A strategist kept making the right calls but alienated the team with his blunt style. His partner, strong at people management, mediated between them. Together they showed how pairing strategic insight with interpersonal skill actually gets things done.
Chapters
I was just talking to a friend of mine. And he and I used to go on projects. One of the best strategy guys I know, he was always right. I mean, it was amazing. He was always right. And I'd be like, wow. Really smart guy. People skills, he ran like a bull through. This is what we need to do, boom, boom, boom, boom. And they're like, I'm not sure we should do that. It's like, that's wrong. And they'll be like, mm. So he and I would team up on going a lot of projects together because I would manage the people. And then I'd be in the hallways afterwards and like, ah, this guy, he's tough to work with. I was like, I know, but think about it. Was he right? And they'd be like, yeah, he actually was. I'm like, let's go with that. And so he and I worked on a lot of projects together.