Month: November 2011

We give thanks for Mother Earth and Father Sky

For the gifts of Nature we can neither earn nor buy;

For the grandfather stones, and grandmother moon, the trees, rivers and oceans who grace us with their presence;

For the resplendent colors of fall, brilliant colors of spring, blinding white of winter, and cool shades of summer;

For the two leggeds, four leggeds, winged ones, furry ones, no leggeds, finned ones, multi-leggeds, who share their wisdom and medicine,

For these gifts we say Wado!

We give thanks for the beauty and strength of our body temple

That we have a body and health to be of service;

That our body is fit and able to breathe, act, hear, cry, love, hug, dance, rejoice;

For the gifts of arms, legs, hands, toes, feet, muscles, bones, ligaments, tissues, capillaries that support our being in this world,

For these gifts we say Blessed Be!

We give thanks for our friends and family

For our loved ones, neighbors, colleagues, clients, acquaintances who enrich and nourish our life;

For the laughter, sharing, knowledge, kindness, ideas, lessons that make us wise and helps us grow;

For the mutual respect, encouragement, honesty, circle of love and trust;

For those who mirror back to us our best and worst self, that we may be ever more mindful of who we want to be in this world,

We say Amen!

Dhanyavād

For all the blessings we receive in the small acts of kindness, listening ear, soulful support and tender touch. We know we receive many blessings throughout our day and week. We take this time to express deep gratitude for the gift of life, this planet, this journey we are on together.

We say Praise be to God, Alhamdulillah!

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For more resources, see our Library topic Spirituality in the Workplace.

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This may seem an odd way to use visual aids, but you would be surprised at how effective it can be to brainstorm or even discover new ideas lurking in the audience. I discovered Ignite recently and was so impressed I put it up for my university speech students to see as an unusual way to use visual aids.

Ignite is the term for rapid-fire presentations.

“Enlighten us but make it quick,” says the website. “Ignite is a geek event in over 100 cities worldwide. At the events Ignite presenters share their personal and professional passions, using 20 slides that auto-advance every 15 seconds for a total of just five minutes.”

If you haven’t seen these, they are fun to watch and learn from. For trainers and professional speakers, I see immeasurable value in focusing ideas, presenting succinctly, ensuring your visual aids are perfect for a 15 second viewing.

Not only is the technique good for exercising speaking techniques and speech development, but it can also serve those folks using brainstorming as a means to produce new ideas, a new company vision or a new methodology or leadership approach.

This is what I told my students:

“I thought this might be of interest, as an example of both brainstorming and using visual aids. Now, in a regular presentation, you don’t want to allow the visual aids to run your presentation; however, here the purpose to stimulate thoughts and ideas. Even so, look at the care that goes into the slides used and what the speaker has to say about them.

“Can you see other elements that are missing from a normal informative speech? In a normal speech or presentation, you would say more, but the speaker is pointing out only the significance of the visual aid. In your informational speech you should use fewer slides, address what is on them more, and connect with your audience. As you can see, five minutes is not a long time to speak definitively about anything, but long enough to stimulate an audience.”

For the traditional student, this is a lesson in giving a presentation with a twist; it tells them what not to do, but at the same time shows them the value of each slide and the importance of each point made by the speaker. What’s missing is also important.

The introduction and the audience connection in these Ignite presentations has to be incorporated or ignored, which is not a good thing unless the series is set up and I’m assuming it is. So, for the student, what’s not there is also important. It can in fact be a glaring reminder that we need to remember to do that.

Content is important, too. If the speaker is not able to comment on the slide fast enough, let’s hope the slide speaks for itself, which by the way, is important in any speech or training session.

We want our visual aids to have impact. Here they do. We want to be careful that our visual aids don’t overwhelm us, which is what we can see happen here. For trainers and professional speakers I see learning examples galore–a way for us to stay sharp.

In theatre, we often use rapid-fire line delivery exercises as way of getting our lines to the point where we don’t have to think of them before we say them; they are just there when we need them after we practice awhile. I could see a technique where a speaker might change the setting so the slides change slower and with that change, the speaker has to fill with pertinent material. Some of us might actually find that fun.

A final word on Ignite presentations. I understand they are being offered commercially in 100 or more cities now, and I’m assuming these are paid events for idea stimulation. I am not endorsing the product or events, but suggesting the technique behind these kinds of presentations might be useful to those of us who deal in presentations all the time.

Any thoughts or experiences you have had with the topic and wish to share are welcome. I am always open to learning new information. I admit this one is new to me. I guess I’ve been in my cave too long. Anyway, I am always available here, and on my website, where you will find information ranging from training, public speaking, interpersonal communication and even acting/directing and theatrical reviews. I am the guy who wrote The Cave Man Guide to Training and Development – A Common Sense Guide by the CEO of ActingSmarts, a different way to look at training no training novice, training developer or manager should be without. If you need a consultant, speaker or trainer, check out my website for details. Happy training.

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For more resources about training, see the Training library.

Bruce Wilkinson is one of those authors whose work has impacted and influenced me beyond belief. There are three books that I’ll share a big thought (the book’s main premise), an important verse or quote along with how I’ve grown spiritually because of his work. All of these books are international bestsellers. Check out his site.

Book: The Prayer of Jabez: Breaking Through to the Blessed Life

Big thought

You might remember or even read this little book when it reached best-seller status about 10 years ago. The book revolves around a prayer from the Bible that Bruce had said for years and how it’s greatly influenced his life. It’s a one-sentence prayer tucked away in the Bible that he believes contains the secret of a life of extraordinary favor with God.

Important quote

Oh that you would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that your hand would be with me, and that you would keep me from evil. So God granted him what he requested. – 1 Chronicles 4:9-10

Spiritual Application

After reading this book I realized the importance of asking God daily to bring blessings to my life and enlarge my influence to others. With His hand guiding me, I know that I’m going to be protected from evil and placed where He wants to spread my influence. I’ve said this prayer since reading the book, some years more diligently than others, and wholeheartedly believe it’s helped with the abundance in my life.

Book: The Dream Giver: Following your God-Given Destiny

Big Thought

God has planted in each of our hearts a BIG dream for our life. It’s a dream that is awaiting us and it’s up to us to have the courage to pursue it. He uses a powerful parable to tell this story on how in the journey of finding your BIG dream you’ll meeting boarder bullies who don’t want you to leave yours and their comfort zone. He uses so many powerful examples of the journey of pursuing that dream in your life.

Important quote

He shares however that a dream that has not been surrendered to God has pitfalls that can bring; how “Your Dream will become your idol”, and how that can “make people ‘successful’ but not fulfilled.”

Spiritual Application

I related to this book so much as I’ve always been a Big Dreamer. While many of my dreams have come true, many haven’t either. I realized that I’ve still be holding on to the dreams and not fully surrendering them to God. For example, I realized that my Big Dream with Project GratOtude I was holding on it. Since this book I’ve now surrender this project and dedicated it to the One above to do with it as He wishes.

Book: You Were Born for This: Seven Keys to a Life of Predictable Miracles

Big Thought

Anyone can do a good deed, but some good works can only happen by an act of God. Around the world these acts are called miracles–not that even religious people expect to see one any time soon. But what would happen if millions of ordinary people walked out each morning expecting God to deliver a miracle through them to a person in need? You Were Born for This starts with the dramatic premise that everyone at all times is in need of a miracle, and that God is ready to meet those needs supernaturally through ordinary people who are willing to learn the “protocol of heaven.” In the straightforward, story-driven, highly motivating style for which he is known, Wilkinson describes how anyone can be a ‘Delivery Guy’ from heaven in such universally significant arenas of life as finances, practical help, relationships, purpose and spiritual growth (description taken from Amazon).

Important verse

“I was born to partner with Heaven on miracles missions. He loves to send servants who are passionate about delivering visible proofs of his goodness and glory.”

Spiritual application

Here are a few excerpts from something else that I wrote using one of his concepts in my life called a God Pocket and I see now that this is his new book out!

“As I was praying then I got another thought, a nudge to give away some of the money in my “God pocket.” Except I didn’t have a God Pocket yet or any money in it. The idea of a God pocket comes from Bruce Wilkinson’s book You Were Born for This. He gives us the steps and fabulous examples of how we can be God’s delivery agents of miracles. One way we might be delivering miracles is through financial gifts. I loved this idea and wanted to do this. But I hadn’t yet. I rarely carry cash as I pay credit cards for everything. This time I actually had a little cash – $20, but I didn’t have it officially saved for my nonexistent God pocket.
Could this $20 be my first official financial delivery for God? I’ve been praying for an opportunity to do so since I’ve gotten back from vacation in March.
I tore off a sheet of plain white paper and left this note. For some reason I was feeling a little sacred to do this as it was out of my comfort zone and my first official delivery agent assignment (at least one that I was conscious of God asking me to do).

From one mother to another mother,
Please use this money to do something special for your children during your vacation. The time we have to love and cherish our children is a blink.
Much love to you!

I folded the note around the $20 bill and walked toward the stranger. We smiled at each other and said, “hello.” She was getting her nails done as well and couldn’t take the note so I put it by her purse and told her this was for her and she could read it later. She said, “thanks for whatever it is.”

Overall Conclusion

His work is truly lifechanging and Bruce says it best, “I’ve stolen all of my material from God, I hope you enjoy it.”

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For more resources, see our Library topic Spirituality in the Workplace.

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Janae Bower is an inspirational speaker, award-winning author and training consultant. She founded Finding IT, a company that specializes in personal and professional development getting to the heart of what matters most. She started Project GratOtude, a movement to increase gratitude in people’s lives.

We never think much about our car battery until we turn the key and the car doesn’t start. It’s the same with training needs assessment.

Companies and organizations want to take advantage of anticipated better times ahead. It’s good that there is an immediate call for the company or organizational needs assessments, probably because the economy is showing signs of recovery–depending on who you ask. But it may not be time for your typical needs assessment.

So, perhaps this is also time for another treatment on the subject. Now, I’m assuming this hubbub is all due to the weakened economy and the need for employers not have workers with jobs working at peak performance.

I think we have to take a fairly basic look at needs assessments in how we present the information, and fill in the details later. The purpose of this blog is to get at the concept of what is it, who it’s for, why do it, and making it work. Four things, which can be blown out of proportion so easily because the “need” is so great.

A training needs assessment, according to the authors of the linked document, Janice A. Miller, SPHR and Diana M. Osinski, SPHR, in order for initiatives to “be effective and efficient, all training programs must start with a needs assessment.” So, it’s an important first step.

“Long before any actual training occurs, the training manager must determine the who, what, when, where, why and how of training. To do this, the training manager must analyze as much information as possible about the following:

• Organization and its goals and objectives.

• Jobs and related tasks that need to be learned.

• Competencies and skills that are need to perform the job.

• Individuals who are to be trained.”

Company performance–right down to individual worker performance–is critical now for survival.

As the economy begins to brighten–an it seems to be–companies are once again thinking it is time to bring everyone to peak performance levels. The “what” is the needs assessment, of course. What we really need. Optimism. Motivation.

Here’s where we don’t blow it. The “who it’s for” is the company, but the workers take the training. They rate and evaluate their own performance so the company can train them to be more proficient at their jobs. What if the employees feels this is an effort to seek out the dead weight in the company on a day they aren’t feeling terribly productive, and so today they are feeling vulnerable.

Your people have been with you through the lean times. Let’s assume the training needs assessment is an effort to see where we stand and what we need to move forward. Naturally we want to improve productivity. I’m sure you are aware that the workers have been doing this for some time, filled with worry and concerns that many will not share with you. Then, you send them the Training Needs Assessment forms, which look suspiciously like “we need to see if everyone is doing their jobs, and if not, train others to do them better.”

At this particular moment in time, a stressful moment for the employees, optimism is not a part of the picture unless you present it that way. There has to be a preamble to reassure employees that jobs are secure, and in fact this may be part of hiring initiative. It should also emphasize why the company has picked this time to do a needs assessment, made workers take it, and quite simply tell them what’s in it for them. There doesn’t even have to be a direct connection to the training. By telling workers simultaneously that because things are getting better that we can all benefit from the needs assessment, it may be enough to satisfy them.

Better yet. Offer positive credit for training by adding it to their personnel portfolio, encourage supervisors to endorse the training fully, and otherwise make workers feel that when they do the training they do not have to worry about their current job as well. Unless they are sufficiently pumped for the training ahead and feel optimistic about the company’s as well as their own personal future, they aren’t likely to respond positively to the needs assessment. The pages will be grumbled about and set aside until the last minute as the employees scramble to save their jobs.

A total miscommunication is possible–and yet the company has said the right thing. Good communication doesn’t operate in a void. There are barriers to effective communication and one of those is the situation or environment in which the communication takes place. Another barrier is the mindset of the listener, so the sender (the company or organization) has to take into account the psychological framing of the listener.

We know what a needs assessment contains. We need to ask a lot of questions about what the company needs to do its job better as well as the employees. The formalized needs assessment, given by the thorough training folks (who may also be disconnected from the workers by position) should be prepared for in such a way as to take the “new” situation into account. We are big on saying no situation is alike, and yet sometimes, we treat the situations as exactly alike. If it’s not broke… The needs assessment system is not broke, but don’t forget the assessment is still about training people, and people learn and perform best when they know what’s in it for them. You don’t want to send mixed signals to employees about this is critical business function.

Ironically, the company has the best intentions, and probably says all the right things–for a normal, prosperous environment. It’s a leadership issue as much as a training issue.

Trainers: this is your opportunity to make a major difference. Meanwhile, if you need a basic needs assessment how-to, here’s a good link: http://www.dirjournal.com/guides/how-to-conduct-a-training-needs-analysis/ Go for it.

These views are mine and mine alone. I hope I have tweaked some interest in the topic and shed some light on a topic not thought about much–except when we need it. You can find more of my thoughts on a variety of topics related to training, speaking, acting–anything to do with communication on my website under the What I Say category. Please check out my unusual take in my eBook, The Cave Man Guide to Training and Development. Happy training.

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For more resources about training, see the Training library.

My dissertation was on corporate whistle-blowing. Only a small percent of employees will report wrong-doing above and beyond the normal channels of informing a supervisor. Whistle blowing generally won’t occur if people are uncertain regarding the severity of the wrong-doing, or when people don’t believe that corrective action will be taken. Neither of those conditions seemed to occur in the Penn State events.

Several organizational issues emerge for me as I reflect on the Penn State tragedy revealed last week – power structures, corporate social responsibility, conformity, shadow, deniability, personal loyalties. Spiritual and moral qualities of courage, integrity, honesty, and responsibility seem to have been in short supply in this story.

Enter the Shadow

Corporate whistle-blowing often doesn’t happen because people don’t recognize or appreciate the gravity or negative impact of an incident. That University officials, Tom Curley and Gary Schulz, described the behavior to the university president as “horsing around in the shower” with a youth rather than recognize it as a possible criminal offense (let alone morally unacceptable) is amazing. What’s even more amazing is that Pres. Dr. Spanier, who has a background in sociology and family counseling, didn’t take this description of behavior more seriously and investigate it further. A more classic example of shadow in organizations could not be told as in the grand jury report. The leaders at Penn State chose not to investigate more to find out the facts.

The shadow occurs in organizations when people are willing to turn a blind eye to disturbing news. Rather than investigating further, they’d rather take the expedient route. Truth is forsaken. Product safety issues, embezzlement, sexual harassment all get perpetuated in organizations when leaders, and front line staff, fail to confront shadow behavior within their ranks. Speaking truth to power is challenging in organizations even in the best of circumstances.

Moral Courage – Stepping in and getting muddy

Most people would rather not get muddy than step into a deep puddle. Conformity and diffusion of responsibility are powerful factors affecting organizational behavior. In fact, most people don’t report wrong-doing for fear of retaliation. So what can we learn from this tragedy? Honor, courage and integrity aren’t ideals in a vacuum. They are lived values.

I learned from my research that it takes a lot of moral courage to report wrong-doing to other authorities or take direct action to stop wrong-doing in organizations. In my research with accountants and engineers, the few who did report beyond the normal chain of command often lost their jobs. Some were even black-balled from their careers for several years. Yet they persisted. Why? Because they had a strong sense of professional ethics and clear moral compass.

This tragedy is yet another wake-up call and reminder to take stock of corporate values and priorities. On a personal level, what do you want to model and display for your staff? What values run deep for you, that you want to demonstrate by your actions?

What are you willing to do and not do to save your job, save someone else’s job? Values such as integrity and honesty shed light on the shadow. It takes courage to look into one’s shadow, acknowledge what you see, and take action to address what you find.

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For more resources, see our Library topic Spirituality in the Workplace.

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Linda is a keynote speaker on such topics as business ethics, leadership, and employee engagement. Contact her at info@lindajferguson.com to learn more about her work.