All posts by Debra Yearwood

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Saturday Morning Chit Chat – The Thing About Stats

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statsSo I’m looking at my blog stats one night, this is a recurring disease of mine.  I try to fight it off periodically, calling it obsessive and compulsive, but eventually I need to go and look. I won’t tell you how often I look at the stats or you might suggest that someone take my blog away from me.  In any case, after showing remarkable restraint for a few hours, I finally gave in and went and looked.  My post that week was not particularly exciting. I liked it, but I wasn’t expecting much.  Imagine my surprise then when I see the spike in visitors.  I wondered a bit and then figured maybe some of my regular readers who had not looked on the release date had come around. But that’s not what had happened. Strangely, when  I looked at the country of origin I found Belgium. Belgium??? It’s wonderful place I’m sure, but I don’t know anyone there and while I get visitors from around the world, I don’t normally get a lot from any given country, much less over 50 in a one hour period. Clearly, something about my blog tags was coming up because of activities in that country. So I went out in search of the answer…yes that’s the kind of thing I do.  I’m sure I was a cat in my last life.

I found out that the King had abdicated his throne to the prince. How I had not heard that news in the first place, I don’t know, but while interesting, I was not really making the link back to my blog. I also found out that the Brits were surprised to learn that red tape imposed on them by Brussels had cost them £5billion in just two years (ouch).  Again, interesting, but not really making the link…or was I.  The consequence of the sticker shock caused a major coalition row in the U.K.  The topic of my post that week was coalitions.

Whether that was the cause for the spike or not, I can’t say, but it did provide a valuable lesson. I don’t know what causes a particular post to sing while another does dismally. What I do know, is that vacations, bad weather, sports teams, slow news weeks, busy news weeks and the position of the moon can all influence the outcome.  I need to focus on the quality of my content and having fun. The best part of the spike from Belgium was that lesson…and I did get to learn about some things that were getting little or no coverage in Canada but were of interest nonetheless.

Do you ever get preoccupied with numbers and lose site of your objective?

Last weeks poll results: 70% said, “yes, they thought Google Glasses were a good idea” and 30% said, “No way”.

This weeks highly scientific poll asks…

[polldaddy poll=7279569]

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Communications, Government Relations, Internal Communications, public relations

Have We Run Out Of Stories?

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Have we run out of stories
Have we run out of new stories?

Vulture recently posted an article about the demise of the blockbuster. In it, Gilbert Cruz itemizes all that’s wrong with Hollywood’s blockbuster system from a lack of imagination to the high cost of production.  It seems our preoccupation with rehashing old stories in a spectacularly expensive way is beginning to wear thin. The article prompted me to ask the question, have we run out of stories? I wondered because I regularly watch movies and television with half an eye and yet follow the story line with no challenge. It may be because I’m an avid reader but it’s more likely that the same stories are often retold. It makes you wonder if Christopher Booker didn’t have it right when he proposed there were only seven stories in the world and they were continuously being retold.

Cover of "Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell ...
Cover of Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories

If you are not familiar with his perspective, in his book, “The Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories” he suggests that there are only seven stories and they are:

  • overcoming the monster;
  • rags to riches;
  • the quest;
  • voyage and return;
  • comedy;
  • tragedy and
  • rebirth.

He falls into some interesting traps based on his own paradigm and at times seems to counter his own argument, but that aside, if his basic theory is correct, it poses a conundrum for communicators. The business of communications is the telling of stories.  We capture the attention of our audiences by telling them well. Whether we take them by surprise, intrigue or mystify them, we need to be clever and original. That becomes increasingly challenging if we believe we have to choose from a limited number of options. While Booker’s ideas are interesting and Hollywood’s challenges perplexing, I don’t think there are a limited number of stories. That would be the same as saying there are limits on our imagination.

I am reinforced in my belief through my work. As I go about the business of my job, I encounter an endless array of stories. In fact, I have encountered so many good stories during my career that my biggest challenge is finding the time to tell them.  When I worked with pharmacists, I was constantly amazed at the stories that would emerge when they were relaxed and reflective. They told amazing stores, funny, sad, bizarre and poignant ones. The one about the pharmacist who leaves her shop in the middle of the day because one of her clients needs to get home from the hospital and she’s the only one who can pick her up.  Then there was the pharmacist who made house calls out to the country and regularly got chased by an unfriendly turkey. In my current job, it’s the Meals on Wheels volunteer who doesn’t just leave the food at the door when no one answers, but investigates and saves the life of a client in the midst of a medical emergency.

Imagine how the conversation went the next time the meals on wheels program coordinator had to explain that the program was an important security check for seniors and shut-ins, not just a necessary food service.  Imagine what that story did to increase the number of volunteers the program receives. What do you think I might have said when an interest group leader suggested that pharmacists just counted pills? Stories provide us with powerful ammunition. They allow us to illustrate the complex in accessible ways and they allow us to inspire others to action.

The stories I hear are endless and I don’t think that it’s a reflection of the health sector, I think all sectors have great stories to tell, but someone has to choose to tell them. We haven’t run out of good tales, we just stopped looking in the right places for them and listening when we do find them. One of the best parts of my job is to hear those stories. I sometimes joke that it’s a good week if I cry once, a great week if I cry more than once.  That’s the power of a good story. It moves you and makes you think about the world in a different way.

As communicators, we all need to look for the story that illustrates our objectives, our brand and our aspirations. Clever tag lines, corporate colors and advertising dollars are worthless without the stories.

Have you ever used a story to make a point?  Has a story moved you when you thought you were resolved?

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Communications

Saturday Morning Chit Chat – When Did We Catch Up With The Future?

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When Did We Catch Up With The Future?
When Did We Catch Up With The Future?

I am so stupidly excited about Google Glass I can barely believe it’s a real thing. If you had told me twenty years ago that it would exist now, I would have thought you’d spent too much time in the sun …or reading sci-fi.  In fairness, twenty years ago, faxes were cutting edge technology.

Initially I thought I was the world’s biggest geek about Google Glass (and maybe I am) but come on, even the techiest (I’m sure that’s a word …somewhere) tech person would have to admit it’s pretty cool. It also dawned on me that one of the reasons I was feeling geeky was because no one around me was really talking about it. Turns out, not everyone knew about it. I was chatting with my sister-in-law about Google Glass, essentially telling her what I’m telling you, that I am a total goof on this topic,when I realized she was looking at me as though she thought maybe I had spent too much time in the sun.  What I was saying didn’t make sense to her.  How could that exist? I have to admit, I hesitated. I wondered for a brief moment if perhaps I’d gotten it wrong.

112 of 365 - Google's Project Glasses
112 of 365 – Google’s Project Glasses (Photo credit: Yogesh Mhatre)

What if I had mistaken the enthusiastic reports on Google Glass I’d read months ago?  What if the more recent articles were about what it might be able to do in some future perfect world.  BUT no, the future perfect world is now and I love it.

I’ve always been a glutton about information.  I remember feeling sad that I didn’t have the internet when I was in high school or that it had not emerged fully when I was finishing off university.  The fact that I had full access to the Library of Parliament when I was completing my degree should make it clear I was not hurting for information or resources, I’m just greedy about all that wonderful data. Google glass means that not only is all that amazing information on hand when I want it, it’s interactive.  I can generate data while I’m experiencing it. Wow!

My husband, (always the voice of reason) asked me how I thought I’d be able to process all that stimuli. I suffer from, “Oh look shiny” so not an unreasonable question, but besides the point. Who needs to process yet?  Right now all I want to do is soak in it.

Now I know there will be naysayers, there always are when something new comes along. There will be chat about the potential for an invasion of privacy (not an unreasonable concern),  and I’m sure a long list of stupid or bad things people will do with the glass, but that’s not the point.  People will do stupid or dumb things with just about anything. Should we stop using photocopiers because there’s always someone in the office that wants to photocopy their bum? What about the amazing things people can do? What about educational opportunities or information sharing. What does the surgeon see when they operate? Where does the mountain climber look? A “day in the life” takes on a whole new meaning when you’re looking through each others eyes in real time. So, where do I get my Google Glasses and does anyone have an extra $1500 I can borrow?

If you haven’t completely geeked out about this yet, take a look at this video and say hello to the future.Google Glass

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Last weeks poll results: 1oo% thought buddy glasses were a bad idea. Note: You could not find a less scientific poll. 🙂

[polldaddy poll=7263120]

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Communications, public relations

The Tool For Making The Perfect Elevator Pitch

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I’ve been looking for an automated pitch generator ever since Harvard removed their automatic pitch maker. I’ve finally found one at Buzzuka. OK, it’s not perfect, you actually need a human being and some passion for that, but what it does nicely is put you into the right frame of mind and get you to a starting point. Pitcherific also provides a useful framework to get you started on (and practising) your pitch.

Both of these tools help with the structure of a pitch but they won’t make the pitch for you.  You still need to do some homework.

Know Your Audience: There is little value in creating a pitch that delivers perfectly what you want but has no resonance with your audience. You’re not pitching yourself. You’re also not going to want to deliver the same message regardless of who you’re speaking to.

Be brief and clear: It seems like an obvious statement, but being succinct does not mean become cryptic. You need to be brief and clear. Your great-aunt Petunia and your eight-year-old nephew should be able to understand it.

Answer Essential Questions:  If the response to your pitch is, huh? You haven’t been clear enough. Make sure that your audience knows exactly what you want from them and that you answer that age-old question, “What’s in it for me?”

No Pick-Up Lines: If you use a line like, “Heaven must be missing an investor angel because you’re here with me right now.” Not only will you come off as cheesy, but also cliched. Get their attention, but do it with grace. Go left if they expect you to go right.  Use humour, gently.

When I talk about my experience, people typically assume that I learned about government relations during my years on Parliament Hill. I always respond the same way. “GR on parliament hill? No, I didn’t learn anything about government relations while I was there, I learned all about public relations because that’s who our audience was.”

My answer is unexpected, so it becomes memorable.  It’s not rocket science, it just shows a little-unexpected logic.

Renew It: Don’t take your pitch for granted. Always consider new ways of delivering it.  Refine and refresh it over time.

One size does not fit all: if you have different target audiences, then you should have different pitches. Context should also change the nature of the pitch.  For example, there’s the pitch to have a meeting that happens in an elevator and then there’s the pitch to sell your idea that might happen while sitting next to someone on a plane.

Have you ever delivered a great pitch in a pinch? Have you ever been sold something because the pitch was too good to refuse? I’d love to hear your views.

Related Articles:

The Truth About Elevator Pitches

The Truth About Elevator Pitches

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Saturday Morning Chit Chat – Bad Ideas

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bad ideasIn April Budweiser and Facebook announced that they had teamed up to produce the Budweiser Buddy Cup.  When you clink glasses using buddy cups, you instantly become friends on Facebook. I thought it was an April Fools gag. Perhaps I’m getting old or paranoid, but …really? Does anyone think this is a good idea?

Aside from the obvious, you’re drinking so you’re probably not at you’re most discerning…did anyone read the rules about not making friends on Facebook with people you don’t know? Then of course there’s going to the washroom.  This is an opportunity for at least a couple of strange things to happen, like you’re friends who are as discerning as anyone after a few drinks decide to make friends for you. Or what about that weird guy at the corner table, you know the guy, you’ve been trying to avoid him all night.  He decides to clink your glass when you’re not looking and voila, you have a new creepy friend.

I like a marketing gimmick as much as anyone does and really, what’s the worst that can happen right? Hmmm…cue dream sequence…

It’s the morning after the night before. You’re 21 and waking up to the world’s worst headache. You hurt, but boy you had fun last night. You’re half way through breakfast and reminiscing about the night before when you realize you don’t see your Budweiser buddy glass anywhere.  You remember laughing and clinking and drinking and clinking and dancing and clinking, and so on, and so on, but where’s the cup?

No biggee right?  What’s the worst that can happen? Later that day you’re online and decide to pop onto your Facebook account to see how your friends survived their night at the festival. You’re first indication that something isn’t quite right are all the posts from people you don’t know. Ah yes, the buddy glass.  No big deal, their probably great folks and you already know you have some similar interests because you were all at the same festival, right? Then the tagged photos from your night before start popping up.

Who is that guy you’re singing with? What exactly is that couple doing in that photo? Why are you laughing and pointing at them? Is that your friend? What on earth is she doing with that sausage? You’re both fascinated and horrified by the images.  Did your mom see these? Did your boss?You’re so preoccupied with them that it takes you a full ten minutes before you realize you have 367 new friends.

No matter how you slice it, Facebook and alcohol are a dumb blend. Don’t drink and friend.

[polldaddy poll=7248179]

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Communications, public relations

Personal Paradigms, The Good, The Bad & The Impact

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Paradigms, Good, Bad
Imagine operating with no point of reference.

They say that goldfish have a memory that’s about 10 seconds long, no doubt a gross exaggeration but for argument’s sake, let’s say that’s true. With a memory that short, they would be forever rediscovering the world around them. They would have no operating principle to help them navigate. Without personal paradigms we’d be very much like that goldfish.  Though his bowl of water is small he is forever shouting, “Hey, there’s a castle! Hey, there’s a castle!”

How Personal Paradigms Serve Us: Paradigms help us to interpret, define and engage in the world around us. Without our paradigms we would constantly be struggling to determine and define what we see, what we hear and what we should do about it. Our paradigms help us to move through our lives seamlessly.

When I was in college, I made a friend who often shared stories about her family and their activities. She spoke of the antiques her mother collected and the beautiful old apartment they lived in. She shared stories of their travels and generally painted an amazing picture of her life.  As I got to know her better it became clear her stories didn’t quite reflect reality. There were no antiques, no beautiful apartment and certainly no travels.

Young or old?
Young or old?

Flash forward a few years and I’m on Parliament Hill and the office across the hall has brought in a summer student. One day the student tells us about her adventures. She has met Sting, spent a few weeks on the streets for a research project, her grandmother has left all her money to her cats and she has written for a popular soap opera. As you can imagine, because of my history, my paradigm would not allow me to believe the stories she told unless I had evidence. It was simple, when people start telling fantastical stories about their lives you need to look more carefully.

Later, I quietly mentioned to my colleague that I had some suspicions about the truth of the stories shared. Well my colleague’s paradigm was different from mine, so she got more than a little annoyed at my suspicions and few uncomfortable days followed. After a short period, the summer student… disappeared from the office across the way. It eventually came out that she had made up all of her stories, including her skills. People were shocked and angry, but not me. My paradigm had stepped in and said, this is bull. Once that happened, all I could see were flaws and inconsistencies. Our paradigms save us a lot of grief and can generally help us to interpret the world.

How Personal Paradigms Make Us Blind to the World: So your thinking, so what? You’ve heard all this stuff before. But what if despite knowing this, the most experienced and in some cases the most powerful people in our respective worlds persisted in behaving as if their paradigm was the only paradigm?

Is the black diamond the top or bottom of the square?
Is the black diamond the top or bottom of the square?

People get used to power and after a while they can start to think that no matter what they do or say, they are somehow removed from consequences. They can build a personal paradigm around themselves that is so airtight that they become incapable of seeing pitfalls. They lose the ability to judge good from bad. They can divorce themselves from seeing the errors in  their own behavior.

Over the last several weeks I have watched a series of stories emerge in the news that simply begged the question, what were they thinking? Did Canadian Senator Mike Duffy really think it’d would be OK to claim $90,000 in illegitimate expenses?  Did he and the Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff Nigel S. Wright, get so used to managing big sums that it simply seemed… irrelevant?

Why didn’t Paula Deen just apologize and disappear for a while? Had she gotten so used to popularity that being accused of using racists language seemed like the kinda thing that would be a headline grabber one day but just go away the next? Did Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, stay silent after being accused of getting caught on video doing drugs with known dealers because he thought the public would just get bored with the story?

When our paradigms blind us, they don’t just make us blind to opportunity, they make us blind to threats, blind to ethical considerations, blind to the harm we are doing.

Whatever Your Perspective, Understand That You Have One: Although you may have heard it countless times, don’t forget that your truth is not necessarily THE  truth.  Your version of reality may not even be based in reality. If  this was an easy thing to remember, then the examples above would be a lot harder to find.

Has your paradigm ever helped or hindered you? Have you ever seen someone else struggle because they just couldn’t see the “truth” of a situation?

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Government Relations, public relations

How To Build Coalitions

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how to build a coalition

You carefully research your topic, spend hours writing an amazing article. Edit and then re-edit, checking for accuracy and flow. You take the time to create original images or you search through hundreds of images until you find the ones that speak perfectly to your issue.  You work out which platforms you will use to share your article and then you stop. That’s it.  Chances are, if that’s all you do, only you…and maybe your mom will read your article. If you want reach a broader audience, you need to reach out and share with your network.

If you’re a blogger, you become part of a blogging community. Fellow bloggers can lend guidance, support and generally make things easier for you to reach your goals and your audience.

The same applies for most government relations campaigns. Government is obliged to think about public interest, so if you want action or attention, you generally have to position your issue as having relevance for more than just you or your organization.  If there are people in your community or in your sector that agree with your issue, you can use each other as additional resources to support your objectives.  That collective energy can sometimes mean the difference between being the lone voice in the wilderness and having the benefits of stereo and a good set of speakers. Forming effective coalitions is an efficient way to get your message out and keep it out. So what’s a coalition? Coalitions are really just alliances, unions or partnerships; they act to bring together like minded individuals to pursue a common goal. If you decide to start a coalition, there are few things you should keep in mind.

Define Your Goal: The first thing you want to determine is what that common goal is. There is no value in assuming what your partners want.  Put it in writing and ensure you all agree or you may find yourself arguing at the worst possible time…like in front of the government official you are trying to persuade. A colleague of mind experienced this while sitting in a Minister’s office with coalition members, talk about awkward.

Coordinate your activities. It is best if you coordinate your approach so that you are getting the biggest bang for your buck. If your issue is particularly complicated, it might mean taking your time and having everyone deliver the same message but each partner  emphasizing a different perspectives.  Even when messages seem simplecoalitionscoordination is critical because sending multiple messages or competing perspectives can undermine everyone’s objectives. Competing perspectives force the issue to slow down and puts the legislator, often the  informed on a topic, into the role of mediator or judge. It can also mean that you will spend  valuable time explaining someone else’s perspective.

Be clear on everyone’s commitment at the start. As you consider the likely benefits of a coalition keep in mind that while often all it takes to start something is one person, to keep things going generally requires a little help.  Having a conversation about the degree of time, effort and resources each coalition member  is prepared to commit to the process is an important part of avoiding disappointment or frustration later on.

A coalition should reduce not increase your workload. Coalition activity should reduce labor for all participants.  If you find you’re working harder than ever and making less or little process, you need to rethink your partnership.

You have to trust your partners. and like any partnership, there has to be trust.  If there is a group or organization that shares your perspective but there is something about them that you do not trust or find unsavory, then don’t partner.  Your negative feelings will eventually manifest themselves in ways that may undermine your objectives. You may also put yourself into a position of lying to the legislator about your commitment to the group, and honesty must be the underpinning of all government engagement.

Getting started doesn’t need to be complicated. Sometimes gathering people around a cause is as straightforward as talking to your neighbors or friends about an issue. In business settings it may mean requesting a meeting and presenting a proposal for common action.  While you may not want your coalition to become too unwieldy, if at first you can only think of one or two partners, ask each of them to think of another possible member for your coalition.

Stretch scarce resources through collective action. Coalitions are also a great way to get more accomplished with less.  They let legislators know that they will have a broader band of support for their actions if they support your cause and they reduce the stress on any one individual or organization of carrying the entire communications burden.

Compromise is key to success. The thing to keep in mind with coalitions is that it can’t be all about you. You will generally have to make compromises if it’s going to work. It is difficult to imagine (if not impossible) that any gathering of people will have identical ideas on how to achieve goals. be open to suggestion, but not so open you find yourself working on issues you don’t care about.

Keep it simple. Coalitions work best if the issue they are addressing is kept simple and the duration short.  Usually if the issues expand and the coalition continues to function over a longer period it becomes more of an association or society. Keeping issues simple means it will be easier to maintain consensus, so keep the common elements simple and clear.

Coalitions work in all kinds of settings,  whether it’s neighbors opposing local construction projects or bloggers working together to address common challenges. Have you ever had to become part of a team or coalition in order to get something done? What was the toughest part?  What was the easiest?

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Communications

8 Tips For Networking In the Real World

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Everyone knows the benefits of networking, but knowing something and doing it aren’t always the same thing.  I’ve had to drag colleagues, friends and my husband to networking events and I’ve been dragged to a few myself. The time before the event is generally the worst part.  That’s the period when you come up with a bunch of terrific excuses for not going. The anticipation of doing something that may not feel natural can take on huge proportions. You can reduce some of that stress by setting a few simple goals for yourself.  Decide that you will meet two or three new people. You can promise to hand out at least one business card. Once you get going you’ll probably find it’s not as hard as you thought.  Keep in mind that there is a good possibility that the other people at the event are either anticipating meeting someone new or as anxious about the process as you are.

The following tips are intended to help you ease your way into working a room and having good conversations. Remember, this is not all about you and don’t forget your business cards.

1)      Find the loners.

So you show up at an event alone and you’ve promised yourself you’re going to work the room…where to start? Look for someone who’s also on their own. Chances are they want someone to talk to as well.  It’s way easier to chat with someone on their own than trying to elbow your way into a group deep in discussion.

 2)      Talk to the big shots.

Talk to the big wigs in the room. No, I’m not suggesting you’re a snob, but powerful or popular people are used to people wanting to talk them and many know how to make that small talk that opens up larger conversations.  Chances are, most people will be too intimidated to approach them. If there is a guest speaker, talk to them before they speak or speak to the host or moderator.  Afterwards, they will most likely be swamped.

3)      Ask a simple question to get started.

Starting a conversation is as easy as asking a simple question or paying a compliment.  The idea here is not to demonstrate the depths of your knowledge.  This is also not an elevator pitch where you have a timer on engagement. This is simply about getting a conversation going and not freaking yourself out in the process. Consider the following:

  • “What brings you to this event?”
  • “Have you attended one of these events before?”
  • “What are you looking forward to?”
  • “Have you tried the meatballs?”
  • “That’s a beautiful tie.”
  • “What a lovely dress.”
  • “It’s hot in here isn’t it?”

4)      Ask about what they do.

Once you are warmed up, now’s the time to ask intelligent questions so you can get a good conversation started, but don’t be shy about starting with the basics. What do they do? What projects are they working on? What do they like about what they do? Let them know you are really interested in what they are saying. In order to ask intelligent questions specific to them, you actually have to be paying attention.

5)       Ask about them.

Take the time required to learn a little about the person.  What are their hobbies?  Who are their family members? Do they have kids? Get to know the human being you are speaking to not just their name and job.

6)       Do be quiet and stop talking.

No really, the fastest way to a good conversation is letting the other person talk, preferably about themselves. Letting them talk is about more than staying silent and staring into space. It’s about actively listening to them. Periodically confirm that you have heard by nodding or in some other subtle way letting them know that you are following along.

Mimic the movements of the person you are speaking to. Sit forward when they do and step back when they step back.  By following their physical behaviour you will pick up clues about what they are thinking or feeling about the conversation. Take a look at the tips found in “Rather Have A Conversation Or A Meeting?”  for additional ideas.

7)       Don’t drone.

The sound of boredom is distinct, unmistakable actually, so be careful to monitor your tone. When it’s your turn to speak make sure you sound interested, engaged and positive. If you sound bored or irritated, the conversation will quickly come to an end. Also don’t go on and on about you. Don’t hesitate to show your passion, but allow the other person to show theirs too.

The secret to a good conversation is showing respect for the people you are engaging. Looking over their shoulder for the next person you are going to talk to or looking repeatedly at your watch is not showing respect. If you find yourself with a cling-on, that person who has chosen you as their companion for the evening, even if you have other plans, make an excuse and walk away.  You can try saying you have to use the facilities or that you promised “your husband, babysitter, boss…insert plausible person here” that you would call.

8) Don’t let the event be your first and last point of contact.

After going to the trouble of making the most of the event, follow up with the connections you make.  Connect on LinkedIn, send an article related to the conversation you were having.  Invite your new contact out for coffee or lunch.

Do you have any good tips for networking? What do you do to prepare for a networking event?

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Management, public relations

Does Being A Lefty Or A Righty Make You A Better Boss?

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Cover of "A Whole New Mind: Moving from t...
Cover via Amazon

Are you a right brain thinker or do you use your left brain? Which do you think makes you a better leader? My book club is currently reading Daniel H. Pink’s book, “A Whole New Mind”.  The book explores the strengths and skills of leadership from the perspective of left and right brain skills. It looks at what was needed in the past to be a successful leader and what is needed now.  To date, our leaders have leaned towards left-brain thinkers.  MBAs and lawyers who could crunch numbers and construct contracts, but he argues that the time is right for new kind of leader. Those of a more creative bend, those capable of recognizing patterns, telling stories and a generally more inventive frame of mind.

Pink suggests that in times of abundance humans begin to look for more meaningful ways of defining success. The basic premise is that that if you are living in a time of abundance (which many of us are in North America and Europe) then you start to wonder about different things. You start to aspire to achieve more emotionally complex goals. In essence, you move up Maslow’s hierarchy of needs to focus on self-actualization and start to think about other, more emotionally charged means of reaching satisfaction, success or happiness…depends on your personal target.

2000px-maslows_hierarchy_of_needs-svgI might have scoffed at that thinking a little, but I just spent the last two weeks reading a variety of blogs about finding happiness, managing emotional vampires and getting past the “aaaarrgggghhh” moments in our lives.  It seems Daniel Pink might have a point about where we are in our economic and emotional development. Our definition of what defines success seems to have become more complex.  Simply having a job or even achieving monetary success is no longer enough.  We need to have a deep-rooted satisfaction with the work we do.  The blossoming blogosphere, the emergence of countless freelancers, our praise of entrepreneurial spirit, our insistence on visionary leadership and an emerging interest in working from home all speak to a desire to lead more independent and satisfying lives.  We’re looking for control and to be part of something better.

Could Daniel Pink be right about which side of the brain will make for a more effective leader in today’s environment? Do we need bosses who know how to be responsive to our more complex emotional demands? Leaders, who can think outside of the box, be holistic and intuitive because not only is it what workers are looking for, but may also be what the work we do increasingly requires.

The use of automation and less costly workers means that jobs in the first world are more complex and require a different level of thinking.  Couple that with our preoccupation with self-actualization and it makes sense that we need a different kind of leader…or does it?

In discussion with Jen Hunter, a management expert and facilitator she responded in this way when asked what her thoughts were, “Would you go to the gym and only exercise one side of your body? Unlikely, so why would you want leaders who only used one side of their brain? It doesn’t matter which half, it matters that they only use half.”

That assessment makes sense to me, but beyond that comes the big elephant in the room, the brain function itself.  While we often hear about the two sides of the brain as having distinctly different functions, they are not quite that easily defined. Much more research is still required.  So for the sake of this conversation lets simply consider that the skills we have traditionally seen as strengths for our leaders may be changing.

What do you think?  Do you think we need more right brain leadership?  Do left-brain thinkers still make for better leaders? Is the whole conversation of what drives us even relevant? Are we solving more complex problems in our jobs? Are we aspiring to more complex goals?

Want to test which side you use? Follow the 3rd link to, “Instant Personality Test”, it’s quick though I can’t speak to its accuracy.

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Communications

10 tips for working with a graphic designer

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The TED video above provides some interesting and relevant insight into the strength and focus incorporating relevant graphic design can bring to your project. I encourage you to take a look.

Whether you’re a small business owner or a communications guru it’s often difficult to determine how to work with a graphic designer to produce the results you want.The following are some tips to help you navigate.

  • Graphic Designers of all Kinds: Like any profession, not all graphic designers work the same way or at the same calibre. Some have a particular brand or style that they sell while others may specialize in certain kinds of products like magazines or books. Other designers or their shops are more diverse and can offer a wide range of services.  Think about what you are trying to accomplish with your design and then look for the fit that works best for you. Sometimes local graphic design associations can lend you hand or at least you can see who the local award winners are.
  • Checking the Fit: Look at the graphic designer’s website to see what they have done with other clients. Do they provide bios of their designers? Do they share their design philosophy? Do they have a blog that gives you insight into their professional approach or personality? What does their LinkedIn profile offer? All of these will help you to determine fit.
  • Meet Them: Arrange to speak with them and make sure that if you are working with a firm, you get to meet the designer you will work with. There is no point hitting it off with the owner, only to find that you will be working with their summer student.  Ask them about their project management style, how will they keep you informed of progress? How will they create a schedule?
  • Tell the designer what you want to achieve:  Once you’ve made your choice, clearly state your objectives. By discussing what you want to achieve with the project, you are more likely to have a product that delivers when it’s completed. This doesn’t mean being highly prescriptive about what the design should look like, after all, if you could design it yourself, then you wouldn’t be hiring a graphic designer. Websites differ in size, look, feel and contents, so simply saying you would like a website isn’t going to help. Explain what the site has to deliver, did you have a great product and want to make sure clients appreciate the value? It’s really about giving the designer a clear understanding of what you want to communicate.
  • Be clear about your style and brand: Make sure that your initial planning meeting provides a clear understanding of your organization’s brand and style. If the focus is an event, make sure the designer understands who attends the event and what they get from it.  If the objective is sales, make sure they know who the potential customers are. This is really about making sure that the audience for your product is clearly understood.
  • Ask for two to three initial concepts: Even with the best description in the world, how you imagine a design will look and what the designer is thinking can vary greatly.  By requesting three different concepts (not variations on a single theme and not a full mock up), not only are you charging the designer to use their imagination, but you are giving yourself an opportunity to see the project in a different way from how you might have imagined it. I have often found that the concept that came closest to what I was thinking at the start of a project is not the one that delivers the message best.  Stay open.
  • Timing Matters: At the onset of a project the time frame for final delivery should be clearly established.  It is then up to the designer to work backwards from that date and let you know if they can deliver what you need in that time.  Keep in mind that multiple changes in content and direction will affect timelines.
  • Make Sure You Do Your Part: The best graphic designer in the world will fail if the client is inconsistent or unclear about objectives.  Just as you wanted to meet the designer you would be working with, the designer needs to know who the buck will stop with for the project. Remember, if you have a revelation or change of heart half way through a project because your boss just figured out what you’re doing, you have to let the designer know and expect that you will also have to pay for that change of heart. Their time is valuable and while they want to make you and your project shine, they can only do that by working with you. Don’t be vague and distant and then surprised and angry if the project doesn’t work the way you expected.
  • Pitfalls:  I’ll know what I like when I see it.This sentence comes right before failure. Generally, if you say this, its because you don’t really know what you like. Graphic designers are very talented, but they have not mastered the art of mind reading. Also consider that what you like may not be what your clients need.
  • Graphic designers design: They are not writers or editors, so make sure that the content you send them has been reviewed and edited.  Make sure that you do a final review of the product before it gets to the printer.

Do you have a favorite poster, book, brochure etc that captured your attention because of great design? Have you ever worked with a graphic designer?  Would you like to work with one?

If you like this article, checkout Are You Creating Misinformation?

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