Life After PowerPoint!

I always enjoy John Maxwell’s books. I’ve especially enjoyed reading and rereading The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership and 25 Ways to Win with People.

John teaches both life and leadership lessons that he’s learned from his decades of church ministry and from his work with Fortune 500 companies. I find his books to be brimming over with pithy advice, real-life examples, and encouragement.

So I was happy to come up on his latest book: Everyone Communicates, Few Connect: What the Most Effective People Do Differently.

It’s hardback, 262 pages, with a table of contents and endnotes (but no index). Chapters are 20 to 30 pages long, and they always conclude with specific suggestions for applying the lessons of the chapter in three different ways: 1) connecting one-on-one, 2) connecting in a group, and 3) connecting with an audience. Something is new in the book — at least I don’t remember seeing in his other books — Maxwell includes stories and insights from people who read parts of the book on his blog. Their comments keep the book well grounded in the day-to-day world of work. There are, as always, lots of questions for self-reflection and lots of great quotes.

Maxwell defines connecting as “the ability to identify with people and relate to them in a way that increases your influence with them.”

The book is divided into two sections:

1. Connecting Principles
   Connecting Increases Your Influence in Every Situation
   Connecting Is All About Others
   Connecting Goes Beyond Words
   Connecting Always Requires Energy
   Connecting Is More Skill Than Natural Talent, and
2. Connecting Practices
   Connectors Connect on Common Ground
   Connectors Do the Difficult Work of Keeping It Simple
   Connectors Create an Experience Everyone Enjoys
   Connectors Inspire People
   Connectors Live What They Communicate

There’s so much to ponder in this book. I couldn’t possibly list all of the things I like about it. So, instead, let me just comment on part of one chapter, “Connectors Connect on Common Ground,” that I found so insightful. After listing four barriers to finding common ground (making assumptions, arrogance, indifference, and control), Maxwell then reflects on ways to cultivate what he calls a “common ground mind-set.”

He describes eight of those mind-sets: making yourself available, listening, asking questions, being thoughtful, being open, being liable, being humble, and being adaptable. (It’s like Maxwell to list twice as many positives — eight connecting mind-sets — as negatives — four barriers.)

The three pages he devotes to humility are, themselves, worth the price of the book. He disputes the common assumption that humility means thinking poorly of yourself. He quotes Alan Ross’s definition in its place: “Humility means knowing and using your strength for the benefit of others, on behalf of a higher purpose.” He then tells of a time when he was speaking at a conference where other speakers bombarded the audiences with their own success stories. (Professional speakers are all too apt to do that, unfortunately.) He decided, instead, to share his failures and blunders as a leader. And by doing so he forged common ground with his audience and, I’m sure, gave them much more to think about than all the other speakers did. He concludes the brief section with four pieces of advice for putting his ideas about humility into action.

That section is representative of the rest of the book: clear and specific advice, real-life examples, and practical applications.

I highly recommend Everyone Communicates, Few Connect. Check it out and let me know what you think.

I’m a big fan of framing many technical presentations in a Problem – Solution format. You lay out a problem, analyze it, propose one or more solutions, discuss their pros and cons, and make a recommendation.

Of course, in real life problems are often complicated and messy and solutions are harder to come by. (Just ask the people at BP.)

When I’m called in to work with a team that is confronted with a serious problem, here’s a list of questions I draw from. Not all of them are applicable to all situations, mind you, but I like having them to prompt discussions:

1. Is it a problem, a situation, or a condition? A threat or an opportunity?
2. What is the problem? What is the nature of the problem? Does it involve people, processes, systems, technology, or tools? Is it acute or chronic? Isolated or systemic?
3. What do we know about the problem? What else do we need to know? What questions do we need to ask? How are we going to get the information we need? Who has the knowledge, skill, or experience to help address the problem?
4. When did the problem begin? How did it develop?
5. Who is most affected by the problem? Who has the most at stake? Who is responsible for resolving the problem?
6. What values, ethical considerations, laws, regulations, or relationships are at stake?
7. Where (in what physical location, system, department) did the problem begin? Where does it currently exist?
8. What is the cause or the source of the problem?
9. What problems (pain) does the problem cause?
10. How has the problem been addressed in the past? What was done, by whom, when, and to what effect?
    What is the probability of the problem resolving itself?
11. How much cost-in money, time, labor-will be incurred if the problem is left alone?
12. What solutions have the greatest probability of success? What are the pros and cons of each one? Which one do you recommend? What does your gut tell you to do?
13. Do the proposed solutions address the problem or the pain?
14. How much will each proposed solution cost-in money, time, labor-to implement?
    What risks are involved? What will happen if 1) we do nothing or 2) take this proposed action? What can go wrong? How will people-employees, customers/clients, the public, the competition-react? How probable and how serious are those risks? What can be done to mitigate them?
15. What are the benefits of the proposed solution? How can this problem be turned to an advantage?
16. What happens next? How long will it take to implement the solution and what is the timeframe?

Do you have any questions to add to my list? Which ones do you think are most important? Would you change any?

Here’s a thoughtful and well-illustrated presentation about motivation.

It debunks the myth that rewarding people for behavior that you want and punishing them for behavior that you don’t want gets you more of what you want. In place of the carrot and a stick approach to motivation, Dan Pink talks about the importance of appealing to people’s need for autonomy, mastery, and purpose.

I really like what he has to say. What do you think? And what do you think of the illustration?

I think a rant is a great type of a speech, when done properly. It takes a strong point of view — in this case against two misuses of the English language (“I could care less” and “holding down the fort”) — and pounds it home with intelligence and wit.

Do you know any examples of rants worth sharing?