/10 Redefining the Game: A Workshop for Professionals Facing Change -- Houston, TX

Book_workshopAs a follow-on to the Dow Employee Development Day, Elizabeth will be offering a half-day interactive session on how professionals can deal with constant change at work while staying true to themselves and contributing to their organizations. Click here to learn more...

6/29/10 Elizabeth to Keynote at Dow Chemical's Employee Development Day

Elizabeth is looking forward to talking with the Dow staff  in an hour-long keynote focused on Courage and Compromise: Skills for Staying Engaged when Everything Changes as part of their annual session devoted to staff development.

5/27/10 6pm  Elizabeth Doty Speaks at Barnes & Noble, San Jose

Elizabeth explored the ideas in The Compromise Trap, and how they can help with two types of challenges:

  • Individuals facing tension and pressure at work
  • Leaders looking for more initiative, responsibility and commitment from their teams, colleagues or organizations

4/7/10 Lively Book Club Interview with Susan Stamm of Bookends

Susan Stamm of Book Ends discussion group and Elizabeth Doty have a lively conversation about what redefining the game looks like in practice and how each of the personal foundations makes a difference. Listen to the full podcast...

3/9/10  ForeWord Reviews casts The Compromise Trap as part of a new sub-genre

According to ForeWord Reviews, "As a result of our work-driven culture, a new sub-genre [of the self-help genre] has developed to help readers get through the nine-to-five by improving their business skills and their outlook on work." They include a review of The Compromise Trap to illustrate this new sub-genre, showing how learning to recognize healthy and unhealthy compromise and "redefine the game" may help readers "not only transcend their ethical dilemmas but become better employees overall." Click here to view the article.

3/2/10 Finding Good Stories the LEAN Way -- Feature Story in The LEAN Communicator

Liz Guthridge, author Lean Communications: The 5-Step System for Doing More With Less and Getting Great Results interviews Elizabeth about finding good stories. See http://leancommunications.com/ for more about Liz's work. And click here to read the full article...

2/9/10 Best Practices in HR Features White Paper on The Compromise Trap

The Best Practices in HR newsletter article "Speak Up When Work Doesn't Align with Personal Values" was featured today among the HR.BLR White Papers. The article, based on The Compromise Trap, and written by Kelly Griffin,describes how, by speaking up and being true to their values, employees can support the organization in becoming stronger and more successful. Click here to view the article.

2/2/10 Blog Business Success Calls The Compromise Trap "Transformational"

In his detailed review, Blog Business Success host Wayne Hurlbert "highly recommends" The Compromise Trap as an "insightful and must read book" that helps readers with "practical, hands on advice for recognizing ethical traps and for creating a more integrity based organization". He and Elizabeth Doty spoke live on February 2 about how good people can fall incrementally into unhealthy compromise, even while working for organizations and leaders they admire -- and how to "redefine the game" so you make the best choice for yourself and your company. Listen to the full recording here.

1/27/10 Interview with Michael Jetter on On Your Business

Elizabeth Doty and On Your Business' host Michael Jetter explore the typical pressures facing business owners, why professionals fall into making unhealthy compromises, the long-term costs, and how redefining the game opens up new options -- especially in tough economic times. Listen to the interview.

1/21/10 - Courage, Passion and Vitality in 2010! An Afternoon Salon in San Francisco

 

Retired banking executive Mary Berry hosted a lively conversation with Elizabeth Doty and professionals from a variety of industries about experiences passion and vitality at work... and where that requires courage. One of the major themes was the need to find others in your "tribe". Please This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it if you would like information about future events in her "collaboration space"

1/19/10 - Heartland Circle's VisionHolder Interview with Elizabeth Doty  

 

In this month's VisionHolder Call, Heartland Circle founder Craig Neal, Elizabeth Doty, and the Heartland Circle community enjoyed a reflective, exploratory conversation on the tensions between who we are as people and who we feel we need to be to succeed at work. According to Craig, "The topic of unhealthy compromise at work is VERY important to the transformation of our organizations and the people who care about them." Listen to the interview or read Craig's summary here.

1/18/10 -- Coaches at The Hudson Institute Find Promise in the Idea of "Redefining the Game"

Many of the professional coaches who joined this thought-provoking conversation hosted by the respected Hudson Institute of Santa Barbara described clients who were struggling to retain a sense of inner-direction, purpose, and integrity amidst the gravitational pull of organizational life -- and found the concept of "redefining the game" a promising model to take forward in their coaching practices. Listen to the interview.

12/24/09 Elizabeth Doty Featured on Netspeed Learning's Fast Tracks

In this 12-minute audio conversation with Dan Kennedy, Elizabeth Doty outlines the difference between healthy and unhealthy compromise, the Six Personal Foundations that prevent you from falling into the compromise trap, and the Five Positive Plays you can take in any compromise situation.

12/4/09 Toronto Globe & Mail:Has the Art of Compromise Gone out the Window?

Columnist Wallace Immen summarizes an interview with Elizabeth Doty, focusing on the impact of the recession and how easy it is for employees to cave on concessions out of fear. He provides a good summary of six specific ways we get trapped, what snares us and how to avoid the traps in the first place.

11/19/09 Jazz and Conversation... Late Nite with Allan Holender

In an informal conversation spiced up with recordings from Frank Sinatra and Etta James, Elizabeth Doty and Allan Holender discuss the challenges of organizational integrity, what to do if you're "mad" at your organization, and six practical ways to build the courage to live your values regardless of the situation.

BK_Authors_10_09b

10/8-12/09 Berrett-Koehler Author's Retreat

An informal gathering of passionate thinkers. We saw the unveiling of The Compromise Trap, as well as new editions of The Courageous Follower and Getting to Resolution.
 

8/13/09 Business Ethics Network

Webinar: What Are They Thinking? How Corporate Employees Adapt at Work

4/27/09 Sonoma State Organizational Development Program

Guest Lecture: The Dilemmas of Doing Good Work--Developing Your Professional Guidelines

4/16/09 Bay Area Society for Organizational Learning

All-day Panel Discussion: Ethical Dimensions of Organizational Life: Influencing Organizations Towards Integrity -- with Art Kleiner and Marvin Brown.

11/2/07 Investor’s Business Daily

Ten Secrets to Success, with Steve Watkins

10/25/07 Strategy + Business Magazine

Global Webinar: Personal Ethics in the Corporate World: How to deal with the devil and survive with your ethics intact.