Dan Heath

Usually Bobby's other teachers tended to kind of You know, slink the other way when they saw the kid coming, not Mrs. Smith. And she always checked to make sure he understood the instructions before assignments and these other very practical things that the counselor then takes to Bobby's other teachers and says, hey, I know you've had some struggles with Bobby. Will you try these things?

Usually Bobby's other teachers tended to kind of You know, slink the other way when they saw the kid coming, not Mrs. Smith. And she always checked to make sure he understood the instructions before assignments and these other very practical things that the counselor then takes to Bobby's other teachers and says, hey, I know you've had some struggles with Bobby. Will you try these things?

Usually Bobby's other teachers tended to kind of You know, slink the other way when they saw the kid coming, not Mrs. Smith. And she always checked to make sure he understood the instructions before assignments and these other very practical things that the counselor then takes to Bobby's other teachers and says, hey, I know you've had some struggles with Bobby. Will you try these things?

Will you try this? greeting him at the door where you try making sure he understands the instructions every time. And basically Bobby goes from getting in trouble in about four or five out of six classes a day down to about one or two out of six a day. And to me, that's a kind of magic to take a situation where this kid had a really, really problematic home life in and out of foster care.

Will you try this? greeting him at the door where you try making sure he understands the instructions every time. And basically Bobby goes from getting in trouble in about four or five out of six classes a day down to about one or two out of six a day. And to me, that's a kind of magic to take a situation where this kid had a really, really problematic home life in and out of foster care.

Will you try this? greeting him at the door where you try making sure he understands the instructions every time. And basically Bobby goes from getting in trouble in about four or five out of six classes a day down to about one or two out of six a day. And to me, that's a kind of magic to take a situation where this kid had a really, really problematic home life in and out of foster care.

You can't change that. You can't affect that. You can't go back in time and give him a more caring family. But what you can do is look for what's succeeding in spite of that. And that's the notion of bright spots.

You can't change that. You can't affect that. You can't go back in time and give him a more caring family. But what you can do is look for what's succeeding in spite of that. And that's the notion of bright spots.

You can't change that. You can't affect that. You can't go back in time and give him a more caring family. But what you can do is look for what's succeeding in spite of that. And that's the notion of bright spots.

I completely agree. And I think what happens, especially in the world of organizations, is our attention is just captured by the problems. You know, a lot of leaders just kind of careen from one emergency to the next, and they're constantly putting out fires. And so when something good happens, it's not that people are oblivious.

I completely agree. And I think what happens, especially in the world of organizations, is our attention is just captured by the problems. You know, a lot of leaders just kind of careen from one emergency to the next, and they're constantly putting out fires. And so when something good happens, it's not that people are oblivious.

I completely agree. And I think what happens, especially in the world of organizations, is our attention is just captured by the problems. You know, a lot of leaders just kind of careen from one emergency to the next, and they're constantly putting out fires. And so when something good happens, it's not that people are oblivious.

You know, we all know when things are working and we all know that the happy times and the best customers and so forth. But the trick is we don't study what's working. We just acknowledge it. We celebrate it. We're relieved that something's working because it gives us more time to work on the things that aren't working.

You know, we all know when things are working and we all know that the happy times and the best customers and so forth. But the trick is we don't study what's working. We just acknowledge it. We celebrate it. We're relieved that something's working because it gives us more time to work on the things that aren't working.

You know, we all know when things are working and we all know that the happy times and the best customers and so forth. But the trick is we don't study what's working. We just acknowledge it. We celebrate it. We're relieved that something's working because it gives us more time to work on the things that aren't working.

And I think the twist that I'm adding is, hey, let's take that same discipline that we use to figure out, hey, that broke. Why did it break and how can we keep it from happening again? Let's flip that around and say, why did that work? So we can understand how to do it more.

And I think the twist that I'm adding is, hey, let's take that same discipline that we use to figure out, hey, that broke. Why did it break and how can we keep it from happening again? Let's flip that around and say, why did that work? So we can understand how to do it more.

And I think the twist that I'm adding is, hey, let's take that same discipline that we use to figure out, hey, that broke. Why did it break and how can we keep it from happening again? Let's flip that around and say, why did that work? So we can understand how to do it more.

I got the best email from a reader who was saying that years ago she had worked in a government office and one of her priorities as a leader was to canvas people on the front line to get their ideas and their inspirations. And she said, you know, this one woman had been working in the printing department for a long time. And she said, well, I've got an easy idea for you.

I got the best email from a reader who was saying that years ago she had worked in a government office and one of her priorities as a leader was to canvas people on the front line to get their ideas and their inspirations. And she said, you know, this one woman had been working in the printing department for a long time. And she said, well, I've got an easy idea for you.