Ok, this is how information should be presented!
Too often we don’t have a reference point for data…really, do you know how tall 80.1 inches really is? The Boston Globe (see here) created this info graphic to represent the snowfall in 2010/2011. They did a fantastic job.
1. Shows data relative to something that we know – we can put it in context
2. Graphically simple – yet conveys a lot of information
3. Fun – how can you not chuckle when you see the Shaq-o-meter
So I listened to an audio conference between Jon Morrow and Johnny Truant (two successful bloggers) on tips on how to become an influential blogger…
During the conference call they discussed that the number 1 sin of bloggers is to be boring – and in their minds (to some degree) that meant that you needed to be offensive at times. Jon talked about how he loved to get hate mail as it meant that he was touching a nerve…
Now I learned something from this conference call – that might not have been what they were trying to convey…although it was mentioned.
There is a need to be authentic – Johnny Truant stated that (FYI – he uses a stage name which helps him, he states, be authentic and also allows him to be offensive).
The insight that I got was that my authentic self is not to be an Ass. I realized that I wouldn’t want to increase readership by being controversial or mean or disrespectful…that is not who I am.
Now does that mean I have to be boring…I hope not, but it might. Does that mean that I won’t say something that someone will disagree with me on…no, I will state what I believe, but I’ll say it in a polite way (most of the time).
And I realized that I’m ok with all of that. I don’t have to have the largest readership out there. The people who read this blog should be here because what I say is interesting and helpful – not just because I can be controversial.
Gray, bald and old
I always think of myself as being young. Might be because I was the youngest of five children. Might be because I had my kids late, so I have little children in the house right now. Might be because I just act that way most of the time. Regardless, I usually think of myself as young (or at least young at heart and mind and attitude).
But then you meet a really young person.
Not a child or kid, but a young person who is entering the workforce for the first time. Suddenly, it can make you feel kind of old.
You are amazed at how different they are from you. Different style of work. Different focus. Different on a lot of things.
Or at least I was.
Which at first was a little disheartening. I can still remember being 24 and coming into my first “real” job and wondering what all these old folks were doing. Back then we had one computer to share between five people (yes, hard to believe but that was how it was) and I was by far the most computer literate of any of my team (full disclosure – this meant that I knew how to work a spreadsheet and not just Word Perfect). I remember how different I felt from them.
Now I was wondering what I looked like to these youngsters.
Did my lack of internet skills make them smirk (kind of like I used to do at the “old” folk). Do they think my ways are antiquated – “just pick up the phone and call me about your multipart question – it will go much faster.” Do they wonder where all my hair went?
But then I started thinking about when I was that young and what I learned from some of those “old” folks. I remember being taken under wing by them and taught about how incentives work, how to put together a presentation for an executive, how to get up in front of a group and get their attention. I was mentored by a few great people who not only taught me about business but also about life. These were people who went out of their way to teach and lead. I am extremely thankful to have had those relationships.
So now maybe it is my turn.
Not that I want to be seen as an “old” person, but maybe I can impart a little bit of wisdom from my years of experience. Maybe I can mentor and lead. Teach someone how they can be successful in areas that they don’t even realize they can.
So I’ve reframed my thinking – not “old” but “wise.”
Yes, that sounds much better…
For two reasons…first, is the more pragmatic of the two…since I run my own business, taxes force me at least once a year to really look at where my revenue comes from and where my expenses go to (I do have a business tracking spreadsheet that is updated monthly – but not to this level of detail). . Yes – I know I should do this more than just once a year and sometimes I do. But that isn’t where my passion and thus my motivation is…so I put it off. So being the procrastinator I am, I am thankful that taxes force me to do this at least once a year…
Second, and more philosophically, I appreciate that paying taxes is what allows me to have things such as roads and laws and security and safe water/products/air and education and a host of other things. Too often we discount how much we depend on public goods and services. Yes, government could be more productive and efficient. Yes, government could be smaller in some instances. But as my economics 101 class taught me a long time ago, public goods should and need to be run in a way that they are not just for the wealthy among us.
That’s my two-cents worth anyway…
Here is a little bit of psychology that most of us know intuitively. People hate vacuums. No not the kind that you use for cleaning your carpets…the kind that exist when there is an information void.
Our brains work overtime to fill in any vacuums that they encounter.
This is a good thing mostly since it has helped us survive, such as when one of our ancestors filled in this unknown, “hmmm….I’m not sure what the growling noise is, but I bet it’s not good so I better run.”
We fill in these blanks all the time – often at a subconscious level. In the 1930’s, Gestalt psychologist conducted a number of experiments that focused perception and filling in missing information. They named this phenomena “the law of closure” famously demonstrated by the Kanizsa Triangle where there are no triangles or circles in the image – yet that is what we see.
Kanizsa Triangle
While filling in missing information has often helped us, it can also be very detrimental. Take for instance what would occur if your company made a statement to employees such as “we are going through some difficult times and some changes will be announced next week.”
Not knowing what those “changes” are, people will automatically tend to fill in the blank…and what do you think they will fill it in with? Positive thoughts on the future…probably not.
In fact, we can pretty much guarantee that different people will interpret this differently. Some positive, some negative, and others not even registering on their radar. Psychology shows us that ambiguous stimulus will most likely be translated into multiple perceptions by different people – based on their current emotions, past experience, personality make-up, and a variety of other factors.
People will also fill in the blanks based on information they can gather – thus, the “changes” are associated with “difficult times” so the conclusions they will draw will probably be focused on what they have seen or been part of with other changes in difficult times.
But what a company wants is to make sure that a large proportion of people are not filling in the information with negative or wrong information. For instance, the above statement probably would cause a number of people to go back and start talking about the “layoffs” that will probably occur next week – even though nothing of the sort was said.
While we can never fully make sure that everything is 100% clear and absolutely understood – we can do things to mitigate the negative aspects of this:
1. Eliminate as much ambiguous information as possible – be as clear and complete as you can in both verbal and written communication
We just became a Value Added Reseller for the Electronic Maze! I know, strange huh?
I fully believe it was serendipity which according to dictionary.com is:
ser·en·dip·i·ty
/ˌsɛr
ənˈdɪp
1. an aptitude for making desirable discoveries by accident.
2. good fortune; luck: the serendipity of getting the first job that she applied for.
The story goes like this. We have been using the Electronic Maze since the first day of business at The Lantern Group. We’ve done hundreds of events that have utilized the maze with great success. Thousands of people have gone through it. I wrote about 5 great insights from the Maze back in August (click here to read). We’ve highlighted it as one of our key team building events on our Lantern Group Web Page (see here).
Then the phone calls started happening.
The first was a few months ago – out of the blue, I got a call and somebody wanted to buy a maze from us. I told them politely that we use the maze as one of our key team events, but we don’t sell them…sorry. I didn’t think much of it at the time. Then the second call came – same inquiry, “can I buy a maze.” Again, sorry, we don’t sell them, but here is the website for the company that makes them.” It seemed a little curious, but nothing more than a fluke. But then the third and the fourth call came and I thought – wait, this might be something.
Apparently, when you Google “Electronic Maze” we are the second highest rated web page.
I thought to myself – cool! I love the product – really do (we’ve owned them for over 14 years – with only needing to replace the batteries). I think they can be used to address a number of team and leadership issues for a variety of participants (we’ve had CEO’s go through the maze, a group of women educators, assembly line workers, and managers from across the globe – to name just a few). And now I’m getting calls about them.
I contacted Interal – the manufacturer. I spoke with Boyd the President of the company (we had a great long talk about the many different uses of the Maze and how I’ve loved it for a long time). Now we are a Value Added Reseller of the product. You can contact us and we can sell you the Electronic Maze at cost (612-396-6392 or kurt@lanterngroup.com).
Serendipity at its best.
Insight # 6 from the Maze: Always be open to new opportunities!
I feel that it is important that we take time for ourselves to recharge. When I say that, I mean more than just finding the ten minutes a day to have some quiet time or even an hour a day to exercise (although both of these things help).
I mean that we are able to fully disengage from our main line of work for a week.
I just did this – I took a vacation!
Yes, I checked in on e-mail a few times (and even posted here), but for the most part, I took the time off and enjoyed my family, relaxed, forgot about real life and absolutely enjoyed myself.
I think it also:
So make sure that you take time off to recharge yourself. Make sure that you don’t shortchange your vacation, or miss it, or do too much work over it. Remember…the time off is important to our overall motivation and well being!
I’m sure there are many more positive aspects to taking time off. Please let us know your thoughts on this.
Ok, I might be trying a little hard to find some gratitude on this one, but…
I was skiing last week with some friends while we were working on developing a conference (a cool conference that includes skiing activities that help solidify key insights…yes, the one I talk about in the previous post…but that is another story). On the last run of the second day (after I had written the previous post), I caught an edge, had the tip of my ski catch and flipped over, twisting my knee. At the doctor the next day, they said that I have a slightly torn MCL.
This week I came out to Montana with my family and some friends to ski at Big Sky. We had planned this vacation for months. We were looking forward to having some time away, teaching our kids how to ski, and enjoying the mountains.
Everyone skied yesterday except for me.
I did a little work, took pictures, captured some video, and got groceries. I kept myself busy.
Today they are off again but instead of keeping myself busy I’m all alone watching the snow fall down at a rate of a few inches an hour (fresh powder). I really want to go out on the hill and ski – but my knee is not quite ready (hopefully tomorrow).
But here is what I’m grateful for…I have a day to relax and enjoy. I sat this morning with a cup of coffee watching the snow fall softly and cover the evergreen branches with a white coat. I watched a bird I couldn’t recognize fly into the evergreens and saw the snow cascade down in a torrent to the ground as the birds wings hit the branches. The mountain is hidden in mist and snow, but outside is beautiful. There is a calm quiet that permeates this place which I can’t find in Minneapolis. I’ve been given a day of contemplation. One in which I can think and be grateful for all that I have.
I could be bitter…I could be mad at the fact that I am stuck here now because I was stupid last week. But what good would that do me? So instead I choose to use this time and enjoy it.
I choose to be grateful.
And so…while I would like to be out skiing and feeling the fresh powder under my skis…I am thankful for this alone time in such a beautiful setting.
I am in Colorado working/playing with a few friends planning a future conference. While we have probably been playing more than working (we talk work on the ski hill, but I can’t really call that work) this time has given me some moments of reflection that I wouldn’t normally get. It is refreshing to step away from everyday life to gain some perspective. Looking at the breathtaking vista’s from the top of the mountain really make one thing about how we fit into the world. Feeling the sun in your face as you glide down the ski hill makes me focus on what is really important in life. Having a beer and sharing stories about the day reinforce the fact that we are social creatures.
I am very grateful for this time of reflection.
I find that motivation isn’t usually a problem when you have new, exciting, rewarding or cool work projects. The new client that has a problem that challenges you to come up with a novel solution. The big project that will catapult your career or the company into a new stratosphere. The project that if done well will get the high profile recognition both by the leaders of the company and maybe even the outside press.
Those are the low hanging fruit….
Those are the open layups you better make….
Those are the no-brainers…
It gets harder when the task or project doesn’t have the same “appeal”
Here is the $50,000 question for you – how do you make sure employees are motivated to do the everyday, mundane, boring tasks that lead to better company performance? These are those tasks that do not get your picture in the company newsletter. The tasks that make your mind so numb that you swear you’ve lost half your brain. The tasks that are essential, but you would easily skip to watch paint dry as that would be more enjoyable?
Give your thoughts in the comment section below (I know, commenting on blogs can be one of those mundane and boring tasks)…
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