Horizon Point Consulting

Category: Beyond Work

Beyond Work is our line of resources for people and community leaders looking for something new and innovative outside, be it a new job, career change, or personal development outside of work.

  • Birthing Babies & Businesses

    Birthing Babies & Businesses

    I seem to have a knack for birthing babies and businesses at the same time.  Blaming the hormones as a cause of a healthy dose of insanity, I launched my first business almost nine years ago when my now nine-year-old son was a newborn. 

    Our second child, a girl, came three years behind her brother. She was a well thought out and planned decision.  Her current personality actually reflects this truth. No businesses were birthed during her arrival but taking a leap to go beyond myself and out of the desire to integrate home and work in a way that was meaningful and purposeful for me, I hired my first employee when she was a newborn. 

    Fast-forward several years later, and my husband had convinced me we were done with babies.   We had two children, a boy and a girl, two thriving careers, a home, and a dog. What more could we need?  But, of course, my heart was telling me something, and after much prodding, my husband got on board as well.  I wrote about this decision in a blog post about Using Your Heart Not Your Head. 

    Our third child arrived almost to the minute of when our son started third grade and our daughter started kindergarten.  Not what I had planned. He was to stay in place until after I walked my ‘baby” who would no longer be the baby, into her first day of real school. 

    For the well planned out people we thought we were, this third child a boy, and the events so far of 2020, has proven to show us that sometimes planning is actually the worst thing you can do.  It impedes risks and can lead us to over rationalize, keeping us from making decisions and steps forward especially ones that come from the heart. 

    Of course, with this child being a boy, birthing a business had to come along with him. The new business was formally incorporated not a week after I found out I was pregnant with him, and we have spent much of 2020 albeit remotely, breathing life into the idea and goals of this new venture.  We would launch into a plan, then stop and change course more times than I can count in response to the ever-changing world and challenges around us. 

    Our new “baby”, MatchFIT, takes me down a different path than the first one.  This one requires even more risks than the first to be able to capitalize on the need to scale and scale quickly and to bring a team together at a faster pace than one every two to three years.  Just like the third child brings about more challenges than just the one. We are playing zone defense now, not man to man.  Of course, the business launch has hit a time when our product, a hiring tool, seems to be unnecessary when most businesses aren’t hiring.  

    Should we just quit? I’ve thought that more times than I can count. But our heart has told us to keep moving forward because we are passionate about our purpose. 

    Our need for moving forward sent us down a path of applying for Alabama Launchpad for seed funding. We made it to the finals last week and pitched our idea to the judges and then live through a social media streamed event.  It was a risk, and we lost.  

    As my husband said, we literally lost to sh*t, as the winner was a compost company.  The people running the venture we lost to were far from sh*t, though.  They seemed to be genuinely nice guys with a passion and heart for their business idea.  It was almost impossible not to be happy for them. 

    At the heart of this business and its start-up are the core values of innovation and creativity. We help organizations and job seekers also define their core values and find opportunities and relationships that allow for workplace engagement to take shape. 

    I find myself engaging in the best of myself when I live out innovation and creativity, even though it forces more risk-taking, especially because it requires more risk-taking.  And with risk-taking also comes the risk of embarrassment –  of literally losing to sh*t, live and publicly. 

    Just like the decision to have our third child, applying for Launchpad and pursuing a business venture amidst a global pandemic and global unrest seems to be a huge risk. 

    But what often seems counterintuitive from the outside looking in is usually an active process that is occurring from the inside out. One that is a step out in faith. One governed by living out the values that make us and businesses unique and allow us each to thrive. 

    More often than not, these steps out in faith lead to more joy than each of us can possibly contain.  The joy our third son brings to our lives is contagious, and the joy I felt despite the loss via Launchpad, in innovating and creating in a collaborative way with my business partner and the team at MatchFIT is full of joy in the journey. 

    I told the team we’d lick our wounds of loss over the weekend and then rise this week having learned and grown, thankful for the experience and exposure Alabama Launchpad has given us.  But most especially, for the opportunity to live out our workplace values in the process, and to be a business that helps others discover workplace relationships that do the same. 

     

    Do your organization and your life decisions allow you to live out your values?

  • 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?