Please watch this TED Talk video. Dan Ariely's studies sheds light on market melt down.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
What are you and your organization doing to follow the next economic flow?
China calls for a new currency to replace dollar in a shift in perspective on U.S.'s roll in world economy: read here.
There is a sea change occurring - a tidal shift: economy is flowing to the east. What are you doing to follow this current? How is your organization preparing for this shift?
There is a sea change occurring - a tidal shift: economy is flowing to the east. What are you doing to follow this current? How is your organization preparing for this shift?
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Short Dialog: Social Networking, Work, Generational Relationships to Web Tools, Etc.
Here's a short dialog between consultant Robert "Jake" Jacobs and me about the importance of social networking in business and life. Discussed tools, individual inclinations, and impact.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Upcoming Telecourse: Becoming Change - Transition, Vision, and Strategy for these Economic Times
Upcoming Telecourse: Becoming Change - Transition, Vision, and Strategy for these Economic Times
The world needs your service, vision and hope. If you have recently found yourself:
Then Becoming Change - Transition, Vision, and Strategy for these Economic Times was created for you.
Becoming Change is a course designed to empower effective transition. Over the course of a month, 4 conference calls, and 2 coaching sessions you will be guided through a process of transformation. Stepping into new perspectives, strategies, and a community of support you will create the life and career that you desire and the world needs.
Through your participation in this course you will get:
Join us for a complimentary introductory session on April 7th at 5:30 PM PST (8:30 PM EST). Start your journey of transition, vision, and purpose, and experience an interactive conversation with Doug and Kris. You will be given practical tools, a course experience, followed by a question and answer session.
April 7th, Week One: Complimentary Introduction
April 8th - 13th: Orientation and Intention Coaching Session with Doug or Kris
April 14th, Week Two: Becoming Change
April 21st, Week Three: Transition
April 28th, Week Four: Vision
May 5th, Week Five: Strategy
May 6th+ Continued Support Coaching Session with Doug or Kris
Investment: $295
To Register Now:
The world needs your service, vision and hope. If you have recently found yourself:
- inspired to create change and support others,
- laid off from work and want a new direction,
- seeing a new potential but are unsure how to create it,
- tired of doom and gloom and are looking for a new conversation,
- interested in shifting the way you feel about the current culture and economy,
- seeking new solutions, looking for a new conversation,
- or are looking for hope and vision,
Then Becoming Change - Transition, Vision, and Strategy for these Economic Times was created for you.
Becoming Change is a course designed to empower effective transition. Over the course of a month, 4 conference calls, and 2 coaching sessions you will be guided through a process of transformation. Stepping into new perspectives, strategies, and a community of support you will create the life and career that you desire and the world needs.
Through your participation in this course you will get:
- tools to alleviate stress, fear, confusion, and anxiety
- practices to create a clear picture and a broad view
- empowering experiences of vision and purpose creation
- methods to cease knee-jerk reactions and make powerful choices
- practical tools and assistance for creating and implementing strategy
Join us for a complimentary introductory session on April 7th at 5:30 PM PST (8:30 PM EST). Start your journey of transition, vision, and purpose, and experience an interactive conversation with Doug and Kris. You will be given practical tools, a course experience, followed by a question and answer session.
To register: Email Kris at kris@kramaconsulting.com or Email Doug at doug@coachdoug.com
Course Outline:
April 7th, Week One: Complimentary Introduction
April 8th - 13th: Orientation and Intention Coaching Session with Doug or Kris
April 14th, Week Two: Becoming Change
April 21st, Week Three: Transition
April 28th, Week Four: Vision
May 5th, Week Five: Strategy
May 6th+ Continued Support Coaching Session with Doug or Kris
Detailed Information:
Investment: $295
To Register Now:
- Contact Doug: doug@coachdoug.com | www.coachdoug.com
- Contact Kris: kris@kramaconsulting.com | www.kramaconsulting.com
Becoming Change Course and Video Series
Doug Miller and I are offering a telecourse "Becoming Change" beginning April 1st for individuals in transition: new job, career, life purpose, vision, and world work, all pushing towards greater self and world change. In this series of videos, Doug and I discuss change, our current state of society and culture, and the various things individuals are facing as each of us is confronted with our world.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
New Management Job Description: Managing Stress, Anxiety and Fear
In a survey conducted several years ago by the Anxiety Disorders of America Association (ADAA) in partnership with National Stress Out Week, 56% of people said that anxiety and stress affects their performance, 51% said it affected their interpersonal work relationships, 50% said it affects their quality of work, and 43% said it affects their relationship with their superiors.
From The Business Mirror:
"For some, the economy is having an extreme impact. In a November-December study by the National Domestic Violence Hotline, 54 percent of participating hotline callers said their household's financial situation had changed in the past year. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, meanwhile, has had an increase in calls, from 412,000 in 2007 to 568,000 in 2008."
Right now, almost everyone is, at least a little, stressed out. Especially at organizations that have gone through one, two or three rounds of layoffs. Right now, in this economy and during this recession, managers, leaders, and organizations need to step into new leadership capacities. Managers need to engage and interact with people in a way that assists in finding ease and support. We need new management for a new world. Earlier this week, I wrote a blog called Leading from the Heart, the first in an undetermined series on a new and emergent way of leadership and management. We all need to lead from the heart.
Again, from The Business Mirror:
"The irony, advisers and economists say, is that an anxious investor, consumer or worker actually compounds the economy's distress. The fear is driving people to make rash decisions with investments, thus contributing to the volatility of the stock markets. It is keeping consumers from spending money, not a good thing nationally, considering that consumer spending makes up 70 percent of the economy. And it is making many workers less productive at work."
Building leadership capacities is now essential for an organization's success. Managers need to manage and lead from the heart. Leaders need a new sensitivity and awareness. If an organization's leaders cannot manage fear, anxiety and stress, that organization will be greatly crippled and ultimately fail.
In the series Leading from the Heart, I will touch on and explore many different perspectives on what will be required for leaders to manage successfully and effectively in our new world and time.
In the meantime, here are a few pointers:
1) Find confidence and be confident. Inauthentic expressions will backfire. However, if you can access a true perspective of ease, innovation, and abundance your presence will have powerful impact on all of those around you. Your attitude speaks much louder than your words.
2) Listen. Listen. Listen. Use your time to listen to your employees concerns. Listen with genuine concern. Talking to your employees about their problems is not listening to their problems. Truly listen. Truly listen to them from a place of clarity and compassion. Yes, compassion. This is not the 80s anymore and management needs to change.
3) Be honest and positive. False hope is false. Blind optimism is annoying. However, find a healthy, balanced, positive perspective and share it generously.
4) Reframe. Challenge the assumptions of doom and the perspectives of failure. Give your people a new and empowered place to perceive from. Show them hope. Show them innovation. Make the impossible possible. Take failure and turn it into results.
5) Be real. Share your concerns and your fears in a real, honest, and authentic way, and also offer your wisdom for how you manage and deal with it. Be willing to relate to your people; collapse the divide and let down the wall. Create access to you. This isn't an open door policy, it's an open heart and mind policy. Revisit no. 3.
Change has to happen, and it needs to happen fast. The world and our economy is not going to afford us an even and measured learning curve. The time for new management came yesterday. Get busy.
From The Business Mirror:
"For some, the economy is having an extreme impact. In a November-December study by the National Domestic Violence Hotline, 54 percent of participating hotline callers said their household's financial situation had changed in the past year. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, meanwhile, has had an increase in calls, from 412,000 in 2007 to 568,000 in 2008."
Right now, almost everyone is, at least a little, stressed out. Especially at organizations that have gone through one, two or three rounds of layoffs. Right now, in this economy and during this recession, managers, leaders, and organizations need to step into new leadership capacities. Managers need to engage and interact with people in a way that assists in finding ease and support. We need new management for a new world. Earlier this week, I wrote a blog called Leading from the Heart, the first in an undetermined series on a new and emergent way of leadership and management. We all need to lead from the heart.
Again, from The Business Mirror:
"The irony, advisers and economists say, is that an anxious investor, consumer or worker actually compounds the economy's distress. The fear is driving people to make rash decisions with investments, thus contributing to the volatility of the stock markets. It is keeping consumers from spending money, not a good thing nationally, considering that consumer spending makes up 70 percent of the economy. And it is making many workers less productive at work."
Building leadership capacities is now essential for an organization's success. Managers need to manage and lead from the heart. Leaders need a new sensitivity and awareness. If an organization's leaders cannot manage fear, anxiety and stress, that organization will be greatly crippled and ultimately fail.
In the series Leading from the Heart, I will touch on and explore many different perspectives on what will be required for leaders to manage successfully and effectively in our new world and time.
In the meantime, here are a few pointers:
1) Find confidence and be confident. Inauthentic expressions will backfire. However, if you can access a true perspective of ease, innovation, and abundance your presence will have powerful impact on all of those around you. Your attitude speaks much louder than your words.
2) Listen. Listen. Listen. Use your time to listen to your employees concerns. Listen with genuine concern. Talking to your employees about their problems is not listening to their problems. Truly listen. Truly listen to them from a place of clarity and compassion. Yes, compassion. This is not the 80s anymore and management needs to change.
3) Be honest and positive. False hope is false. Blind optimism is annoying. However, find a healthy, balanced, positive perspective and share it generously.
4) Reframe. Challenge the assumptions of doom and the perspectives of failure. Give your people a new and empowered place to perceive from. Show them hope. Show them innovation. Make the impossible possible. Take failure and turn it into results.
5) Be real. Share your concerns and your fears in a real, honest, and authentic way, and also offer your wisdom for how you manage and deal with it. Be willing to relate to your people; collapse the divide and let down the wall. Create access to you. This isn't an open door policy, it's an open heart and mind policy. Revisit no. 3.
Change has to happen, and it needs to happen fast. The world and our economy is not going to afford us an even and measured learning curve. The time for new management came yesterday. Get busy.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Leading from the Heart: An Introduction
I imagine that most of you like the sound of leading from the heart and agree with the idea. In a post-modern culture, dominated by Oprah-endorsed spirituality and post-feminist appreciation of emotional intelligence (even Donald Trump cries now), we react favorable, nod our heads, and completely agree. Ideas of emotion, heart, depth, and interiority are now a part of our popular culture.
A top level executive at a national corporation recently told me that in hiring other executives, emotional development is looked at and is now considered to be equally important as an MBA. Yes, you read that correctly, emotional intelligence is equally important as an MBA. Unfortunately, no one is giving out degrees in emotional aptitude.
You might be interested to know, when I asked said executive if I could quote him, he looked at me and said, “Are you f&cking kidding me?” Apparently, I could not quote him on that.
When it comes to the real world, the contemporary real world, ideas like emotional intelligence and leading from the heart sound nice. However, more and more, I am seeing that it’s most often limited to the space of another good, contemporary idea along with ideas like "being green." (When was the last time you rode your bike to work?)
Ideas about emotions are not emotions. Liking emotional intelligence is not emotional intelligence.
Last week in a coaching session with someone currently involved in huge upper level management conflict I asked, “how do you think they feel?” And the answer was, “how is that going to help me?” I generally expect responses like this, but every once in awhile they do catch me off guard. Is the best the adult world has to offer iterations of playground memories?
We need to do better.
“Have you ever listened to someone from the inside?” Jeremy (“Powder”) asks Lindsey in the film Powder. This is where leading from the heart begins.
I write with awareness that this is a huge subject with infinite implications – implications of great impact. (I just went back to the title and added: An Introduction). This is the first of a series of undetermined parts.
Leading from the heart begins with listening to yourself and others from the inside. Listening to yourself creates a much greater matrix of information and intelligence – you can access more wisdom, intuition, and knowledge. Listening to others from the inside means considering how they feel and what their experience is; considering what their perspective is; considering what their motivations are. And that’s just the beginning. This leads to feeling them from the inside. Being present to the way the space feels, how they appear in their skin, their receptivity and experience. Being this open to someone allows you to listen fully. In listening deeply you can communicate more effectively.
You might wonder how this helps you. In resourcing anecdotal evidence of project failure, deal breakdowns, and organization struggle, miscommunication and conflict soar above all other problems. If you want to be successful, if you want to change the world you need a smart heart, and you need to lead from it.
Stay posted for more blogs on Leading from the Heart – there are a lot more to come.
A top level executive at a national corporation recently told me that in hiring other executives, emotional development is looked at and is now considered to be equally important as an MBA. Yes, you read that correctly, emotional intelligence is equally important as an MBA. Unfortunately, no one is giving out degrees in emotional aptitude.
You might be interested to know, when I asked said executive if I could quote him, he looked at me and said, “Are you f&cking kidding me?” Apparently, I could not quote him on that.
When it comes to the real world, the contemporary real world, ideas like emotional intelligence and leading from the heart sound nice. However, more and more, I am seeing that it’s most often limited to the space of another good, contemporary idea along with ideas like "being green." (When was the last time you rode your bike to work?)
Ideas about emotions are not emotions. Liking emotional intelligence is not emotional intelligence.
Last week in a coaching session with someone currently involved in huge upper level management conflict I asked, “how do you think they feel?” And the answer was, “how is that going to help me?” I generally expect responses like this, but every once in awhile they do catch me off guard. Is the best the adult world has to offer iterations of playground memories?
We need to do better.
“Have you ever listened to someone from the inside?” Jeremy (“Powder”) asks Lindsey in the film Powder. This is where leading from the heart begins.
I write with awareness that this is a huge subject with infinite implications – implications of great impact. (I just went back to the title and added: An Introduction). This is the first of a series of undetermined parts.
Leading from the heart begins with listening to yourself and others from the inside. Listening to yourself creates a much greater matrix of information and intelligence – you can access more wisdom, intuition, and knowledge. Listening to others from the inside means considering how they feel and what their experience is; considering what their perspective is; considering what their motivations are. And that’s just the beginning. This leads to feeling them from the inside. Being present to the way the space feels, how they appear in their skin, their receptivity and experience. Being this open to someone allows you to listen fully. In listening deeply you can communicate more effectively.
You might wonder how this helps you. In resourcing anecdotal evidence of project failure, deal breakdowns, and organization struggle, miscommunication and conflict soar above all other problems. If you want to be successful, if you want to change the world you need a smart heart, and you need to lead from it.
Stay posted for more blogs on Leading from the Heart – there are a lot more to come.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
A Few Things Your Company/Organization Needs to Consider
I think and feel that companies need to do a few things right now in order to adjust to the market (not listed hierarchically):
1) Manage fear and anxiety. Most people today are walking around with a lot of internal discomfort and confusion. This does not make people effective, productive or creative, and all of these things are important right now. Invest in the interior of your employees - you're really making an investment in the exterior of your organization, the product, service and output. At the same time, develop capacities and perspectives that add value, leadership and responsibility.
2) Let go of excess, trim the fat. I am all for management reduction - some middle management needs to go. Performance based reviews and termination at all levels of organizations. Reduce executive salaries.
3) Build a culture of honesty, accountability and transparency. Support your employees and they will support you - both at work and in conversation. Your employees do as much to establish your brand as your advertising.
4) LEAN out your system and organization. Remove all that does not add value. I like Holacracy, LEAN 2.0, as it considers many layers and positions of value.
5) Build your social network and social media - it's damn cheap and damn effective.
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