In This Issue: May 2006

We've just celebrated Victoria Day in Canada. It's nominally to celebrate Queen Victoria (and the current monarch's) birthday ... but really, for many Canadians, it's about starting the summer by "opening up the cottage."

It's made me think about what other areas in our lives could do with opening up, and in this month's article I'm looking at four ways you can explore some new boundaries.

Also in this issue:

• Roel Dixon-Mahatoo offers a different type of article – a short meditation on his recent trip to South Africa and Zambia, and his portfolio of stunning photographs
• Chris Barrow, the founder of three business schools, is writing about the nine key factors to building a successful team for small business owners.
• Get Unstuck & Get Going wins two Honourable Mentions at Book Expo America
• "What's going on?": Michael's speaking schedule
• StuckBuster-tastic

Introducing my guest writers

Every month in The Scribbler I feature two hand-selected articles from writers and thinkers I admire. You get a few paragraphs of each of my guest authors' articles, and the link if you'd like to read more.

Roel Dixon-Mahatoo is a friend and a man of many talents. He's chosen one of his passions to pursue as a career – that of photographer. Recently returned from Africa, he offers you something a little different from the usual article – his portfolio of fantastic photographs from the trip. It's also a way of raising money for the Stephen Lewis Foundation which assists AIDS victims in Africa – a gesture that's typical of Roel's generosity.

Chris Barrow is a role model for anyone who's running their own professional practice. He's thought longer and harder about what it takes to build a business than most, and specializes in two distinct niches: dentists and coaches. His article is on the nine " 'ates" of an outstanding team, nine behaviours that you must enact to create a team that hums.

Michael's quick scribble: What needs to open up?

It's (at last) Spring. Yesterday I was working on the 32nd floor of a hotel in downtown Toronto, and I had a panoramic view of the city awash with green.

It's not just the buds that get to unfurl. Here are five ways for you to expand – and some resources to help you do it.

1. Open up your body

If you want to change your thinking, change your physical state. As counter-intuitive as it might sound, I believe that your body leads your brain.

I recently came across Sean LeClaire's Body Centered Breaks. All you need is your computer and a willingness to stop typing for just two minutes.

2. Open up your mind

I've recently started to use magic to open some of my workshops. It's marvelous, because it's easy to do and the "wow" factor is fantastic.

Learn a magic trick – and help awaken a sense of wonder in grown-ups and children alike.

Here's a place to start – or better still find your local magic store and buy a couple of cheap and easy tricks.

3. Open up new connections

Stephen Covey talks about the difference between the stuff you can control and the stuff you can influence. Bottom line: you can control less than you think (pretty much just your own feelings and reactions) and you can influence more than you think (primarily through the relationship you've developed).

My personal mantra is that I'm looking for people who make me think and make me laugh. I figure if I have people like that in my life, good stuff will happen.

Who could you reach out to? Who could you collaborate with? Here's a fabulous example of collaboration, a book of art created by four artists, two in Brooklyn and two in Belfast.

4. Open up your sense of responsibility

It's easy to feel overwhelmed by the state of our world and either move to denial ("what global warming?") or despair ("we're all doomed, so what's the point?").

The good news is that the world is awash with people doing wonderful small and big things to make our world sustainable and just.

Check out the Idea Bank, an online resource of over 4000 projects that are underway. See what sparks your imagination. See where you want to join in.

"Out of Africa" by Roel Dixon-Mahatoo

Some people call Africa the cradle of humanity. Once you have experienced this continent, you will never forget it.

Our guide told us that Africa will steal your heart and then break it. HIV/AIDS is rampant with several countries having over 40 per cent of their population inflicted with this dreadful disease. AIDS related deaths orphan millions of African children each year. Reading statistics like this makes one want to cry – and try and help out somehow.

As a professional photographer, I offer these African images for you to enjoy – it is also my intent to assist AIDS victims in Africa. Therefore, half of the proceeds of all African image sales will be donated to the Stephen Lewis Foundation to assist AIDS victims in Africa.

You can see Roel's stunning images here.

Stuck Buster tastic

Know anyone who you'd like to tell "stop being busy!" ?

Got a client who could be reminded to "start getting rid of the crap!" ?

How about a friend who could do with knowing "start being intensely selfish!" ?

If you liked the Eight Irresistible Principles of Fun movie, you can now offer up its wisdom to friends and family, colleagues and clients in the StuckBusters, a set of funky note cards. You can see them all here.

Not just a beautifully designed greeting card, it also opens up to reveal the wisdom of the principle within.

"The 9 'ates of building a championship support team" by Chris Barrow

Well over 50% of the calls and emails I receive from clients are on the subject of "team" or "personnel" issues, from "How do I recruit the right people?" to "How do I stop them fighting each other?"

Over the years, I have recognised 9 key steps that seem to separate the winners and losers in the game of team building:

1. Eliminate, do not tolerate. Let's start with the most controversial issue. I often listen to principals rolling out a list of "offences" committed by a belligerent or miserable member of staff. Interestingly, we need to make a distinction here between issues of performance (is the technical job done correctly?) and behaviour (does this person treat others in a courteous way?).

Read the rest of "Eliminate" and the other eight 'ates here.

Get Unstuck & Get Going wins double Honourable Mention

Two separate organizations have awarded Get Unstuck & Get Going ... on the stuff that matters an Honourable Mention in their annual book awards.

ForeWord Magazine's Book of the Year Award recognized Get Unstuck in the Self-Help category.

Meantime, at the IPPYs we were recognized as one of the Ten Outstanding Books of the Year in the category of design.

(And if you'd like to see what the fuss is about, it's all here.)

What's going on?

I've just spent a busy couple of months speaking in the UK, New York and Connecticut. Coming up are Prague, Minneapolis and Portland – get all the details here.

For my Ontario readers, I'm excited to announce I'll be the guest lunchtime speaker at an all day training session on June 16 with Nicholas Boothman, author of How to Connect in Business in 90 Seconds or Less. Nick is fabulous and his material is excellent. You can find out more (including about an Outside the Lines reader discount) here.

My next open Get Unstuck & Get Going teleforum is on Wednesday June 21 at 2pm EST – you can register here.

As you might be able to guess, I love to speak or run workshops for groups! Read more about the keynote and workshop topics I offer in this PDF.

Michael Bungay Stanier helps people, teams and organizations to get unstuck and get going on the stuff that matters. He is the author of Get Unstuck & Get Going ...on the stuff that matters, a self-coaching tool endorsed by leaders in the coaching and training professions, and creator of The Eight Irresistible Principles of Fun, a Flash movie that's taken the internet by storm. He is the 2006 Canadian Coach of the Year. You can find out more at www.boxofcrayons.biz or you can contact him directly at michael@boxofcrayons.biz or +1 (416) 532-1322.

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