Hurricane Sandy was barreling towards the coast and the news reports were grim. This would be the worst storm to hit the Northeast region since,…

Hurricane Sandy was barreling towards the coast and the news reports were grim. This would be the worst storm to hit the Northeast region since,…
“Oh this is delicious, Peter. The ice cream is homemade, the perfect consistency, And this lemon cookie on top, mmmmm. Are you sure you don’t…
A man and two children, a boy about nine and a girl about seven, were walking ahead of me in silence. The boy looked up…
It had been three weeks since my throat started to feel sore, and it wasn’t getting better. The pain was most acute when I spoke.…
I had what I considered a pretty solid dental routine: floss and brush twice a day. That’s enough, right? Not according to my new dentist.…
Over the 23 years since we met, my wife Eleanor and I have spent considerable time, money, and energy on our development. Individually and together,…
“Here’s my problem with email,” Jane*, a lawyer friend of mine told me recently, “I open Outlook expecting to quickly check my email, but then…
The email was compelling–a personal note from Jared*, a man I like and respect. He had taken over from me as president of the board…
A few weeks ago, I returned from a week-long technology-free vacation with my family. No computer, no phone, no email. When I got to the…
“Please, Daddy, please? Can we open our presents from you now?” It was the third night of Hanukkah and my wife Eleanor, our three young…
I often feel awkward when I go to a conference. Reluctant to sidle up to a stranger and introduce myself, I roam, like I did…
“We’ve got another lawsuit,” my friend and client Lana* told me over the phone. “Really?” I was honestly surprised. “What about all that diversity training…
At 5 am I was lying in bed, awake, thinking. Actually, thinking is too generous a word for what I was doing. I was perseverating.…
My wife Eleanor and I were walking up a mountain road, enjoying a rare moment of being alone together. As we rounded a bend, we…
Plural Investments*, a hedge fund started several years ago, had a problem. They needed art on the walls of their New York City offices. It…
I’d had tendinitis in my elbow for over a year. Even something as gentle as twisting a doorknob made me wince in pain. I went…
My wireless connection to the internet had suddenly stopped working. At first I was frustrated — I had been in the middle of browsing some…
I was so angry my whole body was shaking. I stared at Günther* with hate, my left hand in a fist and my right hand…
During a bleak, cold winter in New York City, a park is occupied by thousands who stand there day and night for weeks. Nobody knows…
One morning, my wife Eleanor woke up, turned over, and said, “I am not looking forward to this day.” I asked her why. What came…
What do you do when you have a communication impasse with someone you care about? Jim* is a friend and…
Eleanor and I were fast asleep at my parents’ house in upstate New York when my five-year-old daughter Sophia came…
Ron* was up next. As a senior analyst in this investment firm — and a good one — he…
My wife Eleanor and I were visiting some friends on a Saturday when their nine-year-old daughter, Dana*, came home. She…
[For more, visit the Communication Insight Center.] I folded my bike and carried it into the lobby of the office…
It was lunchtime and the seven of us — two kids and five adults — would be in the car…
“Listen, I would love the reorg to work. But I just can’t trust them.” I had called Mary* as part…
My wife Eleanor and I came home from dinner the other night, and found our babysitter, Leslie*, in tears. “Is…
It was an experiment. I was returning an item to the store from which I had bought it. The item…
My flight from New York to Paris was delayed — maybe it would be canceled — and the passengers at…
Mr. Bregman, can the change in a company begin from the bottom? And how would that not lead to anarchy?…
Should Steve Jobs be more apologetic? THE PROBLEM When Apple’s Steve Jobs made a public statement on problems with the iPhone 4 and how the…
To be fair to me, I was pretty focused at the time, working in my office on an article. When…
Yoga is astonishingly predictable. Invariably after an hour class I feel light, supple, strong, and refreshed. But Liz’s class felt…
Peter Bregman writes for the Harvard Business Review, and he’s also CEO of Bregman Partners, a global management consulting firm. Bregman authored an article in January titled “When…
I was in my home office, on the phone with a new client, when I heard a knock on the…
“I don’t want to go to ski class!” Sophia, my four-year-old daughter, was crying. I knelt down on the snow…
Last week I shared the problem of Alex, a marketing consultant who was left in the dark when Sam, a…
A few months ago Alex, a marketing consultant I know, met with Sam, the head of marketing at a pharmaceutical…
In 2008, Marc, the CEO of a 100-person software development company, decided not to have a company holiday party. What…
I was moving as fast as I could and not getting anywhere, a feeling I’m well acquainted with. This time,…
“Should I bother to have the conversation with her? What do you think?” Mike*, a marketing director, was telling me…
“I have a question,” a woman we’ll call Tricia said to me during the break at a leadership training class…
My wife Eleanor and I used to live in a small house in Princeton, New Jersey. One night we returned…
A few months ago my wife Eleanor came home upset after an incident with one of the parents at our…
I am alligator man, a dangerous amphibious monster. I swim quietly toward my prey, a seven-year-old girl named Isabelle, who…