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In This Issue: July 12, 2007
- Last week Outside the Lines was honoured by Peer Resources as “best coaching newsletter produced by individual coaches” (tied for first). Hurrah! To celebrate – and for some other more practical reason I mention below – I’m highlighting three of my favourite articles from the last three years The Best of Outside the Lines
- Market Place Product of the Month: The best resources I know for coaches, consultants, trainers and entrepreneurs
 Warm wishes,
Michael Bungay Stanier
Principal, Box of Crayons
PS - Know anyone who's got a taste for the best? Please forward Outside the Lines to anyone you think might be interested.
PPS - I'd encourage anyone involved in coaching or mentoring to sign up for the Peer Resources newsletter, The Coaching News. Rey Carr does an outstanding job at overseeing and reviewing what’s happening in the world of coaching (which makes the recognition for Outside the Lines even sweeter).
The Best of Outside the Lines
We’re moving.
Not in a “how touching” sort of way, but in a pack everything up in boxes and turn the office into chaos sort of way.
And last week we celebrated Box of Crayons 5th Birthday with a party here in Toronto
And any time now,
we’re launching
The 5 3/4 Questions
You’ve Been
Avoiding...
All of which means it’s the perfect time to share with you my favourite articles from earlier Outside the Lines.
1. What don't you know?
We don't really know what's going on. We're very visual creatures, and although this seems to be a great measure for what is and what isn't - "I'll believe it when I see it" - we should consider this:
We can't see (and don't know) what makes up most of the universe
We can't see most of life on our planet
We can't trust much of what's in our mind
We can't see much of what drives our behaviour
Feeling dizzy yet? Let me quickly take you through the four points above…
You can read the rest of this article from August 2005 here
2. I've Got Your Number
I love number jokes.
"Five out of four people are bad with fractions" is one of them.
So is "There are three types of people in the world: Those that can count... and those that can't."
I've just started working with someone to help me better understand the world of the internet - and one of the things he's most interested in are "my numbers".
As well as subscriber numbers, customer spend, and newsletter opening rates, it's got me thinking about other number in my life.
Here are some of my favourite numbers - and some provocative questions to get you thinking about yours.
You can read the rest of this article from February 2007 here
3. Undercover Change
In the 1990s, Jerry Sternin was invited by the Vietnamese government to come and battle infant malnutrition. It was a tough task made near impossible by the time frame given: six months. That meant that the traditional systemic approaches to change – fixing water supplies, sanitation, and food distribution patterns – didn't have a chance.
Sternin's approach was based on the observation that in every group there are a minority of people who find better and more successful solutions to the challenges at hand. These are the positive deviants, and even though they have access to exactly the same resources as the rest of the group, their uncommon practices or behaviors allow them to flourish.
A metaphor that sums up the insight behind the Positive Deviance approach is that of the human immune system. Like the immune system, individuals and institutions reject what is perceived as "foreign matter". Strategies for change that are externally generated rather than "invented from within" fail to take hold.
The positive deviant approach builds the solution from…
You can read the rest of this article from June 2005 here
4. And finally…
The last two newsletters on The Incomplete Manifesto and The 7 Sources of Joy have generated the most response from readers. Feel free to check them out too.
You can see the full archive of newsletters here
Don't take my word for it
Smart folks thinking out loud about what makes something "the best":
"The best way to predict the future is to invent it"
-Alan Kay, American computer scientist
"The best is the enemy of the good"
-Voltaire, French philosopher
"Just go out there and do what you have to do"
-Martina Navratilova, Czech tennis player
"The best work is not what is most difficult for you; it is what you do best"
-Jean-Paul Sartre, French writer
"The best things and best people rise out of their separateness; I'm against a homogenized society because I want the cream to rise."
-Robert Frost, American poet
"I always prefer to believe the best of everybody - it saves so much trouble."
-Rudyard Kipling, English writer
Want to learn more? Here are some useful resources
You can find out more about the best books on my Bookshelf here
Market Place Product of the Month
If you're a coach, consultant or trainer - and especially if you run your own business - then you know there's an overwhelming amount of "stuff" out there be marketed to you.
Over the last number of years I've been exposed to hundred of different books, products and services geared to help support coaches be successful - and I'm sceptical of much of it.
There are some gems out there, whether you're looking for:
- Ways to promote, market and sell your product, service or self in a way that doesn't feel manipulative or sleazy
- Products to add to your portfolio that are of the highest quality
- Systems to help run your business in an efficient way
I've now collected the ones I like in a single place - my "Michael Recommends" page.
You can see what I think is excellent here.
Got It Going On: Michael's Speaking Gigs
I'm currently finalizing my schedule for speaking in organizations and at conferences in the second half of the year and I'm looking for some great places to come and speak.
Could I be of service to your organization? If you know someone who's responsible for booking speakers or organizing conferences, please send them my information.
In the next couple of months...
I'm taking a break for my public schedule - things will start up again in September. You can always see what's going on.
About Michael
Michael Bungay Stanier is the guy behind The Possibility Virus, an organization that provides products and services so people can have lives of fun, inspiration and action.
To learn more about his corporate offerings, see BoxOfCrayons.biz
You can find out more by contacting Michael directly at michael@boxofcrayons.biz or +1 (416) 532-1322.
Subscribe - To subscribe to Outside the Lines click here or go to PossibilityVirus.com.
Reprint - I'd be delighted if you should wish to reprint (for free) any part of Outside the Lines in your newsletters, websites, and message boards. Simply include the following attribution:
Michael Bungay Stanier is a professional keynote speaker, the author of the best selling coaching tool, Get Unstuck & Get Going ...on the stuff that matters (www.getunstuckandgetgoing.com) and the creator of Eight Irresistible Principles of Fun (www.EightPrinciples.com). A certified coach and Rhodes Scholar, he works with teams and organizations to help them do less Good Work and more Great Work.
Schedule - Outside the Lines is distributed on the 2nd and 4th Thursday of every month. Your contact information is never traded, never rented, never sold.
I send out an extra email one to three times a month detailing programs and offers.
©Box of Crayons 2007. Box of Crayons is a registered trading name of Maida CC Inc.
*Outside the Lines is read in at least 166 countries:
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Did I miss your country? Let me know!
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