The 'Quick Notes' Collection

Get a Grip on the Griping

2012-02-28T07:55:00.001-05:00

Blamestorming can be seductive. It's so pervasive that DIRECTV did a memorable spot on it. It's just easier, not to mention self protective, to blame anyone but yourself for problems.

Used judiciously, critical analysis reduces risks and improves ideas. Used maliciously (for example, showing how smart you are by tearing down other's ideas) criticism saps energy, initiative and innovation.

Whether it's a tolerated form of competitive positioning, a result of frustration, or simply a bad habit, the temptation to blame, vent and criticize is understandable.

And toxic.

So how to get a grip on the griping?

Here are three practices executives I've worked with have used productively:

Refocus critical comments. Diane Sawyer noticed that, "Criticism is just a really bad way of making a request. So why not just make the request?" Or, when someone else brings a criticism or complaint to you, shift the focus by asking what they want instead.

Check your intention. Marshall Goldsmith recommends asking yourself three kinds of questions before voicing a complaint: "Who will this comment help? Is this comment the best way to help them? Do I really believe what I'm about to say?"

Respect and practice the power of the positive. Shawn Achor researches positive outliers - people who are well above average. He found that "...only 25 percent of job successes are predicted by I.Q. 75 percent of job successes are predicted by your optimism levels, your social support and your ability to see stress as a challenge instead of as a threat.... If you can raise somebody's level of positivity in the present, then their brain experiences what we now call a happiness advantage, which is your brain at positive performs significantly better than it does at negative, neutral or stressed. Your intelligence rises, your creativity rises, your energy levels rise. In fact, what we've found is that every single business outcome improves."

Thoughtful and Thankful

2011-12-20T07:04:00.000-05:00

‘Tis the season for giving.

Luckily, you have just the heartfelt, significant gift to give now and throughout the year.

It’s a sure fire choice that will be valued today even if was already received before.

This time of year is the perfect time to give your thanks - expressing your appreciation specifically and sincerely.

Think about some of the high points of this past year ... who helped make them so?

Who do you count on for the things that matter most?

It’s time to say thank you.

As each of us gets busier, it’s understandable that to-dos can crowd out thank-yous.

But hearing what others appreciate about us energizes and expands, making us feel valued, sometimes even delighted.

And isn’t that the idea behind a gift?

What's Your Big Assignment?

2011-11-14T17:08:00.000-05:00

Khol Vinh, former design director at the New York Times, became "internet famous" for his use of grids. He's now co-founder and CEO of Lascaux Co., makers of Mixel, the world's first social collage app.

In a recent interview he said,

"Becoming an entrepreneur is really about giving yourself a big assignment....If you pick an interesting enough problem and you develop an interesting enough solution you can continue to work on that and spend several years really getting it right."

As a leader, you have the same opportunity to give yourself a big assignment.

Something that will take everything you do best.

Your big assignment is the impact you hold yourself accountable for having no matter where or with whom or how you work.

It's interesting and meaningful enough to hold your attention and intention over time.

What others expect of you is important, but what you expect of yourself is more important. The 'big assignment' you give yourself is how you've decided to measure your success.

As Kohl Vinh pointed out, the point isn't perfection. It's the pursuit.

Our natural talents and developed strengths uniquely qualify us to pursue this big assignment, giving us each the ability to make a difference that matters.

What is yours?

"Change or Die"

2011-09-27T08:19:00.000-04:00

Your doctor says, "Change your behavior, or you'll die sooner."

What do you do?

If you're like 90% of patients with severe heart disease, you won't make the changes.

Logic and facts aren't enough to inspire real change. Force and fear tactics aren't sufficient either.

If they were,

Surgeons' warnings would have eliminated smoking,
The "three strikes rule" would stop repeat-offenders from committing crimes,
And management and labor would readily collaborate to improve business outcomes.

Instead,

The illnesses consuming most of our health care budgets are caused by poor smoking, drinking, eating, and exercise habits.
Our prisons are populated with career criminals.
And employees and companies cling to unsuccessful business practices, even as revenues decline and plants close.

Many of our long standing assumptions about how to create change are wrong.

But some leaders are discovering what will work over the long term.

In his concise, engaging book Change or Die, Alan Deutschman offers success stories like:

The Dean Ornish program, where a three year follow-up showed that 77% of the patients had stuck with their lifestyle changes.
The Delancey Street Foundation, where 60% of their residents (including ex-felons, prostitutes, and substance abusers) transitioned into productive law-abiding citizens.
And a union/management partnership between Toyota and NUMMI that revived a failed plant, producing better cars with fewer workers (and grievances).

What do these examples have in common? Leaders who provided opportunities to

Relate: forming a relationship with a credible person or group who believes, and inspires hope that, the change will happen.
Repeat: guidance and support while you practice new skills and habits that create the change.
Reframe: highlighting experiences that help you find new ways to think about your situation.

These "3 R" components frame effective change processes on both the personal and organizational level.

Are they playing a strong enough role in your change effort?

Solving the Right Problem

2011-08-16T08:41:00.000-04:00

Even the best problem solvers face chronic challenges. If you're confronting one yet again, ask yourself if you've been finding the right answer to the wrong question.

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's research found that Nobel laureates achieved breakthroughs by finding better ways to frame their problems. The ability to reframe challenges is critical for all kinds of leaders.

Here's a reframing process you can use on your own, with others, or have several groups complete simultaneously:

1. Write your challenge in the form of a question:

    How to stop tactical work from crowding out time for more strategic
    work?

2. Ask "Why?"

    Why do you want time for more more strategic work?

and turn the response into a question.

So the answer "I need to develop a strategic plan in 90 days"
    becomes, How to develop a strategic plan in 90 days?

3. Repeat step 2, using the most recent question:

    Why do you want to develop a strategic plan in 90 days?

    "To have a stronger impact on the business planning process."

    Which becomes, How to have a stronger impact on the business
    planning process?

4. Working from each successive response, repeat this process until
    you've asked "Why?" and turned the last response into a question
    five times.

5. Now return to the original challenge statement (Step 1)
    How to stop tactical tasks from crowding out time for more strategic
    work?

    And ask "What's stopping you?"

    What's stopping you from stopping tactical tasks from crowding
    out time for more strategic work?

    And turn the response into a question. So the answer, "The skill set
    on my team isn't what it should be," becomes

    How to make the skill set on my team what it should be?

6. Repeat step 5, working from each successive response turned into a
    question, until you've asked "What's stopping you?" five times.

    What's stopping you from making the skill set on your team what
    it should be? ....

As you review the questions you (or the different groups) created, which look like a more interesting or promising starting point?

What Kind of Failure Will Work?

2011-06-28T14:23:00.000-04:00

Innovation leaders navigate a balance between understanding

- the contributions failure can make in innovative processes
- and the drivers of risk-adverse business environments.

So, taking a lead from the Eskimos' rich vocabulary for snow, Jamer Hunt proposed the following failure spectrum:

"Abject failure
This is the really dark one. It marks you and you may not ever fully recover from it. People lose their lives, jobs, respect, or livelihoods. Examples: British Petroleum's Gulf oil spill; mortgage-backed securities.

Structural failure
It cuts -- deeply -- but it doesn't permanently cripple your identity or enterprise. Examples: Apple iPhone 4's antenna; Windows Vista.

Glorious failure
Going out in a botched but beautiful blaze of glory -- catastrophic but exhilarating. Example: Jamaican bobsled team.

Common failure
Everyday instances of screwing up that are not too difficult to recover from. The apology was invented for this category. Examples: oversleeping and missing a meeting at work; forgetting to pick up your kids from school; overcooking the tuna.

Version failure
Small failures that lead to incremental but meaningful improvements over time. Examples: Linux operating system; evolution.

Predicted failure
Failure as an essential part of a process that allows you to see what it is you really need to do more clearly because of the shortcomings. Example: the prototype -- only by creating imperfect early versions of it can you learn what's necessary to refine it."

Yes, we can learn something from any type of failure.

But this kind of language goes further, by helping us recognize and optimize the kind of failure that just may work.

Sleeping Your Way To the Top

2011-05-16T12:35:00.000-04:00

Many top performers have quietly discovered the same secret weapon:

consistently getting eight hours of sleep.

Time and time again; we've learned that our brains go to work as our bodies rest - thinking differently than they do when we're awake:

Broadening the tunnel vision that develops after concentrating on something for a long time.
Making new connections among previously unrelated ideas and memories.
Practicing and ingraining recently learned concepts and skills.
Strengthening our ability to sustain our attention span and engagement when we're awake.

Although aggressive company cultures laud 24/7 availability and Type-A personalities boast about getting by on just a few hours of sleep, research has demonstrated that the less sleep you get the worse you perform.

The National Sleep Foundation reports that Americans are averaging only 6.9 hours of sleep a weeknight - and think that they're getting by just fine. But, in fact, they're not

Thinking as clearly,
Learning as quickly,
Coming up with as many new ideas,
Or performing as productively as they think they are.

They've simply lost their edge.

Unlike resilient achievers like Arianna Huffington, who have learned how to "Shut your eyes and discover the great ideas inside us."

Take Your 'Swing Thought'

2011-04-12T08:37:00.002-04:00

You'll communicate with more impact when you are crystal clear about

- What you're trying to accomplish, and

- How you need to show up to accomplish it.

Author Scott Eblin compares creating this clarity to the "swing thought" professional golfers practice before taking a shot, mentally rehearsing their process and outcome.

When communicating, 'what you're trying to accomplish' includes more than just your point of view, and the points you'll make to support it.

It also encompasses how you will convey your points: the energy, emotion and body language you'll bring to bear.

'How you need to show up to accomplish it' includes envisioning what you want others to be thinking and feeling, during and afterwards.

And what they need to know or experience beforehand for this to occur.

For example, watch how Sir Ken Robinson and Raghava KK prepare for and deliver their successful TEDTalks.

See if you can spot these considerations, and pick up a few additional pointers, during this 11 minute insider's glimpse: "Behind the TEDTalk 2010."

Communication is a life-force running through leadership and innovation. Take your swing thought, and then enjoy the exchange.

Speaking Like a Leader

2011-03-02T06:40:00.004-05:00

In the English language, we expect the subject at the front of the sentence ... how often do you begin sentences with "I"?

Leadership is not about the leader. It's about challenges, opportunities and empowerment. It's about the people to whom you're speaking.

As communications expert Phyllis Mendell points out:

- The Gettysburg Address contains no "I" statements.

- Tony Blair's brilliant 3,500 word "A Fight for Liberty" speech used the word "I" only 1/2 of 1% of the time.

- Even Martin Luther King Jr's "I Have a Dream" speech used the word "I" to give a voice to the stories and aspirations of his audience. He wasn't just speaking about himself.

A stronger way to talk and write replaces "I" with the shared topic of interest, followed quickly by an action that relates to it.

This shifts the focus to what's most important, often increasing brevity and clarity.

Notice how the focus shifts when Ralph Nadar's statement:

"I start with the premise that the function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers."

is simply edited to,

"The function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers."

Intelligent Memory

2011-02-08T08:53:00.004-05:00

Conventional wisdom says that turning off our analytical, logical left brains and turning on our creative, intuitive right brains helps us come up with new ideas.

After all, Roger Sperry won the Nobel Prize for his right/left brain theory.

But Eric Kandel also won the Nobel Prize - for research disproving Sperry's theory. Kendal found that we don't think with a two-sided brain. We use recall and learning, throughout our whole brain, as we exercise "intelligent memory."

A strategy+business article explains:

From the moment you're born, your brain takes things in, breaks them down, and puts them on shelves.

As new information comes in, your brain does a search to see how it might fit with other information already stored in your memory. When it finds a match, the previous memories come off the shelf and combine with the new, and the result is a thought.

The breaking down and storing process is analysis. The searching and combining is intuition. Both are necessary for all kinds of thought. Even a mathematical calculation requires the intuition part, to recall the symbols and formula previously learned in order to apply them to the problem.

When the pieces come off the shelf smoothly, in familiar patterns ... you don't even realize it has happened. When lots of different pieces combine into a new pattern, you feel it as a flash of insight, the famous "aha!" moment.

To mine "intelligent memory" when your team needs better ideas:

Together, define and describe your challenge.

Separately, everyone researches, "Has anyone else in the world ever made progress on any piece of this puzzle?"

Continue this treasure hunt, alternating work with relaxation to encourage the subconscious use of intuition.

Bring your ideas back to the team. Work together to highlight, experiment with and improve the best ones.

Here's to your next "aha!"

Today's Work

2010-11-16T05:42:00.003-05:00

What percentage of their time does your team spend doing things they know will be effective?

How much of their time is spent finding better ways to do things?

What's the balance of time you spend on each?

Sustaining success is a good outcome, it's just not good enough to stop there.

The question that shapes the work of today's leaders is, "Is there a better way to do this?"

The answer is almost always "yes."

Asking the question regularly increases the odds that you'll find increasingly powerful ways to do so.

Crucially Clear

2010-10-12T06:13:00.004-04:00

Nitin Nohria, Harvard Business School's 10th and current dean, maintains that

"Communication is the real work of leadership."

The more difficult or important the conversation, the clearer this becomes.

The next time you're in an important conversation,

or one that's going poorly,

ask yourself three questions:

- What do I really want for myself?

- What do I really want for ______ (others in the conversation)?

- What do I really want for this relationship?

You have the most influence over one person in the conversation (yes, yourself), so the biggest opportunity then comes when then you ask,

"How would I behave if I really wanted these things?"

This strategy, and much more, is found in the excellent book Crucial Conversations. Tools for Talking When the Stakes Are High.

"Build a Tower, Build a Team"

2010-09-14T06:25:00.007-04:00

In 70 workshops across the world, Tom Wujec gave small teams 18 minutes to build the tallest freestanding structure they could ... using 20 sticks of spaghetti, a yard of tape, a yard of string, and a marshmallow.

This seemingly trivial challenge produced quick, relatable insights into drivers of productive collaborations.

For example, it showed the value of prototyping:

Teams that oriented themselves to the challenge and roles, planned and built their right answer were ineffective.

Teams that created quick, successive prototypes, applying what they learned from each iteration were the most effective.

Tom's data also showed the importance of

including process-oriented team members (CEO teams with executive admins were more effective than CEO-only teams),

and combining a high stakes prize with "how-to" knowledge. (Just offering the high stakes prize decreased performance, offering the prize and insights into the importance of prototyping increased performance.)

Prototyping is a more readily accepted approach in some work environments than others. You can keep it simple and scrappy, collecting responses to rough drafts of your ideas and using what you learn to improve each new draft.

It's a potent form of active learning that builds innovation mindsets and skill sets by

encouraging curiosity,

uncovering hidden assumptions,

and helping teams think, feel and work in new ways.

Could it be a more effective approach to something you're working on today?

The Stories We Tell

2010-08-18T08:17:00.011-04:00

Christy Uffelman is Vice President of Employee and Organization Development at Mascaro Construction, a regional general contractor based in Pittsburgh. She has an interesting story to tell.

If it was a cautionary tale about the struggles associated with

being a female leader in a male-dominated industry

bringing expertise whose value was not yet understood

at a time when many construction companies faced restructuring and layoffs,

it would be understandable.

But during our conversation she told a more compelling story about building networks and leveraging strengths as she

brought a fresh point of view and capabilities to the executive team,

built credibility with an award-winning program that helps employees communicate and work well together,

and partnered with founder Jack Mascaro to create an emerging leaders program that is transferring knowledge and experience from one generation of leaders to the next.

Her story is peppered with descriptions of the capabilities and character of those she works with, as well as her own learning. When Christy says, "I am not a character in the story of my life, I am the author," she positions herself to write a story of success.

Harvard's Howard Gardner says, "Stories are the single most powerful weapon in a leader's arsenal."

In the stories you tell yourself and others about your work,

What kinds of themes do you tend to emphasize?

What role do you typically play?

Whose capabilities are highlighted?

And, is there a bigger story you want to create and tell?

What's Most Important Now?

2010-07-14T07:06:00.005-04:00

You're not getting paid to do things; you're getting paid to recognize and follow through on the most important things.

A simple habit can increase your effectiveness and decrease stress:

first thing, and later in the day, consider everything you have on your plate and choose the one most important thing to accomplish now.

The more you practice this habit, the better you get at it, strategically allocating your time and avoiding traps like

mistaking activity for achievement.
reacting to whatever comes your way, which tends to advance others' goals more than your own.
letting what's urgent crowd out what's important.

Most of us have schedules pummeled by unexpected requests, problems and changes; so choose one or two times later in the day for repeating this practice. Review your goals, commitments and to-dos, take stock of the day thus far, and identify what's most important to complete now.

Considering both personal and professional goals makes it more likely you'll have the energy and relationships you need to really enjoy your accomplishments.

One Minute Wisdom from 'Rethink'

2010-06-21T09:41:00.003-04:00

Good insights can be found in interesting places...

The Rethink Scholarship is awarded to art directors and designers on the basis of a sketchbook containing the applicant's most interesting ideas.

You can use their one minute video as a prompt for fresh thinking.

There's wisdom in the points they make, like:

- Don't fall in love with your first idea.

- Show people your work, see if they get it (repeat, repeat, repeat ....)

and the way they make them, including:

- Layered messages.

- Use of anticipation.

- Novelty combined with simplicity.

Their selection criteria (see How We Pick the Winner) provide self-checks to use as you prepare to present new ideas, highlighting the importance of:

Clarity: of your ideas, and how they are conveyed.

Relevance: speaking to what's most important to your audience.

Freshness: what's new and exciting?

Salience: no need to show every step or possibility, quality trumps quantity.

Craft and execution: how you present communicates as much as what you present.

Time After Time

2010-05-05T06:07:00.007-04:00

Bad habits can creep up on us, diminishing our success a small step at a time.

Like death by a thousand paper cuts.

Luckily, this dynamic also works in reverse.

One small step at a time, time after time, you can replace an ineffective habit with a better one.

Aristotle said it memorably:

"We are what we repeatedly do.

Excellence, then, is not an act,
but a habit."

To create that better habit:

Pick the change to focus on now.
Define a simple change. What would create a good ripple effect - or be the most fun to achieve?

Identify the before, the after and the why.
Write down the behavior you want to stop, the behavior you want to put in its place, and what will occur when you do. Create a clear picture of each.

Define the win.
What will you count to know when, or how well, you've ingrained the replacement behavior? How and when will you reward your success?

Put your supports in place.
These can include: physical reminders, a tool for tracking progress, someone who'll hold you accountable, something to say to yourself each time you succeed.

Take one step.
Chart your progress. Recognize what helped, what didn't, why it's worth continuing. Take one more step. Repeat.

Overlooked Excellence

2010-04-06T09:35:00.007-04:00

If you're a sophisticated and seasoned professional

using world class tools,
with access to a large, diverse audience,
and ample time to demonstrate your capabilities ...

will your talents be appreciated?

Consider Joshua Bell's experience.

One of the world's greatest musicians, he's played before crowned heads of state and commands rates running around $1,000 a minute.

On one of the most valuable violins ever made,

he performed several difficult, elegant pieces
at a busy metro stop as 1,097 people walk by -
for 43 minutes.

The audience response was recorded by a hidden camera. Was there a problem with crowd control? Not exactly.

Six minutes passed before anyone stopped to listen.
Only seven people stopped and paid attention for a minute or more.
Twenty-seven gave donations, totaling almost $33.

98% of the people bypassed world class talent directly in their path.

This experiment reinforced several leadership lessons:

Strengths that are not marketed well will go unnoticed.

Capability isn't enough. You need to ensure that your strengths are recognized. One passerby had seen him in concert - she stopped to listen, thanked him, and left the largest donation.

Context matters.

If he'd been playing at a concert hall, his audience may have listened more appreciatively. Context determines relevance.

Time constraints limit our ability to recognize unexpected pockets of excellence.

If 1,000+ people were too intent on their destination to acknowledge the virtuoso before them, what else isn't registering? Allow yourself to stop and smell the roses, hear the music and make the most of what's right in front of you.

Anchor and Twist

2010-02-24T08:19:00.005-05:00

The next time you have a something new to introduce, try using an "anchor and twist" approach.

Dan Heath discussed this approach in a Fast Company article on introducing innovations.

In a nutshell, you
• anchor your idea to something that is known and accepted
• and then provide the twist that makes it exciting and new.

So,
• TiVo works like a VCR (anchor) with TV shows (twist).
• Spyder is like Speedo (anchor) for skiers (twist).
• Sermo is a FaceBook (anchor) for doctors (twist)
• and Fluevog uses open-source (anchor) marketing (twist).

This strategy builds receptivity by meeting listeners where they are before taking them where you want to go; prompting an immediate positive association; and explaining the idea quickly enough to keep it exciting.

Be Brief, Be Bright, Be Gone

2010-01-18T10:18:00.007-05:00

"Be brief, be bright, be gone" is an astute rule of thumb for business presentations - and for breathing new life into standing meetings.

Be Brief

Start by checking that everyone understands what needs to occur for this meeting to be a success: the required meeting outcomes.
Eliminate any non-essential agenda items. Each remaining item should be critical to achieving the meeting outcomes.

Be Bright

Ask if everyone attending has a contribution to make that will have a clear impact on the meeting outcomes.
During discussions, press for information that is new and relevant. Point out high impact contributions.
Keep discussions focused on reaching the meeting outcomes.

Be Gone

Summarize conclusions and outcomes at the end of the meeting.
Define next steps clearly.
End early or on time.

Fresh Ideas

2009-12-17T10:00:00.006-05:00

We've been dealing with sobering realities. Time and budgets are tight, but there's more to do than ever. We're working harder and smarter, knowing that change presents opportunities.

Tough times call for creative minds, so I conducted an experiment.

The setting: I invited a cross section of business leaders, creative professionals and entrepreneurs to participate in a prototyping process.

The focus: creating a resource for keeping our thinking fresh and flexible, in the moment and over time. A way to add some creative zest to our work.

The response: smart, talented colleagues and clients from fields including innovation, organizational development, sales and marketing, communications, executive administration and entrepreneurship worked with me to shape the focus, content and presentation of a new resource.

The outcome: Fresh Ideas. Fresh Ideas is a creative catalyst that is

Sustained: Every two weeks, for either six or twelve months, you receive an e-mailed issue describing a specific creative thinking strategy, examples of how it's been used, and ways to apply it yourself.

Informative: The strategies and examples within Fresh Ideas are drawn from past and current literature on creativity, leadership and innovation. The topics are purposefully eclectic, providing a diverse range of starting points.

Actionable: Each issue runs about 500 words, making it easy to absorb and apply quickly. Receiving content in small bites helps you build a habit of thinking more creatively; week after week, application after application, insight after insight.

Engaging: You can learn from others' experiences, and reinforce your own success, by joining the conversation at the Fresh Ideas: What Works blog.

Come take a look. You can preview and work with a few free issues of Fresh Ideas by clicking here.

Better Brainstorming: Charge Admission

2009-10-14T09:13:00.005-04:00

Pulling together some brilliant minds to generate some brilliant ideas?

Make the most of your time together by charging admission to the meeting.

Before holding the group brainstorming session, send a preliminary invitation to your targeted participants. Clearly define the challenge and why it's important, provide as much background information as you think they'll need, and describe what you'd like the brainstorming to produce.

Ask them to independently generate and post several initial ideas. Provide a posting venue they can easily access, such as a

physical venue: using a centrally located whiteboard or flipcharts,
public virtual venue: using a site like evernote or ning,
private virtual venue: like your company intranet or a private LinkedIn group.

Review basic brainstorming etiquette and ask for their ideas by a specific date.

Those that post several ideas, review and build on the ideas already posted, and demonstrate good brainstorming etiquette by the date requested are admitted to the group brainstorming meeting.

The group's time is then used by invested, engaged thinkers to augment and improve their initial ideas.

This approach accommodates different thinking styles, builds in an incubation period, and optimizes the time spent thinking together.

Capitalizing on Conflict

2009-09-17T06:43:00.005-04:00

We should use not only

all the brains we have,

but all that we can borrow. -Woodrow Wilson

Conflict signals the opportunity to learn. Your interpretation of another's behavior, message or intent may be correct, almost correct, or incorrect. Your conflicting point of view may be completely accurate, or may need to be updated.

One of the most impactful responses to conflict is listening.

When you recognize a discussion is entering the realm of conflict:

Stop listening for correctness, or opportunities for rebuttal, and start listening for meaning.

Summarize, in your own words, the other person's point of view. Ask if you heard it right.

Wait for an answer. Make sure that a person that starts a sentence gets to end it.

Don't give up if you don't get it right at first. The greater the distance between your mindsets the greater the opportunity for learning ... and the harder you may have to work.

Ask what you got right, and what's off base.

Pay attention to your emotions. A strong response to a conflicting point of view signals that a deeply held belief is being tested or denied. Check to ensure your nonverbals and word choices are helpful.

Identify what you're learning. Understanding the other point of view doesn't mean you agree with it, just that you're hearing what's meant.

Most of us listen better once we feel understood.

So in addition to creating the opportunity to learn something new, listening in this way increases the likelihood you will be heard in turn.

Bend and Break and Recreate

2009-08-25T15:18:00.004-04:00

If you're not getting the results you want, try breaking - or at least bending - the rules that guide your typical approach.

For example,

Don't immerse yourself in a stubborn challenge. Distance yourself from it.

Creating physical or psychological distance can help us find creative solutions, by changing how we mentally represent things. Distancing from a time (projecting the challenge into the future) or probability (assuming success is more or less likely) perspective can also increase creative thinking.

Learn more about how psychological distance impacts creativity here.

Don't work to understand the challenge. Work to understand the context.

Design thinking helps would-be problem solvers avoid solving the wrong problem by immersing themselves in the world of the user before defining the problem to solve. Reading context clues and observing interactions within the environment can uncover more powerful needs.

Find resources and references for designing discovery strategies here.

Don't meet or exceed expectations. Recreate them.

If you want more of the same, keep doing and thinking what you're doing and thinking. Not everything needs to change. But if you want different results, consider ways to crack open new possibilities here.

At COMPIO, we have been busy prototyping new ways to deliver our services. Stay tuned for updates on what we're learning as we bend and break the rules that have guided our approaches.

Your Priorities Are Showing

2009-07-23T13:28:00.005-04:00

There's a difference between forced-ranking and prioritizing.

Forced ranking is reactive, "With everything there is to do, what to do first?"

Priorities are pro-active; they're what you attend to while everything else waits.

To understand today's priorities, notice where you spend most of your time.

While you're busy with these things, you're setting aside other things.

Moving forward, ask yourself:

How do I define success? This is a good question to revisit regularly.

What am I doing that is getting in the way of my version of success? Find ways to stop doing these things, or do less of them.

What will I do instead, to achieve more of this success? A priority is something you do, not something you intend. If you're not doing it, it's not a priority.

Your priorities shape your success. There's no need for a priorities list - what you do, and don't do, is shouting out what is important to you.

QuestionAble

2009-06-29T08:10:00.000-04:00

When you need a better answer, turn your question on its head.

In other words, create your own version of a Sky Planter :

When you change your focus

from "How to find a job?"
to "How to make it easy for a job to find me?"

or

from "How to use social networking"
to "How to network our various social groups?"

or even

from "How to build a better Swiss army knife?"
to "What could a Swiss army knife be used to build?"

you create a shift that creates new ideas.

So when you get stuck:

- List as many questions as you can about your issue.
- Twist these questions.
- And answer your twisted questions until the ideas start flowing again.

Can You See It?

2009-06-04T15:07:00.001-04:00

Want to make your next presentation even more engaging and memorable?

Create your slide deck using pictures... only pictures.

Select a series of images that illustrate your point

(this will also help you focus your message).

Sequence the images so they tell a story.

And, as you speak, let the images carry your audience

from where they are

to where you want to take them.

Imagery kindles emotions, imagination and personal connections.

Your audience will be more engaged during your talk,

and remember the experience longer after they leave.

To play with this idea, you can:

- Watch National Geographic's David Griffin use this approach.

- Find free images at Wikimedia Commons and Google Images.

- Read Presentation Zen.

Uniquely Effective

2009-05-13T08:31:00.002-04:00

"You are all unique and special, just like everyone else."
- Margaret Mead, anthropologist

Want to become even more effective?

Get very clear about how well today's work aligns with

What you know you do best - the things that make you feel strong when you do them; and
What matters most - the values and drivers that define "good work" for you; and
The stressors that can push your buttons - triggering behaviors that derail your success.

How can you better understand your strengths, drivers and risks?

Conduct an informal 360 feedback process, asking people who know you well to describe the most valuable things you do better than others, what they think keeps you motivated and productive, and what may be blind spots for you; or
Do a self-audit, using a resource like the free Leadership Capital tool; or
Complete a professional assessment and work with a coach to identify how your profile interacts with your goals.

What can you do once you're clear about your strengths, drivers and risks?

Each week, spend a little more of your time on activities that use your strengths.
Every day, work on responsibilities that relate to your interests and values.
Over time, build habits that help you sidestep derailers while you bring more of your best to your work.

We each have the ability to be uniquely effective. The example we set can help others become so too.

T-Shaped Thinking

2009-04-15T15:29:00.000-04:00

When was the last time you did something for the first time?

Specialization can increase productivity at the expense of creativity. Specialists are certainly valuable (would you rather have a surgeon or a family practitioner perform your operation?); but creativity also requires cross-boundary thinking.

The creative consultancy IDEO describes its best employees as "T-shaped." The horizontal line represents breadth of knowledge over many subject areas, and the vertical line represents depth of knowledge and experience in a specific field. Some of their superstars are F-shaped or E-shaped, with broad interests and depth in several fields.

When you live broadly, learning about and getting involved in a variety of activities, you tend to think broadly. You're also more likely to be tolerant of others that think and live broadly.

Bottom line: continue to build your areas of expertise AND devote yourself to the pursuit of interesting new experiences. You'll have more fun while becoming more effective.

Responding to Praise

2009-03-12T11:07:00.001-04:00

Do compliments make you squirm?

If you really want to hear what people think, you need to accept and appreciate all kinds of feedback.

Even praise.

So respond in a way that communicates your openness to feedback:

Maintain eye contact.

Keep an open posture and an open mind as you listen.

Don't question motive or accuracy.

Just say "thank you."

That's it. No quips or self-effacing remarks. No need to agree or disagree.

At that moment, it's really not about you.

It's about the speaker, and what the speaker wants you to know.

Sifting Assumptions

2009-02-26T06:29:00.001-05:00

Our understanding of the rules shapes how we play the game. These rules are learned or based on experience.

Our understanding of the "givens" shapes how we solve our problems. These assumptions are also based on learning and experience, and put boundaries around the options we see.

But there is a way to shift the impact of your assumptions, using them as catalysts for game changing inspirations:

List the "givens" in your challenge. If your challenge has to do with laptop computers, these could include

Laptop computers have keyboards.

They have one screen.

The screen flips up.

We interact with software through the computer ...

Consider each "given" in turn, asking, "What if we changed or reversed this truth in some way; then what could be possible?"

What if they didn't have keyboards? Then ...

What if they had several screens? Then ...

What if there were several screens ... and they interacted with each other? Then ...

David Merrill explored the possibilities listed above while building Siftables.

Siftables are cookie-sized computer tiles that can be stacked and shifted; interacting with the user and each other; creating images, calculations, language, even music. See Siftables in action by clicking here .

A universe of possibility opens up as you learn to recognize, test and challenge your assumptions.

Got Stress?

2009-02-25T03:55:00.001-05:00

Find your funny bone.

Robert Mankoff, Cartoon Editor of The New Yorker magazine, spends his days working with and responding to humor. He sees the affiliative impact it can have, drawing others in and connecting them; and the stress relief and entertainment it provides. He also describes humor as a coping function that opens us up to newer and broader perspectives. "If we can't laugh at something, it means our view is tunnel vision, we are a little bit panicked. As soon as we remove ourselves enough to laugh at something, that actually gives us a wider ambit to think about it." "I don't think you have been in any situation in which you've been developing ideas and things have been creative in which you are not communicating and laughing."

When you need a new and better solution, take a minute to appreciate the lighter side of things. You'll feel better and think bigger, and you'll encourage others to do the same.

Click here for a quick humor break.

Click here to watch Robert Mankoff's interview with Charlie Rose.

Shift Gears

2009-02-24T17:17:00.000-05:00

What's one of your most persistent challenges? You know, one that won't go away - because the strategies you've tried to date haven't been as effective as they need to be.

As you return to the challenge, do you notice that your responses tend to be variations of familiar themes? It's time to deliberately shift gears.

Here's one way to do so:

Write your challenge in the form of a question (How can we...?).

Find a random image that has no relationship to your challenge.

List your reactions to the image - whatever comes to mind.

Re-read your challenge statement, and then one of your impressions.

Assume the impression is a clue to a better solution.

Write down every possible connection or idea that comes to mind.

Move on to the next impression, and repeat as often as necessary.

You can practice this process, using the free Shift Gears tool . If you're lucky, the first image you use will spark promising new associations. More often, it takes several images over time. You will come up with new ideas.

This works because it forces you to begin from a perspective outside your habitual ways of thinking, working harder to make a new kind of connection - understanding and thinking about your challenge in a slightly different way.

Celebrating Well and Often

2009-02-24T07:43:00.001-05:00

Achievement oriented leaders can be quicker to set goals than celebrate progress.

How well and often do you celebrate?

Celebrations are important during good times; and even more important during challenging times.

Taking time to appreciate what you have and what you've accomplished builds resilience, maintains momentum and helps you enjoy success as you create it.

When I asked clients to describe their favorite ways of celebrating, they described

Activities connecting with friends.

Closing the door and taking a minute to savor the accomplishment.

Doing a mitzvah; a good deed for others that extends the good fortune.

Analyzing what worked best, and replaying it in their minds.

Going for a walk, playing music, making a toast, saying a prayer....

The most satisfying celebrations reflected their values and personalities. What kind of celebrations do you enjoy most? Who could you celebrate with more often?

Positive Uses of Negative Spaces

2009-02-23T15:08:00.001-05:00

In art, negative space is what you see around and within the subject of a piece. Negative space can be used dramatically and creatively.

In conversations, you can use the negative space by noticing what's not being said, or the question that hasn't been asked.

Strategically, the negative space holds opportunities created by unexpected or unwanted events. Notice the way future Speaker of the House Rahm Emanuel uses negative space when he says, ''You don't ever want a crisis to go to waste; it's an opportunity to do important things that you would otherwise avoid.'' And the way CMU professor Rami el Samahy, optimizes negative space when he encourages designers studying an urban area to stop trying to bring back those who've left - and start asking themselves what new opportunities the vacant spaces allow them to create.

When you're working on something important,
step back,
consider the context
and look for opportunities in the "negative space."

Heavyweight Challenges

2009-02-23T07:59:00.001-05:00

Those who have been there will tell you;

leadership is hard,

innovations fail more often than they succeed,

and parenting is not for the faint hearted.

Heavyweight challenges require sustained, adaptive and often courageous effort.

What's the most difficult, enduring challenge you continue to pursue?

What values do your non-negotiable aspirations reflect?

Keep going and keep learning.

The greater the challenge

the deeper the insights,

the sweeter the victories,

the more confident your approach to accomplishing even more.

A Notable Strategy

2009-02-22T17:54:00.001-05:00

This year's exceptional events, including some extraordinary stressors, have required new ways of working and thinking. The upside: stressful times are often a catalyst for new insights. The more unusual the times, the greater the likelihood of new ideas.

But it's important to note new ideas quickly, before losing them in the press of the day. Doing so creates a personal source book for future accomplishments.

Notable, a portable tool for catching and creating good ideas in the moment, is a thoughtful resource that grows in value with each entry. As you use Notable, or give it to others to use, you're reinforcing a practical, generative habit that has fueled the success of leaders throughout time.

The tool you use to capture interesting ideas, insights and information isn't as important as the habit of capturing them quickly. Write, diagram or cut and paste them into whatever type of journal works best for you. Return to these ideas now and then, looking for ways to connect and buld the most notable ones.

Partnering for Productivity

2009-02-22T08:20:00.000-05:00

How well do you use complementary types of expertise to advance your work - even if they come from outside your organization?

Proctor and Gamble's "connect + develop" strategy was designed to leverage their R&D resources. They post their challenges on-line and elicit bids from others who can help them. This strategy has led to a dramatic increase in productivity and innovation success rates.

Define what you do best. Find ways to spend more of your time exercising those capabilities, and develop relationships with partners whose strengths complement yours. This strategy works on an individual, team and organizational level.

Experimenting with Success

2009-02-21T16:15:00.001-05:00

Ralph Waldo Emerson observed that, "All life is an experiment; the more experiments you make the better."

Emerson also said, "Make the most of yourself, for that is all there is of you."

The link between these two thoughts: when you have something important to accomplish, but are not quite sure how to achieve it, try a few experiments.

Create a hypothesis, or even just an interesting idea, and test it - with the goal of learning something new and useful. Identify what you learned and let that shape your next experiment.

This strategy can reduce your level of risk and break big challenges into a series of more manageable queries.

Generative Strengths

2009-02-21T09:41:00.001-05:00

Our strengths are the things we consistently and easily do better than most. We tend to be drawn to situations that require them, because they challenge us in ways we like to be challenged. As we learn how to use certain strengths to accomplish what's important, they become generative strengths.

This applies on both a personal level and a business level.

Think about your best successes to date. What strengths supported each of them? Which strengths cut across most of them?

Corning has produced life-changing technologies for over 100 years. Their process for sustained creativity is a generative strength. This strength enabled them to create the first successful light bulbs for Thomas Edison ... and then a machine to mass produce them. They mass-produced glass color-TV tubes, dominating the market to the point the U.S. Justice Department got involved. They moved on again - to make most of the thermometer glass sold in our country, window glass for the United States' first manned spaceships, and the technology that lets you take a dish from freezer to oven to table. But Corning's business isn't about light bulbs, TV tubes or dishes today. They invented optical fiber, a piece of technology without which there would be no internet or commercialized LCD glass, and are now working with several other promising new ideas.

Which of your distinctive strengths will you use to create new forms of success?

Failing Well

2009-02-19T17:07:00.001-05:00

Big ambitions and big achievements require a resilience honed by setbacks, new learning, and a commitment to your version of success. In his commencement address at San Francisco State University, Mayor Gavin Newsom highlighted setbacks navigated by some notable achievers:

Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team ... because he wasn't good enough.

Elvis Presley got an F in Music.

Winston Churchill finished last in his class ... and later remarked that the secret to success was "going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm."

Another notable Churchill observation: "Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts." What historical heavyweight do you think persevered through the following?

1831: failed in business.

1832: lost his bid for a legislative seat.

1834: failed again in business.

1835: sweetheart died.

1836: had a nervous breakdown.

1838: lost his second political race.

1843: defeated for Congress.

1846: defeated for Congress.

1848: defeated for Congress.

1855: defeated for US Senate.

1856: defeated for Vice President.

1858: defeated for US Senate.

In 1860 he was elected 16th President of the United States.

What types of challenges are worth pursuing even though you may fail?

What was the best mistake you ever made?

COMPIO means "I accomplish." When you're ready to accomplish more, we're here to help.

Conceptual Creativity

2009-02-19T12:01:00.000-05:00

When someone says "I'm not creative" they often mean "I'm not artistic." Artistic creativity produces experiences that help us see or understand things in a new way. Conceptual creativity identifies new ways to meet an important challenge. Conceptual creativity is both new and relevant.

Conceptual creativity is the engine of business innovation. It helps us solve problems in new ways - often by integrating current knowledge with new concepts. When Henry Ford wanted a faster, cheaper way to make cars, he combined his knowledge of automobile production with concepts from meat packing (assembly lines), the US Army (interchangeable mechanical parts), and cigarette production (continuous-flow production).

Transportation expert Robin Chase combined wireless technology, fleet service and pay-as-you-go concepts to create Zip Car (http://www.zipcar.com/ ), a rapidly growing urban car sharing service. She built on the success of this venture by combining social networking and wireless technology to create GoLoco (http://www.goloco.org/greetings/guest), a service that creates personal public transportation networks. Conceptual creativity and artistic creativity are both fueled by exposure to diverse fields of knowledge.

Coaching tip: Take quick, enriching breaks that expose you to ideas from many fields by clicking onto http://ted.com/ about once a week and watching one of their brief but "inspired talks by the world's greatest thinkers and doers." Make a note (see http://www.compio.net/Notable.asp ) of interesting ideas from each talk. This practice will develop a source book of approaches and ideas to consider as you address your next important challenge.

Your Leadership Wake

2009-02-18T13:57:00.001-05:00

Today's note is inspired by a quote attributed to Hans Sachs, 16C poet, singer and dramatist,

"Mensch, was du tust, bedenk' das End; das wird die höchste Weisheit genennt."

("People, when you do something, think of the end result; that is the wisest approach.")

So, for centuries leaders have been working to "start with the end in mind."

Personal Leadership Link: Every conversation leaves an emotional aftermath - how do you want others to say they feel after spending time with you?

Coaching Point: What habit could you develop to create this kind of impact?

Welcome to Quick Notes

2009-02-18T13:03:00.000-05:00

My name is Tracy Fuller, I'm the Managing Director of COMPIO. In April 2008, I started experimenting with sending clients and colleagues brief, intermittent prompts for approaching their work more creatively and effectively. My goal was to share simple, actionable ways to continuously increase their effectiveness.

These "Quick Notes" were well received and their distribution list grew. Recipients often sent me replies containing feedback and their own ideas. I've started this blog to accomplish two aims:

create a bank of past and current Quick Notes
provide a forum for posting how you applied the prompts, ask questions, or share your own helpful resources.

I'll post the past Quick Notes over the next few days. Once I've caught up to the current post, you'll notice that new Quick Notes only start appearing every few weeks. You're busy, I'm busy and I only create them when I run across a potent opportunity or notice a repeating theme across different clients' work. Your comments and feedback are, of course, always welcome.

I hope you enjoy these Quick Notes and find them helpful. Let me know what you think.

Here's to your continued success -