Two-Faced Onboarding

Everything changes once you accept the offer. All the harsh questions asked during interviews and all the tough negotiations become ancient history never to impact relationships again. Right?

Not a chance. You can't be one person before job offer acceptance and pretend to be someone else afterwards. They will remember what you said and did and who you really are and view everything you say and do going forward through that filter.

Two-faced doesn't work. Be careful what face you show at every step of the way.

Read More Articles

Book cover titled A Heartbeat Away with a red heartbeat line on a dark background from Dr. Ron Bogart.
Build Nested Leadership That Works Without You

What happens to the organization when you’re not in it?  That question drives Ron Bogart’s leadership fable, A Heartbeat Away: How Strong Organizations Outlast Strong Personalities. One character wakes from…

Read Article
Professional reviewing charts and financial reports at a meeting table, writing notes on documents with graphs, data visuals, and sticky notes.
A Good Acquisition Story Is Not a Plan.

When Wolf-Gordon announced it was buying Andor Willow and Look Walls and Interiors, the logic behind the acquisition was easy to read. The private equity owner, Charger Investment Partners, wants…

Read Article
Three Leadership Questions to Answer Before Green-lighting a Project

Many tactical projects fail before they start because leaders green-light the wrong things for the wrong reasons. Before you say “yes,” to a project, you and your team should answer…

Read Article
Two martial man engaging in a judo combat
Deploying Judo Strategy To Throw A Stronger Business Competitor

In judo, you do not try to overpower a stronger opponent. You accept their strength, side-step their thrust, and use their weight and momentum to throw them. My earlier article,…

Read Article
A rugged expedition vehicle drives along a long, empty road toward lush mountains under a dramatic sky.
Deliberately Stupid Executive Onboarding

Every executive walking into a new role is, for a while, stupid. Not incapable. Not unqualified. Stupid in the specific, unavoidable sense that they do not yet know what they…

Read Article
A group of executives in a meeting, getting to know each other and working together.
Succeeding Your Own Boss

There's a version of executive onboarding that almost never gets written about, probably because it looks so easy from the outside. Whether it’s the CFO succeeding the CEO, or the…

Read Article