Archive for June, 2007

100% Success Rate

	Posted by Bert Decker \| June 29th, 2007 \| Leave a Comment \| Tweet This

Posted by Bert Decker | June 29th, 2007 | Leave a Comment | Tweet This

In my speeches and programs I’m often encouraging people to volunteer – to risk. To speak up for example. You probably often find yourself in the same situation – exhorting the recalcitrant to take a risk.

The 95% Solution

Both psychologists Abraham Maslow and Karen Horney did extensive work on the development of self esteem and self actualization. In her book on human growth Horney in particularly found that when people made the attempt to do something scary and risky – they most often succeeded. In doing my own research with myself and others, I find that the success rate is about 90% to 95% – we do well when we make the attempt.

"Concern should drive us into action and not into depression."

Karen Horney

The 100% Solution

Think of this – if we learn something in that 5% of the time that we don’t do it so well, that makes the ‘failure’ a very large success. So it follows that WHENEVER we attempt something – and LEARN from our mistakes – we will succeed. So whenever we take that risk and volunteer we succeed 100% of the time.

But if we don’t attempt something, we always fail. We lose the opportunity, and regret our weakness, and that moment can’t be recaptured.

So play the odds. Take every opportunity to volunteer, to risk, to speak, to venture forth. Every time you do so you will succeed, and every time you do NOT risk – that you shrink up and get small – you will fail. Encourage your audiences of one or one thousand with "What’s to lose by risking!"

Categories: Musings
Tags: Abraham Maslow, Karen Horney, risk, speaking, success

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Teamwork and Passion

	Posted by Bert Decker \| June 24th, 2007 \| 3 Comments \| Tweet This

Posted by Bert Decker | June 24th, 2007 | 3 Comments | Tweet This

When you are inspiring your troops about teamwork, you might use this idea from a great book "sub-merge."

In talking about members of an inner city mission who stuck together and were able to change lives, InnerCHANGE founder John Hayes said:

"…many were able to sustain long-term, even lifetime, commitments to one another in rigorous mission among the poor. Their lives recall the wisdom of an ancient Swedish proverb:

‘Shared joy is double joy; shared sorrow is half sorrow.’

We have found this to be true, that joined in commiitted community we are better able to bear losses and authentically celebrate victories."

This same weekend I saw Amadeus again – great movie. I hadn’t heard this quote the first time through – but you might be able to use it as you talk to your team about passion and substance. As Joseph II was listening to Mozart on one of his delightful rants, the Emperor said,

"You are passionate – but you do not persuade."

No question that effective communication rides energy, but it reminds us that we must have a focus and a POV if we want to influence and persuade. Even if we’re Mozart.

Categories: Great Books, Musings, Short Bits
Tags: Amadeus, John Hayes, passion, sub-merge, Teamwork

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Telling Your Story

	Posted by Bert Decker \| June 20th, 2007 \| 1 Comment \| Tweet This

Posted by Bert Decker | June 20th, 2007 | 1 Comment | Tweet This

Today’s USA Today featured a story on Judy Collins – fancy that, as she just spoke last week to 8,000 people at the Million Dollar Round Table in Denver (her home town) – and here I was about to blog about how she told her story.

If you say "Who’s Judy Collins?" you date yourself, but you would recognize her beautiful voice and the melodies of "Send In The Clowns" and "Both Sides Now."

So how do you start a ‘serious’ speech when you are a famous and beautiful singer. You come out and say, "OK, let’s get this out of the way…." and proceed to sing "Both Sides Now."

Sophisticated elegance, with a beautiful voice and vibrant personality. But she came this day to tell a story – a story of dysfunction and tragedy and sadness. And she did so with wit and grace and power. Although alcoholism and suicide have been in her family, you wouldn’t know it from her manner – only her words. Judy Collins was vulnerable, entertaining, and delivered her message. (She was easily forgiven for a bit of watch twirling and rambling – few noticed I’m sure, though I would of course.)

Here are some things we could learn. For we all have a story to tell, and should tell it with as much openness and vulnerability as we can muster. As Judy did, allowing the emotions to show, but not allowing them to overcome the experience. She mixed sadness with humor, just as in most memorable funerals there is laughter and tears.)

Judy Collins’ faith was very important to her story, and she kept close to the classic recommendation that is often appropriately used when people share their life journey which tells how they came to faith and what it meant:

What it was like.
What happened.
What it’s like now.

Of most interest is the "what happened" and "what it’s like now." Unfortunately too many people dwell in the tragedy and drama of what it was like in the bad times. Not Judy – she celebrates her faith and what life is like now – and she got an emotional round of applause as she shared the results of her decades of sobriety.

She did sing a few songs, but her mission in life now is to talk, to speak, to inspire. "Everybody has a story. When you hear what they have done and how they are doing, there is a kind of alchemy that happens that heals both people." When she closed by singing "Amazing Grace," and then asked 8,000 people to join her – their was not a dry eye in the house.

She wrote her memoir "Sanity and Grace" in 2003. I hope her new book "The Seven T’s: Finding Hope and Healing in the Wake of Tragedy," does even better.

Categories: Great Books, Speakers

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Humor in Adversity

	Posted by Bert Decker \| June 18th, 2007 \| 4 Comments \| Tweet This

Posted by Bert Decker | June 18th, 2007 | 4 Comments | Tweet This

Humor is one of the SHARP Principles, and most of us don’t even get to it in our speeches, much less use it in all of our communications. Dan Miller is one who lives it, and it shows. Yet he’s not a humorist, but – in his own words – a ‘dreammaker.’.

"If you’re going through hell, keep going."

He was an all star basketball player and athlete in high school, and got polio three weeks before the Salk vaccine became available. Dan told his story at the Million Dollar Round Table last week, driving on stage in a motorized cart. He told how for the first year he was depressed and helpless, but then he chose to like himself, and chose laughter over heartache. And slowly he came back from no mobility to the use of one arm and a bit of leg power

And the real inspiration came as he described his goals, and what he did to achieve them. He majored in PE, when they said it was impossible. Learned to fly a plane. Became a one armed golfer with a 13 handicap! (Now that is hard to comprehend – when I can’t get below a 16.) And when they said he couldn’t play the guitar because he couldn’t use one of his hands, he proved them wrong – and sang to 8,000 people at MDRT - to a standing ovation.

Dan and Judy Miller have raised three kids and have eight grandkids (here’s a glimpse), and have led a pretty normal life because they chose to. An award winning Principal in Washington State for two decades, he now speaks around the country, inspiring others. In the phrase of his mentor which he repeated many, many times: "Let’s see what you can do."

If you see and hear him, you’ll be motivated to do more. For that’s what a great motivational speaker does.

His message was clear, funny and worthwhile – and it will last:

"Pain is inevitable.

Suffering is optional.

Joy is a choice."

Categories: Meetings, Speakers
Tags: Dan Miller, inspiration, MDRT, motivational speaker

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This Teacher Can Teach

	Posted by Bert Decker \| June 14th, 2007 \| Leave a Comment \| Tweet This

Posted by Bert Decker | June 14th, 2007 | Leave a Comment | Tweet This

What can a teacher teach a speaker? In this case, how to communicate!

Ron Clark is young, brash and unique. He jumps around the stage – heck he dances around, stands on tables and does the double dutch – so hyper that Dale Irvin even says that decaf is too much for Ron. But he can teach – and how.

He is too young to be called America’s Educator, but he is. He is too young to have a movie made about him, but he did. He won the teacher of the year award from Disney, was on Oprah, and now has his best selling book out that is revolutionizing teaching in the inner city.

Ron got an extended standing ovation from the Million Dollar Round Table audience of 8,000 this week – not only because we liked his energy, humor and zest for teaching, but because we liked his ideas.

Primary teaching point – as effective a communicator as you might be, passionate about your subject and confident in your approach – you have to have more. Here’s three things:

Content: He started with no knowledge but 5 rules, then 8, then11, and after a couple of years he was teaching the 55 rules. The rules weren’t restrictive, but expansive. Here’s a summary of his book "The Essential 55."

Care: but what was made the difference was his care for his kids. His first class in an underprivileged harlem school was at the bottom of the heap, and in one year he took the 37 kids to the top. Two years later they ALL graduated. Because Ron Clark went to their homes and talked to their parents, came to their turf and hung out, sat in the stands at their games.

Contrast: He did the unexpected, was always interesting and even outrageous, and made every day an adventure – every lesson compelling. He lives the SHARP principles. He risked.

"I’ve been looking all over the world for adventure, and the best adventure turned out to be in my kids classrooms."

"The more specific you can be with expectations the better the results."

"Teachers are competing with iPods, video games, easy drugs, TV, attitude. You HAVE to engage at their level. You can’t do it anymore without a lot of creativity and energy."

Look at Ron on video, and then you might see why he now has the Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta – teaching others how to communicate to kids.

Categories: Communication Skills, Meetings, Speakers
Tags: Care, Million Dollar Round Table, Ron Clark, Teacher

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What Can Words Accomplish

	Posted by Bert Decker \| June 13th, 2007 \| Leave a Comment \| Tweet This

Posted by Bert Decker | June 13th, 2007 | Leave a Comment | Tweet This

I’m pensive in the Denver airport. Just leaving the three day Million Dollar Round Table convention and I’m personally inspired – thinking about the experience, and what causes inspiration.

I’ve seen a lot of speakers and conventions and this MDRT Convention is the best. If you know of a better one, email me and let’s compare notes.

What can words accomplish? Words alone – not much. Words that are part of an experience can change the world.

This is part of a continuing blog post on insights and teaching points that came through my mind and heart from this convention. I’ll continue it daily until either I run out or schedule prohibits.
The overwhelming thought is that spirit, inspiration, motivation, emotion – call it what you will – is the driving force in individual action. I felt it informing me time and again in each of the great speakers/experiences here. And it was missing in others. (I don’t plan to pan anyone by the way.)
Everybody has a story. It’s important to be able to tell it well – to give others the experience.
So yet to come – Judy Collins, Ben Stein, Ron Clark, Dan Miller, Kevin Murphey and Dan Clark – in short or long form (unless I run out of steam.)

Categories: Musings

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The Motivational Speaker

	Posted by Bert Decker \| June 12th, 2007 \| Leave a Comment \| Tweet This

Posted by Bert Decker | June 12th, 2007 | Leave a Comment | Tweet This

Les Brown opened the MDRT Convention here in Denver, and he was great. He’s known as a motivational speaker, and he is that – but more. He has substance and message and art.

What can anyone learn from a motivational speaker? Lots. Although the best learning is by observation – and you can see Les Brown on video – here’s a few points, plus some nice quotes and turns…

Energy – voice, movement, gestures and sweat. Do you sweat when you speak – work at it.
Quotes – he had a million of them. (Well, it seemed like it – and they were good and relevant.)
Authentic – although Les had rhythm, speed and cadence in voice, it seemed that he was also was conversational. He was speaking with us not at us. And his confidence was real.
Stories – he told his stories, many stories, centering around the drama in his life. And all his stories were interspersed with his message.
Practiced - Les Brown IS a performer after all, so although authentic he had some great memorized phrases and sayings. Even the ‘non-performer’ speaker should have some memorized things that they know work to make a point.

Some messages and quotes:

“I’ve been speaking for 20 years, but it should have been 34. Problem was the first 14 years I didn’t think I could do it.”

“Provide more service than you get paid for.”

“People only do business with people that they know, like and trust.”

“Work at your craft. The wood cutter’s wood production dropped 40% because he wouldn’t sharpen his ax.” (Credited to Zig.)

“…be transformed by the renewing of your mind…”

“Don’t take no for an answer. Make ‘NO’ your vitamins. Every ‘no’ brings you a step closer to success.”

“Learn to communicate well. Once you open your mouth you let the world know who you are.”

“Be a storyteller. Give people special moments.”

“Live full, die empty.”

And in the Les Brown vernacular, “You’ve got to be ‘hongry’!”

Part of Les’ impact also came from his vulnerability in sharing his dramatic recovery from prostate cancer. Because I have a friend who is just recovering from prostate cancer surgery it was particularly poignant, and made his funny line even more memorable:

"I’ll be glad when they can check out your prostate by looking in your ears."

Categories: Public Speaking, SHARPs and Stories, Speakers
Tags: Les Brown, MDRT, Million Dollar Round Table, Public Speaking

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