Stories, effectively

I.
When she happily stepped into her new four-wheel drive SUV - the first new car she'd ever owned - she smiled. She fastened her seat belt, checked the mirrors, and turned on the car. Her favorite station was synced on the radio.  On a commercial break, miles from the dealership, she realized her salesperson had programmed all of her stations (in the same order) from her 200,000 mile old-reliable sedan into her new vehicle. Over the next few days, she posted lots of photos of her new ride - and one in particilar of the media console, thanking her salesperson.

Or,

As a best practice, all salespersons are expected to wow the customer.  Going above and beyond will ensure strong sales growth going forward, generating referrals and ancilliary sales in preventative maintenance.

II.
On her first day, she brought flowers to the Concierge who had been so kind and welcoming during her multi-step interview process.  Another time, she delivered various specialty cafe drinks for her peers - mochas, herbal teas, soy lattes. Later, she arranged with the director of the rehabilitation department to surprise his team with their favorite lunch sandwiches. And recently, she coordinated with the director of the maintenance department for a similar lunch for his team.  In each situation, she expressed her thanks of their commitments and expertise.

Or,

Show appreciation to your colleagues with small, meaningful gifts.  Thank them often. Recognize their contributions.

III.
She still remembers the first time she intentionally listened to her mother, when she didn't immediately jump to speak, or to comment, or to change the subject to her own preferred topics. She waited through periods of silence - breaks in her Mother's conversation - listening to the pauses. She could almost hear her Mother thinking. And her Mother's stories meandered into a much deeper conversation of joy and disappointment, of fears and hopes. She listened, and when the time seemed right - after her Mother seemed relieved - she spoke.

Or,

Listen more than you speak. If you're doing all the talking, how can you be listening?


Whereas it can be important (and tempting) to condense an initiative or inspirational message into a few well-thought, concise sentences; it can be far more effective to tell stories that create an archetype.

For further reference:
Selling the Invisible
Made to Stick

Inspiring drivers

There are so many stories and individuals who inspire us.  For me, recently, it's a trio of three: Porter, Monty and Ginny.




I love everything about this story: the creativity in the audacious concept, the hope of a better life, and the commitment to support someone who's had a rough go.

Thanks to SPCA Auckland for the great work you do and for inspiring us!

Onboarding to create confidence and success

Excited to have recently hired a new colleague, I'm preparing her onboarding and training schedule.  This is an exciting time for all of us - for my new colleague in her new role in a new organization, for myself and our direct team partners, and for our organization and the families we serve.

Yet, how often do supervisors and organizations squander this opportunity to build a strong foundation for their new colleague and, thusly, for their team, organization and client base.  It is so easy to stay buried in your own work, to hope (rather than plan) for success, to inadvertently throw your new colleague into the fire.

I'm reminded of the Forbes article featured on LinkedIn early this year, 1 Thing Every New Hire Should Get On Their First Day.

When I worked in the book business, one of my key responsibilities was to train new Community Relations Managers.  It was great fun.  I designed a curriculum to disseminate policy, procedure, expectations, and best practices.  We spent days together.  And by the end, we were both exhausted.  There was just so much.  How much better to incorporate practices from my workshops: fun, tailored for various learning styles, and generating excitement?

And for my new colleague, I also seek to create confidence in her training - that is, I want her to feel as well as be well-trained and ready to create success.  In building a fun, effective, organized and clear training plan, we illustrate that we value our colleagues.

Lastly, I'm pondering how to illustrate to my new colleague how we on my team support each other, and how our organization serves our clients: a personalized welcome sign at the community entrance, lunch for my new colleague and our direct team to initiate early partnerships, a clear training document, a great reference manual, lots of positive introductions, and ... ?  To further prep, I'll review some favorite leadership / management books.

Olympic inspirations

It's been about three months since the Closing Ceremonies - seems a right time to reminisce.

Always moved by the Olympics - bodies and spirits at their strongest.  Heroes and inspirations.  With the London 2012 Olympics, a few athletes were particularly inspiring to me:

Alise Post (BMX racer, St Cloud): After slamming into the ground face-first in a crash, Post is helped to walk across the finish line.
http://www.startribune.com/sports/165812426.html?refer=y

Robert Harting (Discus, Germany, Gold medal winner): Harting's pure joy and excitement after winning the Gold medal in the discus.  He ripped off his shirt (Hulk Hogan-style), tied the German flag to himself, and leaped over several hurdles (literally).  
http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/olympics/track-field/7445254/Discus-champs-larger-than-life-celebration
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/07/robert-harting-discus-germany-olympics_n_1753949.html
And the after-party escapades:
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/08/09/robert-harting-wins-gold-drunk-robbed_n_1758873.html

Oscar Pistorius (Sprinter, South Africa): Already a six-time Paralympic champion, Pistorius is the first amputee-sprinter to compete in the Olympics.  
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/19223106
http://www.livescience.com/22249-oscar-pistorius-prosthetics-work.html

Allyson Felix (Sprinter, USA): Her running style is long, smooth, purely elegant.  Beautiful.
http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/track-and-field/highlights-allyson-felix-strikes-gold-in-200m.html

LeadingAge Conference: Dr Atul Gawande & Dr Joseph Coughlin

Day two and three of the LeadingAge Annual Conference brought Dr Atul Gawande and Dr Joseph Coughlin as keynote addressees.



Dr Atul Gawande, surgeon and writer, emphasized that "medicine works best when it works with people's goals," encouraging a partnership between the medical world and senior services in support of each person's individual goals.  In particular, he shared Dr Jeffrey Brenner's rabbit hole journey to analyze the high cost of healthcare in the community he served, and how he and his team simply, effectively intervened for the benefit  of patients and the cost of the healthcare system itself.

Further reading:
NPR interview with Dr Gawande on his book, The Checklist Manifesto
NPR interview with Dr Atul Gawande on hospice care
Frontline program with Dr Atul Gawande on Dr Brenner's "hot spots" analysis and intervention
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation article on Dr Brenner's "hot spots"




Dr Joseph Coughlin, PhD and Director of the MIT AgeLab, discussed the changing face and needs of our aging population.  Key trends: the need to personalize service for each individual; to support aging individuals and their loved ones in providing clarity and consult, not products; to manage chronic conditions in order to continue quality of life.

Myself and friend / colleague / artist, Kym Hansler

LeadingAge Conference: Ruby Dee & inspiration for Today

Day two of the LeadingAge Annual Conference brought a powerful excerpt with Ruby Dee and a keynote address by Dr Atul Gawande - more on Dr Atul's presentation later.

Now, actress Ruby Dee speaking a poem, Today:

LeadingAge Conference: Archbishop Desmond Tutu

I have the good fortune to attend the LeadingAge Annual Conference.

Introductory ceremony, recognizing local elders and veterans.


Today opened with Archbishop Desmond Tutu for the keynote address.

So struck by the similarity in joy, forgiveness and conveyance between Archbishop Tutu and His Holiness The Dalai Lama.

Archbishop Tutu started his address with a story that he and his wife had been in attendance at a celebration for a 400 year old school.   A young girl approached him and asked, "Were you here when the school was started?"  He laughed and said to us, "I knew I was decrepit, but I didn't realize it was that obvious."

There was a theme in the Archbishop's presentation - that we are called for something great.  He spoke often of tales in the Scriptures, in which God asks people to be his partners.  And he closed with a story about a farmer who kept chickens.  But one chicken was odd.  Still, this chicken pecked at the seed and walked around like a chicken.  Then, a person of knowledge came to the farmer and said, "That is not a chicken - it is an eagle."  The person of knowledge asked to take the eagle, carried the bird to the mountaintop with the rising sun.  And the person whispered to the eagle, "You are an eagle.  Now, fly."

And thusly, the Archbishop closed his presentation,
whispering to us, "Now, fly."




10/23/12: Blog update: Archbishop Tutu wrote a foreword in the picture book, Fly, Eagle, Fly