Is it bacon or is it hot air? – the fine line in miscommunication
Posted by Lee-Anne Ragan | Filed under Communication
If only the line between speaker and receiver, between mouth and ear and between intention and reception was so clear!
Is it hot air or is it bacon?
Communication gaffes and gaps are full of missed perspectives.
Depends on your perspective (and sense of humour).
Perceptive … go get some.
~~TGIF- each Friday I rejig & re-post a blog entry from my www.life-lenses.com blog, which is about enhancing our perspective & worldview.~~
Tags: communication, miscommunication
Training & development learning well July blog post round up
Posted by Lee-Anne Ragan | Filed under Training & development
If you didn’t catch all the posts this month simply peruse & click what’s below.
Here’s the Rock.Paper.Scissors’ monthly training & development round up for the month of July.
Learn well in the training & development learning well.
Dive deep into the learning well or take a small sip. Shower yourself in training & development or just get your big toe wet.
Refresh & refreshing.
As you wish.
- Sitting is the new smoking & what else you can learn about change management from cardboard boxes & elephants
- What percent of the time is the leading scorer on the winning World Cup team? And what does it have to do with organizational culture?!?
- Barbie’s booty meets Ruby – an illuminating perspective from the Body Shop
- What does 47 million+ hits on the Numa Numa video tell us about training & development?
- Push for drama – the role of drama in learning & memory
- Bugs in the bathroom = the problem with Journey Life Lenses™
- Are you the lizard or the termite today?
Tags: africa, anita roddick, barbie, body shop, change management, dave ulrich, enthusiasm, gary brolsma, heath brothers, ihrm, journey lens, learning, liz paterson, mattel, memory, numa numa, organizational culture, perspective, public health, retention, sitting, switch, vonrestorff
Results of ‘What % of the time is the leading scorer on the winning World Cup team? And what does it have to do with organizational culture?!?’
Posted by Lee-Anne Ragan | Filed under Business & organizational development
Last week I wrote a post about ‘What percent of the time is the leading scorer on the winning World Cup team? And what does it have to do with organizational culture?!?,’ Spoiler alert! Now for the results….
(Didn’t get a chance to cast your interactive vote? Simply head over there now before reading the rest of this post.)
It’s based on some intriguing things I learned from Dave Ulrich’s day long workshop for the Institute of Human Resource Management, in Nairobi. And specifically what he had to say about organizational culture.
Dave asked us what percentage of the top scorers in basketball, soccer & hockey are also on the winning NBA, World Cup & Stanley cup team respectively. I’m not a sports fan but I am uber interested in human resources, including organizational culture & that’s where the kicker is (pun intended).
Ready for the answer? For all three (NBA, World Cup, Stanley Cup) it’s a surprisingly low 20% says Dave.
But wait, there’s more!
How many of the 20 “Best Actor/ Best Actress” Academy Award winners in the last ten years were also in the “Best Picture” for that year?
You guessed it, only 20%.
So how does this relate to organizational culture?
The good news? Dave went on to say that a strong organizational culture lifts up those that may not inherently be strong performers. If you have a healthy organizational culture and high performers you’re riding the wave.
The bad news? Grab your life jackets, it’s sink or swim time because a negative organizational culture, also brings down normally high performers.
So catch the wave because a strong, vibrant, healthy organizational culture is critical, to both organizational success & individual performance.
The original contest is below. It will continue to update as people continue to vote. Thanks to Aaron Johannes & Melanda Schmid for being among those who voted. A copy of ‘We Want Peace’ is on its way to you, sung by Emmanuel Jal, one of my most favourite human beings on the planet.
Tags: aaron johannes, dave ulrich, emmanuel jal, melanda schmid, organizational culture
Are you my drummer or am I your singer? Seth Godin on the Stones
Posted by Lee-Anne Ragan | Filed under Communication
I was struck by this post by Seth Godin. Are you my drummer or am I your singer? It’s all in the perspective. Notice how the perspective dramatically shifts….
Keith Richards tells a great story about Charlie Watts, legendary drummer for the Stones.
After a night of drinking, Mick saw Charlie asleep and yelled, “Is that my drummer? Why don’t you get your arse down here?”
Richards continues, “Charlie got dressed in a Savile Row suit, tie, shoes, shaved, came down, grabbed him and went boom! Don’t ever call me “your drummer” again. You’re my … singer.”
No drums, no Stones.
Who’s playing the drums in your shop?
As a Carrot Life Lens™ do you nitpick or are you focused on fine details? As a Mountain Life Lens™ is your head in the clouds or do you have your eye on the horizon focused on upcoming trends?
As a Stop Life Lens™ do you have ‘analysis paralysis’ or are you reflective and cautious? As a Go Life Lens™ are you impulsive and reckless or do you spontaneously dive into opportunities?
As a Head Life Lens™ are blind to your intuition or are you focused on facts and figures? As a Heart Life Lens™ are you blind to what the facts say or are you highly intuitive?
As a Journey Life Lens™ do you loose sight of where you’re headed or do you prioritize process? As a Destination Life Lens™ do you loose sight of process or are you clear on your goals?
It’s a matter of perspective. What’s yours?
~~TGIF- each Friday I rejig & re-post a blog entry from my www.life-lenses.com blog, which is about enhancing our perspective & worldview.~~
Tags: charlie watts, keith richardson, rolling stones, seth godin
Sitting is the new smoking & what else you can learn about change management from cardboard boxes & elephants
Posted by Lee-Anne Ragan | Filed under Change management & wellness
Hey, have you entered the interactive contest from last post yet? No? Whatcha waiting for. Head here to enter. It’s fast, fun & easy.
Liz Paterson, an intern with UN-Habitat here in Nairobi, knows a thing or two about small, quick elephants.
The Heath brothers, in their fabulous book Switch – how to change things when change is hard – write about how we all have elephants a.k.a. our feelings & motivations to do with a change. Rather than solely addressing facts, logic & information when we’re trying to change something, it’s more effective to deal with our elephants.
When I work with clients, I specifically encourage them to find their quick, small elephants.
Translation: look for a couple of small things you can do easily & quickly that will help motivate people towards embracing a change.
Which, is exactly what Liz Paterson did recently.
Liz, who is on her way to getting a Masters in Public Health, says that sitting is the new smoking. That’s why, when she arrived in her U.N. office, she promptly put a large cardboard box under her computer, which gets her standing for several hours a day.
Yes, a large cardboard box.
Turns out it’s good for her health & easy to do. (For more information about how your chair is your enemy see the New York Times article by Olivia Judson.)
Turns out too, that other interns have followed. If you were to walk down the hallway with open offices near Liz’s desk, you’d see a number of large cardboard boxes under others’ computers.
So what did Liz do that made for quick, easy elephants?
– the change was easy to describe & had a high motivational factor (sitting is the new smoking)
– the change was easy to do (simply stick a box under your computer)
– the change was quick to start (grab a box & stand up)
– the change was easy to replicate (Liz has extra cardboard boxes beside her desk for who ever wants them – see the photo below)
Trying to change something? Look to Liz for inspiration & find your own quick, small elephants.
Tags: change management, heath brothers, liz paterson, public health, sitting, switch
What percent of the time is the leading scorer on the winning World Cup team? And what does it have to do with organizational culture?!?
Posted by Lee-Anne Ragan | Filed under Business & organizational development
A while back I was fortunate to take part in Dave Ulrich’s day long workshop for the Institute of Human Resource Management, in Nairobi. One of the most interesting bits was his take on organizational culture.
But first, some sports trivia compliments of Dave (note: if you’re not a sports fan like me, hang in there, this is quite cool). Take part in this interactive contest. Once you’ve submitted a guess, add a comment below & I’ll pick a comment at random & award that person a prize (a free song from Itunes). All entries are due by Sunday, July 29th. The answer (including what the heck this has to do with organizational culture) will post Monday, July 30th.
- What percent of the time is the leading scorer (the winner of the Golden Boot) on the team that wins the World Cup?
- What percentage of time is the leading scorer on the basketball team that wins the NBA?
- What percentage of the time is the leader scorer on the hockey team that wins the Stanley cup?
Hint, the answer is the same for all three.
Think you know the answer? Let’s have some fun. Text or tweet your answer following the instructions below.
Haven’t done this before? It’s easy peasy. Plus, the results update in real time.
To text: text 37607 (use that as the ‘phone number’ you’re texting to) & then pick the code, from the chart below, that represents the percentage you think is the right answer. For example if you think ‘always’ is the right answer you’d put 32535 as your message & then hit send. Your regular text rates will apply. Texting is only open to my Canadian cohorts. If you’re not in Canada, no worries you can tweet or go online to submit your vote.
To tweet: simple tweet @poll & the corresponding code.
To vote online: Not into texting or tweeting? No problem. Just go to this website & submit your code from the chart below.
Tags: dave ulrich, ihrm, organizational culture
Barbie’s booty meets Ruby – an illuminating perspective from the Body Shop
Posted by Lee-Anne Ragan | Filed under Communication
Meet Ruby – from an ad by the Body Shop.
Illuminating. Thought provoking. Colourful. Educational. Insightful. Creative.
The ad was banned in the United States , when Mattel, the makers of Barbie issued a cease and desist order.
From Anita Roddick’s former blog (founder of the Body Shop) Ruby was making Barbie look bad, presumably by mocking the plastic twig-like bestseller (Barbie dolls sell at a rate of two per second; it’s hard to see how our Ruby could have done any meaningful damage.) I was ecstatic that Mattel thought Ruby was insulting to Barbie — the idea of one inanimate piece of molded plastic hurting another’s feelings was absolutely mind-blowing.
It’s a great example of how perspective influences everything.
What’s yours?
~~TGIF- each Friday I rejig & re-post a blog entry from my www.life-lenses.com blog, which is about enhancing our perspective & worldview.~~
Tags: anita roddick, barbie, body shop, mattel, perspective
What does 47 million+ hits on the Numa Numa video tell us about training & development?
Posted by Lee-Anne Ragan | Filed under Training & development
If you haven’t actually seen the Numa Numa video below, you’ve likely had the song stuck in your head. The viral video shows Gary Brolsma, singing along to the Numa Numa song, with unself-conscious abandon.
So what’s the deal? Why 47+million hits?
The Numa Numa video demonstrates:
- being in the zone, in the flow, is infectious
- it takes some chutzpah, some courage to be unself-conscious
- being a little wild & crazy, in a safe space, is appealing
What does this mean for training & development? Harness your chutzpah, get in the zone & do something a little wild & crazy. Your learners will love it.
According to Wikipedia: Numa Numa is an Internet phenomenon based on amateur videos, most notably Numa Numa Song by Gary Brolsma, made for the song “Dragostea din tei” as performed by O-Zone. Brolsma’s video, released in December 2004 on the website Newgrounds.com, was the first Numa Numa–themed video to gain widespread attention.
Tags: enthusiasm, gary brolsma, numa numa
Push for drama – the role of drama in learning & memory
Posted by Lee-Anne Ragan | Filed under Business & organizational development, Training & development
Watching the unwitting people’s responses to the drama is almost as funny as the drama itself in the video below.
Do we need more drama?
Certainly drama captures our attention – like pigeons, with their notoriously bad eyesight, who subsequently bob their heads back & forth to create movement that literally captures their attention – we can be addicted to meaningless drama. Surprise & gobsmack for no reason.
On the other hand, like the saying goes, a change is as good as a rest. Novelty, surprise & drama can revive an overworked brain. When we’re in conflict, we tend to do more of whatever isn’t working. Changing it up can definitely get us out of our over worn, tired groove & help us see new possibilities.
The VonRestorff effect (scroll to page 42 in the link to read more) tells us that we tend to remember things that are (appropriately) funny, colourful &/or experiential. Some drama helps us remember better.
Can you have too much of a good thing? Of course. But some drama can add some spice, help you & yours remember better & make life a whole lot more interesting.
So go get some, find your own button to push & enjoy the memories. Not sure where to start? Check out the video below.
Tags: learning, memory, retention, vonrestorff
Bugs in the bathroom = the problem with Journey Life Lenses™
Posted by Lee-Anne Ragan | Filed under Communication
I was doing my business in the bathroom the other day (hey, learning can happen anywhere) and happened to catch site of a small bug. (I’ve recently moved to Nairobi, Kenya where on top of luscious foliage, lots of bugs are a reality.) It was doing a crazy dance – imagine the most frenetic two year old hopping around the room and multiply that by 10. It went to, fro and then back to to and fro again.
I was getting dizzy just watching it. It’s path looked something like the above diagram. It started its frenetic dance at ‘A’ and ended at ‘B.’
And that’s the problem with Journey Life Lenses™ on a bad day. If their point is to enjoy the scenery then all the more power to them. Process, process and more process. Journey Life Lenses’™ strength is focusing on how things get done.
If however, the point is to get something accomplished on a deadline, then an extreme process focus of Journey Life Lenses™ can end up wasting a lot of space, time, energy and resources.
Sometimes a straight line between your start and your finish is a good thing.
If you’re a Journey Life Lens™ and you’re having a bad day, here are some tips:
- make sure you know what you ultimately have to accomplish
- know what your goal is, where you’re headed
- avoid your tendency to work out the perfect process if you’re under a tight timeline
- keep your eyes on your goal
If you work with a Journey Life Lens™ and they’re having a bad day, here are some tips:
- help them focus on what they’re need to accomplish
- help them identify their goal
- they will prefer to work on the process (how something gets done), if they have a tight deadline, help them avoid spinning their wheels by only focusing on the process
- keep their eyes on their goal
And Destination Life Lenses™ (Journey’s opposite), if you’re sitting there even slightly smugly, know that you too have your challenges. We’ll get to those on another day.
~~TGIF- each Friday I rejig & re-post a blog entry from my www.life-lenses.com blog, which is about enhancing our perspective & worldview.~~
Tags: journey lens, perspective