Innovations International Blog

Regrets about the lives that we have lived

2012-01-20T09:59:00.000-07:00

I try to live in a way so that I will not have too many regrets....I am not 100% successful, but I try. A friend of mind recently posted this and I thought I would share it...I have no tips or suggestions, except to reflect on it, consider if you have any of these regrets thus far, and if you would want to do anything about it.

"We heard a story about a woman who worked in hospice care for years and she listened to hundreds of people who were about to die. The regrets were always the same:

1. "I wish that I had the courage to live the life that I wanted.
2. "I wish that I did not work so hard."
3. "I wish I had the courage to express my feelings."
4. "I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends."
5. "I wish I let myself be happy."

Interesting food for thought....

Danny

First post of 2012--Framing questions for the year

2012-01-12T10:36:00.000-07:00

Each year, I like to pick out between two and four questions that I use to frame my activity. They are usually based upon my goals for the year, and it serves as a helpful tool to eliminate things that may not be productive or do not contribute to my overall plan. An example could be "Does this activity help my relationship with my family" or "Does this activity help me on my path to promotion". If you are able to narrow it down to about three or four of these questions, using these as a framework for your activity can be a powerful experience and really focuses your time, energy and effort.

Planning for 2012--what we want the year to look like

2011-12-12T10:52:00.000-07:00

We can of course arbitrarily make plans and goals for ourselves on any time frame (I could run my goals from May 27 through November 16 if I so desired)...but there is something that is so easy and natural about doing it at the end of year. Here are a few things that either I am trying or that friends of mine are trying this year:

1) Instead of yearly goals, one person I know is planning a series a 12 smaller monthly goals. If successful, I have a feeling that the incremental successes will build upon each other and likely make the achievement of a larger goal much easier.

2) Always see if you can develop your plan for achieving the goal before setting it--in that way, if its achievement is too complex, you will know in advance and can modify the goal or choose to address something else.

3) This may contradict what I just said to some extent, but goal planning for the next year should also be something fun where you allow yourself to dream a little. Trying something a little difficult or challenging is OK...and in fact should be embraced. Look at it as an opportunity to push yourself into personal and professional growth.

Whatever you decide on in the end, over the course of the year it is always powerful to use conscious and subconscious ways to keep it top of mind (index cards or post it notes in key places, dream state work, etc)--you would be surprised the opportunities that these kinds of tools can open up.

Combating or reversing the effects of aging, and achieving excellence

2011-12-05T13:27:00.001-07:00

I have seen or heard similar in different sources (for example, the discussion of myelin in the talent code), but in the Washington Post today there was an article on combating the effects of aging http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/the-aging-brain/2011/12/05/gIQAskhDWO_graphic.html . As I look at people over the age of 60 that I know, the ones who are the most healthy are extremely active, either continuing to work, writing books, volunteering for non-profit program, proposing new projects, learning new languages and exercising regularly....what I read in this article continues to confirm what I have heard all along. For those who work virtually, it is important to maintain a network outside of a daily skype call, etc. on a regular basis.

In a proactive way, the following link the discusses myelin, and the importance of its development in achieving excellence http://thetalentcode.com/myelin/ . This is the flip side of the post article, in that at young ages, stimulating development of myelin is a key factor in achieving elite status in an activity. You can obviously see how the two are linked, and how they are also linked to the work that we do in creativity and achieving high performance.

When to just listen

2011-11-27T22:46:00.000-07:00

It is an interesting phenomenon that at times we feel compelled to answer, when sometimes all people want is to make a statement and be heard. On two occasions recently--the first a seminar where I was co-facilitating, and the second a meeting at my children's school--there were times when people from the audience made very strong statements during a Q & A period. On both occasions, the people leading those sessions at the time both felt compelled to respond, even though the people had not truly asked questions but made only provocative statements. The result in both cases was a back and forth that ended up, in my opinion, detracting from both sessions. One of the most important tips I learned a number of years ago is that there is nothing wrong in letting a statement stand on its own...particularly where the person stating it is not truly engaging but only stating their opinion. People will pick up on it, and will usually continue with your program without any problem, and in many cases, if you allow it, audience participants will facilitate that person themselves, which can be more powerful than you guiding or trying to resolve the matter.

Find out what your team members would do as CEO

2011-11-21T11:16:00.000-07:00

A great way to get quick strategic input is to ask your team members what they would do if they were in your role? If you are a manager, what direction would they take the team?   If you are a CEO, in what direction would they move the company?

It feels a little scary, because your hope is that they do not say "I think you do not have a clue as to what you are doing," but at the same time, if people believe that, then I would certainly want to know.

We engaged in this exercise recently and the items that people came up with were quite helpful.   I think that they also appreciated being consulted, and knowing that they also play a role in how the organization moves forward. It is also important to have a culture where people feel free to speak openly....but it is very helpful as they will view the organization or your team from a very different vantage point and will come up with unique perspectives that you would never have the opportunity to see.

Coaching and facilitating others--talk less, matter more

2011-11-16T05:36:00.001-07:00

Whether it is a youth soccer team or a group of people in a corporate seminar, I have always subscribed to the philosophy of "talk less, matter more" Here is a great blog on this by Daniel Coyle who authored the Talent Code. It truly captures that essence of our philosophy in the exercises we deliver and the emphasis on interactive exercises and peer learning, rather than the focus being on a trainer/facilitator.

http://thetalentcode.com/2011/11/08/a-word-of-coaching-advice-talk-less-matter-more/

Tuning in to your most creative period

2011-11-16T05:23:00.001-07:00

One way to truly leverage your creativity is to be tuned in to your own personal rhythm. And it is not always static. For me, I have noticed that my new period has become early in the morning, between 3am and 5am. Sometimes if I am experiencing a particular block on a topic, I will purposely go to bed around 8:30 PM to increase the likelihood that I will get up early. For me, in addition to the fact that everything is quiet at that time and I have no interruptions, I also find that I am probably a little more connected to my subconscious at that time since I am still somewhat in that zone between the awake state and the sleep state. For myself, this has also changed over the years...in college, I definitely worked later into the night, so it is important to remain aware as to how your rhythms change.

By contrast, my wife much prefers the energy of working on something late into the night until it is complete. Her creative process flows quite well as a function of her own self imposed deadlines.

Try to recognize when you are most creative, and when first getting started using creativity try to leverage your most natural periods in addition to other periods that you may want to focus on.

Networking with competitors

2011-11-09T15:20:00.001-07:00

Recently, a friend mentioned to me about how he spent time on a regular basis networking with his competitors. I was surprised by this, but when I questioned deeper, he explained that:

1) It is a great way to discuss in general terms the challenges or opportunities you are facing (without revealing anything confidential).

2) Sometimes you may refer each other business if it is not in your area of expertise or you have over flow

3) There may be back office practices where you can assist each other , without feeling as if you are giving someone a competitive advantage.

4) There is probably enough business out there for everyone, so it will probably not hurt to simply have a dialogue.

I have just begun my experiment , so stay tuned and I will keep you appraised of the results.

Creating your own advisory group--a valuable resource

2011-11-08T15:51:00.001-07:00

Last week, I attended a conference in Mexico City for entrepreneurs, and in the group of attendees were two people that I have known for six years. In between sessions (and sometimes during sessions admittedly), I worked through a new business idea with them. For 3 days straight I was able to present, get feedback, revise, present again, revise and on and on...through multiple iterations. I quantify the value of these discussions, and even better, neither of them are from my industry. Sometimes we tend to get a bit of tunnel vision in sharing with people only in our business--drawing on bright people outside of these circles is also valuable. And just because they give feedback doesn't mean you have to use it--but sometimes feedback you get may lead to other ideas you had not considered. Characteristics to look for are people who:

1) Question things

2) Tend to look at the world a little differently

3) Are from a different industry than your own (they do not see the same limitations you might)

4) Won't be offended if you don't use their advice

5) Have demonstrated that they have your best interests at heart

6) You respect

Make up your own personal advisory board, and see if you can find an opportunity to spend some time with them.

FuturePerfect Leader--Adapting to rapid change

2011-11-07T15:03:00.001-07:00

The FuturePerfect Leader is one who on a regular basis projects themselves ahead in order to adapt to rapid change.    To do so successfully requires a few key characteristics:

1) Questioning--on a regular basis, are you asking yourself where you and your organization are, what your customer needs are. Are you also asking variety of people--those who may be both inside and outside of your immediate network--to get their perspectives?

2) Associating--For new disruptive, ideas to manifest themselves, we also need exposure to a variety of inputs. Inputs can come from reading, hobbies that we may have, or other pursuits.   Do we expose ourselves to activities that put us out of our comfort zone, and force us to view the world in a different way?

3) Innovation--once we have a new direction, do we make it into something tangible?   Not just thinking and creating for ourselves, but in a way that becomes usable for those around us?

4) Risk taking--Are we prepared to put our new idea out for public consumption, whether the feedback is positive or negative? Any leader who is projecting and innovating with a mindset toward the future needs this characteristic.

A futureperfect leader is constantly pushing to identify the next set of disruptive changes in their industry.

Growth through challenges

2011-10-11T13:11:00.001-06:00

One of the most enjoyable activities for me whether it is with my colleagues at Innovations or on the soccer field with my son's team is growth through challenges. One of the most satisfying experiences whether it is for me personally, or watching someone else, is to achieve something that I did not believe possible a week earlier, a month earlier or a year earlier.

With soccer, it always because you make something more difficult--you were able to keep the ball in the air 4 times...how about 5, or 6....or with your left foot, etc. In business, it seems that competition and technology are what changes the conditions for us all of the time--you deliver your content in one day, but I want it in 4 hours instead. Or in the form of a webinar....or in an on demand web based program. With of course the same results.

Speaking for myself, most of the time I enjoy the process...it is the challenge that keeps me excited. Every now and then I certainly wish I could take a bit of a break...but the pace of change does not allow us that luxury. That is why it is so important to also surround yourself with people who embrace change, so that they will push you when you have those moments where you may desire a mental break. And those people can be inside your business, or outside.

Why don't we want to look within?

2011-10-07T09:21:00.001-06:00

Recently, I have had discussions with some customers who have said that they were interested in a significant change in results, but only want to spend time on behaviors. I truly wrestle with this one, as it is has been a long held principle of the work we do at Innovations that behavior change is necessary but not sufficient for long term impact. For that, we have always come from the perspective that to have significant impact, we need to look at our beliefs, attitudes and mindset first, then move to behaviors. On a number of occasions, clients have told us that they agree with our model, but they do not believe that their employees are interested in personal reflection.

I believe that people do in fact look for personal growth--as students, they may take on a challenging internship or spend a year abroad. As adults, we learn new sports, start businesses, take on new hobbies, quit smoking--all activities which at some point will take us our of out traditional comfort zone. I know it is difficult sometimes to do, but once you take that step, it is truly refreshing and invigorating and opens up new avenues that previously did not exist. Ultimately, if we want to grow as leaders, become more creative, or truly create inclusion, looking within is our beginning point.

Are Leaders Born or Made?

2011-09-22T10:06:00.000-06:00

This question is one that I have frequently discussed with people--how can you teach the kind of leadership attributes that you find in people like Lincoln, Gandhi, King, Mandela, or others who have truly been able to inspire and move people? Some people would claim that they are born with those attributes....and although I would say that people are born with some tendencies, I would not say that they were necessarily born to be leaders. My belief is that everyone one of these individuals went through a significant transformational experience in their lives at some point that profoundly impacted their view on life and and the world. Only through this deep personal growth is one able to exhibit the kind of wisdom, selflessness, courage and calm to lead people through challenging periods. For example, King, Gandhi and Mandela all spent varying but significant time in prisons early in their "careers" as leaders of their movements (Mandela obviously much more than the other two). For people who knowingly put themselves in these positions, these provided unique opportunities for reflection as indicated by some of the writings that came out of their times spent while incarcerated.

For each of us the opportunities will probably not be as dramatic, but in spite of whatever we may learn in the classroom, our ability to lead others is directly proportional to our willingness to experience personal growth outside of the classroom--not just when it is thrust upon us, but to actively seek it out in the context of our daily lives.

Creativity and Innovation--the Base of Knowledge

2011-09-02T10:51:00.000-06:00

Everyone loves to be creative, and we all have often said to ourselves "How did they think of that?" when we marvel at the end result of the creativity of others. One large part of creativity that we often forget, however, is the need to have a base of knowledge in the area where we want to be creative. Einstein was able to develop the theory of relativity because of his extensive knowledge of mathematics and physics. If you see an elite athlete--for example Barcelona's Lionel Messi--he is able to do incredible things on the soccer field. But he has also played for thousands and thousands of hours since the age of 4. Books like the Talent Code or Outliers both talk about the rule of "deep practice" or 10,000 hours--these are all reminders that if we want to experience the creative jumps, it is our responsibility to immerse ourselves in the subject matter area that we want to master. This will mean mistakes, but we will have an opportunity to make a correction, and improve. When we have started down this path, some of the different tools that I will discuss in our next few blogs (mind mapping, visualization, dream state programming) all become available to us in order to make these quantum leaps we desire.

Danny

Responsibility and Accountability--The Key to Personal and Professional Development

2011-08-17T14:29:00.000-06:00

In a seminar last week, as well as with a in discussion with a friend this week, I was asked what someone can do when they have a difficult workplace relationship with someone, and that person is not open to change or growth.    This is a difficult situation, because, at least for me, I cannot control the actions of others (my children remind me of this lesson every day).

How I responded to this question was that for any transformation process to take place in any aspect of my work life or personal life, the first step is for me to take responsibility for situation and realize my contribution to the state of affairs. If I am not willing to acknowledge this, I am likely to continue stuck in the situation.   This applies whether I am talking about a difficult relationship, the state of my career, my work life balance (or lack of it) , etc.

Once I have taken responsibility, then I am able to think proactively about solutions that I had never considered before. What if I try approaching this person in an entirely different way, or take new steps for professional development with respect to my career? These options may not have appeared to be available to me prior to me having this mindset. The other key is to make certain that the strategies that I put into place are sufficiently challenging so that they will alter the current situation, ideally for the better.

Finally, I need to take accountability for the results I produce.   The steps I take may be productive, neutral or counterproductive, but only through accountability can I take the information and improve upon it as a learning experience.

Resolving Conflict--lessons from my sons

2011-08-04T10:59:00.000-06:00

I was raised as an only child, so did not get the lessons in conflict resolution growing up that most people experience with their siblings. But I have now been witness to it (and sometimes brought in as a facilitator) with my 8 year old and 6 year old sons. There are a few key lessons that I have learned carry over into resolving workplace conflict:

The Best incentive is a larger goal that is more important than whatever is in dispute--I find that if I can bear leaving them alone to battle it out for a bit, they always seem to come to a more permanent resolution to the conflict than if I intervene. They realize that they are really stuck with each other as playmates for the long term, and that they can spend the time fighting, or enjoying themselves. Finding that objectives for employees that is more important than whatever differences they may have is always a great motivator.
Understanding that people move at different paces--I have one son who will get over a conflict quickly, while the other will definitely brood and remember whatever the issue was for a couple of days. Getting to know the paces of your employees or colleagues will serve well in the conflict resolution process. With deadlines and projects, sometimes there may not be the luxury of letting someone resolve things at their usual pace, but at least an awareness of it will prepare you for what you are in for!
Realize that it will happen again--Any long term relationship (parent/child, spouse/spouse, co-worker to co-worker, etc.) is bound for conflict....and it will happen again. That is part of the personal growth process. The key is that ideally once something is resolved, future conflicts are not about the same thing...that is indicator that it was never truly resolved the first time.

Those are some small but relevant tips about conflict resolution that a 3rd grader and first grader have taught me.

Danny

Personal Growth--The only way to keep up with constant change

2011-07-26T14:14:00.000-06:00

In any industry, with technology increasing the pace at which our environments change, our ability to keep up with that change is dependent upon our own openness to personal growth. I was speaking with a friend yesterday who described a very challenging work situation where he has a set of colleagues who appear to setting him up for failure, in an attempt to advance their own careers. To address this, he has taken the approach of including other parties on their dialogue, but remaining factual at all times, while still being helpful. This served effectively as a way to disarm the other party, as they found that they were in a different position with their activity known to the word. For this to be effective, this required that my friend not take anything personally, and remain committed to this person's success in spite of their apparent motives. The ability to take this approach did not come overnight, but required many evenings of frustrating discussions, until the solution became obvious to them. Whether we look at someone's willingness to return to school for a career change, someone's ability to step up their level of performance for a new position, or their ability to deal with a difficult person, personal growth is common to all of these situations.

Danny

Working with a Diversity of Customers

2011-07-06T09:18:00.000-06:00

Diversity and inclusion also both come into play where customers are involved. We have customers with very different communications styles--one who prefers texts, another emails, another phone calls, and another in person visits (and one customer who communicates through all modes)--and learning their styles took some time as our relationship deepened. In terms of how we serve them, some customers prefer to ask us specifically for what they want (like ordering a la carte at a restaurant), while another comes to us with a few general objectives and says "I'll give you a week or two and tell me what you can come up with." Understanding the variations on customers has been very important in maintaining our long terms relationships.

It is more obvious when selling to consumers---regional differences, tendencies along ethnic lines, preferences that more women have then men, etc.--but invisible differences that customers may have are just as significant.

Leveraging Human Potential

2011-06-20T08:04:00.002-06:00

People use this term a lot...but what does it really mean? I think there are basically two elements involved--one is having leaders or managers who have a desire and the skills to bring the most and the best out of their teams. The other element is having a team that has the desire to grow and the willingness to experience the rights of passage involved in that growth. There are times when I find myself in fear of growth--it involves revealing to people that I don't know everything, it will involve discomfort as I do something new, there will be mistakes, etc. There is a lot of humility that is required for personal and professional growth. As a result, leaders who are going to facilitate this growth must work the triangle of pushing their team mentally, helping their team grow the competencies necessary for growth, hold them accountable for their progress, and be there to support them when they run into inevitable challenges. It is an exhilarating process, but one where all of these different elements should be kept in mind.

Danny

Teamwork--the benefits you don't usually consider

2011-06-05T22:26:00.001-06:00

We all know of the accurate, yet well trodden benefits of teamwork--greater creativity, wider variety of perspectives, greater number of skills sets brought to a problem, etc. These are obviously all very important, as well as quantifiable and measurable. I thought I might take a moment to add a few from personal experience that are just as important, but not as commonly discussed:

1) It is more fun--I know this is not true for everyone...I have very close friends who would be very happy if they could work in a cave with wifi, leaving for the occasional workout and a ray or two of sun. But working with people is energizing for me....the process of building upon each other's work, giving and getting feedback, and coming out with something that I know is ultimately better is satisfying.

2) You are not alone--being faced with a large challenge always seems much more daunting to me alone than when I am working with others who are equally committed. Succeeding on my own is great, but there is something much more satisfying for me about sharing that success with others, knowing that we truly all contributed.

3) Getting to know each other in different ways--Each project brings a new set of challenges, and as I work with people over a period of time I start to see sides of them (and they of me) of which I was not aware. They often have skills and experiences that weren't listed in their resume before they joined the organization, but that are often very valuable.

I have some other thoughts on teamwork that I will share in my next post.

Danny

Increasing Productivity through Diversity

2011-05-16T12:00:00.000-06:00

I know we have all heard it many times, but it is amazing how diversity can increase productivity. For me, it is something that we live every day with a key executive team that ranges from age 30 to age 70. There are certainly occasions when in our meetings it feels as if people sometimes sounds as if they are from different planets, but we have found it is well worth working through any challenges. When we are aligned, with the different the strengths and perspectives manifest themselves in truly powerful ways. The first step is obviously understanding those differences, and authentically acknowledging that one way of operating is not inherently better than another--probably the most challenging element as for most of us, how we do it must be superior, or we would be doing something else...right?

After acknowledging the validity of these differences, the next step becomes integrating those differences into how we operate. For example, in our organization, the person in charge of social media is under 30, while many of the overall messages that are delivered by her come from someone over 70. We are trying to work off of each other's strengths in each case.

The final stage is actually where we each experience personal growth to develop within ourselves the strengths from other generations. This is also challenging, but offers great opportunity. For me, as someone in my 40s, I feel pulls from both Gen Y and Boomers, and myself acting sometimes as a translator in between the two. But I truly enjoy learning from them both, and it is what keeps my work fresh and enjoyable.

Danny

Break Your Patterned Thoughts and Open up to Creativity

2011-04-07T09:29:00.001-06:00

I read an article recently this week about bilingual people, and how on average Alzheimer's impacts them 4-5 years later than people who are monolingual . The researchers in the article discussed the fact that a greater amount of their brain is being used on a regular basis than than that of monolingual people. It also made me wonder about whether or not creativity and using multiple parts of the brain might have the same impact--whether or not that is true, increased creativity is something that we could all benefit from, so here are a few tips for breaking patterned ways of thinking:

How To Break Patterned Ways of Thinking — and Open Your Creativity

1. Do things with your left hand if you are naturally right-handed (and vice versa); brushing your teeth, combing your hair, shaving, showering, bathing, etc.
2. Drive to work by an alternative route.
3. Eat only when your body tells you it is hungry. Forget about the three meals a day at prescribed times. Learn to know the difference between “patterned behavior” and “body talk.”
4. Pretend you are a tourist in your own city and visit all the sites you would recommend to visitors.
5. Experiment eating foods you think you don’t like, but have never tried—therefore, there is no proof of an adverse reaction. You might extend this to anything you think you don’t like that does
not injure the well-being of yourself and others.
6. Ask your kid(s) (or young relatives) what they would like to do for a Saturday or Sunday outing. You may be surprised. Just Do It!
7. Drive under the speed limit for one week. If you exceed the speed limit (“even by accident”), pay your kid(s) or a friend $10 for each infraction.
8. Create one day each week that is unplanned and unscheduled— then “create” that day “moment-by-moment” as it evolves.
9. Compose a piece of music; write a poem; paint a picture; create a story—you never know what you are capable of until you try.
10. Sleep on the opposite side of the bed.
These are steps for breaking patterned ways of thinking. I will have some tips to in my next post once you have taken these first steps!

Danny

Small Acts of Inclusion Challenge

2011-03-04T09:50:00.001-07:00

Take the Small Acts of Inclusion Challenge - Celebrate with us!

The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation dedicated the second week of February as the week to celebrate charity and inclusion. On their website they offer tips and stories that show how a little kindness goes a long way. We invite you to utilize their challenge this week and then we offer one of our own.

Innovations would like to propose a similar challenge to you. This will demonstrate how our Small Acts of Inclusion program utilizes a breakthrough method for achieving inclusion. The Small Acts of Inclusion program encompasses the true meaning behind Diversity and Inclusion and is driven by the charity and understanding that this program promotes.
The Small Acts of Inclusion Challenge:
·        Monday - Write a Thank You card to someone who has helped you in the past
·        Tuesday - Have lunch with someone new
·        Wednesday - Offer 15 minutes of help to someone in need
·        Thursday - Take treats to a department different than your own
·        Friday - Compliment someone on a job well done
·        Saturday - Ask someone to teach you the basics of a skill they do well or teach someone the basics of a useful skill you know well
·        Sunday - Spend 10 minutes just listening to someone without the need for reciprocation
The Small Acts of Inclusion Reward: At the end of the week you will have a few great stories to share. The greatest reward is the difference the challenge makes! However, to thank you for your participation Innovations will send you one free e-book of your choice

To receive your free e-book simply share your story through one of the following:
1.       Reply to this email or send a message to moreinfo@innovint.com
2.       Tweet your story on our twitter page at http://www.twitter.com/innovint or http://www.twitter.com/DiversityTweets
3.       Comment on our facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/innovint or add us as a friend and change your status to your story
4.       Comment on our blog at http://www.innovint.com/blog

Our staff will then contact you to inquire which book you'd like a free copy of.

Take Our Small Acts Course Online - The Virtual Learning Experience
Dr. Guillory has created an online version of this program which can be tailored to an organization's needs. Below you'll find links to our two Small Acts Virtual Learning Experiences. These are brief examples of what this program offers.
http://www.innovint.com/services/small-acts-of-inclusion.php

Good luck with the challenge, and please share with us all your results!
Danny

Responsibility and Accountability for Parents and Children

2011-01-12T13:45:00.003-07:00

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal entitled "Why Chinese Mothers are Superior" has generated a great deal of discussion on parenting philosophies. These are always very personal to people, and are passionate topics since they deliver a message regarding our own approaches to life--what is a greater reflection of us, in our minds and in the minds of others, than our children whether it is true or not.

I found this article (and the reader comments on the article) fascinating since I found myself saying sometimes "I wouldn't parent that way," but also thinking to myself temptingly "If I do more of what she did would I get the same results with my children?"

In all honesty, there are many ways in which I find what I do consistent with what she talked about (without some of the more dramatic moments).   The points that I like to take away from this article are:

1) Excellence at anything requires hard work and dedication--whether I read it in this article, or in Malcolm Gladwell's "Outliers", or in the biography of someone who reached the top of their chosen field, without fail the best are the ones who spent more time, energy and effort than anyone else.   I help coach both of my son's soccer teams, and I often see parents who wonder why their children do not perform at the same level as other children, and I can always trace it back to the amount of time they spend playing, formally or informally.
2) Responsibility and Accountability--I found the approach of the author of the article to be a little conflicted on this. On the one hand, I appreciated the fact that she was honest with her children regarding their performance in different areas. I was told by a friend once that John Wooden, the famous UCLA basketball coach, always coached from the middle, never praising too much and never criticizing too much, but pointing out what was done correctly and incorrectly and what needed to be improved.

And I have experienced first hand the challenging moments with two children who play piano and violin--there have been some days where I certainly did not know if they would continue.   But I believe that even at early ages children can take responsibility for their learning, even if they need a push periodically.   The life lessons of growing in music are sports are great--each week you face a new musical piece, a new skill to master in soccer practice, etc., and it is always difficult to begin with.   But with time and effort, you overcome it just as daughter did in the article. Having them learn their role in achieving excellence, and that it does not come easy.   The question this article raised for me is whether my wife and I as parents, and my children, are willing to make the effort to achieve the excellence that they say they desire. Even though they are young, I am a believe that they are capable of having these discussions earlier than most of us believe.

Key indicators for the state of your life–A Personal Dashboard

2010-12-09T09:14:00.003-07:00

Recently I began to wonder what a dashboard for my life might look like, and what the key indicators would be. For me, the key categories that I came up with were work-life integration, professional development, personal growth, physical health and financial security. I imagined taking a snapshot of my life and seeing where I am on these categories at any given point. In addition, these categories could serve as a set of questions I would ask myself before any major (or for that matter minor decision) in my life. For example, how would a new project impact my life in these five areas? I am content with the projected consequences and outcomes? Also, do I have a long term goal for myself in these five areas, and can I actually begin to design my life in a way that makes it likely I would achieve them?

My plan is to evaluate myself in these areas once each month, and also in the process set some objectives for what I would like to achieve. If any of you already do something like this, or want to try this dashboard out for a few weeks, please share what you do and the results you have had. I would look forward to hearing about it.

Danny

Talent Management – Holding on to your most innovative employees

2010-11-28T22:29:00.001-07:00

I recently read an article in the New York Times about some of the challenges Google faces in holding on to its most innovative and entrepreneurial employees. This is something that we face at Innovations ourselves, and also see our clients face every day. Here are some of the keys I'd suggest you consider:

1) Cut out the red tape--Creative people really don't enjoy going through process for the sake of process. That of course does not mean that collaborating with other people in a way that adds value to the creative process is not something that they enjoy...in fact, to the contrary, most creators find it exhilarating to create with others. But checks and balances that don't add value to the process can be demoralizing.

2) Creativity within your own job--For our most creative people, about 50% of their job based on internal and client needs, while the other 50% is really created independently by them. Of course, their projects are consistent with their roles and our organizational goals, but at the same time it gives them the ability to create and to continue to develop their own personal brand.

3) Give them the resources they need--I have found that much more so than monetary reward, our most creative employees want either the technological or human resources that they need to do work on their projects. Not that they don't appreciate monetary reward, but their requests for resources have far outnumbered any requests for money.

Those are a few of the items that we have found important. Please feel free on your comments to share your experiences retaining your most entrepreneurial employees.

Danny

Shifting Populations–Diversity only growing

2010-11-15T10:32:00.005-07:00

This probably is not a surprise to anyone, but the California Public School System is now for the first time over 50% Latino. Demographic shifts like this, when combined with the fact that millenials will make up over 40% of the work force within the next four years mean that as organizations recruiting and employing people, our profiles of our incoming staff will be much different than they were even five years ago. The most immediate question is of course "How do I attract the best people in this group?", but the immediate following question is "How do I retain them once I hire them?" Again, these are not new questions, but when you overlay these demographic changes on them, the texture becomes much different.

In addition, looking outward from an organization, how does this impact the products and services that I offer to this new work for? These will be the consumers of tomorrow (they already are today, of course, but to a larger extent in the future), how do I make certain that what I make is relevant to them?

One practice that I enjoy incorporating in my staff meetings once each month is to distribute trend data to people in all sorts of areas (demographic changes, consumer spending, environmental factors), and spend about an hour brainstorming on how these different factors could impact our core functions. Not only is it a fun exercise, but we always derive value from it as an organization and it has become a source of some of our key initiatives. It may be something that you may want to try at some point.

--Danny

Virtual Learning Experiences

2010-05-04T12:24:00.000-06:00

Innovations over the past year has begun to deliver its seminars using over the internet, through what we call Virtual Learning Experiences (VLEs). They are much more interactive than webinars, using devices such as polling, case studies, and interactive exercises to create an experience almost parallel to that of the classroom. We deliver them usually over the course of about an hour to and hour and 15 minutes. You can visit a couple of examples of them at the following page http://www.innovint.com/services/small-acts-of-inclusion.php . The idea is that it is a lower cost way where people can experience sessions from the comfort of their desktop. This will never replace live classroom training, but is a nice tool to use in addition to the other efforts your organization is making in a given area.

Diversity, Inclusion and Employee Engagement Part I

2009-11-18T08:18:00.006-07:00

Diversity, inclusion, and employee engagement--what do all three of these initiatives have in common? People. More specifically, the extent to which the inherent differences people bring to the workplace are embraced in such a way that employees experience inclusion and full engagement in their work. Studies by the Gallup Management Journal indicate that only 29% of employees are actively engaged in their jobs.
Diversity is a an inclusive environment wherein differences—human, cultural, and systems—are leveraged as a competitive business advantage in order to:

• provide exceptional customer service
• ensure the physical, mental, and spiritual well-being of employees
• achieve exceptional workplace and business performance
• deliver the highest quality products and services
Inclusion is an environment where there is “equity of opportunity” for personal and organizational success, as well as pride in the organization.
Employee Engagement is a level of “employee commitment” to the organization that ultimately results in greater discretionary effort in his or her work—beyond the expected or compensated level of performance.
The Roles of Leadership/Management and Employees
All three of the initiatives cited above have two dimensions: The Role of Leadership/ Management and The Role of Employees.

1) The Role of Leadership/Management

• Create an environment of integrity and trust.
• Provide employees with career and growth opportunities.
• Establish an environment where employees take pride in the organization
and communicate that pride to others.
• Provide opportunities for personal and professional development.
• Establish quality interpersonal relationships, communication, and
problem resolution.
• Create an environment for work-life quality, balance, and integration.

2) The Role of Employees

• Request, ensure, and design engaging work that is personally
satisfying.
• Ensure that your work is aligned with the organization’s or business
unit’s goals and objectives.
• Assume a natural leadership role among peers as greater delegation
occurs (Leadership is the ability to influence others).
• Design a career development plan inclusive of the experiences and
learning you will require.
• Establish quality interpersonal relationships, communication, and
collaboration among your peers.
• Define and create a plan for work-life quality and balance.

The role of leadership/management is to proactively provide an inclusive environment and management practices that support the development, learning, and well-being of employees. An inclusive environment is an organizational context where all employees experience being wanted, appreciated, and valued.

1. Wanted for their diverse membership as part of the organization.
2. Appreciated for the unique contribution they make in creating the culture of the organization.
3. Valued for the unique perspective they bring in terms of creativity, innovation, and high-performance.
It’s also an environment where an employee feels commitment and passion for their work, beyond the expected or compensated level of performance.

Transformational Leaders and Leadership

2009-09-14T10:21:00.002-06:00

In this time of economic uncertainty, having transformational leaders is crucial to the success of our organizations.
Leadership is the ability to influence the thinking, commitment, and behaviors of others.
Transformational leaders are able to:

Facilitate the proactive adaptation to change on the part of others;
Understand and manage the relationship between the human dimensions of work and exceptional performance;
Understand and manage a spectrum of people, competencies, and styles;
Understand that the external results one produces is a direct consequence of one’s inner motivation;
Have an in-depth understanding of one’s self.

Leadership/Management Support—A Personal Assessment
Instructions: Take five minutes to evaluate yourself in terms of your overall workplace performance in a leadership and/or managerial support role. Use a scale of 0 (lowest) to 10 (highest) for each statement with respect to employees under your supervision or those you work with.

I am skillful at facilitating both the professional development and personal growth of employees I lead/supervise.
I am comfortable working with people who have beliefs and values divergently different from my own.
I ensure an environment where high performance is expected and achieved.
I ensure, by measurement, a “worker-friendly” environment where employees experience work-life quality and balance.
I proactively engage in personal and professional growth.

For the item where you feel as if you rank the lowest, find a colleague or friend outside of work that you trust to give you honest feedback on two to three Small Acts of Inclusion® might be able to incorporate immediately that would have an impact.
Innovations recommends our course Leading During Turbulent Times—The FuturePerfect Leadership Model as the first step in implementing positive change in the workplace. For more information on transforming your organization please contact us.

If you liked this self-assessment, you might also like our free High Performance Leadership Self Test at www.innovint.com

Dealing with Differences

2009-09-10T15:18:00.002-06:00

Dealing with Differences is a challenge whether it is at home or in the workplace. Here are a few key tips that can help with the process.

1. Realize that how we view the world is through our unique reality— our reality is not necessarily right or superior to others.
2. Be willing to acknowledge that we all have biases and prejudices—tell the truth.
3. Consider the possibility that most insensitivities are unintentional—assume most people are well-intentioned.
4. Be open to feedback when you experience conflict that involves diversity—have the courage to admit that you might have been too quick to judgement or that you might have offended someone.
5. Create experiences and friendships across diversity differences—experiencing others in relationship is the most powerful way to create diversity!
6. Be willing to confront your fears of experiencing differences—have the courage to change and grow, it is key to our survival.
7. Be willing to explore issues of human equality—we all seek to be superior to others in some way.
8. Remember, diversity is a process of continuously learning through experiencing the differences in others--create a relationship with someone with whom you have the greatest prejudice!

Manifesto for African Americans

2009-08-14T11:27:00.004-06:00

We value ourselves as fully worthy, complete, and whole, by virtue of simply being human.
We require no confirmation or proof, through accomplishments, of this fundamental given.
We accept this given about ourselves and live consistent with it.
We view ourselves, both individually and collectively, as bearing the major responsibility for changing our
condition.
We recognize and acknowledge that empowerment, individually and as a people, is earned only through
expanded personal and group responsibility and accountability for our success, and full participation in the
global society.
We live true to our ability to realize our potential as a people and our acknowledged contribution to America's success and the success of the planet.
We view our ethnic cultural diversity as an example to the world of how the rich integration of cultural
heritages has evolved into a beautiful, proud, and spiritual mosaic.
We value and embrace the diversity of colors, physical differences, modes of expression, points of view, and personal choices of all those who choose to be classified as African Americans.
We recognize and realize our natural potential for contribution to the evolution of global diversity and
human equality across the planet.
We value the opportunity for full participation in the totality of American society and acknowledge the fact that opportunities presently exist which are unprecedented in American history.
We further acknowledge that these opportunities will require diligence, persistence, and commitment that will test us in ways which are presently not required for other Americans.
We individually and collectively must transform our focus from what has not been available, as a reason for limited participation and dedication, into a focus with intensity upon that which we choose to achieve—here and now.
We recognize that a major step in our full realization of the “American Dream,” is our mutual support for each other, economically, politically, educationally, emotionally, and spiritually. We must recapture, as a people, our fundamental African-based values as a source of self-love and self-respect.
We must form networks for mutual economic and political support in order to achieve success, so that we might more effectively contribute to American and global harmony.
We acknowledge that the concern for ourselves, as African Americans, is an intermediate step en route to the ultimate achievement of global cultural integration.
We view cultural integration as a context where all people of the planet are valued, accepted, as humanly equal, and involved in mutually supportive activities.
We are ultimately committed to the creation of a global mosaic that is founded upon a set of human values which transcend our individual or group differences.

William A. Guillory, Ph.D.

Active Listening–An important skill for successful workplace relationships

2009-08-11T13:44:00.004-06:00

Here are some quick tips that we suggest for active listening:

1. Maintain an open mind – Make a conscious decision to be open and receptive to challenging dialogue.
2. Focus on the person – Attempt to avoid all distractions and give the person your undivided attention.
3. Control your emotions – Focus inwardly when you experience a reaction to what is being communicated to understand the emotional message of the person.
4. Show interest – Smile or nod when you agree; avoid shaking your head in disagreement even when you are not convinced of their ideas or opinions.
5. Formulate overall impressions – At regular intervals, summarize in your mind what is being communicated.
6. Evaluate the content – Evaluate the content of the communication, not the person or his or her style of delivery.
7. Read between the lines – Listen for hidden messages between the lines using your intuition. (Subliminal communication)
8. Practice makes mastery – Remember, mastery comes with practice; particularly of non-verbal cues or messages.

If you incorporate these simple steps each day, you will see significant improvement in the quality of your relationships with others, both at the workplace and in other parts of your life.

Danny

Ten Tips to becoming more personally empowered

2009-07-28T19:24:00.005-06:00

With the release of our free online empowerment program only a couple weeks away, I thought I would provide some tips on becoming more personally empowered.

1. Assess your present level of personal empowerment. Honestly evaluate your present level of personal and professional mastery of your job by soliciting input from a broad spectrum of sources.
2. Assess the quality of your performance. Determine whether your performance falls below, meets, or exceeds expectations.
3. Assess your level of commitment. If your performance is below expectations and you are sufficiently skilled for your present job, seriously reexamine if you are committed to meeting the expectations of
your present job. If not, make plans for doing something else.
4. Determine the new skills you require. If you feel you are committed to meeting the expectations of your present job, write, in detail, the new personal and/or professional skills you require, based upon expanded
responsibility and accountability.
5. Acquire a mentor/coach to hold you accountable. Acquire a mentor or a coach to assist you and hold you accountable to your commitment, based upon the consistent results you produce.
6. Overcome your self-limitations. When you encounter a barrier, have your mentor facilitate you in overcoming it. Remember, it is ultimately your responsibility to take charge of overcoming your selflimiting
belief(s) by designing and performing challenging assignments.
7. Define a new challenging area of activity. If you meet or exceed your present job expectations, describe a project or an area of activity that you would enjoy which involves significantly expanded responsibility
in terms of the acquisition of new personal and/or professional skills.
8. Expect new learning opportunities to occur. Begin the project, utilizing and/or learning proven professional methods and knowledge. If difficulties or problems occur, apply steps 5) and 6) above.

I'll have more on Empowerment in the coming days.

Danny

Talent Managent

2009-07-13T19:57:00.000-06:00

Ever heard the phrase, “good help is so hard to find these days”? Any HR manager or executive is familiar with the daunting task of trying to find the perfect fit for their company. Today’s workforce is more demanding than ever and every employee must contribute to the overall success of any organization. In response to this, Dr. Guillory released a white paper this week entitled The Age of Human Potential—Talent Management. This paper is the first part in a two part series on the subject. Dr. Guillory describes talent management as, “an initiative designed to source, attract, recruit, develop, advance, and retain highly competent employees.” In his white paper he proves the cost per benefit ratio of each stage of employee recruitment and retention.
The stages are:

* Sourcing – establishing a system and criteria for identifying highly motivated, multicultural individuals for potential employment.

* Attracting – presenting a compelling case to potential recruits that are interested in your organization.

* Recruiting – the collective effort of an organization to show a potential employee that his or her future is best realized by their employment.

* Developing – providing the opportunity and support necessary to an employee for their continual expanding potential.

* Advancing – providing the opportunity for employees to attain higher positions of responsibility, as a result of mentoring, coaching, and visible opportunities, in proportion to performance.

* Retaining - the result of the proactive, professional development of an employee.

Business objectives have continued to evolve over the centuries as technology presents us with more efficient work tools and more challenging tasks. Dr. Guillory shows this progression over time and suggests that every organization develop a talent management support system that continuously monitors the efforts of employee well being.

The Need for Work Life Balance in Today’s Economy

2009-05-07T08:52:00.000-06:00

Recently the subject of work life balance has found a new awakening. The concept of balancing our personal and business needs isn’t a new phenomenon however it’s become an increasingly growing trend with the development of information technology. Business week recently released a report on the demand for and necessity of work life balance during a recession.

http://www.businessweek.com/managing/special_reports/20090326work-life_balance.htm. Recent studies have shown that even with the technological breakthroughs that have helped make daily tasks simpler, we can still find ourselves stressed and time crunched. These studies also show that in a stressful environment, productivity and employee wellness progressively decline, killing an organization’s profitability. These recent finding have spawned the new age of work life balance. Where employees work in their most productive time scales and shift their focus to the appropriate task at hand.

Some of the steps that Fortune 500 Companies are implementing include:

Telecommuting - When employees work from home, they not only create more work time by saving the daily commute, but they also save the overhead cost of a rented or owned business facility. One of the biggest innovators in this is Capital One who is promoting a work from home option to all levels of management.
Flexible Schedules - The Corporate Executive Board conducted a research survey asking employees what the most important aspect of their employer was. They found that “In the current economic environment, work-life balance now ranks as one of the most important workplace attributes—second only to compensation.” Their article describes this balance as “The gift of time.” Many large companies offer their employees free time for education, physical fitness, or personal errands. Or they may offer company gym memberships or discount meals as a way for employees to make the best use of their daily time.
Education – Many of us just don’t know where to start when it comes to balancing our lives. What is the most important activity we do every day? What activities will help me be more productive? These questions are all addressed in each of our Work Life Balance Workshops. We recently added a resource to our website called Creating Sanity. This is a free self evaluation that we offer workshop participants to help them balance their priorities.

This month Innovations International celebrates its one-year anniversary in becoming a virtual organization. Our employees all balance their home and work life while assisting our clients with successful initiatives in leadership, diversity, creativity and work life balance. The learning we experienced has given us the in depth knowledge that we bring to each of our clients as we assist them in making a similar transition.

Kathleen DiFrancesco
Director of Marketing
Innovations International

Social Networking and Inclusion

2009-04-28T18:17:00.002-06:00

Most organizations when creating diversity and inclusion focus their efforts on top leadership or middle management. Another group that also needs to be addressed is the broad based workforce. This group will experience behaviors related to diversity and inclusion in a more direct way than any other element in the organization. They are also the medium through which diversity and inclusion can spread in viral, immediate way. We recently developed a new program entitled Small Acts of Inclusion, a behvaior based program through which behaviors that promote inclusion can be spread in an immediate manner (One person I was speaking with characterized it as an injection of inlcusion into the corporate bloodstream). Through the Small Acts of Inclusion program, an individual can practice behavior that promote diversity and inclusion on their own, and spread them through their own social networks. This can be done in person, and using technology, creating a viral spread that it is impossible to replicate through a traditional effort.

After looking at our free e-book on Small Acts of Inclusion, I invite you for one week to incorporate five of the behavior into your daily routine both at home and at work and see what the effect is on your co-workers and those around you (both in person, and virtually if you use Social Networking applications like Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter).
Danny

Virtual Teams and Virtual Organizations

2009-04-27T10:15:00.001-06:00

Our organization moved to a virtual office last year and the result for us has been better than we anticipated.   However, along the way there are a number of different things that we learned:

1)   Overcommunication is necessary--When we are in a traditional office environment, we tend to pick up many things just by osmosis...spontaneous conversations that come up, impromptu meetings that are called, etc.   Even though it may seem like overkill, it is absolutely vital to be very clear on your meaning, and ask questions if there is any doubt.

2) The technological tools--Before going virutal, we took a great of time exploring different options for tools that we could use to replicate our communication patterns, and also to save money.   Most of the tools we identified were either free or low cost, and all are internet accessible.   For free applications, we selected Skype for our in house calling/chat tool, Gmail for our email addresses, and Google Calendar for our organizational calendar. For low cost tools, we chose Egnyte as the virtual server, Ring Central for our virtual PBX, Highrise for our customer database, and Basecamp for project management.   We also have begun holding virtual conferences, and now use Webex as the tool for those events. Switching to this internet based system has probably saved us 15% in operating costs.

3) Connecting with other resources--We have also opened up to using Elance as a resource to help us staff up on projects that require skills outside of our core competencies. Many clients have needs that now cannot be filled by their in-house teams and are looking to us to fill the gap in related areas. As a result, we now have a trusted team of people that we have identified through Elance who are able to ramp up quickly on our projects. We have been happy overall, although I would add that our best experiences have been when a project was clearly definable in terms of a result, rather than a result that was more subjective.

4) Flexibilty--Our team loves the flexibility and the ability to balance work and home life.   Some employees do their creative work at 5am and begin sending in the results of their work, while others make work late into the night. I am able to work in between taking my children to school, and then soccer practice in the afternoon, fitting things in both before and after. Life unfortunately does not fit neatly into boxes, so this flexibility has made us view our work and our lives in a different way.

5) Relationships are still the key--Being virtual actually has made the need for quality relationships even more important. Being isolated with time to reflect on something can result in thoughts running wild, so picking up on cues in someone's voice or tone can serve as a guide in figuring our someone's emotional state.   Don't ignore your instincts....if you think you "hear" something, ask them, because there is probably something to it.
It has been a great experience, and I will share more thoughts on this soon.

Danny

Recreating your organization in times of chaos

2009-04-02T14:31:00.002-06:00

he current economic environment has resulted in many rethinking our organizations and how we do business.   However, returning to how things were in the past is not possible as the landscape has changed and will continue to change dramatically. To ensure long term viability, leadership must be able to project into the future and lead from the future, rather than being resigned to thinking in past paradigms.   This requires what at Innovations we call FuturePerfect Leadership .   Some of the steps that leadership and management can play in creating this environment include:

•    Create and promote the FuturePerfect vision
•    Create an environment of integrity and trust
•    Establish an inclusive environment where all associates experience “equity of opportunity”
•    Ensure opportunities for personal and professional development
•    Establish quality interpersonal relationships, communications, and problem resolution
•    Create an environment for work-life balance

The role of individual contributors might include the following elements:
•    Require, ensure, and design engaging work that is personally satisfying
•    Ensure that your work is aligned with the organization’s vision, mission, and objectives
•    Assume a natural leadership role among peers as greater delegation occurs
•    Design a career development plan inclusive of experiences and learning you will require
•    Establish strong collaborative relationships
•    Personally commit to continuous learning and adding value
•    Design a plan for work-life balance

Assuming that the economy will turn around and that business as usual will be sufficient is not enough, as experience has already shown us over the last eight months.

Danny