2010
Get On the Same Page with Strat Maps
12/10/10 Filed in: Lead Organizations
Leadership OF an Organization
Working ON your business, not just IN it... and make it exceptional
Session 7 ~ Strategy Maps: A Tool for Getting Everyone on the Same Page
Previous 7 Ideas Coach sessions have discussed how DIRECTION, PERFORMANCE, INNOVATION, STRUCTURE, and CULTURE are core leadership concerns of any organization. How can leaders put them all together into a coherent whole? Try Strategy Maps.
Strategy Maps originated as a key part of the Balanced Scorecard model developed by Norton and Kaplan of the Harvard Business School in the 1990s, and is widely used in business, non-profit, and public organizations.
A strategy map, or strat-map, is a one page document that shows how specific high level objectives - financial, customer outcomes, operations, and learning - link strategically in accomplishing the organization’s mission and vision.
This session covers seven things you will want to know about strat-maps, and how you can use them to get everyone in your organization on the same page.
click the image below to hear this week’s coaching session
7 Ideas Coach... 7 tips in 7 minutes for busy leaders
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Working ON your business, not just IN it... and make it exceptional
Session 7 ~ Strategy Maps: A Tool for Getting Everyone on the Same Page
Previous 7 Ideas Coach sessions have discussed how DIRECTION, PERFORMANCE, INNOVATION, STRUCTURE, and CULTURE are core leadership concerns of any organization. How can leaders put them all together into a coherent whole? Try Strategy Maps.
Strategy Maps originated as a key part of the Balanced Scorecard model developed by Norton and Kaplan of the Harvard Business School in the 1990s, and is widely used in business, non-profit, and public organizations.
A strategy map, or strat-map, is a one page document that shows how specific high level objectives - financial, customer outcomes, operations, and learning - link strategically in accomplishing the organization’s mission and vision.
This session covers seven things you will want to know about strat-maps, and how you can use them to get everyone in your organization on the same page.
click the image below to hear this week’s coaching session
7 Ideas Coach... 7 tips in 7 minutes for busy leaders
THINK! Subscribers received related leadership articles in PDF - FREE
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Cultivate CULTURE
11/17/10 Filed in: Lead Organizations
Leadership OF an Organization
Working ON your business, not just IN it... and make it exceptional
Session 6 ~ Cultivate Culture
Previous 7 Ideas Coach sessions have discussed how DIRECTION, PERFORMANCE, and INNOVATION are core leadership concerns of any organization. How do leaders to attend to these concerns?
Two tools that leaders can use to influence direction, performance, and innovation within their organization are structure and culture. I think of structure as the banks of a river, giving direction to the water’s flow. I think of culture as the current in that river that pulls people along, unless they make an effort to do otherwise. We focused on structure in the last session - this session focuses on important strategies leaders use to shape their company culture so it adds value.
Culture is what people do when the boss isn’t looking. Organizational culture is the behavior, attitude, and atmosphere that happen by default - unless there is intention and effort to do otherwise. If you aren’t paying attention to the company culture, you might be missing a powerful means to accelerate productivity, profitability, employee retention, and customer satisfaction – in short, your organization’s success. Listen to this session for practical ideas for cultivating your organization’s culture...
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7 Ideas Coach... 7 tips in 7 minutes for busy leaders
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Institute STRUCTURE
11/10/10 Filed in: Lead Organizations
Leadership OF an Organization
Working ON your business, not just IN it... and make it exceptional
Session 5 ~ Institute Structure
Previous 7 Ideas Coach sessions have discussed how DIRECTION, PERFORMANCE, and INNOVATION are core leadership concerns of any organization. How do leaders to attend to these concerns?
Two tools that leaders can use to influence direction, performance, and innovation within their organization are structure and culture. I think of structure as the banks of a river, giving direction to the water’s flow. I think of culture as the current in that river that pulls people along, unless they make an effort to do otherwise. We’ll focus on structure in this session, and on culture in the next.
Structure is the tangible and intangible architecture of how your organization is constructed - and structure drives human behavior. Listen to this 7 ideas Coach session to hear about four categories of structure important for leaders to understand, and three important ideas to consider when thinking about the structure of your organization.
click the image below to hear this week’s coaching session
7 Ideas Coach... 7 tips in 7 minutes for busy leaders
THINK! Subscribers received related leadership articles in PDF - FREE
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Working ON your business, not just IN it... and make it exceptional
Session 5 ~ Institute Structure
Previous 7 Ideas Coach sessions have discussed how DIRECTION, PERFORMANCE, and INNOVATION are core leadership concerns of any organization. How do leaders to attend to these concerns?
Two tools that leaders can use to influence direction, performance, and innovation within their organization are structure and culture. I think of structure as the banks of a river, giving direction to the water’s flow. I think of culture as the current in that river that pulls people along, unless they make an effort to do otherwise. We’ll focus on structure in this session, and on culture in the next.
Structure is the tangible and intangible architecture of how your organization is constructed - and structure drives human behavior. Listen to this 7 ideas Coach session to hear about four categories of structure important for leaders to understand, and three important ideas to consider when thinking about the structure of your organization.
click the image below to hear this week’s coaching session
7 Ideas Coach... 7 tips in 7 minutes for busy leaders
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Initiate INNOVATION
10/22/10 Filed in: Lead Organizations
Leadership OF an Organization
Working ON your business, not just IN it... and make it exceptional
Session 4 ~ Initiate Innovation
The great business advisor Peter Drucker spoke of innovation as a new dimension of performance.
Previously we described how organizational leaders need to articulate direction - i.e. communicate why the organization exists, what it needs to do, and how it should go about doing it. Leaders then need to attend to how well the organization performs moving it that direction, i.e. measure performance.
In a fast changing world, ensuring DIRECTION and PERFORMANCE is not enough. Leaders must initiate INNOVATION... yet innovation requires change, which may directly contradict direction and performance. Savvy leaders find ways to attend to them all.
In this 7 Ideas Coach session, we cover 7 ideas that are important to consider for attending to innovation in your organization.
click the image below to hear this week’s coaching session
7 Ideas Coach... 7 tips in 7 minutes for busy leaders
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Working ON your business, not just IN it... and make it exceptional
Session 4 ~ Initiate Innovation
The great business advisor Peter Drucker spoke of innovation as a new dimension of performance.
Previously we described how organizational leaders need to articulate direction - i.e. communicate why the organization exists, what it needs to do, and how it should go about doing it. Leaders then need to attend to how well the organization performs moving it that direction, i.e. measure performance.
In a fast changing world, ensuring DIRECTION and PERFORMANCE is not enough. Leaders must initiate INNOVATION... yet innovation requires change, which may directly contradict direction and performance. Savvy leaders find ways to attend to them all.
In this 7 Ideas Coach session, we cover 7 ideas that are important to consider for attending to innovation in your organization.
click the image below to hear this week’s coaching session
7 Ideas Coach... 7 tips in 7 minutes for busy leaders
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Measure PERFORMANCE
10/10/10 Filed in: Lead Organizations
Leadership OF an Organization
Working ON your business, not just IN it... and make it exceptional
Session 3 ~ Measure Performance
Performance - the work of the organization - is one of the 5 core concerns of organizational leadership that need focus, alignment, and attention (direction, performance, innovation, structure, and culture).
In this 7 Ideas Coach session, we cover...
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7 Ideas Coach... 7 tips in 7 minutes for busy leaders
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Working ON your business, not just IN it... and make it exceptional
Session 3 ~ Measure Performance
Performance - the work of the organization - is one of the 5 core concerns of organizational leadership that need focus, alignment, and attention (direction, performance, innovation, structure, and culture).
In this 7 Ideas Coach session, we cover...
- three ideas to keep in mind when thinking about your organization’s performance;
- four categories of performance you will want to include when determining performance measures.
click the image below to hear this week’s coaching session
7 Ideas Coach... 7 tips in 7 minutes for busy leaders
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Articulate DIRECTION
10/01/10 Filed in: Lead Organizations
Leadership OF an Organization
Working ON your business, not just IN it... and make it exceptional
Session 2 ~ Articulate Direction
As the great Yogi Berra so artfully observed, “if you don't know where you're going, you might not get there.”
Establishing the direction of your organization and communicating that direction is an essential task of leadership. It is one of the five core concerns of organizational leadership: direction, performance, innovation, structure, and culture.
In this 7 Ideas Coach session, we cover the WHAT and HOW of articulating direction...
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7 Ideas Coach... 7 tips in 7 minutes for busy leaders
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One Page Way leadership article
Working ON your business, not just IN it... and make it exceptional
Session 2 ~ Articulate Direction
As the great Yogi Berra so artfully observed, “if you don't know where you're going, you might not get there.”
Establishing the direction of your organization and communicating that direction is an essential task of leadership. It is one of the five core concerns of organizational leadership: direction, performance, innovation, structure, and culture.
In this 7 Ideas Coach session, we cover the WHAT and HOW of articulating direction...
- WHAT - four essential elements that need to be included when leaders establish direction;
- HOW - three things that are essential to keep in mind for communicating, for articulating direction.
click the image below to hear this week’s coaching session
7 Ideas Coach... 7 tips in 7 minutes for busy leaders
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One Page Way leadership article
Ask This Question
09/17/10 Filed in: Lead Organizations
Leadership OF an Organization
Working ON your business, not just IN it... and make it exceptional
Session 1 ~ What Experience Do You Create?
Great pricing, quality, and customer service alone won’t accelerate your business.
In today’s marketplace, businesses need right-priced quality products and services along with great customer service just to be in the game. For non-profits, NGOs, and public entities, doing good work and operating efficiently is a baseline. Organizations that win our attention are those that meet our higher-level needs – personal attention, belonging, identification, meaning, and image... in short, they create a distinct experience.
This ‘coachcast’ explores why asking “What experience Do We Create?” is essential for working ON your business and being a leader OF your organization. Experience is the unifying factor for the 5 core concerns of a leader that will be discussed in future sessions.
click the image below to hear this week’s coaching session
Keywords for this 7 Ideas Coach session...
7 Ideas Coach... 7 tips in 7 minutes for busy leaders
THINK! Subscribers received a related leadership article in PDF - FREE
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Working ON your business, not just IN it... and make it exceptional
Session 1 ~ What Experience Do You Create?
Great pricing, quality, and customer service alone won’t accelerate your business.
In today’s marketplace, businesses need right-priced quality products and services along with great customer service just to be in the game. For non-profits, NGOs, and public entities, doing good work and operating efficiently is a baseline. Organizations that win our attention are those that meet our higher-level needs – personal attention, belonging, identification, meaning, and image... in short, they create a distinct experience.
This ‘coachcast’ explores why asking “What experience Do We Create?” is essential for working ON your business and being a leader OF your organization. Experience is the unifying factor for the 5 core concerns of a leader that will be discussed in future sessions.
click the image below to hear this week’s coaching session
Keywords for this 7 Ideas Coach session...
- Distinction of Value
- Customer POV
- Don’t Stop at the Customer
- This Means You
- Consistent - Dependable
- Congruent - Authentic
- Coherent - the Story
7 Ideas Coach... 7 tips in 7 minutes for busy leaders
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Working ON Your Biz Leadership
08/29/10 Filed in: Lead Organizations
New Series
Leadership OF an organization
is more than leadership IN it
Executive Overview Session
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Working ON your business, not just IN it... and make it exceptional
You want your business or organization to be exceptional - of course! But are you feeling pulled in so many directions that your efforts get lost? Are you so caught up in day-to-day routine of operating your organization, there’s little energy left for taking it where you want it to go?
It’s a common problem, not just with small business entrepreneurs but with leaders in organizations of every size and every sector - business, non-profit, and pubic.
This new 7 Ideas Coach series is designed to get you back on track. In the next 7 weeks we’ll cover:
7 Ideas Coach... 7 tips in 7 minutes for busy leaders
THINK! Subscribers Receive the PDF Versions of related leadership articles - FREE sign up now
Leadership OF an organization
is more than leadership IN it
Executive Overview Session
click the image below to hear this week’s coaching session
Working ON your business, not just IN it... and make it exceptional
You want your business or organization to be exceptional - of course! But are you feeling pulled in so many directions that your efforts get lost? Are you so caught up in day-to-day routine of operating your organization, there’s little energy left for taking it where you want it to go?
It’s a common problem, not just with small business entrepreneurs but with leaders in organizations of every size and every sector - business, non-profit, and pubic.
This new 7 Ideas Coach series is designed to get you back on track. In the next 7 weeks we’ll cover:
- Five Core Concerns - the 5 elements that need attention and alignment for any organization to thrive
- One Key Question - perhaps the most important question a leader needs to answer to keep an organization focused
- One Exceptional Tool - a tool that any organization can use to align efforts and get everyone on the same page
7 Ideas Coach... 7 tips in 7 minutes for busy leaders
THINK! Subscribers Receive the PDF Versions of related leadership articles - FREE sign up now
Eagles, Ducks, and Development
08/12/10 Filed in: Manage People
Essential Practices for Managing People... session 7
If you want people to be the best, then help them be better!
This 7 minute session provides uncommon insight about avoiding the biggest mistake most organizations make in developing their people, along with essential strategies for providing your people with development and growth experiences that make a difference - to their future, and the future of your organization.
click the image below to hear this week’s coaching session
see the executive summary article for the Practices for Managing People series
7 Ideas Coach is a weekly series of coaching sessions,
7 nuggets of insight in 7 minutes for busy leaders
Get 7 Ideas Coach each week via email or through Apple iTunes
Bridges Across Silos
08/06/10 Filed in: Manage People
Facilitate Communication Across Boundaries
Essential Practices for Managing People... session 6
Especially in a knowledge-based world, people need to have effective communication within and without their unit, their company, and their industry.
Here’s a hit...making use of technology is not the same as engaging in good communication.
Once organizations have grown beyond a couple of people, one of the most common complaints I hear is about silos. For smaller organizations, the complaint is about alignment, getting on the same page.
This 7 Ideas Coach session provides uncommon insight about what you can do as a manager to create an environment where your people communicate effectively. Break down silos, increase alignment, and create an environment that encourages effective communication....now!
see the executive summary article for the Practices for Managing People series
7 Ideas Coach is a weekly series of coaching sessions,
7 nuggets of insight in 7 minutes for busy leaders
Get 7 Ideas Coach each week via email or through Apple iTunes
Success Link
07/19/10 Filed in: Manage People
Essential Practices for Managing People... session 5
Extraordinary managers help their people see how work efforts impact the greater good.
Do this well and you help bring out best performance.
Fail to make this link and you not only miss a motivation opportunity, you risk people focusing on doing their job even when that job isn’t relevant to the organization’s goals.
This 7 Ideas Coach session provides uncommon insight into the practice of making visible how the efforts of your people contribute to organizational success.
click the image below to hear this week’s coaching session
see the executive summary article for the Practices for Managing People series
About Strategy Maps
About Strat-Maps on Think Leadership Ideas Blog
Leadership article - One Page Plans
Strat-map for town of Hillsborough
Strategy Maps - Wikipedia
Think Leadership Ideas - facilitation services
Tom Stevens helps both businesses and non-profits create strat-maps and use them to create and sustain exceptional organizations - click here to contact Tom and discuss ways the people in your organization can get on the same page.
7 Ideas Coach is a weekly series of coaching sessions,
7 nuggets of insight in 7 minutes for busy leaders
Get 7 Ideas Coach each week via email or through Apple iTunes
Extraordinary managers help their people see how work efforts impact the greater good.
Do this well and you help bring out best performance.
Fail to make this link and you not only miss a motivation opportunity, you risk people focusing on doing their job even when that job isn’t relevant to the organization’s goals.
This 7 Ideas Coach session provides uncommon insight into the practice of making visible how the efforts of your people contribute to organizational success.
click the image below to hear this week’s coaching session
see the executive summary article for the Practices for Managing People series
About Strategy Maps
About Strat-Maps on Think Leadership Ideas Blog
Leadership article - One Page Plans
Strat-map for town of Hillsborough
Strategy Maps - Wikipedia
Think Leadership Ideas - facilitation services
Tom Stevens helps both businesses and non-profits create strat-maps and use them to create and sustain exceptional organizations - click here to contact Tom and discuss ways the people in your organization can get on the same page.
7 Ideas Coach is a weekly series of coaching sessions,
7 nuggets of insight in 7 minutes for busy leaders
Get 7 Ideas Coach each week via email or through Apple iTunes
Master Performance Feedback
07/14/10 Filed in: Manage People
Essential Practices for Managing People... session 4
If you want your people to be champions at what they do, then performance feedback is essential...let me repeat, essential.
Conventional Wisdom tells us natural talent is what drives top performance. Modern research challenges this notion. K. Anders Ericsson, co-editor and contributor to the Cambridge Handbook of Expertise and Expert Performance, notes the common factor of expert performance in almost every domain researched is “deliberate practice” – i.e., ongoing practice and repetition shaped by active feedback. Kenneth Blanchard hit the nail on the head when he said, “Feedback is the Breakfast of Champions.” Talent is important, but mostly as it is a motivator for engaging in deliberative, feedback-informed practice.
This week’s “coachcast” explores what managers need to do in order to master the two “flavors” of feedback, and use performance feedback to create and sustain champion organizations.
click the image below to hear this week’s coaching session
7 Ideas Coach is a weekly series of coaching sessions,
7 nuggets of insight in 7 minutes for busy leaders
Get 7 Ideas Coach each week via email or through Apple iTunes
If you want your people to be champions at what they do, then performance feedback is essential...let me repeat, essential.
Conventional Wisdom tells us natural talent is what drives top performance. Modern research challenges this notion. K. Anders Ericsson, co-editor and contributor to the Cambridge Handbook of Expertise and Expert Performance, notes the common factor of expert performance in almost every domain researched is “deliberate practice” – i.e., ongoing practice and repetition shaped by active feedback. Kenneth Blanchard hit the nail on the head when he said, “Feedback is the Breakfast of Champions.” Talent is important, but mostly as it is a motivator for engaging in deliberative, feedback-informed practice.
This week’s “coachcast” explores what managers need to do in order to master the two “flavors” of feedback, and use performance feedback to create and sustain champion organizations.
click the image below to hear this week’s coaching session
7 Ideas Coach is a weekly series of coaching sessions,
7 nuggets of insight in 7 minutes for busy leaders
Get 7 Ideas Coach each week via email or through Apple iTunes
Match Assignments to Strengths
07/08/10 Filed in: Manage People
Essential Practices for Managing People... session 3
You don’t rise above mediocrity, you don’t become an exceptional performer, by doing everything well enough. You do so by investing in what you already do exceptionally well to keep getting better. Likewise as a manager, if you want exceptional performance from your people, you invest your attention in understanding what your people do well, and matching this to their role in the organization.
This week’s “coachcast” explores how managers can identify the unique strengths of the people they work with, to match these strengths to organizational needs...
click the image below to hear this week’s coaching session
7 Ideas Coach is a weekly series of coaching sessions,
7 nuggets of insight in 7 minutes for busy leaders
Get 7 Ideas Coach each week via email or through Apple iTunes
You don’t rise above mediocrity, you don’t become an exceptional performer, by doing everything well enough. You do so by investing in what you already do exceptionally well to keep getting better. Likewise as a manager, if you want exceptional performance from your people, you invest your attention in understanding what your people do well, and matching this to their role in the organization.
This week’s “coachcast” explores how managers can identify the unique strengths of the people they work with, to match these strengths to organizational needs...
click the image below to hear this week’s coaching session
7 Ideas Coach is a weekly series of coaching sessions,
7 nuggets of insight in 7 minutes for busy leaders
Get 7 Ideas Coach each week via email or through Apple iTunes
Enable, Motivate, Empower
07/02/10 Filed in: Manage People
Essential Practices for Managing People... session 2
What’s the value you add as a manager? Sometimes value is very tangible, only because of something you do that your people now are able to do their work. Much of the time, the value you create is intangible - as in providing motivation - although the impact on results is very real.
This week’s “coachcast” explores the paradoxical nature of motivation, and offers seven ideas for enabling, motivating, and empowering the people you work with...
click the image below to hear this week’s coaching session
7 Ideas Coach is a weekly series of coaching sessions,
7 nuggets of insight in 7 minutes for busy leaders
Get 7 Ideas Coach each week via email or through Apple iTunes
What’s the value you add as a manager? Sometimes value is very tangible, only because of something you do that your people now are able to do their work. Much of the time, the value you create is intangible - as in providing motivation - although the impact on results is very real.
This week’s “coachcast” explores the paradoxical nature of motivation, and offers seven ideas for enabling, motivating, and empowering the people you work with...
click the image below to hear this week’s coaching session
7 Ideas Coach is a weekly series of coaching sessions,
7 nuggets of insight in 7 minutes for busy leaders
Get 7 Ideas Coach each week via email or through Apple iTunes
Communicating Expectations
06/17/10 Filed in: Manage People
Essential Practices for Managing People... session 1
People have a mind of their own. It’s unleashing that mind of their own which makes people so valuable in organizations, and what makes managing people so challenging. One of the most essential practices of managing people is communicating expectations. The more expectations are clarified, the more people can apply themselves effectively.
After exploring what a manager needs to know and be able to do to communicate expectations, this session outlines seven essential things a managers will want their people to understand.
click the image below to hear this week’s coaching session
7 Ideas Coach is a weekly series of coaching sessions,
7 nuggets of insight in 7 minutes for busy leaders
Get 7 Ideas Coach each week via email or through Apple iTunes
People have a mind of their own. It’s unleashing that mind of their own which makes people so valuable in organizations, and what makes managing people so challenging. One of the most essential practices of managing people is communicating expectations. The more expectations are clarified, the more people can apply themselves effectively.
After exploring what a manager needs to know and be able to do to communicate expectations, this session outlines seven essential things a managers will want their people to understand.
click the image below to hear this week’s coaching session
7 Ideas Coach is a weekly series of coaching sessions,
7 nuggets of insight in 7 minutes for busy leaders
Get 7 Ideas Coach each week via email or through Apple iTunes
7 Practices to Manage People
06/03/10 Filed in: Manage People
Managing People... overview coaching session
click the image below to hear this week’s coaching session
7 Ideas Coach is a weekly series of coaching sessions,
7 nuggets of insight in 7 minutes for busy leaders
Get 7 Ideas Coach each week via email or through Apple iTunes
THINK! Subscribers Receive the PDF Version FREE ...sign-up here
click the image below to hear this week’s coaching session
7 Ideas Coach is a weekly series of coaching sessions,
7 nuggets of insight in 7 minutes for busy leaders
Get 7 Ideas Coach each week via email or through Apple iTunes
THINK! Subscribers Receive the PDF Version FREE ...sign-up here
Boost Confidence and Professionalism
05/18/10 Filed in: Speak Powerfully
Speak Powerfully... coaching session 7This new 7 minute coaching session quickly reviews seven techniques to boost your confidence and professionalism when making that business speech or presentation.
listen to the summary podcast of the Powerful Speaking series
click the image below to hear this week’s coaching session
Add Humor to Your Presentations
05/04/10 Filed in: Speak Powerfully
Speak Powerfully... coaching session 6Humor is your weapon to win attention, humor is your tool to stand out, humor is your winning edge. For those who need a less aggressive metaphor, humor is the icing on the cake that makes your message attractive and a pleasure to consume.
This new 7 minute coaching session quickly reviews seven actions you can take to add humor to your business speech or presentation.
listen to the summary podcast of the Powerful Speaking series
click the image below to hear this week’s coaching session
Try this MP3 version if the above link doesn’t play on your computer
A baker’s dozen “saver lines” (thanks to Art Fettig, Herb True, Robert Orben, and David Glickman)
- that was hilarious on paper
- oh good, I was looking for a quiet place to rehearse
- here’s another one you won’t like
- I know you’re out there...I can hear you breathing
- when you guys get quiet, you don’t mess around
- that’s OK...I can wait
- it says here ‘pause for laughter’
- this is what’s known as a mid-laugh crisis
- ah, I’ve discovered the silent majority
- so much for comic relief
- smiling doesn’t count folks...you have to laugh out loud
- I hear dead people
- I’m touched by your enthusiasm
Resist Powerpoint Mediocrity
04/25/10 Filed in: Speak Powerfully
Speak Powerfully... coaching session 5A speech is like a dance, with the speaker and audience as dance partners. Sometimes leading, sometimes following, effective speakers engage - dance with - their audiences. Engagement both takes energy and builds energy.
This 7 minute coaching session outlines seven ways that you can maintain and increase the engagement and energy of your audience while making your presentation.
listen to the summary podcast of the Powerful Speaking series
Try this MP3 version if the above doesn’t play on your computer
7 Ideas Coach is a weekly series of coaching sessions,
7 nuggets of insight in 7 minutes for busy leaders
Subscribe to 7 Ideas Coach via email or through Apple iTunes
Engage and Energize Your Audience
04/20/10 Filed in: Speak Powerfully
Speak Powerfully... coaching session 4A speech is like a dance, with the speaker and audience as dance partners. Sometimes leading, sometimes following, effective speakers engage - dance with - their audiences. Engagement both takes energy and builds energy.
This 7 minute coaching session outlines seven ways that you can maintain and increase the engagement and energy of your audience while making your presentation.
listen to the summary podcast of the Powerful Speaking series
Try this MP3 version if the above doesn’t play on your computer
7 Ideas Coach is a weekly series of coaching sessions,
7 nuggets of insight in 7 minutes for busy leaders
Subscribe to 7 Ideas Coach via email or through Apple iTunes
Openings That Command Attention
04/13/10 Filed in: Speak Powerfully
Speak Powerfully... coaching session 3How you start your presentation or speech sets the audiences expectation. If you begin with a strong opening, end with a powerful close, and have relevant material in the middle, listeners will forget and forgive any parts that are uninteresting or less than well done. They will perceive the entire presentation positively as a whole.
This 7 minute coaching session covers the essentials of crafting a powerful opening, and includes seven different ways to do it.
listen to the summary podcast of the Powerful Speaking series
Try this MP3 version if the above doesn’t play on your computer
7 Ideas Coach is a weekly series of coaching sessions,
7 nuggets of insight in 7 minutes for busy leaders
Subscribe to 7 Ideas Coach via email or through Apple iTunes
Organize What You Say
04/07/10 Filed in: Speak Powerfully
Speak Powerfully... coaching session 2If you want to stand out and be heard, then you need to make sure your speech or presentation is organized so it can be followed by the listener. The following are seven things you would do well to pay attention to...
listen to the summary podcast of the Powerful Speaking series
Try this MP3 version if the above doesn’t play on your computer
7 Ideas Coach is a weekly series of coaching sessions,
7 nuggets of insight in 7 minutes for busy leaders
Subscribe to 7 Ideas Coach via email or through Apple iTunes
Polish Speaking Mechanics
03/30/10 Filed in: Speak Powerfully
Speak Powerfully... coaching session 1Poor speaking is so tolerated as normal for business that perhaps no other skill gives as quick a payback for effort as learning to speak with clarity, brevity and energy. Small and basic improvements in speaking in front of others will typically elevate one well above the crowd. Plus effective speaking is one of the best tools for cultivating influence.
Acquiring the skills to improve speaking is not actually difficult to do, but takes time, practice and discipline. The following are a seven key practices to develop speaking mechanics and delivery.
listen to the summary podcast of the Powerful Speaking series
Try this MP3 version if the above doesn’t play on your computer
PDF Checklist of 7 Essential Elements of Speaking Delivery
7 Ideas Coach is a weekly series of coaching sessions,
7 nuggets of insight in 7 minutes for busy leaders
Subscribe to 7 Ideas Coach via email or through Apple iTunes
Coming Next
03/22/10
Leverage Automatic Behavior
03/16/10 Filed in: Leadership Momentum
Leadership Momentum... session 7
A fundamental paradox of effective leadership is getting people to pursue excellence without thinking about it, eliciting top performance on “autopilot.”
Most people have had the experience of driving and arriving at a destination without remembering the trip. Much of human thinking and behavior is unconscious, essentially on “automatic pilot.” Expert marketers, politicians, and stage magicians are known for how they use unconscious “default” behavior to exert influence in what people think, perceive, and choose. Savvy leaders do well to adopt the same influence tools.
There can indeed be a fine line between manipulating and tricking people on the one hand, and nudging and influencing with integrity and transparency on the other. But as Thaler and Sunstein note in their book, Nudge, rarely is there a “neutral” option in choices and decisions. Leaders will invariably find themselves to be choice architects, influencing others whether they want to or not.
Listen to hear seven ways that leaders can consciously influence unconscious “automatic” behavior...
read the summary leadership article on Leadership Momentum
Try this MP3 version if the above doesn’t play on your computer
7 Ideas Coach is a weekly series of coaching sessions,
7 nuggets of insight in 7 minutes for busy leaders
Subscribe to 7 Ideas Coach via email or through Apple iTunes
______________________________
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Want all the ideas in this series at your fingertips?
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A fundamental paradox of effective leadership is getting people to pursue excellence without thinking about it, eliciting top performance on “autopilot.”
Most people have had the experience of driving and arriving at a destination without remembering the trip. Much of human thinking and behavior is unconscious, essentially on “automatic pilot.” Expert marketers, politicians, and stage magicians are known for how they use unconscious “default” behavior to exert influence in what people think, perceive, and choose. Savvy leaders do well to adopt the same influence tools.
There can indeed be a fine line between manipulating and tricking people on the one hand, and nudging and influencing with integrity and transparency on the other. But as Thaler and Sunstein note in their book, Nudge, rarely is there a “neutral” option in choices and decisions. Leaders will invariably find themselves to be choice architects, influencing others whether they want to or not.
Listen to hear seven ways that leaders can consciously influence unconscious “automatic” behavior...
read the summary leadership article on Leadership Momentum
Try this MP3 version if the above doesn’t play on your computer
7 Ideas Coach is a weekly series of coaching sessions,
7 nuggets of insight in 7 minutes for busy leaders
Subscribe to 7 Ideas Coach via email or through Apple iTunes
______________________________
Want it written out for you?
Want all the ideas in this series at your fingertips?
Want in NOW?
Immediate download available...
Collaborative Advantage
03/11/10 Filed in: Leadership Momentum
Leadership Momentum... session 6
Organizations and individuals alike are constantly implored to develop a competitive advantage. Paradoxically, what may give you a real edge is a well-honed capacity to collaborate. In an increasingly complex world, leaders are more likely to face the challenge of collaborative projects and partnerships - efforts that will require different professions or different organizations to work together, including endeavors that span business, nonprofit, and public sectors.
There is hardly a better competitive advantage than being comfortable and effective in working across boundaries to achieve mutually beneficial results. Collaboration is not for the faint of heart. The following outlines seven essential ingredients leaders should include to assure success in collaborative projects.
read the summary leadership article on Leadership Momentum
Click here to listen and read...
Organizations and individuals alike are constantly implored to develop a competitive advantage. Paradoxically, what may give you a real edge is a well-honed capacity to collaborate. In an increasingly complex world, leaders are more likely to face the challenge of collaborative projects and partnerships - efforts that will require different professions or different organizations to work together, including endeavors that span business, nonprofit, and public sectors.
There is hardly a better competitive advantage than being comfortable and effective in working across boundaries to achieve mutually beneficial results. Collaboration is not for the faint of heart. The following outlines seven essential ingredients leaders should include to assure success in collaborative projects.
read the summary leadership article on Leadership Momentum
Click here to listen and read...
Cultivate Your Network
03/02/10 Filed in: Leadership Momentum
Leadership Momentum... session 5
Your network is the sum of connections you have with other people that might be used to share benefits. Networking is the intentional actions you take to build your network.
Networking is a lifelong endeavor, likely to play a vital role in making the achievements you desire a reality. There is no time like the present to take the initiative, and begin networking wisely. This session outlines seven fundamental principles of successful networking for long-term value.
Click here to listen and read...
Your network is the sum of connections you have with other people that might be used to share benefits. Networking is the intentional actions you take to build your network.
Networking is a lifelong endeavor, likely to play a vital role in making the achievements you desire a reality. There is no time like the present to take the initiative, and begin networking wisely. This session outlines seven fundamental principles of successful networking for long-term value.
Click here to listen and read...
Speak With Power
02/23/10 Filed in: Leadership Momentum
Leadership Momentum... session 4
Poor speaking is so tolerated as normal for business that perhaps no other skill gives as quick a payback for effort as learning to speak with clarity, brevity and energy. Small and basic improvements in speaking in front of others will typically elevate one well above the crowd. Plus effective speaking is one of the best tools for cultivating influence.
Acquiring the skills to improve speaking is not actually difficult to do, but takes time, practice and discipline. This session gives leaders seven key points to remember:
Click here to listen and read...
Poor speaking is so tolerated as normal for business that perhaps no other skill gives as quick a payback for effort as learning to speak with clarity, brevity and energy. Small and basic improvements in speaking in front of others will typically elevate one well above the crowd. Plus effective speaking is one of the best tools for cultivating influence.
Acquiring the skills to improve speaking is not actually difficult to do, but takes time, practice and discipline. This session gives leaders seven key points to remember:
Click here to listen and read...
Sharpen Thinking
02/16/10 Filed in: Leadership Momentum
Leadership Momentum... session 3
Effective leaders develop agility in understanding themselves, interacting with others, and managing their life endeavors by intentional development and application of specific modes of thinking. This coaching session outlines seven modes of thinking that are of particular importance to leaders.
Click here to listen and read...
Effective leaders develop agility in understanding themselves, interacting with others, and managing their life endeavors by intentional development and application of specific modes of thinking. This coaching session outlines seven modes of thinking that are of particular importance to leaders.
Click here to listen and read...
Focus On Strengths
02/09/10 Filed in: Leadership Momentum
Leadership Momentum... session 2
If you truly are driven by escaping mediocrity and accelerating achievement, you have to resist what most people do, which is focus on weaknesses.
Most people have been introduced to the idea that they should emphasize building on their strengths. Even so, Individuals and companies alike still persist in approaching development and performance management by identifying relative weaknesses and then trying to shore them up. The trouble is, if you do everything generally well, you will probably avoid failing but certainly fail to achieve excellence. This session offers seven ideas to stimulate your thinking on strengths.
Click here to listen and read...
If you truly are driven by escaping mediocrity and accelerating achievement, you have to resist what most people do, which is focus on weaknesses.
Most people have been introduced to the idea that they should emphasize building on their strengths. Even so, Individuals and companies alike still persist in approaching development and performance management by identifying relative weaknesses and then trying to shore them up. The trouble is, if you do everything generally well, you will probably avoid failing but certainly fail to achieve excellence. This session offers seven ideas to stimulate your thinking on strengths.
Click here to listen and read...
Generate Credibility
02/02/10 Filed in: Leadership Momentum
Leadership Momentum... session 1
Credibility generates an assumption of capacity to accomplish objectives. Moreover, credibility generates trust, and trust automatically gains a leader the benefit of the doubt. People carry on with their efforts, look beyond mistakes, and work around annoyances and inconveniences.
Savvy leaders know that multiple credibility indicators are more compelling than any single credential or quality. The seven assets and qualities discussed in this session are not exhaustive, but certainly among the most likely to broadly gain leaders credibility.
Click here to listen and read...
Credibility generates an assumption of capacity to accomplish objectives. Moreover, credibility generates trust, and trust automatically gains a leader the benefit of the doubt. People carry on with their efforts, look beyond mistakes, and work around annoyances and inconveniences.
Savvy leaders know that multiple credibility indicators are more compelling than any single credential or quality. The seven assets and qualities discussed in this session are not exhaustive, but certainly among the most likely to broadly gain leaders credibility.
Click here to listen and read...
Cultivate a Change Culture
01/26/10 Filed in: Change Leadership
Change Leadership... session 7
Culture is what people do when the boss isn’t looking. It’s the behavior, attitude, and atmosphere that happen unconsciously.
Want a culture that embraces change and innovation? Then cultivate an appreciative culture.
I use the word appreciative to describe a company culture where people both contribute to a positive climate AND take care of the business. Appreciative cultures highly value competency, excellence, and results as much as feeling good about their workplace. Two meanings of appreciative fit: to recognize with gratitude, and to increase in value.
Appreciative cultures are resilient to change, not resistant. They seek and reward change that adds value. This session outlines seven actions leaders can take to encourage and reinforce a culture of change...
Click here to listen and read...
Culture is what people do when the boss isn’t looking. It’s the behavior, attitude, and atmosphere that happen unconsciously.
Want a culture that embraces change and innovation? Then cultivate an appreciative culture.
I use the word appreciative to describe a company culture where people both contribute to a positive climate AND take care of the business. Appreciative cultures highly value competency, excellence, and results as much as feeling good about their workplace. Two meanings of appreciative fit: to recognize with gratitude, and to increase in value.
Appreciative cultures are resilient to change, not resistant. They seek and reward change that adds value. This session outlines seven actions leaders can take to encourage and reinforce a culture of change...
Click here to listen and read...
Handle Complexity
01/19/10 Filed in: Change Leadership
Change Leadership... session 6
In the 21st century, increasing complexity is a hard fact for almost all organizations - whether large or small, or business, public, or non-profit.
The combination of knowledge-based work plus increased complexity calls for a different kind of action to move organizations forward, which in turn impacts what kind of leadership styles are most effective and what kind of leaders are needed for the future.
The ideas in this session explain 3 different kinds of complexity, as well as appropriate leadership responses to varying levels of complexity...
Click here to listen and read...
In the 21st century, increasing complexity is a hard fact for almost all organizations - whether large or small, or business, public, or non-profit.
The combination of knowledge-based work plus increased complexity calls for a different kind of action to move organizations forward, which in turn impacts what kind of leadership styles are most effective and what kind of leaders are needed for the future.
The ideas in this session explain 3 different kinds of complexity, as well as appropriate leadership responses to varying levels of complexity...
Click here to listen and read...
Win Buy-In
01/12/10 Filed in: Change Leadership
Change Leadership... session 5
Too many change initiatives suffer from what preeminent executive coach Marshall Goldsmith calls the 1 2 3 7 problem - implementing change is a 7 step process, but leaders often leave out steps 4, 5, and 6.
To detail, leaders too often (1) Assess the Situation, (2) Identify Solutions, (3) Plan Action, but then leap to (7) Implement Changes - leaving out efforts to (4) Seek Buy-in Up, (5) Seek Buy-in Across, and (6) Seek Buy-in Down. Oops.
Effective leaders are intentional about creating buy-in for expected change. This podcast covers seven things leaders need to know...
Click here to listen and read...
Too many change initiatives suffer from what preeminent executive coach Marshall Goldsmith calls the 1 2 3 7 problem - implementing change is a 7 step process, but leaders often leave out steps 4, 5, and 6.
To detail, leaders too often (1) Assess the Situation, (2) Identify Solutions, (3) Plan Action, but then leap to (7) Implement Changes - leaving out efforts to (4) Seek Buy-in Up, (5) Seek Buy-in Across, and (6) Seek Buy-in Down. Oops.
Effective leaders are intentional about creating buy-in for expected change. This podcast covers seven things leaders need to know...
Click here to listen and read...
Gain Willing Followers
01/05/10 Filed in: Change Leadership
Change Leadership... session 4
There is fundamental paradox of effective leadership - people make their best effort only when they voluntarily choose to do so. Leading is the art of giving people a genuine choice to follow, while making the choice to follow irresistibly compelling.
A true act of leading is determined not by the “leader” but by the person who chooses to “follow”. Leading can be defined as the act of gaining willing followers for a course of action when the way forward is uncertain or unknown. At its core, leading is about creating conditions where people willingly change - this session reviews seven ways how...
Click here to listen and read...
There is fundamental paradox of effective leadership - people make their best effort only when they voluntarily choose to do so. Leading is the art of giving people a genuine choice to follow, while making the choice to follow irresistibly compelling.
A true act of leading is determined not by the “leader” but by the person who chooses to “follow”. Leading can be defined as the act of gaining willing followers for a course of action when the way forward is uncertain or unknown. At its core, leading is about creating conditions where people willingly change - this session reviews seven ways how...
Click here to listen and read...