“Flawless Consulting” is often called ‘The Consultant’s Bible’. It is the ultimate guide to getting your expertise used, whether you are an internal or external consultant!   Being a true consultant doesn’t just happen, anymore than quality just happens.  It has to be learned. Quality consulting means partnering equally with line management and clients.  Valuing the relationship between consultant and client and defining how to manage that relationship is where Flawless Consulting has found its niche!

“Block has distilled years of experience into a wise, down-to-earth, and eminently practical guide to excellence in consulting. If you are new to the practice, Flawless Consulting will chop years off your learning cycle. And even if you’re an old pro, Block’s insights will elevate you to new levels of effectiveness. Flawless Consulting is not simply about becoming a better consultant; it is about using consulting as a path toward becoming a better person.” (Barry Oshry, president, Power & Systems, Inc., author of Seeing Systems and Leading Systems)

Who should attend?

This is for anyone who does consulting, even if you don’t call yourself a ‘consultant’.  You are consulting any time you are trying to change or improve a situation but have no direct control over the implementation.  Don’t miss this opportunity to build consulting capability within your organisation and within South Africa.    This is a unique opportunity to meet and engage with the guide and mentor of tens of thousands of consultants around the world.

Workshop dates and venues:

Johannesburg
Date:   Thursday, 4th March
Time:    09:00 – 12:00
(Registration: 08h30)
Venue:  Isisango, Midrand
Cost:   R350.00 vat excl

Cape Town
Date:   Friday, 5th March
Time:    09:00 – 12:00
(Registration: 08h30)
Venue:  Schoenstatt Training Centre, Constantia
Cost:   R350.00 vat excl

Community Building workshop with Peter Block and Symphonia for South Africa

This workshop is about the nature of real transformation and what kind of leadership is required to achieve it.

Transformation is a shift in the nature of things. It promises a culture of chosen accountability, authentic commitment, and stronger social fabric; all elements of a strong community.

Learning objectives:

• Understand the conditions under which transformation can occur
• Define leadership as listening, convening, invitation, and the triumph of questions over answers
• Understand the importance of community and how it is created
• Demonstrate in this session the principles of community being discussed
• Ways to design gatherings so that transformation can occur
• Learn conversations that will lead toward a future different from the past

Who should attend?

Business and community leaders and others who are committed to making a contribution to strengthen the fabric of South African Society.

Workshop dates and venues:

JHB: All Saints Church in Fourways – 2nd & 3rd March

CT: Schoenstatt Retreat & Training Centre in Constantia – 8th & 9th March

DURBAN: Saints Hospitality Conference Centre in Sydenham – 10th & 11th March

Contact details:
Person:   Johleen
Tel:   021 913 3507
Email:   johleen@symphonia.net

Hope to see you at one of the workshops. By the way, these workshops in the USA are usually in the thousands of dollars, so these are really bargin prices, use the opportunity!

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The help file in Outlook explains how to create an out of office in exactly 49 words, while the GroupWise help file took over 500 words to completely confuse me (I never managed to get it working in the end).

My point is twofold. Firstly that GroupWise is probably the worst email system in the world. Secondly, their help file is far to confusing. It managed to confuse a very experienced computer user.  If I was confused,  I really feel sorry for the regular user. It should not take 500 words to explain such a simple task.

Ok, here is the lesson. Are you ever a GroupWise help file when you communicate? Do you give complex, confusing messages that make no sense? Or are you Outlook, providing short, effective and powerful messages?

For your reading pleasure, here are the instructions for both products (good bedtime reading).

Here is how you do it in Outlook:

Turn an Out of Office Assistant rule on or off

To turn out of office rules  on or off, on the Tools menu, click Out of Office Assistant.
In the Status box, select or clear the check box next to the rule you want to turn on or off.

Here is how you do it in groupwise version 7:

To create a vacation rule

• Click Tools > Rules > New.
• Type a name in the Rule Name box, such as Vacation Rule.
• Click the When Event Is pop-up list, then click New Item.
• Next to And Items Are, select Received. Make sure no other item source is selected.
• Do not make any selections under Item Types.
• Use Define Conditions to add specific information to your rule. The following are examples of using Define Conditions.
• If you want to set up the dates during which the rule is in effect. Click Define Conditions > click Delivered in the first drop-down list > click On or After Date in the second drop-down list > in the date field, select the date you are leaving on vacation. Click the End pop-up list > click And. On the new line, click Delivered in the first drop-down list > click On or Before Date in the second drop-down list > in the date field, select the date you are returning from vacation > click OK.
• If you want to make sure you reply only to items that are sent specifically  to you (and not to list servers or newsgroups). Click Define Conditions > if you have already specified information in this dialog box, click the End pop-up list > click And. On the new line, click To in the first drop-down list > click [ ] Contains in the second drop-down list > in the next field,  type your name as it displays in the To field of a mail message.
• If you want to make sure that you do not reply to items from yourself (possible through delayed delivery). Click Define Conditions > if you have already specified information in this dialog box, click the End pop-up list > click And. On the new line, click From in the first pop-up list > click [x] Does Not Contain in the second drop-down list > in the next field, type your name as it displays in the From field of a mail message > click OK.
• If you want to reply to internal items only. Click Define Conditions > if you have already specified information in this dialog box, click the End pop-up list > click And. On the new line, click From in the first drop-down list > click [x] Does Not Contain in the second drop-down list > in the next field, type @ > click OK.
• Under Then Actions Are, click Add Action, then Reply.
• The Reply dialog box is displayed, showing Reply to Sender selected (you cannot select Reply to All). If you want your reply to include the sender’s original message, select Include Message Received From Sender. Click OK.
• Type a message, for example:
• I will be out of the office from September 3-September 10. If you need assistance during this time, please contact Martha Robbins at extension 1234.
• Click OK.
• Click Save. Verify that the rule has a check mark next to it, indicating that it is enabled, then Click Close.
• Rules that trigger a reply (such as this vacation rule) keep a record of who a reply has been sent to, and make sure that a reply is sent only once to that user.

For completeness sake, here is how Google’s Gmail does it (36 words).

1. go into Settings->General
2. then scroll down to Out of Office AutoReply
3. Fill Subject and Message

Every time you leave your office set Out of Office AutoReply on, when you’re back turn it off.

Image from Flickr

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Here are more than seventy big thinkers, each sharing an idea for you to think about as we head into the new year. From bestselling author Elizabeth Gilbert to brilliant tech thinker Kevin Kelly, from publisher Tim O’Reilly to radio host Dave Ramsey, there are some important people riffing about important ideas here. The ebook includes Tom Peters, Fred Wilson, Jackie Huba and Jason Fried, along with Gina Trapani, Bill Taylor and Alan Webber.

Just pop over to his website to download, no registraton required, just hit the download button. It is worth the read.

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No, I am not suggesting that you change the look and feel or branding every few slides or so. I am suggesting that you use a “mini” master slide to allow for several slides to have the same basic content, which can then be tweaked per slide.

So for example, imaging that you your presentation has 10 slides containing a map of South Africa, each of which highlights a FIFA 2010 world cup football venue.

South Africa FIFA Map 2010

Now, the traditional approach would be to have everything on a single slide and to use a lot of fancy animation to make each venue highlight in turn, or to create a single slide and make 9 more copies. Both approaches have problems.

The first is messy and complex, the second requires duplication of work, especially if you wish to change the background image.

So, how about creating mini master slide with the image on it, then you just need to the the customisation on the other slides. Make sense? I think it will be pretty cool.

I will add it to my wishlist.

Image from http://wikitravel.org/upload/shared/e/ee/Map-South_Africa-fifa-2010.png

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The difference between a minor incident and a major catastrophe comes down to one simple thing: preparation. Some of the things that can typically happen are:

Equipment failure

Computers crash, projectors stop working. Mains power trips. And my favourite, laptop and projector refuse to speak to each other. There are very few presentations that really require PowerPoint, so be able to give your presentation without the equipment if necessary. Arrive early, and give yourself plenty of time to set-up and ensure that all is working fine.

Equipment lost in transit

When traveling to conference venues, you pass through many environments were equipment can mysteriously disappear. Have a backup copy of your presentation with you (in a separate bag to your laptop). Finding a spare machine to borrow is easy; finding another copy of your presentation is far more difficult. Travel with as little equipment as possible (it also makes the traveling easier), and ensure in writing that the conference venue has the necessary equipment.

Microphone batteries die

I insist on new batteries in my microphone (NEW, not freshly charged). Spoiling a $500 presentation for a $2 battery is just plain silly. Keeping a few AA, AAA and 9volt batteries close at hand will quickly rescue you when batteries die.

A little bit of extra preparation will go a long way to ensuring that you give an effective and trouble-free presentation.

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A good politician gives lots of speeches. A great politician has the oratory skill to use his speeches to motivate, inspire, and convince people to follow him. The recent American presidential race showed the world the importance of giving a good speech, the importance of having great oratorical prowess. Barack Obama a black motivational speaker inspired millions of Americans to follow him to the White House during the course of the 2008 presidential campaign.

Most Americans have never met Barack Obama and they never will. They do feel connected to him because of the power of his pre-election speeches. On the campaign trail Obama used style to give meaning and believability to his words. This often ignored trait of great orators made Americans feel as if they knew Barack Obama personally and they believed what he had to say.

Obama is an expert at using rhythm and cadence during his speeches to involve his audience. Frequent pauses during his speeches allow the audience to participate by cheering, clapping, and chanting. It also gives listeners the chance to actually absorb what he is saying. Experts note three advantages to using well placed pauses during a speech.

-A pause will allow the speaker to take a breath and gives the audience a chance to respond

-A pause during which the audience responds lets people feel connected to the speaker – they are participating in what he has to say

-A pause which lets the audience respond shows the speakers generosity – he allows others to speak and does not take all the time for himself

Delivering a good speech is very difficult task. Bob Proctor, a great orator, breaks a speech down into 3 simple parts. First, tell the audience what the speech is about by introducing your material. Next, give the audience the meat of your material. Third, review what you have said in steps 1 and 2. The second step of any great speech is practice. A great orator will know his stuff. Study all of your information. The better acquainted you are with your material the better you will feel when sharing it with your audience.

Barack Obama’s campaign trail speeches, and his presidential speeches, are excellent examples of the above three advantages. Instead of following the modern, just the facts style of many of today’s orators Obama looked to the great speakers of the past for inspiration. Barack Obama may be a “new” style candidate but he has taken full advantage of “old school” techniques when speaking in public.

Zander Smith, Site Representative Great Black Speakers Member of Great speaker motivational society

Source: http://www.submityourarticle.com/a.php?a=53912

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You can view the update list here.

Thanks Andrew for the update.

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I’m darn good at selling at the back of the room. In fact, just this month I did three speaking engagements at multi speaker events and I outsold all the other speakers put together. What’s unique about this is the way I do it is not obnoxious and high pressure. Today I want to give you a low pressure technique that can give you way more sales than when you nervously wait till the end of your talk to suggest people buy your book.

What I want you to do is put a copy of your book on the chair of every attendee at your event. You will put a note in the book that says something like, “You don’t have to buy this book. We are just going to use it during the presentation.”
Yes, I know this is a scary thing to do. I know you’re thinking, “What if everyone just walks out the door with all my books?” Relax . . .this won’t happen. People are generally honest.

You will pick the two best parts of the book and read them from stage as you are teaching a related point. You might use the three best parts if you are speaking for several hours.

Here’s what will happen. You’ll sell three times as many books and you’ll hardly have to even mention it’s for sale. Just put a box in the back of the room at your table and mention that you’ll be at the table if anyone wants to take the book home with them it will be 20 bucks (or some round number). Also, tell them you will personalize it for them.
The idea here is that instead of just “selling” your stuff, show the value of it and you’ll sell way more than you ever have before.

Tom Antion is a professional speaker with over 2700 paid speeches to his credit. He is the founder of the largest public speaking membership site on the Internet, and the author of the best selling professional speaker course of all time “The Wake ‘em up Video Professional Speaking System“

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Enter George! for PowerPoint by Leaders Guide Pro. They kindly gave me a free license to play with the product.

This simple little addin fills the gap very nicely by providing a simple yet powerful documentation creating capability for PowerPoint.

Some of the features are:

• Create table of contents for your handouts
• A variety of elegant document templates, with titles, page numbers, headers and footers
• Can create speaker notes or delegate handouts
• Custom logos can be added to your documents
• It is very easy to use

Here is what a typical PowerPoint handout looks like. Nothing wrong with it, but kind of boring.

But put it through George!…

Notice the header at the top, and copyright details at the bottom.

You can finally add a table of contents to your handouts.

A variety of templates to choose from.

George! uses a simple process called “tagging” to create the table of contents.

Would I buy it – yes! Would I recommend it? Yes if you find yourself creating handouts on a regular basis from your presentations. If you are just using it for Speaker Notes, then the default printing capability of PowerPoint will probably be ok.

George! uses Microsoft Word to create the actual documents (I suspect the Office scripting engine), and as a result the actual document generation process is a little slow (especially for large documents). So, best to create your documents and grab a coffee or something while you wait. However the results are worth it.

You can buy George! for about $40 from Leaders Guide Pro.

A final comment: I had a few problems getting my free license to work. Nancy from Leaders Guide Pro was absolutely superb with assisting me, providing support and follow-up. Full marks for their customer support.

• Sample presentation (an extract of one of my presentations)
• Speaker Notes – generated by George
• Session Handouts – generated by George
• Handouts generated directly from PowerPoint

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1. Be prepared
2. Be concise
3. Be engaging
4. be authentic
5. Be aware
6. Be involved

What other bee’s should I add to the list?

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