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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.
I first met Sean LeClaire when I came across
his concept of "Body
Centered Breaks."
As someone who spends too much time in his
own head, I'm a big fan of anyone who makes
it easier to connect to what's going on in
our bodies - they're more than just a transport
system for our brains! In his article, Sean
explores about what it means to be "lost
in the forest" - and how that's part
of the process of getting clear on what's
important.
Richard Winfield is the hub of the Brefi
Network,
a collection of consultants and trainers
from around the world. His own speciality
is as an NLP coach and consultant. He's one
of the best "systems thinkers" that
I know - and the art of scenario planning,
the topic of his article, is a powerful tool
that he's made accessible and useful.
Michael's
Quick Scribble: Three Times the Power of Three
Three is a mystical number. Many think it's the basis for some of the fundamental
organizing principles of life: the states of matter (solid, liquid, gas),
the structure of matter (proton, electron and neutron), Hegelian philosophy
(thesis, antithesis, synthesis), religion (ancient Sumerians, Hindus, Greeks,
Egyptians, Buddhists, Chinese, and Christians have all conceptualized deities
or cosmologies in terms of a trinity), time (past, present, future) and community
(I, you, them).
In mathematical terms, it's also one of the 23 Lucky
Numbers but not one of the Powerful
Numbers - who even knew that these terms had actual mathematical definitions?
So with all that said, here are three ways to use the power of three to
enhance the work you do.
1. Creativity engine
As a facilitator, I'm always very conscious of any group's energy. The success
of any meeting - above and beyond the agenda that's been set - often rests
on how well the energy of the group is managed. And one of the things that
can suck the energy out of the room faster than anything is everyone sitting
around a table in a big group for hours at an end, listening to someone up
the front.
To counteract that, I often break the group into smaller sub-groups - and
one of the most powerful structures is to use triads, or groups of three
A triad is particularly powerful as a format in which to have new ideas.
Three seems to be just large enough to get disparate points of view - but
not so large that you're fighting for airtime. It also means that leadership
for the group is shared - it's very hard for one person to dominate, or for
another person to "opt out".
2. "And what else?" x 3
As a coach, one of the most powerful questions I know is "... and what
else?"
I work on the theory that, often, the first thing that gets mentioned isn't
the real issue - or at least, isn't the whole picture. By asking "...
and what else" and by continuing to ask it until a particular vein of
inquiry feels "tapped out", you get to find out what's really going
on.
3. NLP points of view
I mentioned this process in the last newsletter - but it's so powerful that
it's worth repeating.
If you want to tell a more complete story, or just to better understand
a current situation, use this method from Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP).
NLP practitioners say that to fully understand a situation, you must view
it from three different perspectives. This is particularly useful if another
person is involved.
The first perspective is a familiar one, your own point of view. Take the
time to tease apart four different things:
- the data (what are the facts
and nothing but the facts)
- your judgements about the situation
- how you're feeling
- what you want
(Typically, we tend to blend together data with judgment [and give it all
the weight of Truth], we don't fully acknowledge our feelings, and we certainly
don't get clear on what we want!)
The second perspective is to view the situation from the other person's
point of view, to "walk in their shoes". (And as above, reflect
on what they might consider to be the facts, what judgements they might have,
how they might be feeling - and also, what they might want).
The final perspective is a systemic one. Imagine yourself floating over
the whole situation, viewing it from an objective and complete point of view.
What do you notice here? What's new?
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"Life Affirming Practices" by Sean LeClaire
It seems like every seven years or so, I reach a place in the forest
where I do not know which way to go. My mind scrambles
to find clues, as it begins frantically turning over rocks and inevitably
starts "whyning."
During these times, my feelings and thoughts are difficult to be with.
What was working; no longer works. And what I want becomes unclear. Unhappiness
and a growing sense of dissatisfaction replace the fleetness of foot with
which I normally saunter through the redwoods and high meadows. My mind
tells me that something is wrong. The truth is nothing is wrong-something
important is changing. And I do not know what it is. I tend to forget
that what I am meant to know will come to my awareness without any effort
on my part.
My ego or small self DOES NOT LIKE NOT KNOWING!
Read
more about getting lost - and then found - in the forest.
Market Place: "Meet the Masters of Marketing
Qi" Teleclass Series
If you run your own on-line business - or have aspirations to do so -
then you'll want to learn more about this teleclass series, featuring
me and a bunch of other smart folk.
My colleague, Ellen Brit, has assembled a stellar cast of "masters
of marketing qi" all of whom can and will give you great insights
about how to make sure the energy flows - and to grow a successful online
business
I personally know and admire most of these folk: Marcia Wieder * C.J.
Hayden * Chris Barrow * Andrea J. Lee * Kim George * Steve Davis * Milana
Leshinsky * Marcy Nelson-Garrison *Suzanne Falter-Barns * Ginger Cockerham
* Patsi Krakoff and Denise Wakeman - these are all wise and experienced
practitioners who I think are terrific.
You can
see who else is speaking here.
Each speaker will be covering a key issue, all of which can help contribute
to build your business. I personally will be sharing my viral marketing
secrets - secrets that have built my list to over 16,000 people from 130
countries in under a year.
Other topics include: *blogging for dollars * the best way to get clients
* how to get PR * creating a wildly successful product * how to build
your media platform * how to get JV partners * cold calling executives
* getting past gatekeepers * getting an avalanche of web traffic * leveraging
the power of groups
Not bad, eh? And that's only half the topics. Check out the additional
topics here.
So here are the details. This is a 12-week teleseminar series featuring
live in-depth conversations with some of this terrific group of people.
It begins Thursday, October 12th at 8PM Eastern (5PM Pacific).
Each of the speakers are mentioning this to their own list, so over 100,000
people will hear about it. So don't dilly-dally too long: seats are limited...
Not least because this teleseminar is free. Yep, free. That's pretty
cool.
Find out
the details here.
"Scenario planning for managers and coaches" by
Richard Winfield
Scenario planning provides an alternative model for coaching - providing
a powerful process for exploring reality before developing options and
making a decision. Although developed as a tool for organisations looking
forward maybe ten years, Brefi Group has adapted a South African system
so that it can be used in coaching.
The advantage of this simple model is that it can be done in just a few
minutes as a useful discipline before making a decision - as well as more
intensively during a workshop programme over several months.
Scenario planning is a structured process for exploring the future. It
is about what might happen, could happen. It is a study of how possible
influences on a system might evolve and what could be the impact of unexpected
developments.
The purpose of thinking about the future is not to predict it, but to
discover alternative outcomes and prepare for them. The future is complex;
it involves outcomes that are not intended and may be unexpected, as well
as those we plan for. However, many of the influences that will determine
the future are already evident.
Read
more about those influences - and "the mind of the fox" -
in the rest of the article in this PDF.
Cool resource: EPIC 2014
This is an amazing vision of the future of media.
Where's Google going? What's in store for Amazon? Where do we get our
news and information? What's the future for mainstream media? And why
does that matter?
This short piece will get your brain rolling around - as fascinating
as it is slightly worrying.
(If the link is no longer working, just Google "google epic" and
you'll find other sites)
What's
Going On?
I've had a rush of media coverage over the last couple of months. You
can see an article
about my executive coaching here
and me looking terribly keen and earnest about Get Unstuck & Get Going
on Breakfast
Television here.
October and November are busy months in my public speaking schedule.
I'm speaking in Calgary, Toronto, Michigan, St Louis and
Vancouver. See
exactly where here.
My next open Get Unstuck & Get Going teleforum is on Wednesday,
October 18 at 2pm EST - you
can register here.
As you might be able to guess, I love to speak and run workshops or teleforums
for groups! Read more about the keynote
and workshop topics I offer in this PDF.
Michael
Bungay Stanier
is the Principal of Box of Crayons, a company that works
with organizations, teams and individuals to help them
move from doing Good Work to doing Great Work. 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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