Continuing the Mentoring Conversations Model

As I've mentioned previously, Randy Emelo, CEO/President of Triple Creek Associates, and I have been writing a series about Mentoring Conversations.

This new model suggests the conversations that are necessary to guide anyone from orientation to decision making on an issue. Randy and I wanted to provide a tool that could be both diagnostic and prescriptive.

The fifth issue of our six part series introduces the partial confidence.

Take a look at the series. When you finish our series, I recommend that you read Randy's back catalog of newsletters.

Mentoring Conversations Model

I've been fortunate to work with Randy Emelo, CEO/President of Triple Creek Associates, for the past few months on a writing project.

We're writing a series about Mentoring Conversations. This new model suggests the conversations that are necessary to guide anyone from orientation to decision making on an issue. Randy and I wanted to provide a tool that could be both diagnostic and prescriptive.

The first issue of our six part series introduces the model. Each of the following articles will explore the conversation zones in detail.

Randy is a smart, smart guy with a lot of expertise in mentoring. I highly recommend that you read his back catalog of newsletters!

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.

VizThink 09 Highlights III - Authenticity in Storytelling

An overview of our story

Our VizThink friends - Darin Westich, Carolyn Grant & Jill Zimmerman from Proctor and Gamble - led an excellent session on storytelling authenticity.

Robin and Yvette from Duarte Design

In the session, we (Robin and Yvette from Duarte Design and another guy whose name - excuse me, please - I didn't catch) were asked to create a story with a beginning, middle and end - that utilized narrative and data.

My mindmap of the rules of authenticity

It was amazing how much we accomplished in about 20 minutes, once we had a structure and information. There really is NO excuse for not having an authentic and compelling story in your presentation.

Radio Hues Now Broadcasting

1st Rule of Rock: Bigger is Louder and Louder is (always) Better

Over the past week, I've been 'facebooking' with some old friends. 

Those old friends know me better as a musician than as a teacher.

Sometimes, I think that the stage has changed but the song remains the same.

It's all about communication, storytelling, and audience participation.

I'm never too far from music. 

I collect music from around the world. I collect musical instruments from around the world.

And I try to get in an occasional jam session with local musicians.

The shot above came from the Japan Drum Museum - very cool place.

Anyway, today I set up a music page on my website. 

You can hear 10 of my songs at huesmusic.

My Singapore Reading List in a nutshell...

One of my favorite things (okay, maybe the only thing I like) about long flights is that I get uninterrupted time to devour books.
During the 18 hour flight to Singapore and back, I read a lot of books.

Here's a recap of the books. Instead of reviewing each one, I'll just write one thing that I learned from each one, with a rating on a 5 point scale.

The Leaders Guide to Storytelling by Stephen Denning - 5/5
I learned about the power and structure of using a 'springboard' story to drive change in a business.

The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp - 5/5
Twyla Tharp is one smart, practical artist.
I read this once. I'm about to start reading it again.
I learned that I have a lot to learn from a dancer, even though I don't dance.
I also learned that I should probably dance more...

The Consolations of Philosophy by Alain De Botton - 5/5
(A great, great introduction to Philosophy)
I learned that I'm an Epicurean at heart - needing only Friendship, Freedom, and Thought to be happy.

The Charisma Effect by Desmond Guilfoyle - 5/5
I learned that Guilfoyle has something to add to the general knowledge on speaking. I also learned about the power of the 'yes not' - using phrases like 'isn't it?' or 'doesn't it?'.
I'll be trying those soon...

The Power of Personal Storytelling by Jack Maguire - 4/5
I learned Elizabeth Ellis' summary of Story Types ('Ha-ha' for funny stories, 'Aha' for stories that surprise, 'Ahhh...' for stories that touch deep emotions, and 'Amen' for stories that move the spirt).

Aha! by Jordon Ayan - 4/5
Ayer says that the creative spirit is made up of four compenents - Curiosity, Openness, Risk Tolerance, and Energy - that he calls CORE.

Public Speaking for Success by Dale Carnegie - 4/5
I learned that Dale Carnegie had this speaking thing nailed back in the 1930's.There hasn't been too much new added...

Unstuck by Keith Yamashita & Sandra Spataro - 3/5
I like the explanation of the two types of reaction to change - "Blue Sky Mode" for folks who want to clear the plate and start over; and "Tuning Mode" for folks who want to make incremental changes; and the description of the conflicts between the two.
I'm a 'bue-skyer', by the way.

Ideaspotting by Sam Harrison - 3/5
Looking at the graphic for 360-degree exploring, I realized that I don't spend much time in stores. That's a conscious choice, but it means I'm missing out on some opportunities to explore new spaces for ideas.
My plan? I'm going to enter one new store every week and explore it for 30 minutes.

How Koreans Talk by Choe & Torchia - 3/5
I learned a bunch of Korean proverbs, my favorite of which is "It has a dragon's head, but a snake's tail". It means having a great start, but a weak ending.

Wisdom in Chinese Proverbs by Chen & Li - 3/5
I learned that 'you cannot keep something that must go'
or 'qu xhi zhong xu qu zai san liu bu zhu'!

Popular Chinese Proverbs - 3/5
'The gift of gab will put you in good stead'
or 'san cun bu lan zhi she'.
I think I'm living proof of that one!

Speak Easy by Barry Gibbons - 3/5
I picked up a great line, 'the recipe for a good speech always includes shortening'.
I'll be stealing that for class!

10 Simple Secrets of the World's Greatest Business Communicators by Carmine Gallo - 1/5
Ummm... I learned that there are more words in the title than there are new ideas in the book.What I did like was his assertion that dynamic speakers speak faster - 190 or so words per minute versus the 150 words per minute that most people average.

Radical Careering by Sally Hogshead - 1/5 (for the nice design)
I learned that you can get a book published by collecting one hundred cliches ("Fear Causes Paralysis" and "You Are a Work in Progress", for example) and calling them "Radical Truths"!

Well, I said that I read a lot of books during this trip...
The other big thing I learned on this trip is that I love shopping for books in Singapore.
Borders and Kinokuniya carry all the US best-sellers, but they also carry many UK and Australian books, as well as those published in Singapore.
It's a big world, and all the ideas don't just come from America. What a surprise!