Mar

24

The Best Times to Be Creative

Filed Under Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Paul Williams from Idea Sandbox has a follow-up post to a Time article describing the best times to be creative. He has used his creativity and produced the following images to illustrate the best times to be creative.

For the Morning Person

For the Evening Person

  • Low Concentration - the body’s clock shifts, lowering concentration.
  • Creativity - best time for brainstorming and open-ended thinking. Before the brain is flooded with the day’s stimuli.
  • Problem Solving - The brain is warmed up and at its peak for activities from analysis to memorization.
  • Rejuvination - ‘To stay sharp, experts suggest refreshing the mind with daily exercise and brain-building activities like reading, artistic exploration and puzzle solving.’

This approach is something that I am consciously trying to practice. Whenever possible I block out my mornings and use them for work that requires higher levels of my creative energy. I use my evenings to do most of the routine tasks, work that does not require much thinking. I have seen a definate improvement in the quality of ideas and thinking in the mornings using this approach.
Technorati Tags: , , , , , ,

Mar

24

Developing Personal Leadership Skills

Filed Under Uncategorized | Leave a Comment

An article from Michael O’Brien, A New Executive Curriculum suggests that leader cultivates their EQ by practicing the following personal skills:

  • Practice Self-Awareness. Psychologists call this discipline “metacognition”; Buddhist monks know it as “mindfulness”; Socrates referred to it as the “examined life.” I think of it as thinking differently on purpose and noticing what you’re feeling and thinking. Whatever you call it, practicing this skill is a way of escaping the conditioned confines of your past. Raise your consciousness by catching yourself in the act of thinking as often as possible; routinely notice your emotions and ask if you’re facing facts or indulging biases.
  • Use Imagery. This is what you see Olympic ski racers doing before they enter the starting gate. With closed eyes and swaying bodies, they run the course in their minds, which ultimately improves their performance. You can do a similar thing by setting aside time each day to dream with gusto about what you want to achieve.
  • Frame and Reframe Events. When the Greek Stoic Epictetus said 2,000 years ago that it isn’t events that matter but our opinion of them, this is what he was talking about. Every time something important happens, assign as many interpretations to it as possible, even zany ones. Then go with the interpretation most supportive of your dreams.
  • Integrate the Perspectives of Others. Brain research shows that our view of the world is physiologically limited by our genes and the experiences we’ve had. Learning to incorporate the useful perspectives of others is nothing less than a form of amplifying your senses. The next time someone interprets something differently than you do, pause to consider that a gift of perception is being offered, if you’ll only accept it.

Technorati Tags: , , , ,

Mar

24

Effective Communication: A Leading Indicator of Financial Performance

Filed Under Uncategorized | Leave a Comment

The 2003/2004 Watson Wyatt Communication ROI Study™ demonstrated the correlation between communication effectiveness, organizational turnover and financial performance. The 2005/2006 study confirms our earlier study findings and goes a step further, by showing that effective communication is a leading indicator of an organization’s financial performance. Some of the key findings include:

  • Companies that communicate effectively have a 19.4 percent higher market premium than companies that do not.
  • Shareholder returns for organizations with the most effective communication were over 57 percent higher over the last five years (2000-2004) than were returns for firms with less effective communication.
  • The 2005/2006 study found evidence that communication effectiveness is a leading indicator of financial performance.
  • Firms that communicate effectively are 4.5 times more likely to report high levels of employee engagement versus firms that communicate less effectively.
  • Companies that are highly effective communicators are 20 percent more likely to report lower turnover rates than their peers.

An interesting finding from the research is that “two-thirds of the firms with high levels of communication effectiveness are asking their managers to take on a greater share of the communication responsibility, but few are giving them the tools and training to be successful.”

Technorati Tags: , , ,

Mar

24

Who should you invest your time with?

Filed Under Uncategorized | Leave a Comment

Skip from Random Thoughts from a CTO provides some useful guidance for leaders trying to decide Who do I invest my time with?, he provides the following guidance:

  • Those that ask for my help. Who have come to me and need me to help resolve an issue.
  • Those that need my help. They are struggling with some tasks because of their weaknesses.
  • Those that are going through new changes. They may be working with new technology, tools, processes or people. Their dynamics and normal workflow have been impacted. I need to help them along with the change until they feel comfortable with it.
  • Those that will have the most impact to the organization. These are the future leaders of the company, the ones that have the most potential and contribute the most to the organization.
  • Those that have been given the most authority or responsibility. These are middle managers and “lead” positions where we need to get together and make sure we are aligned in direction. We need to be on the same page, with our goals and objectives. We need to make sure we are focused on what has been defined as important, and that we agree with priorities.
  • Those that are the opinion leaders. They may fit some of the groups above, or just have a pulse on what is going on in the organization. You need to know what they are hearing or thinking themselves, and work with them to make sure they are satisfied. If they are happy, others will be.

These are great guidelines and worth following….

Technorati Tags: , , , ,

Mar

18

Timely Tips for Having a Civil Political Conversation

Filed Under Uncategorized | Leave a Comment

An interesting article on “Timely Tips for Having a Civil Political Conversation” provides some useful tips on having a successful political conversation, the tips include:

  • Manners are the lubricating oil of good political discussions. “When you shoot an arrow of truth, dip its point in honey.” — Arab proverb
  • Show empathy and tolerance for differences.
  • Do your homework to build depth behind your convictions. The journey to wisdom takes you from simple truths to a deeper understanding and then back to an informed simplicity that communicates depth.
  • When caught off guard, take time to think before engaging in speech, sending e-mails or leaving phone messages. The real art of political dialogue is not just saying the right thing at the right moment; it is the ability to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.
  • Avoid name-calling, “you” statements and “should” talk! Instead of putting down others or their positions, share your opinions in the form of “I” statements—”I find…; I feel…; I think…”
  • Seek first to understand by mastering the art of listening and the use of engaging questions. Master some timely questions: What are the most important issues to you? Help me understand your position? What would you do differently? What evidence do you have of that? Do you see any unintended consequences?
  • Use the power of a positive pause to surface more understanding and deeper insights.
  • When it is your turn to speak, be focused more on what you are for rather than what you are against. Let people save face and learn from mistakes by focusing on working to invent a better future.
  • Be able to admit your own mistakes and the mistakes of your own party.
  • Use humor to diffuse the tension conflict creates and to keep issues in perspective. Making fun of others seldom wins point in political conversations. The safest target for your humor is always yourself. “I do not seek applause…nor to amuse the people. I want to convince them. I often avoid a long and useless discussion by others or a laborious explanation on my own part by using a short story that illustrates my point of view.” — Abraham Lincoln
  • Instead of hammering your position home, be ready to take distance from a difficult conversation and give others time to think.
  • Know when to end a fruitless conversation.

Technorati Tags: , , , , ,

Mar

18

Generating Knowedge in Groups

Filed Under Uncategorized | Leave a Comment

I recently had the privilege of attending training on the Cynefin Tools and Methods with David Snowden, hosted by @TomorrowToday.biz. I found the training extremely useful, specifically as it relates to introducing and leading change in organisations. The Cynefin framework is something that I’m going to become better acquainted with over the next while. I previously discussed the power of conversation to stimulate ideas and action from groups of people. At the time, this was my personal observation, and I did not quite understand the underlying dynamics of what was happening in group settings, when we suddenly found ourselves generating knowledge and insights that would not have been possible individually. On the course David shared two principles concerning knowledge that seemed to explain the power of groups in generating the knowledge and insights as I had observed, the two principles are:

  1. We can always know more than we can tell, and we will always tell more than we can write down. This is something I think we have all experienced. We jump into a deep discussion with a group of friends or colleagues. You become so involved in the discussion and surprise yourself with the insight and wisdom that pours forth from your lips!
  2. We only know what we know when we need to know it. It turns out that our knowledge is contextual, this means that we access the knowledge we require based upon the context we find ourselves in. This means if you’re place into a context, or if a question is framed in such a way that places you in a specific context, the context enables you to access knowledge deep within you that otherwise would have been left untapped. THis also happens effectively in group settings, the group discussion place us in a context that enables us to access knowledge we would not have been able to access on our own.

This insight help explain what I observed happening in groups. It also provides a powerful insight, groups help to provide context and allow people to converse in a way that helps individuals to access knowledge and generate insights that would not have been possible if the individuals attempted to solve the problem on their own.

Technorati Tags: , , ,

Mar

11

Setting SMART Objectives

Filed Under Uncategorized | 27 Comments

Nothing happens until we plan and a good plans have goals and objectives. Setting goals and objectives correctly goes a long way in helping in the achievement of them. Before we dive into how we go about setting SMART objectives we need to be aware of the difference between goals and objectives. Goals relate to our aspirations, purpose and vision. For example, I have a goal of becoming financially independent, this is a goal. Objectives are the battle plan, the stepping stones on the path towards the achievement of my goal. Therefore, a goal may have one or many objective that I would need to fulfil to achieve my goal. For example, to become financially independent I would need to 1) get out of debt, 2) improve my saving and 3) start a business.

The most well known method for setting objectives is the S.M.A.R.T. way, the SMART approach is well understood amongst managers, but I’ve found poorly practiced. S.M.A.R.T refers to the acronym that describes the key characteristics of meaningful objectives, which are Specific (concrete, detailed, well defined), Measureable (numbers, quantity, comparison), Achievable (feasible, actionable), Realistic (considering resources) and Time-Bound (a defined time line). Lets look at these characteristics in more detail.

SMART objective then are the stepping stones to the achievement of our goals……

Specific

Specific means that the objective is concrete, detailed, focused and well defined. Specific means that it’s results and action-orientated. Objective must be straightforwards and emphasize action and the required outcome. Objectives need to be straightforward and to communicate what you would like to see happen. To help set specific objectives it helps to ask:

  • WHAT am I going to do? This are best written using strong, action verbs such as conduct, develop, build, plan, execute, etc. This helps your objective to be action-orientated and focuses on what’s most important.
  • WHY is this important for me to do?
  • WHO is going to do what? Who else need to be involved?
  • WHEN do I want this to be completed?
  • HOW am I going to do this?

“The successful man is the average man, focused.” - Unknown

Diagnostic Questions

  • What exactly are we going to do, with or for whom?
  • What strategies will be used?
  • Is the objective well understood?
  • Is the objective described with action verbs?
  • Is it clear who is involved?
  • Is it clear where this will happen?
  • Is it clear what needs to happen?
  • Is the outcome clear?
  • Will this objective lead to the desired results?

Achievable

Objectives need to be achievable, if the objective is too far in the future, you’ll find it difficult to keep motivated and to strive to attain it. Objectives, unlike your aspirations and visions, need to be achievable to keep you motivated. I do feel that objectives need to stretch you, but not so far that you become frustrated and lose motivation.

Diagnostic Questions

  • Can we get it done in the proposed timeframe?
  • Do I understand the limitations and constraints?
  • Can we do this with the resources we have?
  • Has anyone else done this successfully?
  • Is this possible?

Realistic

Objectives that are achievable, may not be realistic….. however, realistic does not mean easy. Realistic means that you have the resources to get it done. The achievement of an objective requires resources, such as, skills, money, equipment, etc. to the task required to achieve the objective. Whilst keeping objectives realistic, ensure that they stretch you. Most objectives are achievable but, may require a change in your priorities to make them happen.

Diagnostic Questions

  • Do you have the resources available to achieve this objective?
  • Do I need to revisit priorities in my life to make this happen?
  • Is it possible to achieve this objective?

Measurable

If the objective is measurable, it means that the measurement source is identified and we are able to track the actions as we progress towards the objective. Measurement is the standard used for comparison. For example, what financially independence means to me, may be totally different compared to what is means for you. As it’s so often said if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it! It’s important to have measures that will encourage and motivate you on the way as you see the change occurring, this may require interim measures. Measurements go along way to help us to know when we have achieved our objective.

Diagnostic Questions

  • How will I know that the change has occurred?
  • Can these measurements be obtained?

Time-Bound

Time-bound means setting a deadlines for the achievement of the objective. Deadlines need to be both achievable and realistic. If you don’t set a time you will reduce the motivation and urgency required to execute the tasks. Timeframes create the necessary urgency and prompts action.

Diagnostic Questions

  • When will this objective be accomplished?
  • Is there a stated deadline?

“There’s a difference between interest and commitment. When you’re interested in doing something, you do it only when circumstance permit. When you’re committed to something, you accept no excuses, only results.” - Unknown

Technorati Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Next Page →