Grappling with the Gray #110: Institutionalizing lip service?

Is having the right words enough, or could it be part of the problem?

That's the question that drives the conversation when Sarah Kalmeta, 🟦 Mark O'Brien, and Kirsten Yurich join the ethics panel to Grapple with the Gray.

Here is our topic:

For those of us will be grateful when elections are over regardless of who has won or lost, here are a few recent non-partisan headlines.

From Inc.com: Science Says People With High Emotional Intelligence Use This Sentence to Instantly Turn a Painful Argument Into a Productive Conversation

From Your Tango: The Secret Word That Makes Men Commit Almost Instantly, According To A Relationship Expert

From CNBC: Use this perfect 3-word response when someone hurts your feelings

What motivates these kinds of stories? Are they teaching us to employ neuro-linguistic programming to improve the quality of our lives, or are they merely teaching us how to manipulate others?

Do they intend to help us develop our awareness and sensitivity toward other people, or are they quick-fixes so that we don’t have to expend the effort it takes to become genuinely sensitive?

Or maybe they’re nothing more than click-bait.

Sometimes, we need someone to hold our hand and walk us through the step by step until we can do it on our own. Other times, hand-holding becomes a crutch that discourages us from taking responsibility for our own actions and decisions.

Are these types of articles a necessary remediation for a society that has become increasingly needed, or are they contributing to an increasingly shallow and irresponsible culture? And if they are, what’s a better approach?

Meet this week’s panel:

Sarah Kalmeta, aka Sarah the Pivoter, is a speaker, author and relentless truthseeker. She is founder of Pivot Point International, a high performance consulting company.

Mark O’Brien is founder and principal of O’Brien Communications Group, a B2B brand-management and marketing-communications firm — and host of The Anxious Voyage, a syndicated radio show about life’s trials and triumphs.

Kirsten Yurich is an Organizational Performance Management Consultant, Peer Leaders Group Chair with Vistage Worldwide, Inc., and Adjunct Professor of Education at Felician University.