Lighter or Darker, what choice will you make today?

Every Monday morning Nick Askew sends a poem, picture or short movie to the people of his email list. The words, images are reflective and have the aim to make you think. This weeks movie is about making choices. We daily make so many choices. And in every interaction lies a choices.

‘LIGHTER, OR DARKER’ | HOLLYWOOD VERSION BELOW
Each encounter holds the capacity to render us lighter.

Or to colour the experience of our world darker.

Each encounter holds the capacity to engage
our sense of wonder.

Or to help us hide from noticing the
experience of being human.

Each encounter holds the capacity to
tell its story without expectation.

Or to force on the world an opinion
of how it must be.

Each encounter holds the capacity for
us to recognise our sameness.

Or to escape into the experience
of separateness.

And with each encounter comes a decision.

To make our world lighter.

Or darker.

http://soulbiographies.com/

Let’s Start A Learning Revolution…

Use your hands…

http://www.vimeo.com/14615070

Lloyd Kahn.

We can build a home.

We got hands.

Ten digits.

A hammer. And a nail.

Yup, we got everything we need to build a home.

What do axes and values have in common?

Gränsfors make one the finest forged axes in the world. It has become more than just an axe. It is an icon for quality and a belief that there is another way of making things. But how did they come to this position and how did the believe in their values helped them to become the Rolls Royce maker of Axes.

I have their axes and these are tools you want to invest in. Not only it is a great tool, more than that by buying an axe you share the values and beliefs of the team that made them. Let the CEO explain it himself.

David Allen speaks at the “Do” Lectures

Did you know Belgium?

Here is some view of the place where I live. The most complicated story even getting more complicated. This is what happens when the logic takes over and looses “Common Sense”. What happens when the system becomes so difficult to understand that nobody tries to understand it anymore? I studied Law, live in the place for more than half of my life and read newspapers, and I lost it. Dear Bart and Elio, stop forcing something the world gave up already. Just let it go. Hope this video will help you understand. If so call me… Enjoy

Did You Know – The Sequel?

Did You Know? started a world – wide discussion. At the moment it knows its 4.0 version as you could read in my previous post. But I felt the need to give somewhat more background and resources for you to help continue the discussion. We use the discussion in our Strategic Sales Management Program when we reflect upon Vision, and Strategic Planning.

Did You Know? is intended to be a conversation starter. As you use the presentation with various audiences, leave plenty of time at the end for questions and discussion. Questions such as the following are good ways to start conversation:

• What are your initial reactions to what you saw in the presentation?
• How are these changes manifesting themselves in your personal lives? Professional lives?
• What do we think it means to prepare students for the 21st century? What skills do students need to survive and thrive in this new era?
• What implications does this have for our current way of doing things?
• Do we need to change? If so, how?
• How do we get from here to there?
• What challenges must we overcome as we move forward?
• What supports will we need as we move forward?
• What kind of training will we need to move forward?
• What kind of commitments will we need to make (with each other, our students, and our community) to move forward?
• Who’s scared? Why?
• What will we do next? What are some concrete actions that we can take in the near future?
• Is it possible for a teacher to be an excellent teacher if he/she does not use technology?

The original blog post by Karl Fisher:

Blog post Fishbowl

The Wiki that completes all background information:

shifthappens.wikispaces.com

Congratulations for the Xplane guys with the design work:

www.xplane.com

Have fun discussing.

Contributions to http://shifthappens.wikispaces.com are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike 3.0 License.

Did You Know? 4.0

This is an amazing story of a simple presentation that became a world-wide discussion. “Did You Know?” started originally out as a PowerPoint presentation for a faculty meeting in August 2006 at  Arapahoe High School in Centennial, Colorado, United States. The presentation “went viral” on the Web in February 2007 and, as of June 2007, had been seen by at least 5 million online viewers. Today the old and new versions of the online presentation have been seen by at least 20 million people, not including the countless others who have seen it at conferences, workshops, training institutes, and other venues.

Some questions for your thinking:

What skills do you want to teach your kids?

What and how many languages does your kid speak?

How will this impact your professional life?

How are you preparing to coop with these changes?

How is your organization adapting to these changes?

What can we learn from “SOS Piet”?

SOS Piet

Since a couple of years we have a cooking program on the Belgian TV called “SOS Piet”. Its success is unseen. Piet Huysentruyt, a former chef and owner of a Michelin star restaurant quit his kitchen and went on the road with a little cooking survival kit and a camera crew to help the Belgian TV audience to cook. He also wrote three cooking books which are top selling books in here in Belgium. What are the secrets of his success and why does the concept sell? SOS Piet applies some fundamentals of the successful sale. What are they?

Put yourself at level with you audience

SOS Piet literally left is kitchen, all his rewards and status signs. This is, as far as I know the first cooking program in the world where a well regarded Michelin Star chef gets in his car and comes to your kitchen. By doing so, he becomes as the expert very accessible and at level with his audience. It will cost you absolutely nothing to have Piet over, you only need to mail him with a real cooking problem and get selected. He is open to anyone and puts himself at level of his customers.

Listen to your audience

Since many years cooking programs are very popular. You can not count how many chefs have their program telling how they do things. SOS Piet reversed the roles. He let you cook in your kitchen. He only observes listens, tastes and sees what goes wrong. Listening is all about the story of the other, noting about your story. And most importantly, Piet does not comment on your problem, he only changes some details in the way you do tings.

Speak their language

In one of the shows the lady is Spanish and speaks a mix of English and Flemish. SOS Piet adapted his language using his best English mixed with some Flemish. The chemistry was not only going in the pan but also in the Kitchen. By copying the same language and wording of your counterpart, you create a connection. The other party feels immediately at level and is motivated to talk.

Think and go in little logical steps that really help

SOS Piet gives “Tips and Tricks”. No more, no less. At the start of a sales training, I ask the participants about their expectations. And I always get the request for Tips and Tricks. Why? It easier to remember little tricks that work rather than having to remember great theories and complex models. We only want that one trick that does it all. SOS Piet gives us this “Wonder Trick”. It is the trick that sticks and will makes a world of a difference. His audience feels helped. Change and success comes in small steps.

Everyone 15 minutes famous

What happens when someone you know in your town comes on television? You will be watching. The whole town will be watching. Is it not more fun to peep into your neighbour’s kitchen? And that person will be the talk of the day. When Andy Warhol said that in the future everybody will be 15 minutes famous, it sounded unrealistic. Coming on TV was only for celebrities. Now you just send a mail to SOS Piet and chances are big that you end up in his cooking show and become the talk of the day. We all want to feel important and need attention.

Back to basics

Every cookbook should start with “how to cook an egg”. It sounds boring but it is essential. If you are not able to cook a potato properly, why would you bother to make “Gratin Dauphinois”? Often when, I coach experienced Sales, I see them make errors against the basics. Bad habits or good habits never learned? In sales, minimum of skills are required. When those are absent, it is no use to invest in advanced sales training programs.

“What did we learn?”

Every activity can be a learning opportunity. We only have to process our learning. This is reflecting on what we did and what was important to remember and repeat or to do different in the future. The most easy and basic way of processing this learning is by asking: “What did we learn?” This question became SOS Piet’s trade mark. I recognise successful sales agents only by their learning attitude. For them every sales call is a learning opportunity and they actively process their learning again and again. Selling is a continuous learning event. Not one sales call is the same.

And have Fun

When SOS Piet is around, everybody has fun. Last, he was invited on the “De Laatste Show” which is a late evening talk show on the Belgian TV. Piet sat on the bench with Sting and Dennis Rodman and made everybody laugh and joke. There is some saying that “if you can’t tell it on a fun way, it is not the truth”. We are naturally attracted to fun. Laughing is one of the best stress relievers and it relaxes us. Don’t take yourself too seriously.

Here are some questions that could help you with your success.

How do you put yourself at level with your customer?

How long do you really listen to the story of your customer?

How much do you use the “exact” wording of your customer?

How do you help your customer with small practical advice?

How do you make your customer feel important?

How well do you practice the communication basics?

What did you learn from your last sales call?

When did you last make your customers smile?

Have Fun, Patrick

How helpless is your organization?

Organizations suffering from “learned helplessness” are in a state of immobility. They seem to be unable to get into action and change the situation they are in. And this is not helping them in difficult situations such as the current economic downturn. Big and well known corporations that seem to have passed the test of time can fall in this situation leading them to bankruptcy. The last year we saw big names, like Lehman Brother go under. The more you recognise the symptoms causing this “learned helplessness”, the better it can be cured. And simple interventions can have a huge impact.

“Learned Helplessness” was defined by Martin Seligman, an American psychologist and founder of positive psychology movement.

It is a psychological state where people feel powerless to change their self or situation. This primarily caused when people attribute negative things in life to internal, stable and global factors. Essentially, it means that persons feel as if change is not possible, since there is a pervasive and unchangeable personal problem.

 “We like this training very much but, things will never change over here.” How many times did I hear this one-liner that kills it all, when helping teams on teambuilding interventions? And I have a hard time not feeling depressed when hearing that.

Burn out is common by IT employees who staff IT helpdesks. The simple fact that there is a helpdesk just one call away, make employees helpless for all their computer worries. They would call even the helpdesk for turning on the computer in the morning, you never know…

Leadership coaching, teambuilding or even creativity training make no sense when indeed people need to return to a system that puts them in this learned helplessness. As Trevor Cook writes in his blog:

“Bringing out Americans to teach you to be optimistic won’t matter a jot if your work situation is crap and if you can’t change it and you’re stuck there for life. That’s enough to depress anyone and no amount of fancy psychologising is going to change that.”

Trevor Cook’s Blog

The system needs to change. This change needs to be done by the people that can change the system. But therefore they need to understand what could make the systems helpless.

In extreme cases helplessness can lead to suicide. France Telecom knows already 28 suicides cases since February this year with major reason “the bad work situation”. It is sure that behavioural training will not work to solve this.

The main reasons for helplessness are:

Attribution style

What is the attribution style in the organization? Internal blaming is seen as one of the reasons for learned helplessness. “It’s me.” How much blaming is been done. Deficit language is negative for the morale and could be very threatening. Is there a “half empty bottle” communication or a “half full bottle” communication practised? Every reality can be seen from a negative or a positive stance. How does your organization does look upon reality?

Perception of control and predictability of the future

It is also called “global distortion.” “It will affect everything I do.” How do co-workers perceive having control over the changes that happen to them. Is there a top down directive style of communication in the organization? Or is communication based on consensus where co-workers are really heard? What is done with feedback coming from the work floor? Do co-workers see real change happening when they advise? And if nothing is done with their advice, is that then also communicated to them?

Stability generalization

“It will last forever.” Co-workers see changes as undetermined in time.  They loose completely track of right perspectives. And a small move of the office becomes a major upset. Even a new telephone system can lead people in depression and make them going on sick leave.

Motivational climate

How are co-workers motivated? What happens when people make mistakes? Am I allowed to ask for help when I encounter difficulties in my job or career? Is there help organized by the Learning and Development Department? What is the learning culture in your organization? Do you learn continually or is learning inhibited? Is coaching offered to repair weaknesses or to develop strenghts?

Answers to the problem lie in the positive psychology.

Positive psychology is a movement started by people like Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers and Erich From. It studies the strengths and virtues that enable individuals and communities to thrive. More recently researchers like Martin Seligman, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi have done work in that field.

Positive psychology focuses around Positive experiences and positive future. More recent approaches can be found in Appreciative Inquiry and Solution Focussed Coaching.

Positive Experiences

Mindfulness

This approach is a mix of western and eastern knowledge. It is defined as actively searching for novelty. It is characterised as non-judging, non-striving, and accepting.  Its benefits include reduction of stress, anxiety, depression and chronic pain.

People accepting changes are more willing to move forward to the change. But it needs facilitation and communication to help everybody through the change cycle. Mindfulness training can be a good help in this. But Meditation and other eastern practices are still seen as odd in our western organisations. In China and Japan it is not uncommon to see groups practice Tai chi or other meditative practices together on the work floor. People that are “well-centred” can coop better with external stressful contexts.

Flow

Flow as defined by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, is a state of absorption in one’s work characterised by intense concentration, loss of self awareness, a feeling of control, and a sense of “time is flying”. Flow is an intrinsically rewarding experience and it can also help one achieve a goal or improve skills.

How many of you experience flow at work? And what can you do in your current work environment in order to make flow happen? In our Western organizations there is not much focus on the fact whether employees are having fun in what they do and whether they experience a state of flow. And yet motivation and employee engagement are main issues in organizations.

Positive futures

Self-efficacy

Self-efficacy is one’s belief in one’s ability to accomplish a task by one’s own efforts. High self-efficacy has positive effects on one’s general well being and also the physical well being.

In what extend can your co-workers find themselves the answers to their problems? Is it worth changing the IT help line in an on-line problem solving system?  Why not organize an intranet forum system where co-workers can help each other on their IT problems.

Does your organization stimulates self-efficacy or does it take away the self efficacy of your co-workers? Are employees listened at when they come with solutions for their problems? My experience is that employees are best placed to solve their work related problems. Are they empowered to do so?

Learned optimism

Learned optimism is the habit of attributing one’s failures to causes that are external (not personal), variable (not permanent), and specific (limited to a specific situation). This explanatory style is associated with better performances, greater satisfaction in interpersonal relationships, better coping and less vulnerability to depression.

One big example of this is the model of Timothy Galloway, The inner game of tennis. In his coaching he helps tennis players to focus on the ball and the racket. This helps them to exclude their inner dialogue that undermines their performances. What is the inner dialogue of your organization?

Hope

Hope is a learned style of goal-directed thinking in which the person utilizes both pathways thinking (the perceived capacity to find routes to desired goals) and agency thinking (the requisite motivations to use those routes).

The best examples where this is practised is in Appreciative Inquiry and Solution Focussed Coaching. The simpliest form is done with the “Wonder question”. How would you dream your ideal workenvironment?

We helped many groups and teams from a so called “learned helplessness” to a “learned optimism”. It does not take long and the effects are enormous. And it helps organizations to move through difficult moments of change.

Some questions to summarize our thinking:

How much fun do you experience in your workplace?

How many times a day do you experience “flow” when doing your job?

How proud are you to be part of your organization?

How do you cope with failures?

How free are you to try out something different?

How would you describe your ideal worksituation?

Good luck