Last week, I started telling you about my crazy civil court experience.  Plaintiff claimed that despite keeping the older employee, I was liable for age discrimination when I terminated him.   I saved nearly 2000 jobs and two years later found myself defending my honor and my wallet.
Now let’s talk about how to wield the damaging omission.  None of us are perfect; consequently, we tend not to trust anyone who appears to be.  The magic of this technique is to self-report your imperfections.
It is a little like the interviewer’s “tell me about your weakness” question.   You have to serve up something, so you offer a veiled strength.  (e.g. I am workaholic.)  Interviewers often see through that, so you are better off to provide a real weakness that has no bearing on the role you seek.  (i.e. I am a great package designer, but I have no idea how many we should keep in inventory.)
Listen to this episode as I wield this technique to help the jury understand a broader business context that ultimately helps them understand the company was under attack, not the plaintiff.
Homework:
As you think about pitching product, ideas, or services, think about those you don’t serve and proactively disclose those weaknesses.