Jeffrey Cufaude, Idea Architects

Owning the Outcomes; Renting the Responsibilities

2009-10-08T02:24:00.003-04:00

When I worked on the college campus, semester’s end was always a goldmine for dumpster divers. Actually, they didn’t even have to dive; just roam the curbs and the apartment complexes. There they would find stacks of still desirable furniture that apartment tenants willingly left behind. Departing students also often left their security deposit, seeing it as spent money not worth recouping compared to the hard work of cleaning and detailing the home they would never see again.

Most of us in North America now live in such a discard and dash world, one offering an abundance of products sufficiently constructed to last for a decent amount of time, and inexpensive enough to ditch without guilt when they break. The cost of repairing often exceeds the cost of purchasing new.

Of course, being guilt-free depends on not considering the many costs never accounted for: all that trash going to a landfill; the packaging, shipping, storing, of new goods, etc. And there is a huge psychological cost, perhaps the most important one of all. If you buy a cheap product you don’t expect to last, what’s your incentive to try and preserve it? To take care of it? To truly feel a sense of ownership? When so many purchases become impermanent, doesn’t that also make the quality of life somewhat temporary?

That’s why I find something valuable (and not just nostalgic) about objects and institutions designed to endure, ones sturdily crafted to pass from generation to generation. Many leaders say we no longer can create organizations and companies that are Built to Last as identified by Jim Collins and Jerry Porras in their seminal work of the same name. Fast Company magazine years ago introduced questioned if organizations instead needed to be built to flip.

I think a hybrid of the two perspectives is probably true: we need organizations that overall are built to last, but ones with products and programs that are built to flip to meet timely needs and aspirations consistent with the organization’s timeless purpose and values. But are individuals living in a world in which little is built to last prepared to thoughtfully steward an organization that hopefully will endure? If they are used to throwing something out when it breaks, how will they address the typical challenges and setbacks encountered in organizations? Will they understand the importance of taking the long view for decisions and program development, not just cranking out something good enough for now?

While stakeholders and society ultimately determine if our organizations and their initiatives are built to last, we still choose how we approach our leadership responsibilities. Let’s choose to find pride in creating or contributing to something that might stand the proverbial test of time, of being a part of not just the timely but also the timeless. Let's make the choices that will allow our organizations to be homes for many more generations. No landlord is standing by for all call when something breaks. We can’t be content to leave the place trashed and hope our security deposit will cover the damage.

All of us are temporary stewards, and we have to own the outcomes even while we rent the responsibilities. That’s the only way our institutions and organizations have been passed on to us; it’s the only way we can do the same for the next generation of leaders.

The Realities Time Replaces

2009-10-02T13:25:00.003-04:00

I haven't worked a minimum-wage job since 1980.

I haven't been a renter for the past 15 years.

I last supervised a full-time staff more than a decade ago.

2001 was when I last spent significant time exploring Seattle.

So do my memories of the way it was for each of these circumstances have anything to do with the way it is now and the way it will be in the future?

The present often calls on us to offer observations, make decisions, and share opinions. In doing so, we would be wise to remember the limited shelf-life of our insight and understanding and not assume our past recollection matches current reality.

Have Xers Sold Out?

2009-09-30T18:54:00.001-04:00

A lot of association bloggers have been sharing their own thoughts on this question, one posed by Maddie Grant of Social Fish. If the question gets your interest, you can read some of the responses by checking them out at The Association Blogoclump.

I don't feel I have much new thinking to add to others' great insights, but I did want to share my comment to Maddie's original post as it is a bit different than what I've seen on the other blogs. Here it is:

The “selling out” charge has a caustic sting to it as it implies we aren’t meeting some universally agreed-upon standard. But for anyone to level that accusation implies we had an agreement, a contract to act and choose a certain way and that I am now violating those terms. I don’t recall ever entering into such an agreement.

So cliche comments get lobbed our way: “You’re not the person you once were.” You’re right. I’m not and neither are you (that’s a universal you, not a Maddie grant you). I’m not the person I was a year ago, nor am I the person I will become a year from now. Our choices, like our identities, are fluid and in a state of fairly regular flux. Different strokes, different sensibilities.

Are we less edgy? Have we sold out? Who the hell knows? Edgy by whose standards? Mine? Yours? And if someone sees me as edgy, it says as much about how they see themselves and their work as it does about how I see myself and my work.

I think people spend too much energy worrying about being edgy, cool, and cutting edge. Do good work that you believe in and that represents as much of your authenticity as you are in touch with at any given moment. How the world talks about it really doesn’t matter all that much.

Driving Ideas on Your Innovation Highway

2009-09-30T08:55:00.007-04:00

The way drivers merge from the highway on-ramp into a lane of traffic parallels how people introduce ideas into an organization's innovation pipeline:

The Coast is Clear driver waits until no cars can be seen in the first lane of traffic before even beginning to attempt a merge. The car merges safely, but often creates quite the backup at the on-ramp.

The Here I Come driver does the reverse, barreling into the lane at full speed regardless of the existing flow of traffic. Other cars often have to change lanes to avoid a collision.

The Get in the Gap driver merges at the first sign of available space, but often does so too slowly instead of quickly accelerating to the flow of traffic. As a result other cars have to slow down.

The I'm Coming Through driver flies straight from the ramp across multiple lanes of traffic instead of successfully merging into the first lane and then changing lanes one at a time.

The Fast and Focused driver accelerates on the ramp and enters the lane at relatively the same speed of other cars, merging successfully into an appropriate opening between cars.

Each of these driving approaches—whether you are trying to drive a car on the highway or an idea into your organization's menu of activity—has risks associated with it. Only the Fast and Focused approach, however, uses the time before entry to get up to speed so once in traffic you can drive without disrupting the flow of other cars or ideas.

Out of Order

2009-09-28T08:53:00.001-04:00

Salad, entree, dessert. That's the proper order for an enjoyable meal, right?

Except in Europe where you are more likely to end with a salad.

While we treat the salad as an appetizer in North America, Europeans see it as meal-ending digestive aid with the oil and vinegar in the dressing helping to break up the fats just consumed.

A predictable order to any common activity can be comforting to some, it can quickly become an unnecessary fixed routine that is just one step away from a rut.

Periodically going "out of order" is definitely in order if you want to surprise and reengage people's attention and interest … at a meal, in a magazine or publication, during a conference general session, in a staff meeting, and in many other events.

Multiple Personalities Order

2009-09-26T09:01:00.006-04:00

I think we all have multiple personality disorder, except that I wouldn't call it disorder. I wouldn't call it anything. It's just a characteristic of being human.

Some mornings I wake up and while singing Sondheim songs in the shower I think about stage moments from roles long past (Albert, Bud Frump, Rolf) and leading man parts I still dream of playing.

Drawing a shot of espresso with perfect crema, I envision myself as a barista in a 100-square foot coffee bar just big enough for me and 2 or 3 of the regular customers whose lives I have become intimately familiar with since most of their days involve spending time with me.

Hosting friends for brunch and doing my best Martha Stewart impersonation (presentation really does matter) the names of the many restaurants and hotels I have thought of opening run through my mind.

Musical theatre star, barista, hospitality impresario—on any given day, these are just a few of the identities (in addition to the ones I currently embody) that I know would bring me much joy and satisfaction.

We owe it to ourselves (and others) to create space in our lives for the many aspects of our "self" that we want to authentically explore and experience. Our multiple interests and personalities only become a disorder when we don't give them a home in our personal and professional lives. The opportunity (and the challenge) is to integrate and order our many part-time personalities into full-time fulfillment.

Toward a More Sustainable You

2009-09-23T15:38:00.004-04:00

One of the new keynotes/workshops I've been presenting this year explores the beliefs and habits that will support a more sustainable you … you the person and you the professional. Note: I also have a version for organizations).

Here are some of the gentle reminders often shared in the individual version of this topic. You also can download a one-page PDF with these tips.

Relinquish your need for others to see things as you do.
Recharge you physical well-being with a new habit you can definitely keep.
Resign from one activity, commitment, or organization that doesn't contribute positively to your life.
Reflect regularly on what you are learning and can apply with rgeater intention.
Release an unproductive belief/behavior that limits our possibilities.
Relax your definition of what it means to live the good life.
Reconnect with someone whose insight and perspective you value.
Renew a skill or competency to gain a competitive advantage.
Recommit to a daily or weekly habit that strengthens you as a person.
Refresh your energy and passion for something you genuinely want to help create.
Reset your clock to reflect today's realities.
Realign your behaviors with a value that is important to you.
Reframe a challenge as an opportunity with steps to address it.
Reduce what you believe you need in order to live comfortably.
Review your aspirations and intentions and adjust your time commitments.
Reboot your mental operating system and refresh you curiosity and openness.

Is Your Decorum Just Decor?

2009-09-16T07:27:00.002-04:00

No doubt the political chatterati will dissect Joe Wilson's outburst for another day or so, but I want to examine it from an organizational development standpoint while trying to avoid any political inferences. So let's look at the 4 major actions that occurred and some of the OD questions we might want to consider for our own organizations.

1. An organization has standing rules about decorum during particular types of events.

Having a code of conduct, guidelines for professional practices, or statement of shared values is fairly common among all types of organizations. These statements of ethics are supposed to guide individual behavior and reflect the ethos of the community. In Built to Last, Jim Collins and Jerry Porras found that the most successful companies were cult-like about their core ideology. And there's that old saying, "If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything."

2. An individual behaves in a manner that violates those rules.

One of the challenges organizations have with codes of conduct is what enforcement mechanism, if any, is put into place for the stated standards. Guidelines are nice, but when they are violated you often find the parties affected to be seeking rules that have teeth. If you are going to plant a stake in the ground, you need to do so after giving careful consideration to how violations will be treated, who will make that determination, and what type of appeals process should be provided.

3. The individual apologizes.

I think at least two interesting questions emerge at this stage: (1) is/isn't an apology enough? and (2) to whom should the apology be directed? We are human beings who make mistakes. Acknowledging the mistake apologizing to those affected, and then realigning our behavior with the stated values is a fairly common way of making amends.

But to whom should our apology be directed? In the case of Representative Wilson, his initial apology was directed to President Obama since the President was the person Wilson had interrupted. But the actual rule/code of conduct comes not from the President, but the House. So in some respects the House—the community with the standards—is perhaps the body that should ultimately receive the apology.

Organizations have to decide when to make exceptions to a rule or else abide by rigid zero tolerance policies that often mete our extreme punishments for minor first-time offenses. Being clear about what variables could influence when exceptions are granted can increase the likelihood that decisions/responses will be seen as fair.

Individuals need to take a broader view of the other parties to whom they are accountable and who might be affected by their behavior. What one does often affects many more then might initially be determined.

4. The organization rebukes the individual for the behavioral violation.

Degrees of responses/punishments are always options and can include simple statements of reprimands (You broke a rule. We noticed. Don't do it again.) to stated fines and punishments as often occurs in professional sports. Organizations often get criticized for encoring their stated standards (couldn't you just look the other way) which I always find misplace. If we don't enforce what we say we believe, we essentially are violating are own code of conduct. Could we look the other way? Sure. Should we look the other way? Rarely in my book.

Doing so teaches others that it's possible to violate standards without consequences (remember not all responses have to be extreme punishments). When your members have that understanding you will find it often yields damaging consequences down the road.

How Too Much Help Actually Hurts

2009-09-12T10:57:00.000-04:00

I recently attended a local volunteer meeting. Led by a very dedicated and capable volunteer, the 60-minute meeting consisted almost exclusively of him giving updates on various agenda items. Others attending then commented or responded to his questions. If someone would have been watching, but not listening, it might have appeared to be a graduate seminar in a professor's home. It was a decidedly one-sided conversation, and not one I would feel the need to participate in again.

Here's the problem, a common one in a lot of organizations, particularly at the local volunteer level. While everyone attending this meeting cares deeply and is willing to get involved, one individual drives the momentum and effort. It's not sustainable. At some point he will burn out and a leadership vacuum might emerge. And by holding too much of the responsibility for what gets done, he limits the group's productivity and impedes others' initiative. He's not being dictatorial, but his over-responsibility creates others' under-responsibility, a dynamic that Roger Martin explored in his excellent book, The Responsibility Virus.

Maintaining the right balance of responsibility between leaders and followers or contributors requires great attention and vigilance. If the leadership takes too little responsibility, others can flounder, use resources unproductively, or fail to follow-through appropriately. If the leadership takes on too much responsibility, others might think their ideas and assistance is not needed or allow the leadership to do all the work.

People with drive and commitment often find themselves promoted to (or selected for) positions of leadership. But they have a predisposition to "doer-ship." That is, their greatest gift is getting things done. Too bad they now are in a position that has helping others get things done as one of its primary responsibilities. If you find yourself in meetings where all eyes and ears are focused on one individual (maybe it's you!), it might be worth thinking about recalibrating the balance of responsibility.

What Tennis Teaches About Strategy and Innovation

2009-09-11T05:35:00.003-04:00

My competitive sport of choice is tennis, and in honor of this week's US Open, I want to offer an observation on what tennis can teach us about strategy and innovation.

Winning points is simple: either your opponent makes an error or you hit a winner. This is true for just about any business as well: a competitor offers an inferior product or service (losing) or you innovate and deliver greater value (winning).

But not all winners are created the same in tennis (or business). The points that get the most applause during a match are often the outright winners ... the service ace, the ripping return, the overhead hit out of the court. Thrilling as those are to hit, they don't represent the majority of points won in most matches.

Instead, most points are won after longer rallies in which players use each shot hit to methodically gain a competitive advantage through court position, depth of the ball, and angle of placement. The best players stay light on their feet between strokes, hovering around an approximate center point that allows them to quickly move to their opponent's return. Players often throw in a low percentage shot simply to mix up the game and see how their opponent reacts. Doing so causes their opponent to second-guess what they might do when facing a similar shot selection in the future. Points are often won (and energy is conserved) when a player sees an opponent hit a short ball or one that will rise high above the net, and they move forward to close in on the ball and hit the winner. Finally, every player has certain strength shots that they turn to when backed into a difficult situation.

That sounds like a good strategy for anyone looking to innovate, regardless of the line of business. Stay positioned close to your center (your core mission and products or services) as you look to strike. Have sufficient patience to put into place today, the processes and people whose future efforts in the future will deliver great returns. Avoid making outright errors that result from pure carelessness as opposed to the missteps that result from strategic exploration. Remain ever-ready to move forward when opportunities for quick winners present themselves. Leverage your proven capabilities when you absolutely have to win.

The Power of the Platform

2009-09-10T05:21:00.000-04:00

Three bags of books had been readied for Goodwill when it occurred to me that I should consider selling some of them as an Amazon Reseller. After all, I often buy used books from resellers, why wouldn't people do the same from me?

It took me about 5 minutes to open a reseller account and another 15 to list the 30 or so books (and a barely used set of Mikasa Arabella china in case you're looking) that had decent resale value. It has been only two weeks, but already 17 items have been purchased totaling $400 in revenue after Amazon's approximately 30% commission on each sale.

Amazon provided the platform and tools that turned me into an active and satisfied reseller, generating revenue for itself and allowing me to turn content gathering dust on my shelves into a value/revenue stream for myself.

Too bad our professional associations don't provide a similar simple and user-friendly platform that allows members to generate a return on investment for their ideas and knowledge while simultaneously delivering value to the association and the membership as a whole.

Leaders Don't Get Unlimited Minutes Plans

2009-09-07T12:40:00.002-04:00

The huffing and puffing over President Obama's address to children is far too much ado about nothing (though the now-removed question from the lesson plans was an initial error in judgment).

However, it does remind us that no leader is living with an unlimited calling plan (sorry T-Mobile). The soapbox eventually gets worn down and you no longer can be seen above the crowd if your voice is always the one being heard.

Individuals in leadership need to honor the principle of limited air time, speaking only when they have a unique contribution to make or when a message will be more effectively if voice by them. Otherwise, they should allow, encourage, and amplify other voices.

As with so many other things, less again can be more.

It's a Matter of Pride

2009-08-30T13:40:00.003-04:00

When people are proud, they don't stop with just good enough.

When people are proud, they search for opportunities to contribute, to make a difference, to model the way.

When people are proud, they manage themselves and require less oversight from leaders.

When people are proud, they convey a deep conviction and a contagious enthusiasm.

When people are proud, they do things because they want to, not because they have to.

When people are proud, they take greater satisfaction in accomplishments ... theirs and those of others.

When people are proud, their energy is the fuel that ignites others.

Perhaps Jon Katzenbach, Why Pride Matters Most, said it best: “People who are emotionally committed to something … behave in ways that defy logic and often produce results well beyond expectations.”

—

Storytelling: The Need for Narrative

2009-08-26T08:09:00.004-04:00

Big-city amenities with a small town feel. Great quality of life for the price. Amazing downtown that is clean, safe, and filled with amenities. So easy to do so much. A place that moves in new directions a bit conservatively, but when it does, it almost always does so successfully. An overall B+/A- place to call home that is relatively hassle-free.

This is the story that those of us living in Indianapolis told others (and each other) during the early years of this decade. This is the story that has produced (among other successes) the gleaming White River State Park filled with cultural destinations, the Canal Walk, an outdoor music amphitheater and much more. It’s the tale that no doubt helped us secure the 2012 Super Bowl, quite a coup given the competition and the potential for a very cold January. This is the story that made you feel good about living in a place that some still refer to as India – No – Place.

While remnants of this story still creep into conversations, they no longer saturate them. Much of this is due to the changed economic conditions that have put some developments on hold, trimmed back others, and made balancing the city budget quite difficult. This more challenging climate, however, should only have dampened the fire of what was a very compelling narrative shared by many. …

… If our civic leaders would have kept telling the story. But they haven’t. When we talk about the power of storytelling, we often reference sitting around the campfire. But any campfire goes dark unless it is provided with new kindling and timber and stirred and stoked periodically to spread the burning embers.

When our citizens elected a new mayor in November of 2007 they not only changed administrations, they voted out some of our primary storytellers. This isn’t unusual. Candidates often win elections because they tell a new or different story that voters find appealing. But our previous mayor was voted out largely due to public opposition on tax matters. People didn’t vote against the city’s story he helped cultivate. They didn’t even vote for a new story since the eventual victor didn’t really have one.

Our new mayor presents himself as a “get down to business” brass tacks kind of guy. He prides himself on being no nonsense and frequently cites lessons learned form his military career. He rightly focuses a great deal of energy on addressing the significant infrastructure needs that any major city has, and he is indeed making some progress.

All this is well and good. But his story isn’t our story. Sidewalks and safety fall at the base of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Important as they are, they aren't the narrative fuel that unites a community, inspires passionate and vibrant nonprofits, fully engages corporate generosity, and helps continue to shape a world-class convention and tourism destination.

And in the absence of a shared story whose flames are stoked by very visible storytellers, we are left with many smaller stories told on smaller soapboxes to more isolated audiences. It's fragmented. Pockets of pride can be found from some storytellers, but the waves of momentum and synergy are much smaller. And some stories and storytellers are not so positive. Some don’t contribute to our growth and development. Some even suck the energy out of the civic fabric. And worse yet, many people now have no story that they believe in or tell to others.

Every successful institution—company, school, community, association—has at one time achieved great things because of the stories its leaders, and more importantly, its members, residents, or stakeholders have told. People need a future to believe in and need to know that others not only believe in that story, but are working together to make it a reality. CEOs don’t necessarily have to be great storytellers, but they do need to insure that a great story is being told.

What’s the story being told in a place you care about?

There's More than One Way to Score Runs

2009-08-21T07:15:00.001-04:00

The over-the-fence homer is a guaranteed crowd pleaser at a ballgame. One crack of the bat can send the fans to their feet and put another run on the scoreboard.

Far less thrilling, but equally valuable when it comes to winning games, is the slower and more methodical approach of putting people on base and then advancing them to home plate. The final score doesn’t denote how the runs were earned … just that they were.

When it comes to organizational innovation, too many people think only of home runs, of the star player who takes a turn at bat and hits it out of the park. Read any of the research about how innovation actually occurs and you learn it results from a mix of striking out at the plate and a lot of singles and doubles to finally earn a run. And periodically a sacrificial bunt is required to get just the right product or service created.

Organizational executives and strategy consultants do a huge disservice to the innovation process when they focus too exclusively on just the big swings, the home runs of idea generation and implementation. It falsely defines innovation and makes it appear out of reach for some of the game’s most important players.

Just as no baseball manager can make having a star player hit a home run a defining strategy for a game, neither can any leader rely excessively on one or two individuals, committees, or divisions, to deliver the game-winning hit on demand. Organizations instead need a deep bench of players with varying capabilities and a clear strategy for advancing ideas one base at a time. That’s what puts runs on the scoreboard and delivers value to members or customers.

Saving time or time to savor?

2009-08-15T16:54:00.005-04:00

Saturday morning found me chopping vegetables and making homemade bread ... aka, "trying to use up everything in my CSA box before another one comes this week."

I probably spent about 2-3 hours total cooking away, knowing full well that the farmer's market sells the very bread I was making and that I could pick up a bag of chopped frozen vegetables anytime at the grocer's.

And I remember my first association job where four professionals with graduate degrees gathered around a small table every other week to label and stuff envelopes for a member mass mailing. Mundane work indeed, but the time together was filled with lots of laughs, informal brainstorming, and periodic deep dives on strategic questions we needed to address.

In their great book, The Experience Economy, authors B. Joseph Pine II and James H. Gilmore use the example of birthday cakes to explain how our economy has evolved from extracting commodities (flour, eggs, butter) … to making goods (using a pre-made cake mix) … to delivering services (buying a cake from the bakery) … to staging experiences (outsourcing the bday party to Chuck E. Cheese).

But we're starting to see numerous examples of people "regressing" from being spectators at staged experiences to becoming more involved in the creation process once again … some because of economic realities and some because of a desire to reconnect with the craft itself.

Perhaps the time-savers in our life might actually be depriving us from investing time in activities and relationships we can savor.

Swifferize Your Routine

2009-08-11T06:16:00.005-04:00

For millions of people, Swiffer products have been a game-changer, offering a quick and convenient way to clean your floors on a more regular basis between deeper cleanings. I love being able to catch all the dust accumulating in just a few minutes.

Every now and then we all stop and sort through the stacks of clippings, unread professional publications, notes from conferences attended and the like. To be truly effective though, we need to complement these episodic organizational deep dives with more ongoing review and action.

Example: While I use an electronic calendar and organizer, I go low-tech for my daily routine. On a 3x5 index card, I note my appts. and tasks for the day on one side. As things come up during the day that I need to remember and/or act upon, I note those on the other side. The card is my key to portable productivity. At the end of the day, I clear the card, reviewing both sides and taking the necessary actions.

Take 10 minutes right now and figure out one way you can Swifferize the way you manage your desktop (actual desk, mental, and/or computer).

The clutter you remove just might lead to the clarity you seek.

Garage Sale Economics

2009-08-04T21:59:00.003-04:00

A complete set of Aunt Martha's cherished china that has been passed on from generation to generation? $15.

An heirloom puppet you once used to entertain all the neighborhood kids? $3

The plastic patio table and faded umbrella under which so much laughter with good friends occurred? $25

This is the time of year when so many look to reduce the clutter in their lives and use cheap prices to entice us to increase ours. It's a time-honored ritual in which we ignore the sentimental value and meaning attached to objects and instead opt for the joy of empty shelves and a bit more breathing room.

So many companies and associations would benefit from having a garage sale of their own, purging themselves of the programs or services that have little value but people just can't seem to part with yet. Only by letting go does new space become available for what we have yet to create.

August Reading Marathon

2009-07-30T21:33:00.003-04:00

Heaven help me.

August 1 marks the first day of my 35 books in 35 days professional reading marathon. Thank goodness I have a hiking/writing vacation planned immediately after the marathon concludes. In three cases, I will be doing a deeper read of a book I have previously skimmed.

I've selected seven themes for the reading, and my plan is to post interesting quotes and insights via Twitter as I read each book. Once I've finished all the books in a theme, I will compose a longer blog post that highlights the various texts, compares and contrasts, etc. Here are the themes and titles:

1. Work and organizations

Talent is Overrated by Geoff Colvin
Elsewhere USA by Dalton Conley
Why Work Sucks by Cali Ressler and Jody Thompson
Saving the World at Work by Tim Sanders
The Levity Effect by Adrian Gostick and Scott Christopher

2. Internet culture and its impact

Free by Chris Anderson
And Then There’s This by Bill Wasik
Here Comes Everybody by Clay Shirky
Grown Up Digital by Donald Tapscott
Groundswell by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff

3. Creativity, design, and innovation

In Pursuit of Elegance by Matthew May
The Element by Ken Robinson
Ignore Everybody by Hugh MacLeod
Get Back in the Box by Douglas Rushkoff
The Laws of Simplicity by John Maeda

4. Society, the world, and the economy

Life Inc. by Douglas Rushkoff
The Tyranny of Dead Ideas by Matt Miller
The Blue Sweater by Jacqueline Novogratz
The Age of the Unthinkable by Joshua Cooper Ramo
The Necessary Revolution by Peter Senge
Deep Economy by Bill McKibben
Enough by John Bogle

5. Decision-making

Nudge by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein
Hard Facts, Dangerous Half-Truths & Total Nonsense by Jeffrey Pfeffer and Robert Sutton
The Black Swan by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Judgment by Noel Tichy and Warren Bennis
Crowdsourcing by Jeff Howe

6. Thinking and attention

The Starfish and the Spider by Ori Brafman and Rod Beckstrom
The Opposable Mind by Roger Martin
A Perfect Mess by Eric Abrahamson and David Freedman
Five Minds for the Future by Howard Gardner
Rapt by Winifred Gallagher

7. Leadership

Tribes by Seth Godin
Leading with Questions by Michael Marquardt
The Introverted Leader by Jennifer Kahnweiler
Sala, Soul, and Spirit: Leadership for a Multicultural Age by Juana Bordas

The saddest part of it all? It still leaves me about 40 books unread.

Time to Move from "If Only" to Only If"

2009-07-28T07:20:00.003-04:00

They must be the two most frequently spoken words on the planet: if only.

If only we had more time, we could develop better strategies for the future.

If only we had more money, we'd be able to add lots of special touches to this project.

If only we had a few different board members, we could be much more innovative.

But we don't have those things and most likely we won't have those things. So letting what we know we can't have get in the way of managing what we do is a copout.

It's time to move from if only to only if.

We'll develop better strategies for the future only if we create systems and have conversations that effectively use our limited time.

We'll add lots of special touches to this project only if we make better use of the dollars we have available or identify creative additions that don't cost much at all.

We'll be more innovative only if we develop a better relationship with the board so they will feel more comfortable supporting ideas they currently see as risky.

Powerful Presentations Tip #7: Prepare to be Present

2009-07-27T05:54:00.005-04:00

I hope you've enjoyed these seven tips/steps to more powerful presentations. Currently I am designing a PDF booklet that expands on each of the tips and provides additional examples and supportive material. I'll announce on the blog when it is available.

I'll be doing a three-hour workshop exploring the 7-step design process on Monday, October 19, from 1:15-4:15 p.m. in Washington, DC. Registration is limited to 30 participants and information can be found here. It will be an interactive afternoon filled with lots of idea sharing and additional tips to strengthen your your workshop/presentation design and facilitation capabilities.

Now on to the final step/tip: Prepare to be present.

While the previous six steps/tips are each critical to creating a more powerful learning experience, they must be buttressed by the power of presence, the ultimate presenter gift to participants.

We’ve all been in a session in which the room crackled with energy and insight. That doesn’t happen when presenters are so tied to their slides, notes, and outline that everything runs according to script. In the best sessions the learning happens in the center of the room, in that space where participant and presenter contributions collide, mix, and form new meaning and understanding.

That only occurs when you as the presenter have prepared exhaustively resulting in your ultimate command of the content and your total ease with modifying format and focus on the fly based on participants’ needs and energy. Facilitating learning is an improvisational skill. The best presenters take every offbeat line and curve participants throw at them and respond, “Yes, and” just as great improvisation requires. Saying no stops the energy, the flow, and ultimately, the learning.

This is why great presenting is so difficult, but so worthwhile. It requires you to prepare so thoroughly that you can effortlessly reorder your content or change the learning format for a particular segment without participants knowing you have done so. It demands the deepest listening and awareness … to what is being said now, to what has been said before, to what is not being said … and to connect these thoughts in real-time to the overall content you are presenting. On days when I have been most successful as a presenter, I finish the session completely spent from the external conversations I have had with participants and the internal discussions I have had with myself.

So once you complete a session design that you find satisfying, direct your attention to all the questions you need to answer and the actions you need to takes o that you can be 100% present during the presentation. Turning off your cellphone isn’t enough. You have to turn off the rest of the world so that nothing interferes with the incredible opportunity you’ve been given … to turn on the learning and understanding participants come to us seeking.

Taking Care of Yourself

2009-07-24T09:23:00.003-04:00

What you eat matters.

Building your strength, endurance, and flexibility through exercise matters.

How much sleep you get matters.

Taking time to relax and rejuvenate matters.

Laughing matters.

Time with people important to you matters.

Hobbies matter.

You can read professional journals, participate in webinars, have the very best mentors, and attend all the conferences you want, but if you don't take good care of the person behind the professional, it won't matter.

A Kinder Garden for Better Thinking

2009-07-20T10:12:00.002-04:00

I've been doing a lot of reading on the power of play and the positive role it plays in learning, strategy development, creativity, and innovation.

Doing so caused me to do a little research on the word kindergarten. German in origin, it literally means children (kinder) and garden (garten). Friedrich Froebel, the German educator who coined the term, created in 1840 a Play and Activity Institute. He renamed it kindergarten two years later, envisioning the kindergarten educational experience as a garden for children where they could grow and develop, as well as interact with real gardens and nature.

I like the origin of the word and think the garden metaphor is ripe with opportunities for talking about how ideas are planted, nurtured, and harvested in an organization.

But what has most stayed with me is seeing the word split into its two roots: kinder and garden. While the Germanic meaning of kinder is clearly children, seeing the word for its other meaning—being more kind—also holds great relevance for the power of play.

We will only produce breakthrough thinking and innovative solutions if we treat our colleagues, stakeholders, and thinking partners with greater kindness and respect and increase our willingness to play and think with just about anyone instead of the usual suspects or the proven partners whom we may now favor.

Powerful Presentations Tip #6: Great Slides Are By Design, Not Default

2009-06-30T10:22:00.004-04:00

Many conferences no longer provide handouts as they green their meetings, and I’m all for anything that reduces paper waste. That said, well-designed handouts (not just slides reprinted in handout form) can be a valuable interactive tool to engage participants in notetaking and other written exercises. While I don’t use handouts for all my sessions, I do see them as integral to many presentations and lament others who forget their potential to enhance learning.

If you are going to do handouts, do so with great intention. Design printed materials that will support and supplement the overall learning experience you are trying to create. Use page layout programs like Pagemaker or InDesign so they are more visually appealing and varied than slide output. Always ask yourself: Is what I am creating worth the paper and ink it will take to produce it? If not you might make it a supplemental file that can be viewed online. You can download a one-page primer on standout handouts (designed no less in model handout form) that I originally published in the September 2007 issue of Associations Now.

So what about slides? Three brilliant books already cover this topic better than I ever could hope to do: Beyond Bullet Points by Cliff Atkinson, slideology by Nancy Duarte, and Presentation Zen by Garr Reynolds. Clicking on the book titles takes you to Amazon; clicking on the authors takes you to their web sites where you will find lots of free resources. But let me offer you a few tips I think can be helpful right away.

Just as with the other visuals discussed in tip #5, only create slides to support your overall learning objectives and to help create the desired environment for the presentation. Less will almost always be more when it comes to slides, both in terms of your total slide deck count and the amount of info on a slide. That being said, highly technical talks often require far more information to be visually displayed than other types of presentations, so no one rule fits all situations.

Four types of slides are commonly found in my decks: information, illustration, instruction, and ignition.

Information slides convey key facts, details, and supporting points for what I am discussing.

Illustration slides contain images that support assertions I am making verbally, providing a clear example that enhances the understanding of what's being said.

Instruction slides give participants the information they need for exercises/activities I have them do. While I also verbalize such instructions, having them on a slide is helpful for visual learners and those who didn't catch everything I said.

Ignition slides typically are images, words, or quotes that serve as catalysts or springboards for stories or key sections of my talk. They help ignite participants’ interest in what will follow.

These distinctions might not be how you would divide your own slides, but I find them helpful in clarifying my intention for the slides I create: to inform, to illustrate, to instruct, to ignite.

While having some design skills or intuitive visual orientation definitely is an asset, it’s not a requirement for creating good slides. Just as you might tear out magazine pages illustrating home designs you like, you can do the same thing for slides. I have file folders (both in hard copy and on my laptop) containing slides, handouts, newsletters, and other publications containing examples of good design. I use them for inspiration as I create my decks. I regularly check out slide decks uploaded to Slideshare.net (think YouTube for slides) to see what others are doing.

Having coached a lot of presenters on slide design this year and having redone more slides than I would care to remember, let me give you a eight simple reminders:

Just because you can doesn’t mean you should. Slide programs offer lots of options for animations, sound effects, and transitions, but the best decks use these judiciously. Too many slide decks are filled with annoying sound effects and jarring transitions or animations just because they were there to use.
Only work with the top 70% of your slide. While the recommended percentage may vary, the advice never does. The bottom of your slide won’t be readable from the back of a large room, so don’t put critical information there. It’s a great place for conference or company logos though I find having those on every slide an unnecessary visual distraction.
Limit yourself to only a few fonts or colors and try to use them consistently. Magazines typically use a headline font and a body text font. They also sometimes have a different font for certain sections. Good slides do the same, using any differences consistently as a way of subtly helping participants understand the organization of your slides.
Don’t rely on the software’s default settings, particularly with bullet point text. Manually inserting or adjusting line or paragraph spacing can help unite lines of text that are better read together while allowing appropriate white space between points so that the eyes get a breather. And don't let one or two words get orphaned on a separate line because the word wrap kicks them over.
Avoid clip art, particularly the art included with the software. Everyone has it. Everyone can use it. As a result, your deck is not distinctive. Plus so much clip art is juvenile or cheesy. Not all of it. But a lot of it. Look instead to royalty-free or low cost photo sites to get high quality images or take pictures yourself with a digital camera.
Use text reversed out of colored boxes/shapes for emphasis. It’s a simple way to introduce a lot of contrast into a slide and give prominence to a key point.
Don’t use bullet points unless no other design choice will work. Bullet points aren't inherently evil, but they aren’t far from it. Because they are a default software setting they are often overused. If you are talking about four separate points, you don’t necessary need a bullet point or number in front of them. Turn off the bullets on one of your existing slides and see what happens. Often it is just as readable. Or it can be made even more visually appealing by playing with the line spacing or other layout options.
Finally, don’t forget white space. Intentional use of white space creates breathing room on your slide and provides variety and contrast. Play with the width of various text blocks so they don’t cover the complete horizontal line of your slide. Move them around on your slide to create open blocks of space.

These are just a handful of the dozens of pointers others found helpful in our slide design efforts. The bottom line? The best slides help tell stories. They reinforce your key points and enhance participants’ understanding and retention of your talk’s content. Ruthlessly review your deck because any slides that aren't doing just this, just don't belong.

BFF Alert

2009-06-26T15:41:00.004-04:00

Before you send out a letter and stack of material ...

before you invite me to be your friend on Facebook or join your network on LinkedIn ...

before you type in your letter or email to me something along the lines of "it was so good to spend some time with you at the meeting last week" ...

you might want to think about whether or not I was actually at the event and whether or not we ever met or spoke.

Just because my name was on the list doesn't mean I actually made it to the event (I didn't), that we met (not a chance), or that we had a pleasurable interaction (perhaps in your fantasy life).

When you take any of the actions listed above solely working off the pre-registration list for a meeting, you run the risk of using really personal language in the most impersonal and generic (and in my book, offensive) way.