Archive for May, 2009
stories: they’re not just for bedtime anymore
photo by JoeyChong, flickr artist
one of the most important communication tools is storytelling. we tell stories to entertain. we tell stories to enlighten. stories help us in so many ways.
here are just a few ways that you should use stories to help achieve your goals…
tell stories in your presentations!
when you have presentations, nothing drives home your point(s) better than stories. always build up to something. lay the foundations for the information you’re talking about. show the progression and how one idea builds upon the other, then — in the end — bring it all together. ”here we take a look at the individual units. next, we’re able to compare the information for those units for a single point in time. now that we have information for one point in time, we can combine those points to create a trend and forecast out the future.” create a commentary and find a voice track that supplements and enhances your story. and above all else, use metaphors! there’s no better way to introduce a concept that’s foreign and may make no sense to someone than through relating that information to a concept they do know.
more after the jump! Read the rest of this entry »
the best things in life are (sometimes) free
micro-blogging site, twitter.com
they say the best things in life are free. a smile from a loved one. an email from an old friend. the sunrise in the morning, sunset in the evening. a grand waterfall, and the simple sounds of a flowing creek. i’d venture to say that the best things in business are (sometimes) free as well.
i have a friend who is standing up a business in our old college town [ok, so it's a bar — and i get to drink for free when i go back for football games]. he asked me about setting up a website for the place and about some of the things he wanted on the site for people to be able to follow; namely, he was looking for a place to keep pictures, and to post events and drink/food specials. his needs (and my limited web development skills) got me to thinking, “how can i accomplish that without messing it up!” and then it dawned on me… the features he was asking for, you can already get for free online.
you can only see what you can see
photo by Mr. Mark, flickr artist
human beings are predators. that’s why our eyes are on the same plane facing forward. it maximizes the area of overlap for the field of vision each of our eyes has. this overlap allows us to perceive depth, and if you’ve ever worn an eye-patch for medical reasons (or you just happen to fully celebrate talk like a pirate day) — you have no doubt noticed how difficult it is to keep from bumping into things.
interesting information, but what does this have to do with business? plain and simply put — you can only see what you can see.
some companies have project management offices (PMOs), others have processes, and many of the rest don’t have any. so what do you use? basecamp? activCollab? ms project? … none of the above? the previous collection of tools all cost an additional fee for the full software package. because of that, you may be tempted to track your projects status in a word document, or a task list developed in ms excel.
keep talking and shut up! — part 2
we last talked about, when working in collaborative environments and managing people, those times when you need to speak up. this second part is to help show when you should bite your tongue and be quiet — which could be hard for many people!
knowing when not to talk is as important as knowing when to talk. but don’t get the wrong idea; silence isn’t just a passive way of communicating. your use of silence can actually be quite active. you’ll find yourself wanting to keep hush:
- when you disagree with someone (i’ll explain)
- when someone is trying to teach you something
- when you’re trying to teach something to someone
- when people are telling a story
when you disagree with someone, state your case — or they may state theirs in contrary to yours — and then shut up. listen to what that person has to say in response, and rather than defend your position alone, differ to people who you know agree with you. understand what the opposition’s viewpoint is, and make intelligent decisions based off of that conversation. sometimes the best choice may be to agree to disagree. Read the rest of this entry »
keep talking and shut up! — part 1
photo by OMG its Shortiie ♥, flickr artist
when it comes to managing people and projects — when you work in a collaborative environment — there’s one thing that’s more important than anything else, and that’s communication.
you absolutely need to know when to keep talking, and when you need to shut up. there are going to be a few times when you should speak your mind:
- when someone does something unsavory
- when you know something or how to do it
- when someone asks for a critique
- when someone asks for a volunteer
break bread
my infamous pasta di gianni
it’s a tradition that goes back as far as man can remember. it predates the roman republic, and even greek democracy. when you want to socialize with someone, the best way of doing so is if you share a meal. when you break bread with someone, there are stories to be told — ideas to confer about — and relationships to be forged. for thousands of years, it has been the foundation of our social interaction as human beings. family dinners, afternoon trips with your friends to grab mcdonald’s or taco bell, the late-night drives (or stumbling walks) to the local diner after a night out on the town… we share meals with the people we care about, and we care about the people we share meals with.
the key to success is success
sure is sounds redundant, but that doesn’t make it any less true. the key to success is success. think about it: someone creates a small business and that business takes off. small business owner turns into a big time executive of a big time corporation. big time executive writes books about being successful and sells millions. millionaire starts to spin off products or services with their name on it, making billions. sounds like the path that many people have taken to super-stardom in life. people like oprah, donald trump, richard branson, bill gates — they’ve all followed a similar path. the interesting thing about success is that it breeds more success. when coaching hockey at penn state, i used to tell my guys that “winning sires winning.” there’s nothing like the confidence you gain from winning to give you the confidence to win another one. people see your favorable outcomes and begin to gravitate towards you. Read the rest of this entry »
push people beyond their limits
photo by Imapix - Gaëtan Bourque, flickr artist
you might say: “wait, what do you mean?! i thought this was a blog about good management? pushing people beyond their limits sounds entirely contradictory.” and to that i’ll reply: often times people set their limits before they know what those limits are. by pushing them beyond their limits, you’re actually helping them find out their true capacity for great things.
in sociology, there’s a concept called a “breaching experiment.” a beaching experiment is when you intentionally do something that may be considered taboo or otherwise go against — or breach — society’s generally accepted definition of what is ‘right’ or ‘proper’ behavior, with the intent to find out just how far someone (or some people) may allow you to push the envelope. for example, funny hats. it’s perfectly acceptable to go out in public on a regular basis with a baseball cap, or a beanie in the wintertime, even if that team is the oakland athletics or your beanie is a bright pink. some may question your choice in team or color, but they won’t question your choice in hat. if you, however, on a regular basis were to wear a baseball cap with clapping hands, or one of those hardhats with the beer cans on the side, people may begin to question your choice of hat. that all depends on the company you keep.
be visible, not just in words
image by tiago • ribeiro, flickr artist
when it comes to management, there’s a very simple principle that i feel makes a good leader a great leader: for all the knowledge you might have — for all the skills and abilities you might have — it means very little if your team never sees you.
by definition, a leader is in front. a leader doesn’t stay behind the scenes and control from afar. that’s why when leading — a project, a team, an entire department — you have to be more than “the boss.” it’s important to have the people who you rely on to get the work done see you. it’s important to set aside face time to connect with your teammates and your colleagues. it helps to show that you care about them and that their work doesn’t go unrecognized. Read the rest of this entry »
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