What's Your Elevator Speech?

Elevator speech, you know, that concise, "WOW-you-do-that!?", knock-their-socks-off in a 30 story elevator ride hopefully leading to, "Tell me more!" as the doors open. Highly desired by entrepreneurs, inventors and those wishing pitchman Anthony "Sully" Sullivan will do an infomercial on their incredible life-changing product or service.

The idea behind the elevator speech for everyone else is to be able to respond to the staple, age-old American culture question, "What do you do?"

What do you do? Can you give a positive, look-me-in-the-eyes, easy to understand picture of what you do without an "uh" or two and delivered with passion?

Elevator speeches are directly connected to our personal vision. Got a personal vision? Is your personal vision complete with knowing and living your core values and beliefs, knowing your purpose of why you exist and how you are using your gifts and talents and knowing your "trip-tik" to the future you wish to create?

Recently, I attended a presentation by Ed Muzio, author and change-agent (http://www.groupharmonics.com/) who shared a formula to creating and delivering an effective elevator speech. He suggested an elevator speech needs to focus on results. He calls it Verbalized Summary Objectives or VSOs.

His formula is simple. You develop five to seven VSOs which consist of:

I spend ____ of my resources working/being/doing with _____ on creating ______ (results).

Here are my VSOs...

I spend 20% of my time being a co-collaborator in God's Creation, a husband to my wife, a father to my children, a friend and resource to others hopefully leaving them better than I found them. I spend 20% of my time "sharpening my saw" - physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually to drive me out of my comfort zone into my learning zone. I spend 20% of my time marketing my gifts, talents and work with Montreat College to others living my and the college's core values. I spend 30% of my time designing and "playing" with teams using experience-based learning to help break phantom rules and transition to new possibilities. I spend 10% of my time meeting, taking care of paperwork and putting out fires to support the communities I am involved.

Ideally, your VSOs should add up to 100%.

In A.A. Milne's Winnie The Pooh, Pooh and Piglet have a conversation...

"When you wake up in the morning, Pooh," said Piglet at last, "what's the first thing you say to yourself?"

"What's for breakfast?" said Pooh. "What do you say, Piglet?"

"I say, I wonder what's going to happen exciting today?" said Piglet.

It's the beginning of a new year. This is great time to reflect, explore your personal vision and develop an elevator speech that motivates you to get of bed in the morning with a Piglet frame of mind!

My Essential Resolution for 2012

Did you know:

- The average American spends 8 hours a day in front of a “screen” per day which has doubled since 2005.

- The average American teen, sends and receives over 75 texts/day.

I am going to resolve to do what is essential.

I’m going to reduce the number of hours in front of “screens” including TV, computer, and cell phone.

I’m going to practice more deep breathing and create more stillness everyday.

I'm going to spend more time thinking, journaling, writing, mind mapping and doodling.

I’m going to do less talking and more listening, less judging and more understanding.

I’m going to work harder at making Sunday, a day of rest, unplug, connect with family and friends, read, walk/hike, ride my bike, and play Scrabble with my wife.

I am going to spend more time seizing the day.

See you on a park bench, a coffee cafe (without TV), French Broad Chocolate Lounge, Battery Park Book Exchange, on the trails, in a pew, in a living room (TV off)... !?

"Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each New Year find you a better person." Benjamin Franklin

Note: Susan Cain had an OP-ED piece in the NY Times, 1/13/12, Rise of the New Groupthink for another perspective to this blog. See http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/15/opinion/sunday/the-rise-of-the-new-groupthink.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&ref=general&src=me

Reduce The VUCAs in 2012

As 2011 draws to a close, individuals and organizations begin to plan for the New Year. 2011 has not been too kind to hopes, dreams and plans. VUCAs have been fiercely at work!

Back in the 1990’s, the military added the acronym, VUCA to its vocabulary. VUCA stands for:

- Volatility - change is coming at a faster pace and dealing with transition can be messy

- Uncertainty - our ability to predict the future is becoming less meaningful and trustworthy

- Complexity - is increasing including knowledge, communication channels and distraction leading to increased confusion

- Ambiguity - made up of assumptions, poor communications, fuzzy rules, false readings leading to fog

VUCA is code for acknowledging the root cause of stress, frustration, indecisiveness, bad behavior, poor performance, weak execution, short outcomes, and incomplete strategic plans.

As VUCA’s come upon us, the cry becomes, “I/we don’t have enough ___________!” Blame-storming ensues. Short cuts are taken. Ethics are ignored. Greed increases.

What do you do to minimize, reduce or eliminate VUCAs?

Make time. The time issue always becomes apparent when working with a group during an experiential initiative. The initiative that includes a time allotment, creates stress, generates anxiety and becomes an enemy to positive outcomes. Make time an ally! Use your resources more effectively by breaking groups into smaller groups to flush out fresh, unique ideas. Do not be quick to throw water on an idea that goes against your thinking or the current process. Instead of a “Yes, but...” try a “Yes, and...”

The Boy Scout motto, Be Prepared, it offers a clue to dealing with VUCA.

I notice most organizations or teams (as well as individuals) who go through a strategic planning process seldom discuss the “what ifs’...” as in:

• What if a key member(s) of the team leaves or dies?
• What if a natural disaster hits like hurricane, tornado or wildfire?
• What if served with a lawsuit?
• What if the economy tanks?
• What if ___________________?

Simplify. Simplify stuff. Simply processes. Simplify lifestyles.

Lean into flexibility. The tree that bends in the wind will survive over the tree that is stiff and rigid.

I am reminded of Robert Fulghum’s epic piece, All I Really Need To Know I Learned in Kindergarten. Fulghum’s writing is a lesson in leadership and holds truths and wisdom to deal with VUCA’s. See http://www.robertfulghum.com/

When you go out into the world, will you watch for traffic, hold hands and stick together?

Do You Hear What I Hear? Do You See What I See?

Note: The traditional Christmas song, Do You Hear What I Hear? was written and composed by Noel Regney and Gloria Baker back in 1962 during the Cuban Missile Crisis as a plea for peace. Perhaps we should pause and reflect on the song’s message for our current need not only for peace in the world but for healing from turmoil and chaos of the times. Pause. Push back. Breathe. Meditate on what is really important.

Do you see what I see? Do you hear what I hear?

The season of Thanksgiving is melding into the season of Light. What I considered to be the most pure of our national holidays seems to be turning into a prep and fuel for one our darker sides, Black Friday, aka, Dark Friday.

Do you see what I see? Do you hear what I hear?

Dark Friday seems to be bigger and greedier than ever. Malls and big box stores are opening earlier and earlier. News reports an estimated 1 in 4 of us participated in Dark Friday. Retailers report the Dark Friday phenomenon (which now begins on Thanksgiving Day) as “so successful” and “so positive.” For our nation whose economy is built on consumption, this may seem like good news. “It’s a good move to try to get shoppers to spend sooner, before they run out of money,” says Burt Flickinger III, president of retail consultancy Strategic Resource Group. Yet, words like jammed, beeline, hoards, rowdy, frenzy, vengeance, storm, backlash, snap-up, tased and injuries appeared frequently in media reports about our behavior on Dark Friday.

Do you see what I see? Do you hear what I hear?

One comment I heard in a news report on “Dark Friday” was a shopper who was asked why he was participating in Dark Friday, “It’s traditional!” This maybe where the problem lies, some traditions need to be broken. Some habits need to be changed. Bad habits need to be replaced.

Do you see what I see? Do you hear what I hear?

The Dali Lama was asked what surprised him the most. “Man, because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then he dies having never really lived.”

Do you see what I see? Do you hear what I hear?

Many question the motives behind Occupy Wall Street. Maybe OWS is the reaction to Michael Lewis’s, The Big Short or Andrew Ross Sorkin’s, Too Big To Fail. Both detail the toxic culture of Wall Street, taking advantage of unregulated greed and political “buy-ability.” Perhaps OWS is the seeding for our own Arab Spring. Maybe OWS is a call to live an examined life, a life of giving rather than getting. Just maybe OWS could be about changing Dark Friday into a day that reflects truly living.

Do you see what I see? Do you hear what I hear?

Where is the Evidence?

I came across another one of those studies reporting what many of us already suspect or know, work productivity is not what it could be! This study from Towers Perrin (www.towersperrin.com) says less than 25% of employees are putting their whole being into their work including their hands, their mind and their hearts. As the study points out, what brings people to the “work dance” is not what keeps people at the “work dance.”

To build a nurturing, sustaining, stimulating work culture, consider the following questions.

Do the leaders have a heart? Are leaders relational? Do leaders care about their people? How do leaders show compassion and empathy to their people? Describe the evidence.

Is the organization’s vision inspiring? Is the vision more than ROI? Does the vision engage its employees to bring their best to work, to do their best at work, to be their best at work? Share the evidence.

How is success defined? How do employees get to share in the organization’s success? What is the evidence?

Do employees know what is expected of them. Are there regular channels of feedback to the employee not only on how he/she is doing, how they are being, but how their supervisor or leader(s) are doing, how they are being? Where is the evidence?

Is the work environment safe, healthy and appealing to work, to grow and to learn in? What is the evidence?

How does the organization support employee’s mental, physical, emotional and spiritual well being? How can employees renew themselves in these areas during the work day? Is there evidence?

What are the incentives for employees to learn and grow? Can evidence be produced?

How is respect shown for others? What is the evidence?

How is the encouragement? Describe the ways of encouragement. Share the evidence.

What questions do you have to stimulate conversation towards creating a world-class nurturing work culture?

What Is The Impact of Fear?

NOTE: The mind-map was updated 9/3/11 after great, thoughtful, challenging comments were made. Continue to give me feedback!

During a recent team building advancement*, we got into a heavy discussion about how fear was impacting the team as well as affecting the culture of the organization in moving forward (something that is affecting our country as well). That has lead to the request of a design for another team building advancement* on exploring fear and learning how to reduce its negative impact.

Personally, I believe fear is the opposite of love. This thought has been an overarching concept in this mind-map.

When I design a program, workshop, presentation or advancement* I begin with a mind-map to get a visual of key components that might be in the design.

What are your thoughts, suggestions and ideas? Note, if you click on the photo above, it will get larger for easier viewing.

*Advancement. . . I do not like the word "retreat" as in, "We are going on a retreat to explore fear." Retreat is about going backwards. Advancement is about moving forward, learning and growing.

MIA at a Recent Health Fair

Recently, I had the opportunity to attend a health fair for a division of a Fortune 500 company. This was an opportunity for their employees to learn more about creating a healthier lifestyle.

There was a booth manned by a local health food store promoting vitamins, herbal remedies and books on nutrition. (Got some samples of herbal sleep aids and protein powder.) A podiatrist was in another booth, who answered questions about foot care and foot problems. (I learned which running shoes were best for my feet!) Behind one of the booths were several nurses running tests and giving assessments. I found out that my body has 17.7% fat which falls into the excellent BMI range of 16 to 25. My blood pressure was 117 over 71 and my resting heart rate was 44 BPM. After a series of questions, they could only say, “Keep on doing what you are doing!”

There was a booth to help women understand mammograms. The Red Cross was there seeking blood donations. (We have a blood shortage in WNC!) I got a nice 10-minute shoulder massage from a licensed massage therapist. A dental group was promoting good teeth care. (I received a travel toothbrush, toothpaste and dental floss.) A wellness center had a yoga instructor, a chiropractor, a pilates instructor and acupuncturist answering questions. An optometrist was sharing ideas on good eye care. (I received an eye glass cleaner cloth!) Two local hospitals were present sharing and explaining services they offered. (I dipped into their candy bowl!) An Employee Assistance Program (EAP) provider was there to offer information on all kinds of resources for work/life balance.

For my thinking, good health includes not only the physical, but the emotional, the mental and the spiritual.

What was MIA (missing in action) was a table or booth promoting “play.” I think we take ourselves too seriously. We have lost the value of play and its importance in our personal growth. Many organizations see “play” at work or a “fun-workplace” as unproductive and hurting the bottom line when actually it can do the opposite. Play can help reduce stress, increase creativity and stimulate innovation.

An organization teaching us how to communicate better was also absent. I believe in this age of distraction, we’ve lost the ability to communicate well. Good communication could lead to better relationships—which has to be healthier. I would expect this spot to include tips on healthy conflict resolution.

How about a leadership booth promoting death to micromanagement and overcoming workaholism? There would be major health benefits from these services!

There was no table promoting the art of collaboration. Learning how to work better together and building trust has positive health consequences not only for the individual but the culture of the workplace.

I would have liked to have seen someone sharing ideas on dealing with change. Dealing constructively with change and creating flow in transition could have great health benefits.

Finally, what about the benefits of spirituality and our health? Could some folks have been present to promote this? Could there have been a booth to challenge thinking and raise possibilities?

What are your ideas for being healthier? What are you doing to become healthier? What might the benefits be—to you, your family and your employer?