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For example, last evening I was setting up a new DVD player for our downstairs TV (the old one had broken) when I noticed the following words on the back of the DVD remote. If you can’t read the words clearly in the picture, they say, “Caution: Replace with fresh batteries of the same kind, observing polarity.”

Now, think about that for a moment. You’ve probably replaced a few batteries in a few different remotes over the course of your lifetime. Is it really that difficult to figure out which end of a battery goes in which direction? Furthermore, even if you are having a bad day and you can’t remember which end goes in which direction, the good news is that virtually every manufacturer gives you a little picture (in the device) of a battery which clearly shows which end goes in which direction.

So, let me ask the most obvious question that someone should have asked (and caught). “If someone can’t figure out how to follow a picture in the device of which direction a battery should be placed . . . do we really think that person would have a clue what the word ‘Polarity,’ is?”

“Ah yes, I was stumped by the diagram of the battery in the remote. But now that they told me to observe the polarity, I’ve figured it out!” I laughed so hard when I saw this.

But lest we get too hard on Panasonic, we all do the same thing. I don’t know any business that hasn’t sent out a message without having a Panasonic remote moment. We think customers want one thing (what we’re offering), but what they really want is another thing (a specific result). Or we’ll use language that we think “everyone knows.” But they don’t.

So, how can you avoid this Panasonic Remote moment? By asking someone outside of your area (or department or company) to read your copy (website, letter, direct mail piece, white paper, blog post, company email, manual, etc.) to give you some feedback. Frequently, they’ll find mistakes you didn’t see. They’ll tighten up your prose (i.e. make your argument more succinct and compelling). And they’ll ask questions you didn’t think of because what seemed so obvious to you, didn’t to them.

So, who do you know whom you can ask to read your copy . . . and trust that they’ll give you honest feedback? As soon as you think of a name, contact them ASAP. You need them more than you can imagine!

To your accelerated success!

P.S. Don’t just look for people who will affirm you and say, “Good job! Run with it!” You want people who will give you real feedback–that is, people who will challenge you, your thinking, and your writing–and who won’t be afraid to say to you, “That’s stupid!” Don’t you wish Panasonic had someone like that?

I remember, shortly after my board coup several years ago, the movie “Rocky Balboa” came out and in the middle of the movie, Rocky made the following comment to his son,

“It ain’t about how hard you’re hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward–that’s how winning is done!”

I immediately put that quote up on my credenza and still look at it to this day. To me, that’s the power of a great quote. In just a few words, it can say so much.

In light of that, over the July 4th weekend, I decided to create my own favorite quote site. As a consultant and professional speaker, I’m regularly on the look out for great quotes. So, rather than horde them for myself, in the spirit of Tom Peters (when you go to the site, you’ll understand that comment), I’ve decided to make them available to everyone.

So, rather than bore you with more content, let me encourage you to go to the site and read some great inspirational business-oriented quotes. I think you’ll enjoy them! Oh, and the URL is pretty easy to remember

http://www.brucequotes.com

Note: I just created the site Saturday evening so some of the topics only have a few quotes, while others have quite a few. But over time, the approximately 400 quotes will grow. The site is still under 48 hours old. Just bookmark it and return to it whenever you either need some inspiration or you’re putting together a talk or training session and need the perfect quote to make the perfect point.

To your accelerated success!

http://www.brucequotes.com

Or if you could avoid the pain of missed communication–from frustration and conflict to lost opportunities and sales. Or if you could avoid doing or saying something that might injure a key relationship–what would that be worth to you? I’m guessing a lot. Well, get ready because you’re about to get that one idea/technique–and it won’t cost you a thing.

I learned this idea/technique from a minister and author from England named John Stott. In his classic book on pastoral communication (also known as preaching :-), Stott introduced a concept he calls quadruple thinking–and it’s brilliant! The basic idea is this. It occurs in four parts (hence the phrase, quadruple thinking).

1.    You think of what you want to say
2.    You think of how the person you’re communicating to will hear what you have to say
3.    You rethink what you have to say
4.    So they will hear what you want them to hear.

Brilliant! In other words, if you or I want to be more effective communicators (and as a leader of a small or medium-sized business or organization you ought to want to be), then

We don’t have the luxury of ever just saying what we want to say.

Why? Because communication always involves two (or more) people. And that means that the other person must ALWAYS be factored into the equation.

For example: You’re in a rush and under a lot of pressure. You call in one of your employees and say, “Here’s an assignment, just make it happen.” You don’t have a lot of time to spell out what you want done–after all, they’re an adult, they can figure it out. And furthermore, you don’t want to be known as a micro-manager. So you just hand out an assignment. Unfortunately, the person you handed that assignment to is, in Myers-Briggs language, an SJ.

SJs are great workers. They make up roughly 40% of the population. They follow assignments. They get things done. BUT ONE THING that SJs don’t do well is create from scratch. SJs like to do things right. However, if they don’t know what right is, they get stumped–which is why SJs LOVE DIRECTIONS. They like their leaders to spell out details.

So while you may think you communicated clearly to your employee, the reality is you didn’t. If, on the other hand, you were employing quadruple thinking, you might have thought. “Let’s see, Barb is an SJ. As an SJ, Barb is going to want lots of direction on this assignment. So, I better clear out 15 minutes to talk with her about this assignment today.”

On the other hand, if Bob is an NT (in Myers Briggs language–and NTs don’t like lots of direction) then your quadruple thinking conversation might go like this. “Let’s see, Bob is an NT. NTs hate to be straight-jacketed with lots of direction and control so I better just walk by Bob’s desk and give him this assignment and a due date.”

Remember, the goal of communication isn’t simply to process sounds out of our minds into words on paper, screen or air. The goal of communication is to connect with another human being for a specific result or reason. Therefore, they must always be factored into the conversation.

Now, in one sense, this seems so blatantly obvious, that it shouldn’t have to be stated. But it’s not. Common sense is not common practice. Every day in every workplace (or home), miscommunication takes place. And while neither you nor I can’t completely eliminate it, we can greatly reduce it by practicing this one simple technique: Quadruple Thinking!

1.    You think of what you want to say
2.    You think of how the person you’re communicating to will hear what you have to say
3.    You rethink what you have to say
4.    So they will hear what you want them to hear.

Go ahead, give it a try! If you really get it, this should change every conversation and communication you ever have from this day forward–that is, if you want to be an effective leader and communicator.

To your accelerated success!

P.S. Let me know what you think of this idea in the comments section below!

While watching Steve introduce the iPad last week in real-time on Gizmodo (hats off to B. Lam and Jason Chen at Gizmodo who were doing photo and text blogging during the presentation–I was majorly impressed), I thought that I’d share some of their images of Steve’s slides so you could see how a master does his “PowerPoint.” So, here we go.

Here’s one of Steve’s first slides. Notice the simplicity of the design. A short quote in large enough type to read, and a simple image to further drive home the point. Also notice the cool reflection of the image.

As Steve started to talk about mobile platforms he posed a question, “Is there space for a device between a cell phone and a lap top?” Here’s how he represented that.

I love this next slide for it’s simplicity and color popping. No fancy charts. Just one image and one number–that’s all that matters!

Changing gears, when Steve wanted to talk about environmental friendliness, he took and created a “report card” check list that didn’t just look like another table. You get the point. Nothing confusing here.

Here’s another slide where Steve’s team had to convey a list of features (in this case, iWork software for the iPad). Notice the simplicity of the image and six statements. Once again, you get the point.

When Steve started talking about price, he started with one slide with just one number on it. Unfortunately, slide images don’t do justice to the animation Steve and his team used. The number actually dropped from the top and kicked up some dust until it settled with the following clear slide. It really was one of those awe moments when you could hear people’s shock and awe.

Probably, the only somewhat confusing slide Steve used (which isn’t too confusing) was this one announcing the different price points based on memory and 3G (an extra $130 per model)

So, there you have it. A few lessons from Steve on doing a “PowerPoint” presentation.

1. Keep your slides uncluttered. Strive for simplicity.
2. Use large font sizes (anything less than 40 pts. should be a concern). The bigger the better.
3. Use one large graphic and minimal text to say a lot.
4. Strive to find a simple way to say something complex.
5. Get to the core of your point, and just illustrate that.
6. Look for creative ways to say the same things
7. Don’t spend time reading off your slides. Their job is to augment you, not drive the presentation (note: if you don’t put too much info on a slide, this becomes automatic).
8. Use lots of slides. It doesn’t cost any more to add an extra slide. You don’t need to cram a lot of info on one slide. Most of my presentations have 80 – 140 slides.
9. Practice, practice, practice. Steve and his team run through their presentations multiple times before going live.
10. Get a Mac and Keynote. You’ll be glad you did!!! :-)

P.S. Post writing the above, I found a YouTube video that takes a humorous look at the adjectives Steve and his team use. Even as a Mac Addict, I have to admit, this is fun (cool, awesome, unbelievable, remarkable, exciting, gorgeous, amazing, super …)

• Eric Schmidt (CEO, Google). John Doerr told me to, “Get a coach,” even though I didn’t think I could learn anything from a coach.
• Tiger Woods. Rather than focusing on technique and swing, my father told me to, “Pick a spot and then figure out how to hit it there.”
• Mohammed El-Erian (CEO, Pimco). My father told me to, “Read four newspapers because if you don’t read different points of view your mind will eventually close and you’ll become a prisoner of a certain point of view that you’ll never question.”
• Jim Sinegal (CEO, Costco) Sol Price said to me one day, “If you’re going to go to the trouble of hiring someone, it’s because you can’t do the job yourself–so you’d better show them how you’d do it.” In other words, he was letting me know that a good manager is a good teacher.

So, what about you? What’s the best advice anyone has given to you?

Now, you may be tempted to just write this off as a futile exercise but it’s not. Why? Because the essence of great leadership is teaching. Great leaders don’t just take a group of people someplace, they seek to influence and change the lives of those they’re leading. And the main tool that leaders use to change behavior is story.

For example, when I’m working with leaders, one of the stories I usually tell is about a time when I was in seminary, back in 1987. The seminary where I was attending was in the midst of a faculty split and I had professorial friends on both sides of the aisle. Unfortunately, professors on both sides shared information with me about the people on the other side that they shouldn’t have shared with me, a student.

Basically, I knew information (junk) on people that I shouldn’t have known and yet I still needed to interact with those people. So one day, in the midst of this internal turmoil, I was walking across the center of campus (I can still see it vividly in my mind’s eye) with one of those professors, a guy named Paul, when I shared with him my frustration of knowing information (junk) about both sides that I could never share or use. To which Paul said,

“Congratulations. You’ve just learned one of the most important lessons of leadership. Leadership is lonely. You will always know more information than you can share or use. Welcome to the club.“

That advice has served me incredibly well for the past twenty-two years. Leadership is lonely.  It’s tough not being able to share information that could help you and your cause. And it’s tough having to carry a burden that no one else in your business or organization even understands. But nonetheless, when you know leadership is lonely (and that this is what all leaders experience), it helps.

Now, of course, I could have simply told you, ”Leadership is lonely.“ But the story helps you remember the principle, doesn’t it?

Realizing that, don’t you think you would be a more effective leader/teacher if you took some time to think about the best advice you ever received? And then started sharing it?  And then once you started making your list, you regularly added to it, as you either remembered stories or learned valuable lessons? Absolutely!

So, if you want to be a more effective leader, what is the best advice you’ve ever received? Make a list. Then look for opportunities to start sharing those stories. Why? Because that’s what great leaders do!

To your accelerated success!

The way he got to me was by asking two simple questions. Showing a picture of a MacDonald’s hamburger, he asked,

1. How would you describe the quality of a MacDonald’s hamburger?
2. Who sells the most hamburgers in the world?

Point made. Point received.

I don’t know about you, but I often get stuck by trying to make something “perfect.” I have three books, several new talks, and a couple of projects all stuck in varying states of completion–not because I can’t get them done–but because I want to make them PERFECT!

In the literary world, it’s the equivalent of wanting to write, “The Next Great American Novel.” It’s the desire to want to write  something that “no one else has written.” Or to say something so compelling that newswires will want to pick it up, blogs will want to make it viral, TV reporters will want to call for interviews, and schools of business will want to make it required reading (of course, by this point, you’ve already figured out–this guy lacks reality–exactly!).

It’s this longing to do something perfect, to do something that causes people to take notice, that tends to hinder so many of us. When, in reality, we ought to set our sights a little lower. While I may want to write the “ultimate” guide to growing a business, there is no such ultimate book to be written.

In the mean time, while I’m waiting to create the perfect/ultimate book, others are publishing their books and making money–and the people I could be helping out are missing out.

Likewise, in your world, chances are (if you’ve been infected with the disease of perfectionism), you’re doing something similar. You have projects on hold, products that haven’t been launched, services that haven’t gone public, talks and letters that haven’t been written, and presentations that haven’t seen the light of day, etc. Not because you can’t get them done, but because you’re waiting until the thing you’re working on is … well, perfect.

But in a business environment, perfection is not the goal–it’s an impediment. In fact, when Ray was speaking I wrote in my notes, “Perfection > leads to procrastination > which leads to poverty.”

While you or I may want to create the perfect burger (metaphorically), the reality is that someone else (MacDonalds, in this case), is making a ton of money while we’re still in the design phase.

So, if your goal is making money, or influencing others, or meeting a critical need or want for your target market, then you’ll want to revisit this MacDonald’s hamburger metaphor again and again. Make sure you beat down the perfection monster. And whatever you do, make sure you get what you’re working on out in the world. As I’ve said for years,

“Excellence is not perfection. Excellence is doing the best you can with what you’ve got in the amount of time you’ve got to get it done.”

So what projects have you been holding off on or delaying because of perfectionism? And how much more money (or whatever metric your project works with) could you be making if you stopped waiting for perfection and just got that thing out in the marketplace?

To your accelerated success!

Again, just like yesterday, I want to acknowledge Eben Pagan for sharing this concept. The metaphor he uses to explain it is perfect. Let’s say you decide to cut a CD and you want to release a song to radio stations across the US to drive sales of your album. Which conversation are you going to have with your team.

Obviously the second. You always release the song (or in our case, idea), which you think has the greatest likelihood of becoming a hit. Your goal is that they’ll love the song so much that they’ll want to buy the CD. It’s not the worst song that you want to release for free but the best.

Now, if you’re like most people, you’re probably thinking, “But if I give them my best ideas for free, why would they want to buy my product/service?” Answer, the same reason why you buy the CD. The song entices you/teases you to buy the whole. And when you buy your CD, are you ticked off that the musician includes the song you hear for free on the radio? Of course not. You’d be disappointed if they didn’t!

The reality is that most people don’t get what we say the first time we say it. They may think they do, but they don’t. And even if they do, they forget. I may tell a leader,

“As a leader, you need to cast vision every day in every communication you send out–that means every conversation, every letter, every memo, every message. You need to constantly tell your people, ‘This is who we are. This is where we’re going. This is what we’re becoming. This is why we do what we do. Etc’ As a leader, one of your primary responsibilities is to cast vision and you virtually can’t overdo it. So just cast vision every day in every way and your leadership capacity will rise.”

That is a rock solid idea. Most leaders will acknowledge it. Some will actually do it . . . for a couple of days. But virtually every leader I’ve ever worked with needs to be reminded of that idea over and over again.

In other words, if you’re afraid of giving away your best ideas for free, don’t be. Give them away. Demonstrate your value. Allow people to see your expertise. And you’ll start attracting more and more
people to you.

So, what are your best ideas? Take your area of expertise and make a list of your best ideas for doing something or solving something? Think through the most pressing needs of the people you’re trying to
help. Then take your best idea for solving their most pressing problem and bingo–you’ve got a hit!!!

Don’t wait until tomorrow to do this. Take out a piece of paper right now and make two columns. On the left side, list your best ideas. On the right, list your prospects and/or customers’ most pressing needs/ problems. Then link the best ideas with their most pressing problems and start giving those best ideas away!

To your accelerated success!

In Plain Sight 


All New Season

Sunday, April 19th 10/9C

As I saw that I thought, “Isn’t that amazing. I’ve been watching ads for this show on USA for the past several weeks. Now, they’re even promoting the show during the main content part of other shows–and we’re still SIX WEEKS AWAY!”

Think about that. When was the last time you promoted anything like that?

Most of us send out one or two messages–and when no one or a couple of people respond, we think, “I guess this doesn’t work!”
But maybe it’s not what we’re saying. Maybe it’s that we simply haven’t communicated it often enough.

The old adage is that it you have to communicate a marketing message seven times before a prospect will buy.

However, what the marketing rule-makers don’t tell is that your prospects don’t hear your message, two out of every three times you send it out. In other words, the Rule of 7 is really the Rule of 21.

So as you look at the marketing messages that your firm or business is sending out, how frequently do you communicate your messages? Are you sending them out at least 21 times? If not, you may want to take a lead from USA–who at least knows that if you want to create a hit, you’ve got to send out a whole lot of marketing messages–even if you’re two months out from your launch date.

To your accelerated success!

My favorite phrase that they both used was, "We believe we have the right price point".  Hello!  What customer wants to hear the phrase, "price point." What we want to hear is "We’ve worked diligently over the past year to reduce our costs so that we can provide the typical business passenger with a business class seat that costs 75% less than what they’d have to pay on a major carrier."  Now, that I get—and so would everyone who heard that statement. But who cares about "price points"? Only insiders.

Unfortunately, business speak (or educational speak or religious speak etc.) is often ubiquitous in places where it shouldn’t be.  For example, earlier today I read the following phrase from Time’s Interactive President, Ned Desmond, quoted in Business Week.

"Office Pirates’ "plan does not bank on the idea of becoming a serial creator of these outrageously serendipitous viral events."

Hello!  Could you say that any simpler? Absolutely!

Years ago, William Zinsser wrote a wonderful book on writing entitled, "On Writing Well".  Every CEO, President, leader and manager ought to read it—if only for the first few chapters—especially the one on simplicity.  Zinsser correctly argues that writing (or speaking) should be simple and clear. Why?  Because the goal of communicating isn’t to impress people, it’s to inform or to persuade or to change. Which means that if someone can’t understand (or be persuaded or changed by) what we just said, then real communication hasn’t taken place.

So what’s the easiest way to communicate in a remarkable way? The easiest was is to remember your audience and then speak in as simple, as clear and as concise a way as possible.  The point is not to impress, but to change behavior—and that requires simple, clear and concise language. Anything else is irrelevant.

So, how has the vocabulary of your profession made your ability to communicate to others murky? If you want to be a more remarkable communicator, then I would encourage you to excise all "insider language" from any and all communications you have with "real" people (i.e. people outside your profession or position).