Feel, Felt, Found

This cast describes a simple verbal tool for addressing tension, conflict or other ineffective emotions in the workplace.

This is one of our most important Career Tools podcasts. So important, so useful, so beloved by our long time community members.

When folks hear it for the first time there's definitely a bit of a wow moment, and 'hey say that again, that sounded GOOD!' And when you see this work the first time, you'll be surprised. In almost any situation, you'll see a noticeable lessening of the tension. You'll probably also feel better at moving forward PAST the frustration or difficulties that are being discussed. When you use this with your directs, it often helps begin the process of solution finding

It is a classic. And this is a pretty simple cast…

And like many of the other concepts we discuss here, Manager Tools didn't invent the phrase "Feel, Felt, Found," it is widely known in sales circles. We can't be sure that it originated there, but it's a safe bet that if you try and look it up you'll find many sites that tie it to overcoming objections.

Mark learned the phrase at Procter & Gamble. What he has come to realize over time, though, is that objections were just the sales version of disagreement or conflict, and there were far more situations in which it could be highly useful. We have since found it to be even MORE useful in management. While we're not the first to use this technique outside of a sales call, there are lots of folks who ONLY use it in sales calls. But at an abstracted level, an objection is just a verbalization of disagreement, a moment of conflict, which managers see every day.

The definition of conflict is two human beings in the same county. Put 100 people in one building, and give them short little cubicle walls to separate them, and you've got conflict.