Asia Tour 2010 - On the road again...

For the next eight weeks, I'll be leading KLA-Tencor workshops in Asia.

My buddy Martin once called me the "Indiana Jones of Training", so you know that this is the stuff I love - 5 countries, 29 workshops, more than 500 attendees.

Here's the plan:

• Jan 11 - 15 Singapore:
  Situational Leadership II, Maximizing Customer Relationships, slide:ology
• Jan 18 - 29 Chennai, India:
  5 Dysfunctions of a Team, Presentation Skills, Managing at KT, Working Globally
• Feb 1 - 5 Singapore:
  Situational Leadership II, slide:ology
• Feb 8 - 12 Bali, Indonesia
  cultural anthropology (ie: vacation)
• Feb 15 - 19 Yokohama, Japan:
  Managing at KT, Hire at KT, slide:ology
• Feb 22 - Mar 5 Seoul, South Korea
  (Presentation Skills, Managing at KT, slideology)

I'll be sharing highlights in the form of stories, photos, and maybe even videos.

Business Storytelling

There's a reason why storytelling has such a bad rap in corporate America.

The reason? Because to most executives, Business Storytelling = B.S.

Too much noise. Too much meandering. Not enough meaning.

Executives want to hear a story...

That's why they are forever asking, "What does this mean?"

But most of us aren't giving those executives a story, we're just giving them context.

I'm afraid that most people don't know how to tell a business story or how to tailor it to their audience.

It's not that difficult, actually.

I'm not saying it's easy... but there are a few pointers you need.

In my next post, I'll show you the NO B.S. formula.

14 Books on my Reading List

My reading list has grown dramatically, as I picked up a load of treasure at my two favorite used bookstores - Recycle Bookstore in San Jose & Bookbuyers in Mountain View. 

Here's what I picked up:

• The Practical Guide to Information Design by Ronnie Lipton
  A great looking textbook on information design.
• Understanding USA by Richard Saul Wurman
  I'm a big Wurman fan. This book has a lot of ugly graphics, but it certainly inspires new ideas.
• A Designer's Research Manual by Jen & Ken Visocky O'Grady
  The methodology looks a lot like IDEO's. That's a good thing...
• The Deming Dimension by Henry Neave
  Looks like a great summary of Deming's principles.
• Visual Literacy by Richard & Judith Wilde
  A book full of interesting graphic exercises. I'll try some of these in a workshop.
• Dancing Naked in the Mind Field by Kerry Mullis
  Any Nobel winning scientist who's not afraid to drop the f-bomb is okay with me.
• Frank Lloyd Wright by America Architects
  A nice short photo book that contains all the Wright buildings we've visited.
• The Essential Frank Lloyd Wright: Critical Writings on Architecture by Frank Lloyd Wright
  I love Wright's onery nature. This will be the first one in the pile that I read. I started it last night.
• improv wisdom by Patricia Ryan Madson
  A book that encourages us to 'wing it' is worth reading.
• Practical Charting Techniques by Spear
  Looks like most of the principles that Tufte and Few are preaching today were already documented by Spear in 1969.
• Made to Stick by Chip & Dan Heath
  Yeah, I know... I should have already read this one... but I haven't.
• An Inconvenient Truth by Al Gore
  Bought this so I have some of Al's graphics available in my presentation class.
• The Serpents of Paradise by Edward Abbey
  One of my favorite authors (with Twain, Steinbeck, and Paul Theroux). I already have this, but couldn't pass up a hard-cover first edition.
• Mindset by Carol Dweck
  Once again, a book I've read, but picked up in hardcover.

Three Steps to Dealing with Layoff Survivors Guilt

I've been a manager for 13+ years.

Until today, I'd never had to reprimand, fire, or layoff an employee.

Much of that was luck. I've had good (in character and performance) employees.

Some of that was design. I've always carried lean teams and worked hard to make sure my management teams knew that.

But this economic situation was too big. So today, as part of a larger action, I had to lay off employees.

They handled it with grace and professionalism.

For those of us who remained, there was a dark cloud hanging over the day.

Empty cubicles, bare walls, farewell emails, and hushed hallways - the residue of something bigger than all of us.

The wisest comment I've heard over the past few days came from a security manager who said, "They were our friends and colleagues yesterday. Let's treat them in a way that honors that and allows them to be our friends and colleagues tomorrow, even though they won't work here."

Amen...

My three steps to dealing with the cloud?

1. Taking the top down on my car for the drive home. Wind and sun are my disinfectant.
2. Two Long Island Iced Teas with dinner. Yes, sometimes alcohol is the answer (or part of it).
3. Cary Brothers on the stereo at home. Like Snow Patrol, Cary Brothers excels in "uplifting sorrow". Listen to "Glass Parade" or "If You Were Here" and you'll see what I mean.

The Best Business Tools - A Facilitator's Toolbox

My Facilitation Toolbox on Index Cards

I'm a former engineer.
I carried a well-stocked toolbox when I was an engineer... and I like to have the same as a facilitator.

This is a stack of index cards that has all of my favorite models, frameworks, and notes.
When I plan a session, I sort through the cards to build an agenda with my client. There are about 50 cards in my collection.

Below is a list of my most-used tools. Tools at the top of the list are used daily.
In the middle are tools I use weekly. At the bottom are tools I use monthly (or so).

1. DiSC Behavioral Profile (link)
2. Situational Leadership II
3. SMART Goals
4. ADKAR Change Model (link)
5. Six Thinking Hats
6. 7-Step Problem Solving
7. GROW Model (link)
8. The Leadership Challenge
9. The Facilitation Diamond
10. Five Dysfunctions of a Team
11. Tuckman's Team Model (link)
12. Globesmart Webtool
13. PREP Model
14. Strengths - Buckingham
15. Humility - Egonomics
16. Counterfeits - Egonomics
17. Flow (Optimal Experience) Model
18. Language Processing Method
19. Fishbone Diagram
20. Five Finger Facilitation
21. Storyboarding
22. Life Balance Wheel (link)
23. Points of Power
24. Circle of Influence - Covey (link)
25. The Results Pyramid - Oz (link)
26. Above / Below the Line - Oz (link)
27. The Conscious Competence Model
28. Gallup Q12 (12 Questions)

Check back, as I'll continue to update this list.

And tell me what's missing. What are your favorite tools?

Is Your Offering Kawaii?

Kawaii art by Yumiko Kayukawa

Anyone who desires to 'understand' Japan will eventually have to deal with the concept of 'kawaii' - a concept so profound that it has a wikipedia entry that is annotated with references from Wired, Business Week, TimeAsia and The New Yorker.

What deep Japanese value has the elite press so abuzz?
The concept of 'cute'.

You may have already known, without being told, that cute is big in Japan.
If that doesn't quite jib with the stomach-slicing vision of corporate samurai that you're used to, well, maybe you don't watch enough anime (where cuteness and violence walked hand-in-hand way before Angelina Jolie climbed into Lara Crofts shorts)...

Hello Kitty, Pokemon, Aya Ueto, and Kimu-taku are merely the tip of the (probably pink and fuzzy) cuteness iceberg that is Japanese pop culture...

I have a phrase I'm fond of repeating regarding J-pop culture -
"If it ain't cute, give it the boot!"

I could try to explain what it is, why it's important (to the Japanese anyway), what conclusions we should draw, etc.... but I'm neither inclined nor equipped to.

I just say - recognize it, enjoy it, and use it.
So, in that vein, I will point you in the direction of 2 sunny sources (I almost wrote 'nuclear power plants' but that wouldn't be cute, would it?) of 'kawaii'.

1. "Kamikaze Girls" - this film, easily available on dvd in the US, is laugh-out-loud funny, with brilliant direction and excellent characters. Kyoko Fukada is perfect as the 'kawaii' half of this odd-couple duo, with Anna Tsuchiya capably handling the 'tough' girl (she won a bunch of 'best newcomer' awards for her performance and, by-the-way, her cd outrocks Avril Lavigne by quite a bit).
   This film is your 'kawaii' litmus test. If you find this film unbearably cute... oh, well...
   It says a lot that this film has a 7.5/10 rating on the Internet Movie Database. If you have a taste for quirky films, don't miss it...
2. Yumiko Kayukawa is the creator of the 'kawaii' image at the top of this entry. Reminding me of the late, great Patrick Nagel, I'm a sucker for this kind of stuff (just like I'm a sucker for coca-cola, coconut ice-cream - well, coconut anything, jelly-filled donuts, and other sweet-stuff). Plenty more of these images on her website...

If you think 'kawaii' is too girly for you or your product, try this list of names on:

• the iPod - kawaii electronics
• the Mini and the PT Cruiser - kawaii cars
• Gwen Stefani - kawaii tough girl
• Johnny Depp - kawaii indepedent actor
• Bugs Bunny and Stitch - animated kawaii wise guys
• most pocket digital cameras - kawaii and practical
• Daniel Pink and Patrick Lencioni's - kawaii manga business books

Cute didn't hurt any of those products...

In fact, MangaGlenn gives them a big thumbs up!

I created this 'mangatar' or 'manga avatar' at FaceYourManga.com.

Take a look around you. Measure the 'cuteness' of products you see and evaluate yours.

And once again, I'll ask: Is your offering kawaii enough?

Top Five Benefits of a Peer Review

Peer Review

This comic illustrates perfectly what a peer review shouldn't look like.

I'm doing a major redesign on one of our core classes, and it's a normal step for us to request a peer review when we've got something substantial to show.

As I just finished my draft of the 100+ page workbook, I asked the crew for a 1 hour review this morning.

For us, a peer review is informal - taking place in our sofa-furnished brainstorm lab, with post-it notes for everyone.

Here are my top five benefits of a peer review.

1. Everyone gets to know what you're working on - This kills any duplication of effort, consolidates resources, and makes sure you don't end up on anyone's project plan ("I didn't think you were busy").
2. You learn - I got six great suggestions from the team. Things I wouldn't have thought of on my own.
3. You build momentum - Seeing their enthusiasm re-doubled my enthusiasm. After all the work, I was a little burnt-out. Not any more!!
4. Talking brings clarity - I worked on this course in silence for too long. It's really helpful to get words out of your head and into the air, so you can hear how dumb they sound - and then improve them.
5. You get buy-in - No one can tell you later that it sucks, unless they're willing to assume some responsibility.

Now, depending on your team dynamics, all five of these could be potentially frightening.
Fortunately, my team is fairly functional (if you don't count me...), so these are productive sessions.

Do you do peer reviews? Tell us about them...

Crushed by Curiosity

I'm destined to die under a pile of books... not a bad to go, though.
Today I stopped by Recycle Book Store, in San Jose.
It was either a great idea or a terrible idea. I'm not sure.

What I do know is that I bought 10 more books, on top of the 20-some that I bought a couple weeks ago, during another used book buying spree.

I bought:

• "The Dip" by Seth Godin
  
• "Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes" by Emerson, Fretz, and Shaw
• "Research Methods in Cultural Anthropology" by H. Russell Bernard
• "Musicophilia" by Oliver Sacks
• "Writing Up Qualitative Research" by Harry F. Wolcott
• "Effective Training Strategies" by Davis and Davis
• "Bottom-line Training" by Donald J. Ford
• "Encouraging The Heart" by Kouzes and Posner
• "Lateral Thinking" by Edward deBono
• "Rhetoric & On Poetics" by Aristotle

It was a pretty exciting haul for me in many ways.

• I'm a huge fan of Oliver Sacks. "The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat" is one of my favorite books.
  
• The ethnography books look really interesting. I'm curious about using ethnographic techniques at work.
  
• I already own copies of "Encouraging The Heart" and "Lateral Thinking", but I couldn't pass up clean, hard-copy 1st editions of either.
  
• And I have "Rhetoric & On Poetics" as well. This copy is hardcover, with readable typeface, though. That's pretty unusual.
  

Now I just need time to read them...

hues values

I believe that values are an important ingredient in the lifelong success of any person or business. Goals and objectives help you keep score, but alignment with values helps you win the game.
Quite a few of my team-building workshops focus on identifying the values that a team holds. Until you know your values, it's hard to tell if you're working in the right place, or on the right project.

Here are the values that drive my thoughts and actions.

Passion Matters

• There’s nothing I'd rather do than this - whatever this is.
• There’s no one I'd rather be with than our team and your team.
• Fun is a core design component in every one of my offerings. If that sounds unprofessional to you, I'm not the right partner for you at this time.
• I use these offerings in my life and work. I believe they are the best available.
• When that feeling isn’t there, I'll change or recommend someone else.
• I don’t see myself as a vendor – I see myself as a partner. If you don’t want me as a partner, I don’t want to be your vendor.

Innovate or Die!

• I aim for ‘a-ha’ experiences. They rock my world, and I think they’ll rock your world as well.
• I don’t create ‘me too’ products. I love being unique. ‘Blue Sky Thinking’, ‘Provocation’, ‘Thinking Sideways’, and ‘Falling Forward’ are typical phrases you’ll hear here…(Hear Hear!!)
• Unless I can ‘better the best’, I'll send you straight to them.
• I take risks, with a view to fail fast and fail cheap. I admire rebels, nomads, wanderers, adventurers, explorers, and inventors. I believe it's riskier to not take a risk.
• I look for 'R.O.M. - Return on mistakes'. I celebrate failures.

Be Authentic

• You might love who I am. You might hate who I am. But you’ll have no problem knowing who I am.
• I strive to not be overly tricky, clever, or complicated – in my offerings or in my life. I won’t try to fool you.
• My life and my offerings are aligned. The offerings reflect what I have learned in life, and my life gains from these offerings.
• Facts change. Truth endures. I search for the truth that lies behind the facts.
• We’re global. Our lives are global. My offerings are global. Anything less would not be authentic for me.
• I lead in the classroom, but I live in the field. The frontline is where I spend most of my time, ensuring that I hear the voices that executives never seem to hear.

Openness as Confrontational Zen™

• If I don’t believe in an idea, I'll give you the chance to convince me.
• If you’re willing to give me the same opportunity, together we’ll learn exponentially.
• I believe it’s a sad day when you or I don’t learn something new.
• I believe in confronting issues, problems, challenges, ignorance, prejudice, bias, gaps, rules, laws, models, myths, assumptions, and beliefs - But (here’s the Zen part) with no destructive emotional attachment.
• If neither of us can convince the other, there are only two possibilities:
  1) I am not strong enough as a teacher to help you see my position.
  2) I am not strong enough as a learner to see your position.

I'm Skeptical, not Cynical

• I think that’s true of you, too.

What you Need, Nothing More

• Like a women’s skirt – solutions should be long enough to cover the subject, but short enough to be interesting.
• If the above offended you, see "Passion Matters, #3".

Live, Learn, and Design through Story

• Not fables, tales, or myths. I'm a skeptic, remember?
• Real stories. Real people. Real research brought to life through examples.
• I want to know your story. I want to read the next chapter of that story. If I can help you write it – well, that’s cool too.

Be Physical

• I pat backs. I give high fives. I play loud music. You might catch me playing guitar, juggling, drumming on the table, or throwing stuff around.
• I'm a geek, but I'm a kinesthetic geek. I love research and data, but ultimately, we must put it into action. I make things happen. It’s what keeps me innovative and open.

I'm Accountable

• I own everything I do.
• I sign everything I do.
• I take the blame and share the credit for the output.

Aesthetics are a Need, not a Desire

• When I hold true to the above 9 values, a natural beauty emerges.
• Not ‘beautiful vs. ugly’ – last year’s ugly is this year’s beauty, after all.
• I embrace ‘beautiful vs. inauthentic, inorganic, cumbersome, or clever'.
• I want to engage all your senses.
• That’s why I fight for the above 9 values.

Offerings, not Products

• I don’t like selling. I don’t like being sold to.
• The above 10 values represent my sales technique.
• I love to team up with passionate learners.
• Water flows downhill – when you’re ready for my offerings, I'll be here.
• The easiest sales technique in the world is fear – and I refuse to use it (if you find me doing it, call me on it… please).
• My growth is measured in relationships, experiences, and wisdom before dollars.

For the past few years, my values have been in alignment with my work and my company, but it hasn't been that way for all of my career. How about you?
Have you done a values exercise? What are your values?
Have you experienced a time when your values and the values of those around you were not compatible?

Do Your Acronyms Work?

Let's say, hypothetically, that you create a new position in your company and call it Chief Administrative Officer. So far, so good.

Next, let's say that - for lack of a better moniker - the group adopts that title as it's name.
For example, if you were going to have a planning session for that group, you might hang a sign on the door saying C.A.O. Planning.

Based on the above scenario, I learned something new about myself.
I learned that I'm wired differently than about 85% of my peers.

A couple of days ago, in a meeting, I referred to our group as 'CAO' (pronounced the only way I thought possible, 'cow'). I drew nothing but blank expressions from my teammates.
One member finally asked me, "What's a cow?".
(Cue 'Airplane'-style joke here, "It's a mammal that produces milk, but that's not important right now!")

I thought it was obvious, but upon further investigation, I found that only one other person (out of about 20 people) had made the leap from C.A.O. to 'Cow'.
Didn't anyone else watch "GET SMART" when they were growing up?

Anyway, I kinda like the name.
I always wanted to be a CAO-boy ('76-style, not '05-style).
Some find it a little 'unbusiness-like', however.

So, the lesson?
Read your acronyms aloud... they may surprise you...