February 2015
They're just words on paper!
Reengage ideas creatively and productively.

Two ways to increase readership (and I've used both) is to put a number in your title and to word your title in the negative - expressing some danger that your reader wishes to avoid. "Seven Hidden Mistakes that Lead to Financial Ruin and How to Avoid Them" attracts more readers than "Ideas for Securing Your Financial Future."

So, whenever I see a title with a number in it, I know it isn't expressing some final truth - no matter how strongly it may be worded.  But what about the Ten Commandments? Certainly that's not a number with which you want to mess.  Except that Jesus did just that - he summarized all of the Law and the Prophets in two commands: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"

When you read books, listen to speakers, gather ideas, select tools, and implement processes, don't allow yourself to become a slave to someone's words.  Consider their words creatively and adapt them to serve your purposes and your organization's desired outcomes.  Remember: They're just words on paper.

Recently I facilitated a meeting for a community group that invests in the lives of teens. They've adopted the Search Institute's 40 Developmental Assets - attitudes, behaviors, and character traits that are indicative of the successful movement from teenager to healthy adult.  (Click on the link to be taken to the Search Institute website.)

My challenge to this team: Remember that these developmental assets are comprised of words on paper.  There aren't exactly 40 ways that teens become healthy adults - certainly we could devise a much longer list if we were given sufficient time.  The Search Institute has selected 40 assets and then sub-divided them into 20 external assets and 20 internal assets.  This is helpful, but ultimately artificial.  Even the term "assets" has been chosen to influence one's perspective - the list could have been "40 Treasures" or "40 Developmental Outcomes."  Assets have the sense of things we carry with us, things that grow in value, and things we can share with others.

To be clear, I wasn't saying that the 40 assets were unhelpful or that the organization should abandon their use.  No, they needed to remember that these assets are just one way of organizing reality and that they should be used as a tool to achieve the organization's objectives rather than it bending its efforts to serve this 40 assets perspective.

My Six Steps to a Healthy Team (click to see a PDF of these steps) are built on Patrick Lencioni's Five Dysfunctions of a Team.  I added a sixth element because I am persuaded that he missed the first and most essential step - Personal Security.  Unless a person is reasonably secure professionally and personally she cannot trust.  I have exchanged some of Lencioni's terminology for my own and reworked his dysfunctions into my steps.  Even so, there could be 99 Steps to a Healthy Team, but what clients would hire me to cover all 99?  Six Steps works well to accomplish what I believe is necessary for a team to be successful and cohesive, and it helps to grow my business.

Look at tools your team has adopted and accepted as real.  Ask whether there are new and creative perspectives that would make these tools even more helpful.  Don't discourage team members from rearranging, renumbering, changing metaphors and anything else that will breathe new life into old ideas.  After all, they're just words on paper!

At Julian Consulting we help our clients to creatively select and implement tools that enhance their opportunities for success!  Call TODAY to determine how we can serve you in this process.

Successful Public Speaking - Know SAY!

You don't need to fear public speaking!

 

In my January newsletter I mentioned that I would be speaking to the Ohio Parks and Recreation Association annual convention.  It was a great experience!  In fact, it always surprises me that public speaking is listed as one of people's greatest fears.

 

Having taught public speaking for more than a decade I won't pretend to cover all of the bases in the next few paragraphs, but I am convinced that the key elements to success can be summarized as "Know SAY!"

 

Know your SUBJECT.  It should go without saying (but doesn't - trust me) that if you are going to give a public presentation on a topic you need to know more than the average audience member on that topic.  You may not be the smartest person in the room and you may even defer to the expertise of an audience member on a particular point, but you've got to know your topic well enough that you feel confident that you won't get tripped up by simple and easily anticipated questions.

 

Know your AUDIENCE.  Ultimately your presentation isn't about what you will find persuasive or engaging, it is about connecting with the people sitting in front of you.  In preparation for your talk, get to know your audience.  How many will there be?  Get a breakdown by gender, age, role/job, educational level, geographical affiliations, and so on.  Don't just speak to yourself.

 

Know YOURSELF.  If you tell a great story, then make storytelling a significant component in your presentation.  If you are humorous, then get them laughing.  If you are great with facts and details, then provide the audience members with the evidence they will find compelling.  Don't listen to the experts who tell you how to develop and use the strengths they naturally enjoy - find your own strengths and build on them.

 

Always ask for feedback.  Here's the feedback I received from the Ohio Parks and Recreation Association presentations.  Two comments: 1) Individual comments were separated by semicolons so the negative critique of my first presentation came from one very disgruntled person, and 2) Evidently I got stronger or the audience was more engaged as the day wore on.  I left having poured out my heart to these people and the response was wonderful. 

 

Be careful in reading feedback that you allow yourself to see the positives and don't fixate on the negative comments.  This is easier said than done, but important in retaining perspective on your performance and your opportunities to improve.

 

Remember: If you are considering a leadership retreat or association convention, please contact me about tailoring a motivational message for your event.

Thanks for reading!
  
Remember, I'm committed to your professional and personal success!
Stephen Julian signature 
Dr. Stephen Julian
  
Julian Consulting
  
 
447 Greensboro Drive
Dayton, OH  45459
937-660-8563
937-660-8593 (fax)
  
Copyright © 2015 by Dr. Stephen Julian. All rights reserved.