A Client shared this story with me a long time ago. I love it and bet you will too.

During a patient's two week follow-up appointment with his cardiologist, he informed his doctor, that he was having trouble with one of his medications.

"Which one?" the doctor asked.

"The patch. The nurse told me to put on a new one every six hours and now I'm running out of places to put it!"

The doctor had him quickly undress and discovered what she hoped she wouldn't see. Yes, the man had over fifty patches on his body!

Since this incident, the instructions now include removal of the old patch before applying a new one.

This is certainly funny, but it also is a call for clear instructions. We often forget that instructions that are obvious to us, may not be to others. Remember to give directions from the receivers perspective, not our own. It takes more thought and effort, but it will lead to less confusion and mistakes!

Also posted in Training

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"The size of your success is determined by the size of your belief."

These are powerful words. Read them again.

"The size of your success is determined by the size of your belief."

To learn more about my thoughts regarding self expectations, belief, action and results, read our newest issue of Unleash Your Potential.

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According to the Employee Insight Survey, (full details can be found at: http://www.meaningfulworkplace.com/survey/page4.html) meeting-goers spend an average of nine hours in meetings per week -- and nearly all of them report that at least 20% of that time is unproductive. In case you haven't yet done the math, that is 1.8 hours per week per employee on average!

How many other activities could you engage in that would increase productivity more in your organization than getting an extra 1.8 hours per employee per week?

There are many ways to begin improving your meetings and making them more productive. The two most important are:

- don't have meetings without clear agendas (including clear descriptions of what you want to accomplish)
- be careful to invite only those who are needed for the accomplishment of those goals.

If you would like help making a specific meeting more productive, we can help by providing a skilled facilitator.

We can also provide training for facilitators or for meeting skills in general.


Also posted in Leadership and Teamwork

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What would your work day be like if you sent or recevied no emails?


In today's Wall Street Journal Marlon Walker wrote about how one manager at Veritas Software has declared Friday as no email day. His staff of 240 are't allowed to email internally (yes, they can still email clients, other departments, etc.) on Fridays. What happens if they do? They are fined $1/email which is put in a fund to be given to charity.

This story intrigues me on two levels...

As a leader, it is important to get people face to face. In the article they talked about greater interpersonal interaction, more phone call and more face to face meetings on Fridays. While the article is focused on the email slant, the benefits of the greater interaction (if only on Fridays) can't be ignored. Even in a small office like ours we tend to email too often when we could discuss several items over a Coke, at the white board or in some other way.

The story is instructive from a creativity standpoint as well.

Take away a tool and people will find ways to adapt. By people interacting in new ways new patterns of thoughts and synergies will emerge.

Think about your email useage and habits - and think about how you can make your email more about prductivity and less about habit. Think too the next time you start to send an email to a person down the hall (or in the next cubicle) and make a conscious choice about using email or talking face to face.

Also posted in Leadership and Creativity

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I read the following on a 4-H craft entry at the Indiana State Fair last week.

"Smile - if you can't lift the corners, let the middle sag."

The line brought a smile to my face and left me looking for something to write it down on.

The wisdom behind the thought thought, to me, is, "Smile anyway. Even if it seems like too much effort or you don't feel like it, smile anyway."

Whichever phrase motivates you to smile, go for it. :)

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I recently read a brief story. Since I am going to recount it here, I hope it is true! :)

In 1964 a freighter capsized near Kuwait. They refloated the damaged freighter by filling the hull with polystyrene balls. Where did they come up with this idea? From a 1949 Donald Duck cartoon in which Donald and his nephews refloated a yacht with ping pong balls.

This story, true or not, demonstrates a key to creativity and innovation. When we look in more places and unusual places for ideas, concepts and inspirations, we are expanding the possible for ourselves.

Routinely expose yourself to new fields, new people and new ideas. Ask people unrelated to your work for their ideas about your challenges.

The results will be astounding.

Also posted in Creativity.

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I've always kept a list of favorite words in my mind. Some, because I like the way they sound, and some because of their meanings. One of my all time favorties - for both reasons (especially the meaning) is serendipity (click HERE for a definition).

Imagine my surprise and delight today when I found a list of favorite words for the year, and that serendipity was #2! Check out the list and the definitions. Clearly some very cool words. Any of them on your list?

Serendipity is a great word and something I love in my life, but too often organizations assume good Customer Service will happen, due to , well, serendipity! This of course isn't true - good Customer Service comes from clear focus, consistent hiring and training and a myriad of other processes.

We can't leave it to chance.

Also posted in Customer Service

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The Personal Technology column in today's Wall Street Journal talks about slide show software. I don't really want any slide show software, but for some reason I started reading the article. I'm glad I did because it got me thinking...

Early in the column, by Thomas E. Weber (twber@wsj.com), He says "After I switched from film to digital, I noticed something about my pictures. They were all great - yet in some ways, they were all alike, with smiling people caught at just the right moment. Not that I'm such a great photographer. I just wasn't showing any of the outtakes. And while the pictures I culled out were individually mediocre, taken as a whole, they captured the essence of my family and friend, regardless of frowns or cut-off heads."

What he is saying, in a way, is that digital makes it easy for us to hide our mistakes - to make all of the efforts we display to the world look "perfect". This is a tempting thought - especially as a leader of others. After all, what could be better than to always look good to those we lead?

Actually, you'd be far ahead as a leader to show those you lead "the whole roll." Let them see your frailties. Let them see your mistakes, let them see that you are human. When they see you as human AND as someone that leads effectively, you will become a more effective leader and mentor to them, and provide more powerful model when you turn your "cut-off heads" into perfect portraits.

Then you will be leading and learning by example.

Interested in more about Team Leadership? Check out this issue of my newsletter, Unleash Your Potential

Also posted in Leadership.

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In 1999 the Secret Society of Happy People declared August as National Admit You're Happy Month*, so I decided to compile a short list of reasons why anyone can "admit they are happy".

Seven Reasons Why You Should Admit You are Happy

1. Because you are. What better reason is there than this?
2. Because you have been happy many times in the past. If you have been happy before, you can be again.
3. Because you wish you were happy. Don't understand this one, wait until you read #7, it will make sense then.
4. Because life is too short not to be happy.
5. Because there are people who love you. This is reason to be thankful, and therefore happy.
6. Because happiness is contagious. If you admit you are happy, it will rub off on others, making them happier, which puts you in a much more fun and enjoyable environment.
7. Because happiness is a choice. Events don't dictate our happiness, we do. You can choose to be happy and that can start by admitting (or proclaiming) your happiness.

I love the concept of Admitting Happiness, so we compiled 7 reasons why we are happy at the Kevin Eikenberry Group at the close of yesterday's work.

1. We are happy because we have the greatest clients in the world.
2. We happy to be still be producing Powerquotes after over eight years and Powerquotes Plus after more than four.
3. We are happy and proud of our new website (where you are now http://KevinEikenberry.com).
4. We are happy that people are enjoying and benefiting from our new ezine, Unleash Your Potential.
5. We are happy because laughter is always a part of our work day.
6. We are happy because we work as a part of a collaborative team.
7. We are happy because we get to do work we are passionate about!



*In completing this entry I learned that the SOHP has changed the name of the month to "Happiness Happens Month", which I like too, but I love the idea of admitting you are happy! Click on the Society Traditions link on their site for more information and some cool Happiness ideas.

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On July 15th I wrote a blog entry titled "Who Do You Remember" about brevity in public speaking. I wrote about famed orator Edward Everett and President Abraham Lincoln and their respective speeches at Gettysburg in November 1863.

Today I found a quote that described how Everett felt about the effectiveness of President Lincoln's speech. He said,

"I should be glad if I could flatter myself that I came as near to the central idea of the occasion in two hours as you did in two minutes."

Everett's speech might have been too long, but he expressed this sentiment succinctly.

I like to imagine that his famous oratory became shorter after that day ... whether it did or not matters little, what does matter is that we learn the lesson. Cut to the core of your message. When you deliver it more simply and directly, you will have communicated more effectively with greater impact.

Also posted in Leadership and Training.

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G.K. Lim, a Malaysian Trainer and Consultant (http://www.gklim.com), wrote this poem and I love it! If I love things, I just might post them on my blog...


Sometimes clouds cover the sun.
But when the go away, the sun is always there.
Sometimes rain and storm cover the sun.
Again, when the rain goes away, you see the sun.
The sun is always there.

Clouds, rain, storm, haze, whatever -- they come and go.
The sun is always there.
Don't get attached to the clouds, the rain, the storm, the haze. They are temporary. They don't last long. They come and go. Detach yourself from these temporary inconveniences.

Free yourself of baggage, ghosts past, worries, fears, superstitions, prejudices, anger, jealousy.

Free yourself.

It's the sun that's permanent.

Thanks G K

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Warren Buffett, arguably the best investor ever, said, "To be a successful investor, you must either find value or create value." I've been thinking alot about what we do at The Kevin Eikenberry Group, and I think it is connected to this quotation. Our goal is to find and create value for our Customers. While the value we find and deliver is likely different than your organization's, I think this is a very valuable concept.

As a leader help your team define the value they deliver to their Customers. The clearer they are, the more successful they will become.

Also posted in Leadership.

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