Mark Cole: The 30-Second Rule

Photo by Ana Azevedo on Unsplash

One of the first lessons that John Maxwell taught me, many years ago, was the “30-Second Rule”.

One night around a dinner table with several other colleagues, John leaned over to me and said, “Mark, if you really want to win with people, say something encouraging within the first thirty seconds of every conversation.”

I’ve never seen anyone live this out as well as John. John has practiced the 30-Second Rule for so long now that it has almost become innate—and...