Horizon Point Consulting

Author: Mary Ila Ward

  • 3 Ways to Go Upstream

    3 Ways to Go Upstream

    “What the world needs now is a quieter breed of hero, one actively fighting for a world in which rescues are no longer required. How many problems in our lives and society are we tolerating simply because we have forgotten we can fix them?” Dan Heath- Upstream

    I just finished one of the most thought-provoking books I’ve read in a long time.  But what made the book great was that it took the thought-provoking a step further and provided some keen insights and tools about acting on the information.   Upstream: The Quest to Solve Problems Before They Happen, by Dan Heath is worth the read. 

    As the subtitle implies, the premise of the book is that we spend so much time and resources on downstream issues.  It provokes a focus on the upstream to fix things before they happen.  How can we stop firefighting and be proactive? And how far upstream can we go? 

    The three key takeaways in the book to focus upstream are: 

    1. “Be impatient for action but patient for outcomes.”  Quoting Maureen Bisognano,  Heath says, “Change won’t come without action.”  And it also won’t come without patient diligence. 

    2. “Macro starts with micro.”  The key takeaway here is that you can’t fix big problems without getting close to them. “You can’t help a thousand people, or a million until you understand how to help one.”  You have to name the person(s) and the problem by getting “proximate”. 

    3. “Favor scoreboards over pills.” “The problem comes when the obsession with testing becomes a hindrance to scale and learning.”  You’ve got to be able to pivot once your impatient actions and microfocus tell you that a different direction is needed to get the outcomes and macro picture desired.   Ask yourself, “How can we make progress this week?” “Take ownership of the problem and start slogging forward.” 

    The downstream problem I deal with the most in the work we do is workplace disengagement. Gallup estimates that the cost of disengagement in the U.S. is $450-550 billion per year.  The cost comes in many forms, such as turnover and loss of productivity, but this figure only quantifies the cost to business. It does not quantify the cost to individuals experiencing a misalignment in their job and/or organizational choices.  

    Can you name someone (getting proximate) that has suffered the negative effects of hating what they do and where they do it?  You may be able to name yourself.   And if you can name someone or yourself, you know what negative effects come by working for the wrong organization because of workplace misalignment. 

    We are working now through impatient action and scorecards, not pills to help tackle the disengagement problem with MatchFIT.  In seeking to help individuals and organizations find the right fit, we are workplace matchmakers.   We start upstream at the beginning of the hiring process, and our goal is to make the workplace better through meaningful employment relationships. 

    We will be pitching our idea on Thursday, June 11th via the Alabama Launchpad competition. You can join us on Alabama Launchpad and EDPA’s (the host of the program) website and social channels to learn more about the details of our upstream effort.  The event starts at 6:00 pm and we are scheduled to pitch at 6:40 pm.

    What problem are you trying to tackle upstream? 

  • Do Only the Really Smart (or Stupid) Fly Without PowerPoint?

    Do Only the Really Smart (or Stupid) Fly Without PowerPoint?

    When I get ready for a training or a speech, the first thing I do is outline content in PowerPoint slides.  It helps me frame my thoughts and gauge for flow of material.  Then I go back and provide content for a supporting document like a handout.  And I’m lucky, I hand it off to someone else to make it all look pretty, cohesive, and professional before it ever goes live. 

    I’m working on a pitch now for some seed funding, and my first thought is how do I organize the pitch through PowerPoint slides.  The information on guidelines for the pitch session even specifically references using “supporting slides.” 

    PowerPoint seems to be the default when we want to present ideas to a group.  Whether there are words on a slide or just graphics, it seems to be the way everyone thinks when it comes to sharing ideas. Even the more innovative talk formats like Ted and Ignite talks almost always use slides.  I’ve written some do’s and don’ts based on experience for creating a winning presentation, but what if we ditched the slides all together in favor of another way? 

    It’s well known that Jeff Bezos at Amazon called for just that in 2004.  He deemed presentation slides out and narrative text in.  Why? From his email announcing this: 

    “A little more to help with the questions ‘why.’

    Well structured, narrative text is what we’re after rather than just text. If someone builds a list of bullet points in Word, that would be just as bad as PowerPoint. 

    The reason writing a good 4-page memo is harder than ‘writing’ a 20-page PowerPoint is because the narrative structure of a good memo forces better thought and better understanding of what’s most important than what, and how things are related. 

    PowerPoint-style presentations somehow give permission to gloss over ideas, flatten out any sense of relative importance, and ignore the interconnectedness of ideas.” 

    He went on to say at another time: 

    “Great memos are written and re-written, shared with colleagues who are asked to improve the work, set aside for a couple of days, and then edited again with a fresh mind.  They simply can’t be done in a day or two.” 

    To summarize, Bezo (and I would agree) believes that this version of presentation style: 

    • Increases thinking and clarity of thought
    • Increases collaboration
    • Requires and builds patience

    All this leads to better communication. 

    Great narrative written format, like someone who can fly without PowerPoint in a pitch or presentation and opts only for narrative verbal prose to make a lasting point(s), is hard.  It’s really hard.   

    I think Bezos also would say, ditching the PowerPoint helps me see who is smart, really smart.  And also, a really hard worker. 

    So, if you are going to fly without the slides, you need to be a very good storyteller in written and/or verbal prose and know if your audience is geared well towards the shell shock of another format.  Amazon created an environment where no PowerPoint was the norm. Almost everywhere else this isn’t.  

    So, should I fly solo with no PowerPoint in my pitch in June? You tell me.  Could it show that I am smart, hardworking and different or will I crash and burn given that the instructions for format already tell me my audience is expecting slides?  

    Am I smart or just plain stupid ditching PowerPoint? 

     

    Like this post, you may also like:

    The Most Popular Slide in All My Leadership Trainings

    7 Pieces of Advice for Becoming a Great Speaker

    3 Ways to Create Insights for Learning

    Why? Again.

  • The Most Popular Slide in All My Leadership Trainings

    The Most Popular Slide in All My Leadership Trainings

    I often glance at what people take note of when they are a part of one of our training sessions.  Not the notes or handout questions we make them fill in, but the notes where they turn over to a blank handout page or pull out their own notebook and jot things down.  The notes people take because they want to make sure they remember something.

    The times when people say, “Can you go back to that slide for a minute please?” And then they start furiously writing.

    We also get feedback from all participants at the end of each session in order to see how the training will affect their behaviors at work going forward. What will they do differently we ask? What will they use?

    After gathering this feedback and paying attention to what people take note of, I think this slide is the most meaningful slide in all of our trainings:

    I think this slide is even more meaningful given our current situation with the COVID-19 crisis.   I’ll be covering this slide as well as others and the tools that go along with it in a webinar: Leading in Crisis hosted by our friends at the Huntsville Madison County Chamber tomorrow, Wednesday, May 6th from 9 am- 11 am.

    Click here to register. Click here to download the handout for the webinar. It has tools that go along with this information.

    I hope you can join us as we learn more about leading in crisis, especially through employing the bright spot philosophy and the accomplishment list.

    What do you to help you lead in crisis?  What has been the best training takeaway you’ve experienced?

     

  • DWYSYWD- Lessons from the Elementary School Guidance Counselor

    DWYSYWD- Lessons from the Elementary School Guidance Counselor

    One of the first things we teach in our personal leadership course is the concept of DWYSYWD- Do What You Say You Will Do.   It involves committing to what you can do, or as Covey would put it, committing to your circle of influence and focusing on being accountable with what you can do instead of worrying about things that you cannot do something about.  For example, I cannot do anything about whether or not a stay at home order is extended or relaxed this week in my state, but I can wash my hands, not touch my face, and wear a mask when appropriate to help stop the spread of the virus. 

    As Covey states, this then allows us to be better leaders by helping our circle of influence grow. If my kids watch me wash my hands regularly, then maybe they will too.  If we can’t influence our own behavior, then how can we expect to influence the behavior of others? 

    During times of uncertainty like we are in now, it is easy to de-commit to anything and to not hold ourselves and others accountable.  

    I’m thankful for the staff at my son’s school for creating routines in their work and for guidance counselors like Jan Mendenhall who send out notes of encouragement, linking the current situation to leadership lessons for my children.  This helps them (and me) stay committed during uncertain times. 

    Here’s her note to the students from last week.  I hope it brings you the perspective and motivation to DWYSYWD this week to better lead yourself and others.  And to hit the reset button if you need to. 

     

     

    Wednesday, April 22, 20/20

    Week 3 of Virtual Leon

    Do you all remember way, way, way back in August when we were actually all in the school building together and were able to have conversations in person? We talked about goals and accountability, which means we should do what we say we’re going to do. I’ll be honest with you all: Last week I did better with my attitude, and it helped to daily write down three positive things. I tried to complete my daily to-do list, but I was beyond pathetic with my physical fitness goals. I didn’t do what I said I was going to do. Guess what? I hit the reset button Monday and have been much better about walking, exercising, and riding my bike – even when I’d rather lounge around, play Spider Solitaire, and eat donuts! What do you need to do better on? Be accountable to yourself, and ask someone at your house to hold you to it. One of my favorite authors is coming out with a new book next week, and that – not a donut! – is going to be my reward IF I DO WHAT I SAID I WAS GOING TO DO! Stay tuned for next week’s email because there may be a really cool prize involved! Until then, take care. Wash your hands. Be safe. Be well. Choose kind. Love you!

     

    What is one thing this week you can do to follow through on DWYSYWD? 

     

  • 3 Tips for Surviving the Rollercoaster of COVID-19

    3 Tips for Surviving the Rollercoaster of COVID-19

    Feel like you’re on a rollercoaster of emotions these days?  Yep, me too.  

    When we are living out a well-ordered life full of routines, adjusting to a life that has no or new routines can be a challenge.  And living on top of our family members day in and day out with little to no break isn’t a walk in the park either. The newness of it can bring some enjoyment and much needed time to just be, then the next minute the newness can make you totally want to lose your ever-loving mind.  

    For example, one day last week, I was riding a high, sitting in a comfy chair with a lovely view, reading a book while the baby napped on my chest and my older kids were playing outside.  The unique situation of having nowhere to be and the opportunity to read a book in the middle of a random Thursday was ideal. Five minutes later, my kids come running in screaming because one has dumped water all over the other one. They’d had just a little too much togetherness.  I get onto the one that has been mean, and he smarts his mouth off to me, and I totally lose it. A transition from sheer joy to sheer anger all in about sixty seconds. 

    And work is no different from home when it comes to the see-saw of highs and lows. One minute I’m excited that our PPP loan is funded. Not five minutes later I’m dealing with the emotions from a long-time client wanting to cancel their contract with us due to the current situation.

    My example pales in comparison to the highs and lows that front line healthcare and other works are dealing with.  The emotion of seeing a patient go home after four weeks on a ventilator to then go back into the ICU and lose a patient to the virus all in the same day is the real rollercoaster of these times. 

    So how do we navigate the rollercoaster of emotions at home and at work? And as leaders, how do we help others do the same?  I think a video of my kids riding down a hill on their bikes for the first time is a metaphor for how we survive this all: 

    1. Recognize and acknowledge the emotions you are feeling.  Name them and help others do the same.  As you can see in the video, the cream of our cookie, our middle child, takes off down the hill with no fear.  As her older brother waits his turn at the top he says, “I’m scared of that hill.” As crazy as it sounds, him just verbalizing this (which is hard for him to do) I believe was the step he needed to actually push off and go.   

    I am scared, I am angry, I am happy.  I am all of these things at once. Asking people around you about how they are feeling and allowing them to verbalize their emotions to you can be the best leadership step in helping them tackle the hill.  Being vulnerable enough to express the emotions you yourself are feeling to others also sets a strong example and helps you work through being able to push off and go do the next right thing. 

    2. Peddle fast to capitalize on the momentum of the hill.   I don’t know about you, but when I was young and would ride up and down hills, I’d coast down and enjoy the ride.  Thinking consciously or not I’d conserve my energy; I’d take a break from peddling. Which made it all the harder to get up the other side.

    As you can see, my two take the exact opposite approach.  They are peddling their hearts out down the hill. When things look easy, or when emotions are positive and exhilarating, it’s time to peddle faster to prepare you for when things get hard.   

    If you’re on the high side of the rollercoaster, write a positive note of encouragement to someone, do something you truly enjoy, write down what you’re grateful for, celebrate.  This will help provide the momentum needed to get up steep climbs of negative emotions and difficult situations that will come your way.

    3. Recognize that we all deal with different situations and different points of the rollercoaster differently; don’t judge or condemn others or yourself for this.  The middle child had no fear getting started down the hill but listen to her scream as her brother is headed down the hill.  She’s screaming (and you’ll be able to see her if you look) because she was about halfway up the other side of the hill when she fell on her bike because she didn’t have the stamina to get up the other side. No fear going down, all screams going up.  Her brother was the opposite. He was scared to go down but had the stamina to make it up the other side. 

    For too many reasons to count (both nature and nurture related) people deal with the exact same situations differently.  And from one day to the next a single person may react totally differently to the same thing on a Tuesday than they did on a Sunday.   Don’t be surprised by this and help people where they lack the courage to go down the hill or the stamina to get back up the other side.  Help yourself too by not beating yourself up when this happens. 

    After about a week of tackling the hill, our middle gained the stamina to get all the way up on the other side.  She did because we offered her grace when she couldn’t at first by carrying her bike up to the top for her, then teaching her strategies to keep her momentum going, then offering her big words of encouragement as she was in the midst of getting to the top on her own. 

     

    Tackling the peaks and valleys of the current situation with grace is the best we can ask of ourselves and of others.  When we acknowledge our emotions and those of others and help each other through the ups and downs, we walk away a little stronger, with a little more stamina to tackle the next set of peaks and valleys that will certainly come our way. 

    How do you navigate the rollercoasters?