In Improv, we teach people to be 'in the moment.' In the moment means being aware of what's happening NOW, and to reacting to THIS moment rather than reacting to something that happened previously or something that reminds you the current situation. I recently finished a workshop for a group regarding decision making and innovation tools. The process includes generating as much as possible (brainstorming) and then narrowing the field of options based on needs and desires defined before the process begins. For me, those things are in perfect union. The decision making process sometimes gets jumbled by not defining your goals and intended outcomes first. If you can spend the time getting closer to what you want and closer to what you are attempting to see as an outcome of the decision, then the clearer you can be in reacting to the offers you receive in the moment. Brainstorming then becomes focussed based on needs and strategic directions, rather than just about divergent thought. The steps: 1. Define the outcome you would like to see: Start by defining what you are really trying to do, and get clear about the underlying motive of the action. . 2. Define the field of play: Where do you do this? What factors surround the decision? 3. Generate solutions without being tied down to the constraints of reality. An unreal solution can lead to a possible solution somewhere. After that - it is about action. Question - How do I do this? Answer - Just do it! Question - Am I doing it right? Answer - Yes! Once you have made a motion forward, new information becomes available. That new information now makes the previous moment inconsequential, and creates a new situation to be dealt with. So the question becomes, what role does a gut reaction play in your decision making process?
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Many years ago I worked with a magician who taught me a lot about producing events. Together we created Haunted Houses, Parties and events as well as on-going attractions in Casinos. There was one trick he did on a whim that always stuck with me. It was the 'coin toss'. We were at an event, and he had a wooden nickel that they have given him. He took it, showed me both sides were unmarked, flipped it in the air and shot at it with his hand as if he had a gun. When the wooden nickel hit the ground, it had a black mark on the side facing up, resembling a bullet hole. Then it was my turn to tell him how the trick was done: ME: "You did a slight of hand to show me the same side of the coin, and make it look like I was seeing both sides." HIM: "Correct" ME: "Then how did you know it would land with the side that had the mark facing up?" HIM: "I didn't. That part I gambled on..." ME: "So if it had landed with the unmarked side up, then what would you have done." HIM: "I don't know - but it didn't happen that way. The trick worked. If it didn't, I'd have figured out something else..." As I learned with a lot of magic tricks, there is a certain amount of bluff and confidence that it will work the way you thought it would. And there is a lot of being sure of yourself to make whatever happens look like it's what you wanted to have happen. When I speak to people about their leadership style, I sometimes hear people say "I am not sure what I am doing, or if what I am doing is the right thing." I think we all have times of self doubt about the next action we are about to take, or the next proposal for a client, or the next initiative we are putting forth. And the truth is, it may not work. If we understand the risks involved, and agree to move forward with confidence anyway, then we will make whatever happens work. Not trying the trick because it might fail is the only real failure. So remember the rules: How do I do this? - JUST DO IT Am I doing it right? - YES See where it takes you. Throughout the many workshops I have done for companies, I have heard the same refrain: customers complain a lot. And I agree. In my dealings with my own customers, I know that comments are a huge issue to bear, and they seem relentless sometimes. And constant - regardless of the excellent customer service that you provide, and the quality of your goods or service. The key that I always say is: "How do you Rumpelstiltskin that customer complaint?" That is, how do you take the straw, and turn it into gold? It's hard to do. The first step is, can you hear what the customer is saying? What gets in the way of listening to their comment? Your ego? Your perception of them as a crazy crackpot? In my experience, even the most crackpot complainer has something to offer, some perspective that can help me to innovate. If I can find a way to get past my own ego, I can figure out how to use their comments and learn more about my product, my customer base, and how people interact with my brand. I was doing a CEO training session in San Francisco, and one CEO was talking about a specific customer who constantly contacts his company to complain. When I asked him what his business was, he told me it was a winery. At that moment, I had to bring up that when a consumer goes into the grocery store in California, they have a choice of MANY different types of Chardonnay. If a customer calls to complain, they are not talking about your wine (they could have made any other choice), they have an affinity to your BRAND, and that is what let them down. Somewhere in that passionate complaint, there is a lesson that you can use to innovate. So find ways to listen to what customers say - and to turn that straw into gold. Just remember to Rumpelstiltskin that complaint. For multiple tools to help your customer service team to transform straw into gold, contact Andrew for a quote. When I first started working in theater, a friend of mine shared with me the 'Rule of Three.' You can only accept an acting job that is offered if you have two out of these three components: 1. It's people you want to work with, 2. It's a role or words you want to say, 3. The money is really good. With these three components in mind (People, Words and Money) you can then measure each new project against this yardstick to see if it is a good fit for you. If you end up taking on a project with only one of these components, the end result is that you feel used and not creatively challenged. It leaves you resentful about the project and spinning your wheels. When I have spoken to groups about the Rule of Three, I encourage people to create their own. What are the three things that you need in order to be productive at work? Perhaps: 1. The right people, 2. The resources to accomplish the project, 3. The desire to create something important. Whatever your three are - spend a few minutes asking yourself 'what is necessary for me to feel fulfilled?' Is the money enough, or do I need something else? And if so, then what is that thing, or multiple things, that will make the project something you believe in working on? The rule of three provides you with clarity to know that when you take on a job, client, or project, you KNOW you will do your best. You have actively made that choice, rather than having the choice made for you. And if you are given a project to accomplish, figure out how to make it something that works for your measurement tool. Ask to have the project goals altered, or to work with the people you want to work with, or to get paid more to accomplish the goal. When you are motivated to do your best, and because you have made the choice that this is the right thing to do based on your needs, then you have already found a big part of success. For more information on having KeyNote presentations and workshops, click here to contact us. One of the best things that I have ever found to describe the process of 'yes, and' is a box of mismatched legos. What can you build with them? ANYTHING! With each piece you have a short thought process to go through:
And you have to be willing to play. To see your vision alter based on what you have. Not many of us running companies can scrap all our resources and buy new ones. We use what we have to accomplish the goals we set out. When a piece doesn't fit, we save it. We use what we can and remember that the next structure might need completely different pieces. The process of building an organization has sometimes been described as 'walking backwards. ' We see what we need better in reverse than we did going forward. In that moment, we used what we had to do what we needed to do. So the next time you are stuck on a decision - write down all the resources you have as 'Building Blocks' and see if there is a new way to arrange them. What can you build this time? ANYTHING! Learn how 'Yes, and..' training can support new idea generation and innovation in your business. From Wikipedia: "The Oxfordian theory of Shakespeare authorship holds that Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, wrote the plays and poems traditionally attributed to William Shakespeare. Since the 1920s, the Oxfordian theory has been the most popular alternative Shakespeare authorship theory." I have heard this theory for years, that there is no possible way that a person of such humble origins could be responsible for brilliance. This theory is the same as saying that any child growing up poor in an intercity environment could never amount to anything. Many times when I am working with teams I will have people say "Tom doesn't like to do anything outgoing..." Then once we start, Tom does the thing that blows everyone away by being adventurous and innovative. The comment afterwards is always "I didn't know you were capable of that!" As I approach teams, I know that each and every one of the people on a team have their own skills. They each fall into a role to play, and they sometime play that role reluctantly. However, they have far below the surface that they don't bring to work, or show to their co-workers. And sometimes that part they keep inside can be a game changer for their career, and your businesses future. So - next time you say "There is no way that Sally will go with this new business idea...." give her a little credit and ask her. Maybe she has been waiting to be asked. Maybe, your idea is just what she was looking for. Everyone has the potential to be extraordinary. It's only the limitations that others place on us that can hold us down. Learn how 'Yes, and..' training can support new idea generation and innovation in your business. I am taking a few days vacation over New Year's to visit my in laws and relax with the family and their Shelties. The two dogs LOVE to herd anything; sheep, people, cars, other dogs... They do whatever they can to ensure that they know who is doing what, and do everything they can to keep the sheep in line. For anyone who has ever had a Sheltie, you know this to be true. It reminds me of working with a number of teams and their manager's leadership styles. There is an exercise that I use when I do workshops that is a great indicator of how much a person tries to control a situation, and helps define qualities of leadership. The game creates multiple patterns and stimulus, all of which are very difficult to track. As participants do the exercise and attempt to control the situation, it eventually leads to failure. The lesson that comes out of it; if you do your part, and trust that others will do theirs, then you can let go of trying to control everything. This begins a conversation about team trust and micromanagement. As you begin the New Year and start to reflect on your own style of managing, ask yourself: 1. What am I trying to control that is out of my control? 2. What can I let go of, and trust that other people can and will take care of ? (And maybe there is a deeper management issue here with those employees to discuss the lack of trust that they will have follow through.) Here's to a happier 2015, with less need to 'keep all the sheep in line.' Click here for more information on ImprovMindset workshops and Keynote Presentations for your team. When I talk with Business Leaders about case studies, they always say “I would have done this…” Or “I would not have made that choice…” The reason that case studies are used for training is that they are subjective; they are an example of a situation - what happened - and outline a decision moment for people to make their own choices as to how they would have reacted. It’s very easy, in the comfort of our own chairs at home, to decide how we would do something. It’s easy when we sit watching football and say “I would not have chosen that play…” As someone who NEVER played football, when I find myself saying that I have to laugh. A mentor of mine talked to me about ‘how do you describe the taste of a strawberry?’ The idea is that there are things that have to be experienced, and only by DOING can you know how you would react. We try to explain things that need to be felt - acted - done. It’s not about the words, it’s about action. I have a favorite joke: How many actors does it take to screw in a light bulb? Six. One to do it, and six to say ‘I could have done it better if I had been given the chance.’ The next time you find yourself saying “I would have done that completely differently…” remember that you didn’t. There might have been fifty mitigating factors that changed how the person who made that decision in real time chose his/her choices. It doesn’t mean you can’t learn from it and consider your own choices. What it means is that you can consider that you might not know the whole story, and that only by experiencing all the factors of that moment could you really say how you would react. It’s like describing the taste of a strawberry; you have to just do it, as some things need to be done to be experienced. There have been hundreds of discussions about how people learn, and the process that each individual goes through for learning. The Learning Curve is always fascinating to watch. Gathering knowledge and speed as you begin to learn, and then having steep acceleration. The hard part for a lot of my clients is leading to the Plateau, and the frustration of the Plateau. "How come I am not learning more?" "Why aren't I accelerating like I was before?" In experiential learning, we recognize the physical limitations of rapid learning and Plateaus and what they do to us. It makes some people feel alive and excited. It also makes other people scared and uncertain. The same is true of Plateaus; some people feel frustrated being in a holding pattern, and others feel comfortable and like they can finally exhale. For me, the Plateau is a place to lean into. It's the time that your body is learning from the practice, and leading you to the next Steep Acceleration. You have to let the Plateau do it's job, and let the physical practice of learning catch up to the intellectual growth. By tying the physical and intellectual together, you can create real change. So don't rest in the Plateau. See what it is teaching you. See what it has to offer when you can focus on the slower growth process. It's the time to get deeper into the learning and make it a practice. And practice makes perfect. Click here for more information on Andrew's work or to contact him for a quote. In my recent work, I have been working with clients surrounding leaps of faith; diving into the unknown and finding out something new that you would have never found in the safety of your current surroundings. It is a method of putting yourself in a vulnerable position, one of uncertainty, to find the edge of what you know and push beyond it.
In the olden days, they used to print on the uncharted waters of maps 'Here there be dragons.' The same is true for our lives. We are used to a daily work routine - a way of operating. It's comfortable. It breeds a complacency. For many of us, we would rather deal with small set backs and be comfortable, then to stretch and find a new opportunity. Part of my work involves giving participants the physical understanding and the physical experience of taking a leap of faith. We practice doing it in controlled ways, so that we can explore our tendencies to not want to rock the boat. We can then see the decisions in a new light, and see how we might be sabotaging our future by keeping the next big thing from changing everything we know and love. A desire to change causes self-reflection, it creates introspection. Couple this physical training with an intellectual understanding like Franklin's decision making process, and you have a physical and intellectual practice to follow for decisions. As I work to change the dynamic of my work - I look at the dysfunctions of my organization and see that they reflect my personal dysfunctions. Since I built the organization, I have to face my own personal demons and be willing to slay them to find the next step. And here there be dragons. That small feeling - the 'pit of your stomach oh-my-god-what-am-I-going-to-do' feeling is a chemical fight or flight response that we, as humans, have hard wired into our brains. It is based on protecting ourselves from the Sabertooth tiger that might attack us. It is the vestige of an older world, that still affects us now. How can we begin to reframe that feeling - that fear - into excitement and wonder? Into the joy of finding outcome thing new? Can we look at the uncharted waters and think 'wow, I wonder what a dragon looks like? let's find out!' I believe by linking the intellectual process with a physical practice, we an alter the fear factor of decisions. After that, we have to reinforce the practice with more repetition. Practice does make perfect. And reflection on the practice gives self realization. Here there be dragons. For more information on Andrew's work, click here. |
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