One of my clients was having difficulties dealing with her controlling husband in a divorce.  He was  always dictating times and dates when my client could see or call their child.

Finally my client said “enough” and started pushing back.  She emailed her husband a clear and strong statement of how things were going to be from now on.  When he didn’t respond, she wrote him that she would take his silence as acquiescence.

I call this “What would Helga Do?”  Helga was another client.   She was from Germany.  She had her own business.  In her 70’s she became a ski instructor so she could ski for free.

Helga did not allow a speck of dust to settle in her office.  Her books were balanced to the penny every night.  If she hired you to repair something, you better do it right.

My wife worked for her.   Whenever we are having trouble with someone, like a repairman or other vendor, we say, “What would Helga do?”  She would not put up with bad behavior.