Jul 18 2011

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Check Out What Meetings and Watching TV have in Common

Jul 18 2011

When you watch TV, you don’t just watch one kind of show I imagine.

I, for example, watch the news, movies, documentaries and some shows like American Idol.

When I sit down in front of the TV I don’t always eat popcorn either.

I only do that when I watch a movie from beginning to end.  Why?  Because I know it will be a few hours and I enjoy kicking back with my popcorn.

What does this have to do with meetings?  Well, we have all kinds of meetings as well – just like TV shows.  Some are short, some are long, some focus on the crisis in the moment, and others continue over years.

The key to meetings is to know what kind of meeting to have when.

For example, you don’t want people to get too comfy and eat popcorn when you need them to get a quick update and be in action.

So call a 5 minute stand-up meeting in the hallway instead of an hour-long meeting in the conference room where people bring their pillows and coffee.

If you are managing a project, ask for updates on the specific action items people have promised and make it quick.  Don’t go around the table and ask everyone a general question like “What are you working on?” – Seriously? Does it matter?

To have more effective meetings, you must focus on what matters most and pick a format that will deliver results.  Not every TV show takes 2 hours!

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WEBINAR / COACHING – Accountability: Creating a Winnable Game (7/27)

Jul 18 2011

To sign up for this coaching webinar where Birgit will take calls and answer questions about accountability and team-building, click here

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TV interview with Birgit on Malcolm Outloud

Jun 30 2011

To watch Birgit’s leadership news on interview  hosted by Angye Fox click here

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TV Interview on Malcolm Outloud

Jun 29 2011

To view Birgit and Tom’s interview on the book Who Will Do What by When? on Malcolm Outloud, click here

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Get Projects Done with Half the Effort and Hassle – Knowing What to Say & How to Say It

Jun 28 2011

To listen to this recorded webinar for project managers, where we discussed the secrets highly effective managers have discovered, click here.

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Negative Images Boost Unrelated Images

May 18 2011

An article on Harvard Business Review reads as follows:

“People who viewed an image of a dead cat (or something equally negative) after recalling a newly learned Swahili word were better at later remembering the word than people who viewed a neutral image, say Bridgid Finn and Henry L. Roediger III of Washington University. The viewers of negative images remembered 57% of what they had previously recalled, compared with 44% for people who saw neutral pictures. An emotionally arousing event may enhance “reconsolidation” of memory because the brain’s emotional centers have close connections with the reconsolidation region, the researchers say.”

That is interesting!  Perhaps it teaches us a lesson that it is not always about making people “feel good.”  Apparently a negative emotion can be beneficial when it comes to recall.

But let’s not abuse that to justify a lack of emotional intelligence, ok?

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Interesting Findings on Harvard Business Review

May 18 2011

Negative Images Boost Unrelated Memories
People who viewed an image of a dead cat (or something equally negative) after recalling a newly learned Swahili word were better at later remembering the word than people who viewed a neutral image, say Bridgid Finn and Henry L. Roediger III of Washington University. The viewers of negative images remembered 57% of what they had previously recalled, compared with 44% for people who saw neutral pictures. An emotionally arousing event may enhance “reconsolidation” of memory because the brain’s emotional centers have close connections with the reconsolidation region, the researchers say.

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What Constitutes a True Team?

Apr 18 2011

A group of people doesn’t constitute a team.  There are three distinct characteristics that make a team a team.

1) Shared vision and purpose

The group needs to share a bigger vision and each member must commit to that bigger vision or purpose.  What happens a lot on corporate teams is that each person focuses on their area of responsibility without feeling responsible for the group goal.  A true team shares the responsibility for the group goal and individual members are willing to do whatever it takes to achieve it.

2) Diversity

The most successful teams consist of individuals who have various perspectives, thinking styles, skills etc.  Diverse teams naturally have a wider range of “options” and are more innovative.  If they learn to navigate conflict effectively they will outperform homogenous teams.

3) Rigorous and mutual accountability for group goal

That means that each member of the team is a “customer” of everyone’s  promise to perform.  In other words it is not the leader’s sole responsibility to hold people accountable.  Every team member is accountable to every team member.  And it is therefore necessary that team members are willing to ask the tough questions and offer coaching to their peers.  Because in the end, no one wins unless the team goal is reached.

Now, that’s a team.

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The Devil is in the Details…

Mar 21 2011

You know the expression “the devil is in the details.”

It’s actually not in the details.  The details are just fine.  They can be handled just fine, unless something gets in the way.

What gets in the way are usually not the circumstances outside of you, but rather a particular thought pattern and energy within you.

The enemy is actually inside of you, not outside.  It’s that voice that says:

‘Can’t be done, shouldn’t be done, I can’t do it, it will be too hard, why bother, too expensive, not now, not good enough, etc.’

Do any of those thoughts sound familiar?

Sometimes, we recognize limiting beliefs right away, other times it’s not so obvious.  You might be telling yourself “Yes, I can” but your body and emotions are not consistent with that belief.

Many of us have learned to shift our language to be more positive, however, we may still be holding a lot of negative, limiting emotions, such as fear, guilt or grief inside the body.

Negative emotions will manifest as resistance and block your forward momentum without you even realizing it.

So, if you feel like you are not getting anywhere… perhaps you are blocked emotionally.  If you feel you are stagnating, your body’s energy is probably stagnating.  If you feel resigned, your body’s energy may be sluggish and fatigued.

The key is to get your energy moving.  Whenever you feel that things are not going your way, or you are pushing the rock up the hill ask yourself ‘what am I resisting in this moment?’ and ‘how may I shift my energy right away?’

Or, just call us.  We use many tools to remove emotional blockages so that people can break through whatever limits them.  (notice, you may have resistance to calling us… what is that all about?)

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