Thomas Edison had a winter home in Fort Meyers Florida. Each January he invited his circle of "idea people" to visit with him so together they could decide how they were going to change the world.

Edison did a good job of changing the world, as did some of his friends, like Harvey Firestone and Henry Ford.

Who is your group of idea people?

What questions would you want to ponder with them?

When are you going to start?

Also posted in Creativity.

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I read something in a file this afternoon... and I love it.

Information is cheap.
Knowledge is valuable.
Wisdom is priceless.

I wish I know who to attribute it to. Whoever it is, I appreciate them a great deal!

In thinking about this I will strive to gain (and deliver in my work) wisdom. I encourage you to do the same.

Also posted in Training.

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Above my desk is a bulletin board.  I won't tell you everything that is on it - I'm not sure I want the whole world doing a psychological evaluation of me based on the contents of the board!

There is something there though that I think is instructive and worth writing about - my buttons.  I have several buttons on my bulletin board.  They read:

• Dream Bigger! (the button we produce)
• Just DO It!
• Who are "They" Anyway?
• Go For It!
• I'Mpossible
• Blazingly good
• Ingeniuous
• Ask!
• Bring Your Brain

 
What do these buttons have in common (other than a very large percentage of them having exclamation points?)  They are all positive, empowering messages that I read every day that I am at my desk.

Why should this matter to you?

Because it is a good practice to fill our minds with positive, affirming messages! 

Try it for yourself.  Put a quotation, saying or other positive message in your work environment.  Post similiar things in the environment where others work.  Want people to keep their Customers in Focus?  Choose messages that help reinforce the Customer Serice focus that you are creating.  Use the bulletin board, your office doors, or a space in your break room to share those messages with others.

If you need ideas or quotations, check out my two quotation services, Powerquotes and Powerquotes Plus.  These are two of many sources you could go to to stock your work area with positive messages.

Also posted in Leadership and Customer Service

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One of the most powerful skill sets professionals can develop are the skills of facilitating groups - helping groups make decisions, solve problems and more.  While all leaders and professionals can (and should) get better at these skills, there are also many professional who make these skills their career and livelihood.

Whether you are a professional facilitator or a professional wanting to be a better facilitator, I recommend the site of the Internal Association of Facilitators -
http://iaf-world.org.  Among the many features of the site, there are some great articles about facilitation and the facilitation process at: http://iaf-world.org/about/facil/index.cfm.

Also posted in Leadership and Teamwork

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I spent the weekend at my bi-annual family reunion. About 50 people gathered from several states to celebrate our family connections. We had a good time with good fellowship and some great food.

Since my family and I arived a day early to help with site and food preparations, I had ample time to do more than just enjoy the event, I had a chance to observe leadership.

Historically, in organizations, we have thought about leaders as being those with the most seniority. Churches have elders, businesses have leaders who typically skew to the older end of the age demographic, families have the older generation.

While there were certainly those who lead activities and processes at the reunion who were among the older generations, age or seniority didn't rule completely. In this very loose non-traditional "organization" leaders stepped forward throughout the event.

We all arrived having received a schedule of events for the weekend's activities. This schedule wasn't like an agenda at a well planned business meeting, with people responsible for every event, but rather a set of ideas and suggestions, with times associated with them. (Ok, we had a solid plan for the meals - everyone in my family likes to eat!)

How did things happen at this reunion?

They happened when someone took action...

More people were able to golf, because someone recognized that without an earlier time to start some children's activities, fewer people would be able to go. (thanks Kerri)

Someone recognized that the hayride the first night was a big hit, so we should keep the tractor and wagons there in case people wanted one the second night, even though it wasn't on the schedule. We went again Saturday night with an even bigger crowd. (thanks Dad)

People pitched in make sure we got the technical glitches solved so everyone could see the "picture show" Saturday night. This included loading a 32" TV in some one's van, and hauling it to the reunion site, then re-installing it so we could make this happen.(thanks Joe and David)

Once the bonfire had served its intended purpose for fellowship and smores, someone realized that the younger kids might prefer to stay there rather than watching the "boring pictures" and saw too that the fire should really be tended. So that person stayed and missed pictures that wouldn't have been boring to them. (thanks Lou)

These are just a few examples of leadership from my weekend. The lesson is that leadership is about personal responsiblity and taking action. Without people caring enough to take action, these events either wouldn't have happened, or we would have gaggled for a long time before we ever accomplished anything.

Someone has to light the fire.

Someone has to make sure the TV will work.

Someone has to give the kids good memories from the reunion event.

Everyone can't do it - someone has to step forward.

None of the people mentioned were on the reunion planning committee.

So it is in your organization. If you want to be a leader, take caring action. If you want to develop leaders, encourage observation skills and caring action. If you want to be a more effective leader, get started.

Also posted in Leadership and Teamwork

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November 19, 1863 found two speakers on the program in Gettysburg Pennsylvania. The main speaker was a former Massachusetts senator and current President of Harvard, Edward Everett. Everett, considered the finest orator of his time, gave a two hour speech. After his was finished, another speaker, invited perhaps only because of his position, spoke 235 words in two minutes.

While I am not a historian, I doubt you can find much about Everett's speech. But a Google search on The Gettysburg Address yields 334,000 results that will tell you much about President Abraham Lincoln's talk that day.

235 powerful words. 2 minutes.

Think about this the next time you are preparing a speech. Prepare longer and speak shorter. This is the formula for distilling a message that has a chance to influence, move, and inspire people.

(If it has been a long time since you have read these words, you can read them again at: http://www.law.ou.edu/hist/getty.html.

Also posted in Leadership and Training

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The Philadelphia Inquirer ran an article about Analytical Graphics Inc., a Pennsylvania company that has been named "Best Small Company to Work for in America" by the same group that publishes the annual list of "100 Best Companies to Work for in America" in Fortune magazine. [Read the article HERE.]

The article describes the perks that employees at Analytical Graphics receive. Beyond the typical pay, insurance and benefits, the perk list includes:

- on-site washers and dryers (detergent provided)
- catered breakfast lunch and dinner
- candy, cookies, cerreal and other snacks
- exercise room
- and more

These perks cost the company about $5,0000 per employee - or $1 million annually. The article shares that a business case can be made for the investment, based on the companies very low turnover (3% vs an industry average of 20.5%)and shows that the investment is more than recouped in the costs associated with employee turnover.

The real message in the article isn't about Snickers bars or breakfast buffets.

The Great Place to Work Institute, that studies the firms says that only 1/3 of the score comes from the list of perks and benefits an employee receives. 2/3rds of the score comes from factors boiling down to trust.

The article quotes a project manager for the Institute saying, "I think it's about trust and open and clear communications," she said. "It's about people feeling respected and knowing how what they do contributes to the mission, and then they are thanked for the work they are doing."

Leaders already know this to be true. But when the story is about amazing perks these truths could get lost.

The message is clear. It is our job to remain true to core principles we know work. Provide meaningful work. Build trust and credibility throughout the organization. Be appreciative for people's contributions.

Also posted in Leadership.

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Ever run across the word polyhistor? I hadn't until recently. What does it mean you ask? It means... "A person of great or wide learning."

Perhaps you don't want to become a polyhistor, but I'd challenge you (like I'm challenging myself) to broaden the scope of your learning.

Pick a new area or topic - something you know little about or have always been interested in and set your sights on broadening your learning in that direction.

Most of these entries are posted on one of my other blog pages... this one won't be. Why? Because broadening your knowledge would make you a better trainer, better leader, more effective on teams... get the idea?

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My kids and I played 20 Questions in the car yesterday. Some of you may not have heard of the game 20 Questions. You may have called it "Animal, Vegetable, Mineral." If you are unfamiliar with the game, one person thinks of some object or thing (an animal, vegetable or mineral in that version), and the other players have 20 questions to figure out what the person is thinking of. Each of the questions must be answerable by yes or no responses.

I like the game because it gets us thinking, and helps my children to practice logical thinking. It also helps anyone who plays practice their curiosity. Asking questions, searching for an answer requires curiosity, a habit or trait too often missing in business today and an important component of creativity.

I love the game as a questioner, beause I can practice my questioning and curiosity skills. I love the game as a responder (when I thought of the item) because it helps me see people's biases and blind spots. Because I know the item, I can think of many questions that people could ask to help them get closer. At the same time I see the break through questions they need in order get to the answer.

It is fun and fascinating.

I encourage you to give 20 Questions a try sometime soon. If you don't have others around, you can play this game against your computer (ok, you can let the computer try to guess your item using these rules). It is fun to try, especially when you stump the computer! You can give it a try at: http://y.20q.net:8095/btest?x=2

Also posted in Creativity

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A little over a month ago we released our new electronic newsletter, Unleash Your Potential. Yesterday, we released the third issue. This process has had me thinking and writing about potential now for quite awhile. (Not every issue will focus on Potential, but rather a wide variety of skills that will help move us towards our organizational and professional goals.)

While I have always believed that people have nearly limitless potential, I'm not sure I always behave in that way. Oh, I do when I am with a client, leading a workshop or writing, but I'm not always so consistent in my thoughts and actions all day long.

As leaders we need to behave and think consistently with our beliefs. Doing that makes us more credible and significantly more effective.

Doing that helps us unleash our own potential as well as the potential of those we interact with.

To read the latest issue of Unleash Your Potential, click HERE.

Also posted in Leadership

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