“You say you want a revolution. Well, you know, we all want to change the world.” The Beatles

Things that change in business: markets, technology, competition, and products. Things that don’t change: people. I’ve seen companies successfully navigate the rapid changes of markets, technology, competition, and products…while simultaneously struggling with people. I hear them tell me, “Rich, our biggest challenge is attracting and retaining good people.” What’s that all about? How can the most challenging area within organizations today be the one thing that has remained virtually the same—people?

Through the ages, there are countless examples of men and women who have helped shift generational beliefs. Among them was a German monk, theologian, and university professor named Martin Luther. He questioned the predominant religious thinkers of his day. He tackled some particularly thorny issues, and his ideas for change were recorded in 1517 through his Ninety-Five Theses. Because of his contrarian thinking, he was viewed as an outlaw, yet he is recognized for significantly impacting the course of Western civilization, encouraging others to share their doubts about the established church and to protest its ways.

The word that Luther’s contemporaries used to describe the endless and necessary process of change and growth is reformation. It is the core belief that all current thoughts, ideas, and actions are subject to be revisited, rethought, and reworked. Likewise, as a leader, you are called to the ongoing process of reforming the thoughts, ideas, and behaviors of your workplace culture regarding the state of employee engagement. Since, at our core, people remain virtually unchanged, perhaps it’s time to rethink the way your organization utilizes this vast and limitless power.

It’s important that those looking to you for leadership and direction believe you are in touch with their world. They want to be convinced you have a real sense of what they are experiencing and feeling. They need your awareness, followed up with meaningful and purposeful action that addresses their plight. A Chinese proverb says, “The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The next best time is today.” Now is your opportunity to spur on an engagement reformation within your workplace. The best time for you to begin this process—is today.

Leave your comments: How are you rethinking and reworking your organization’s culture to positively impact employee engagement?

“An up and coming force to be reckoned with,” that’s how I’d describe Brian Simpson. He’s a new member of both the National Speakers Association and the National Speakers Association Carolinas Chapter. I’m most excited about working beside Brian as one of our new board members. He describes himself as a lifelong learner who reads 2 books per week. He’s practiced this habit since attending a Zig Ziglar conference in Raleigh and hearing him say, “I read 3 hours a day, and if I can’t TEACH it, I don’t READ it.” As a result, Brian is an avid student in the areas of public speaking, the business of professional speaking/coaching/consulting, personal development and spirituality/meditation.

Brian’s background, and passion, is in communications. He graduated with honors from East Carolina University with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication and a concentration in Public Relations. His current job allows him to tap into his love for working as a public relations practitioner, speaker and media spokesperson.

Brian works with entrepreneurs helping them craft powerful presentations. His specialty involves using casual conversation as a way to extract humorous, educational and inspiring life and business stories for use in speaking engagements. He then helps these entrepreneurs with their speech outlines and scripts, critiques their presentations, and empowers them with technical speaking skills while retaining their own authentic voice and personality. Brian’s clients understand the importance of strategic communication and appreciate how he guides them to becoming clear, confident, and authentic communicators on stage, on camera and online.

Click here to visit Brian’s website.

“Nothing ever goes away until it has taught us what we need to know.” Pema Chodron

When I first opened the email I remember feeling confused, which was strange since it was from Tom Stratton. I’ve known Tom for over 10 years; he’s a good friend, a skilled communicator, and a long time subscriber to my blog. A recent posting (Make it Personal) resonated with his passion for improving relationships through effective communication and deeper understanding. Although it was common for Tom to forward blog postings along to his contact list, it was unusual to have this type of impact on me.

Tom often copies me in his emails when including my blog link. This particular time, he provided a brief bio so the recipients might have some insight about the author. Here’s what he wrote:

Dear Friends,
This is written by a friend we knew from a church in Greensboro. Janet and I attended his deceased wife’s memorial celebration a few weeks back. It was really inspiring. I wish we had met Ivy. Since we have known Rich he’s had a major career change, he and his first wife divorced, he started a business, he worked through parenting his teenage daughters, met and married Ivy and is now healing from her death… While his monthly e-letter is business oriented, you might enjoy subscribing.
Tom

As I read his description of the blog author, it seemed as if he was referring to someone else. I felt pity for that guy and all the challenges he had faced. It seemed like a tough and tragic life. Then it hit me like a stun gun…that’s me he’s talking about. That’s my life. Wholly crap!

You see, if you asked about my life, I’d tell you about my blessings. I’d talk about my two amazing daughters who’ve softened my heart and taught me priceless lessons. I’d surely mention the gift of waking up every morning and doing work that’s been placed within my heart alongside clients I love. I’d speak of the life changing insights I’d learned about myself from a marriage that ended after nineteen years. I’d share how life has taught me to open up and be vulnerable, provided me with the intimate and meaningful relationships I had always longed for. I’d surely mention my wife Ivy who died of breast cancer a mere four and a half years after we married. She created a safe place where I learned how to love a woman wholeheartedly. I might even talk about the house we bought together and how it’s become a sanctuary for me.

Can you see “ahaa” for me? The guy in Tom’s email and I are one. It’s not a tragic life at all—rather a blessed, robust, abundant, and engaging life. I can’t feel sorry for that guy. I know firsthand how full his existence really is. Life has been a wonderful teacher to me. I’ve been an attentive student. This is my experience. I’ve chosen to view it as an amazing journey and remain fully engaged. Ultimately, it’s meant to be lived and shared along side of you.

Leave your comment: How have your life experiences added depth and meaning for you?

I just completed a six week writing course at The Creative Center here in Greensboro, NC called: The Write Motivation. Our instructors were Chris Laney and Dena Harris. One of the books we often referred to was Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way. If you’ve ever felt like a writer, artist, or creative spirit was hiding within you, this book will help unleash it. One of my favorite quotes of all time comes from this book, “It is impossible to get better and look good at the same time.” Cameron gives you permission to bypass perfection in order to jumpstart your creativity. I used some of her techniques to begin journaling in an imperfect stream of consciousness format. That led me to blogging and eventually writing my, soon to be released, first book. Here’s to releasing your innate creative self.

Enjoy!

Hanesbrands Inc. gets it. Better people make a better organization. They’re committed to growing and developing their people. That’s why JD Spangler and David Richards created the HbI Sales & Marketing Learning Academy with an extensive selection of skill development opportunities for employees. Over two-hundred Sales and Marketing Professionals have spent 3 days honing their sales presentation and communication skills. This most recent group was sharp, courageous, creative, and articulate. Here are the learning objectives of our program, Results-Focused Presenting: The HBI Way:

• Develop powerful and engaging openings that capture the customer’s attention.
• Present compelling benefits that speak to the heart of the customer by making use of evidence through consumer insights.
• Utilize stories and intentional questions throughout the presentation to re-engage and interact with your customers.
• Deliver final closings that create clear and compelling action steps while securing customers commitment to move forward.

Utilizing the HbI Sales Presentation Model, participants worked on writing, illustrating, and delivering effective sales presentations that stimulated the intellect and inspired the hearts of their audience. Here are several major opportunities this group is seizing to be more successful:

• You are the presentation—anything else (PowerPoint, decks, etc) is merely support material.
• Focus on beginning and ending (open and close).
• Speak with power and authority.
• Create warmth: smile, questions, product, gestures.
• Utilize the power of pause.
• Practice = permanent habits.
• Ask and you shall receive (questions).

What an honor to work beside this group. They’re leading the way for Hanesbrands, Inc. to secure a bright and profitable future.

I had another opportunity to hang out with my speaker “family” at the National Speakers Association/Carolinas Chapter meeting in Charlotte; Lou Heckler, CSP, CPAE expert speaker and speaking coach, was our guest speaker. Lou has been making a living from words for more than 45 years…first as a broadcaster here in the Carolinas, and now as a keynoter and coach for other professional speakers. He has coached more than 250 National Speakers Association members, including our current national president and the next two in line! Lou guides his clients through the areas of material organization, storytelling, adding humor, and creating a more effective stage presence. We witnessed why readers of Meetings and Conventions Magazine last year ranked him as one of their favorite keynote speakers and why so many of our colleagues make the trip to Gainesville, Florida, to spend time with Lou. And, as they say in television: this just in — Starting February 3rd, Lou will be doing the closing essay every Friday night on the PBS television show, “Nightly Business Report.” Once again, the Carolinas Chapter has succeeded in bringing world class talent to help project our speaking business forward. What a great value!

Learn more about Lou by clicking here.

“If I cling to the notion that something’s not possible, I’m arguing in favor of limitations. And if I argue for my limitations, I get to keep them.” Gay Hendricks

It was 2006 when I wrote my first comprehensive vision statement encompassing seven key areas of my life. Under the heading Career, one sentence reads: The cornerstone of EXTRAordinary! Inc’s success is the deep and connected relationships I share with my clients and friends. There it was, clearly spelled out in Arial 12 font. On March 13th I found myself sitting in a restaurant experiencing the full impact of that vision. It was no longer simply an inspired document—it had manifest into a powerful reality.

Mary Cloninger, CMPE, is the Executive Director of Carolina Neurosurgery & Spine Associates. She’s a smart and engaging leader who became my client in early 2005. After the death of my wife, Ivy, Mary and a number of clients rallied around me in support. She sent an email asking if we could meet for lunch. Her office is in Charlotte and I imagined we’d meet there as we had in the past. Not this time. Mary insisted she drive to Greensboro to take me out.

In between bites of lunch we talked about work, daughters, her husband, and Ivy’s passing. Then it happened. With tears in her eyes, Mary began to tell me about the impact I had on her life both personally and professionally. She mentioned how often the E-couragement speaks to and inspires her. With a Cheshire like grin she said, “Rich, so often when I’m facing a challenging decision, I hear your voice in my head providing guidance and advice.” She sincerely thanked me for the work I’d done with her and her staff over the years. Receiving her affirmation caused tears to well up in my eyes.

Pulling away from our lunch, I couldn’t help but reflect on the meaningful and personal relationships I have with my clients. That’s when it hit me. When our belief is backed by conviction and action, vision is transformed into reality. Mary was demonstrating that the vision for deep and connected relationships with my clients was no longer a future desired state. It’s my current reality. Real and tangible. Here and now.

Having a vision for your future is one way to live in an engaged manner. What’s the vision you hold for your life? Is it clear and compelling? Write it down. Read it out loud. Tell others about it. Take small action steps that move you towards it. Then, watch in wonder as it transforms from vision into reality.

Leave your comments: Tell us a vision you currently have for your professional or personal life. 

It’s time to once again break from the tradition of recommending personal development reading and dig into a slightly different genre. In Blue Like Jazz, Don Miller offers us a thought provoking narrative of his personal spiritual journey. Written as a series of short essays on vaguely theological topics (faith, grace, belief, confession, church), and disguised theological topics (magic, romance, shifts, money). Miller is enjoyably clever, and his story is telling and beautiful, even poignant. The title is meant to be evocative. His subtitle, “Non-Religious” thoughts about “Christian Spirituality” indicates Miller’s distrust of the traditional institutional church and his desire to appeal to those experimenting with other flavors of spirituality.

Enjoy!

As the President Elect of the National Speakers Association Carolinas Chapter, I get to work beside amazing professionals; one of them is Cynthia L. Ackrill, MD. Cynthia is just plain cool; she brings quite a unique and thorough background to our board. Intrigued by the brain and the role of the mind in health and performance, Dr. Ackrill spent 10 years working with brain-mapping and biofeedback, applied neuroscience and mind-body science. She analyzed and developed human performance potential, using the latest science and technology to treat health and behavioral challenges. She studied the mechanisms of attention and energy regulation, emotional management, creativity, and peak potential possibilities—looking “under the hood” of our behaviors. Cynthia searches for answers to critical questions such as: What gives us access to our brilliance, our creativity, and our best selves? How do we work smarter?

Cynthia is digging deeper to understand more about the science of motivation and behavior change. Change is so very hard for an individual and even harder for an organization. Obviously, knowledge is not motivation—even in the face of cardiac surgery only 1 in 9 people manage to change their lifestyle habits! Look how many healthcare workers are obese. Yet businesses and change programs keep operating as if knowledge is the key. She sought out training in the emerging sciences of motivation, coaching and positive psychology, and became certified by Wellcoaches and Wellness Inventory. To bring this science to the leadership level, she attended the College of Executive Coaching and mentored in leadership development and organizational effectiveness with masters.

Today’s problems demand extraordinary leadership. And such leadership requires developing the best of human potential—physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Dr. Ackrill’s mission is to drive innovative change by applying science and wisdom to help extraordinary leaders develop the best of their abilities, ground in their values and purpose, and fine-tune their energy and motivation to serve with extraordinary effectiveness.

Click here to visit Cynthia’s website.

“What you say only has value when it’s relevant to your listener.” Rich Schlentz

Few things are more enjoyable than lunch conversations with old friends. I recently had one of those encounters with Allan Younger, a polished and articulate husband, dad, and businessman. Our thought provoking discussion eventually wove around to the art of selling (resist the urge to check out…you’re in sales). Allan then asked about the value of developing an elevator pitch. Whether you’ve expertly crafted your own elevator pitch (also referred to as an elevator speech) or you’re wondering what an elevator pitch is—this blog’s for you.

An elevator pitch is a long standing sales practice where a person quickly and concisely articulates their business and/or the products they sell. The hope is that by communicating this information within the time it takes for a brief elevator ride, someone becomes interested in you or your product, resulting in a business opportunity.

The issue with this process is that it travels against the fundamental concept of how we engage human beings. A more appropriate name for the elevator pitch would be elevator puke. Essentially that’s what happens. While holding a person captive, you puke your information all over them. Fortunately there is a better way to gain a person’s interest in you, your business, and your product.  

Here’s the age old secret of how others become interested in you. Stop talking. Well, that’s not completely true. First ask engaging questions and then listen intently. Simple and effective questions like:

• Tell me about the work you do…
• How did you happen to choose that line of work?
• What do you like most about it?
• What obstacles are you currently facing?

Ask these, or similar questions, and you’ll engage others by demonstrating a genuine interest in them. Armed with the responses gathered you can actually discuss your own business or products in a way that’s relevant to those you’re speaking with. Cease the elevator puke mentality. Instead, commit to the discipline of asking and listening. Then you’ll have something worthwhile to share with others.

Leave your comments: How have you successfully engaged potential customers in interesting conversation?