Entries from September 2009 ↓

I have been in admiration with Disney ever since the first time I set foot on Disney Land in California in the very early 80’s. The quality of service and the settings of the place were absolutely stunning. In terms of entertainment nothing in the world can match Disney.

I came to know a fairly bit of the mode of operation of Disney when I attended a training seminar with Ansett Airlines of Australia in the early 90’s. The training was given by a subsidiary company of Disney, specialised in the concept of Fun Learning.

Down in Melbourne where Ansett was headquartered, the whole world wide organisation went through a 2 day program to know better Ansett and more importantly to understand the concept of team work within Ansett. It was just before the company went on a public listing on the stock market. The training company commissioned a theatre for six months and set up the place to give you the feeling of a Fun as if you were at a Disney entertainment park where we all had fun whilst learning. I was really amazed with the lessons I learnt whilst enjoying with fun and laughter…

I recall very clearly as I was impressed. To show us the need to play in tune with the organisation, we were assembled in the theatre and each of us was assigned a musical instrument:

1. An analogy to the company where each individual has a specific role as in an orchestra.

2. Each role has to be played to the best of our capability whilst respecting the music score.

3. To perform the best music, in respecting the beat, timing, volume, intensity etc.

4. Each musician whilst playing his own score has to be aware of the harmony of the orchestra.

Reading the profile of Lenn Millbower, today I can only suspect that he was involved with setting up similar learning seminars.

Lenn Millbower has coined his present business after working for years with Disney: Learnertaiment.

From Disney training leader to published author, from musician-magician to college professor, Lenn’s lauded Learnertainment® techniques have taught more than 1 million business leaders, trainers, educators and presenters how to keep their audience ‘awake so their message can take’.

Using the secrets of show biz, Lenn’s interactive brain-based entertainment-fused learning events, e training coaching system, open enrollment workshops, and keynote presentations Lenn can help you and your organization deliver the interactivity your audience wants and the results your organization needs.

His published works – including the CLOUT Creator Inventory©, Show Biz Training and Training With A Beat – have been used by instructional designers, trainers, educators, and speakers throughout the world to design and deliver five-star Oscar worthy learning programs.

On the other hand the creativity of Walt Disney himself is awesome. In NLP we have a special chapter where we study the creativity strategy of Walt Disney.

Frequent professional speaker at ASTD ICE, NSA, MPI, IAL, and other national events; workshop leader for Offbeat Training seminars including the Learnertainment® Skills Development Lab, From Out to CLOUTâ„¢, Learning With A Beatâ„¢, That’s Learnertainmentâ„¢, Razzle Dazzle Designâ„¢, Cultivate Your Creativity, and Business Brainstormâ„¢; and author of The CLOUT Creator Inventory©, Training With A Beat, Show Biz Training, Cartoons for Training, Game Show Themes for Trainers.

Last week I was having some serious talks with a friend about the future of Mauritius. Do we in Mauritius have a long term plan or a road map we are following? I for one have heard nothing on this score and my friend who is an economist said the same to me.

Are we on a ship heading the nowhere destination? Is there some guys thinking of Mauritius by year 2020 or even further?

As far as I recall in my younger days, the people governing the affairs of the country used to have a 5 year plan which is reviewed every year: a sort of revolving 5 year plan. Are we living from hand to mouth, the nasty unsought present? I understood that there was a Ministry of Planning in the previous governments. Who is today looking or imagining our future? We know too well that the legislative term of a government is only five years. I am of opinion that  we need to have a longer term vision for the Mauritian children of tomorrow. Is not it wise to build now and in the near future the destiny of our children and grand children?

I went through the Mauritian Government web site to find out. I saw only two future looking strategic plans: the Draft Long term Energy Strategy 2009-2025; and the draft education and human resources strategy plan 2008-2020. I note that the two documents are still in draft form. Would that mean that no roll out plans are finalized?

It would thus appear that we have a governing body that is of the past and present with no heed of the future? Is there a strategic plan for each ministry? I feel uncomfortable with a situation when the country is not clear where it is heading, unless the leaders know and  they do not feel comfortable to let the public know.

For years I have been training on the necessity to know as an individual : where do you come from?; what are you doing now? and where are you heading too?  I was told that success are granted to persons who give themselves a sense of direction and a mission and refuse to live like a drift wood on the river.

Un groupe d’experts multi-disciplinaire d’un réseau structuré pose des scenarii. Je suis en pleine lecture des scenarii sur différents sujets qui me semblent  probable. Bien sur la prospective ne sera jamais la réalité, mais aide à appréhender le future. N’est ce pas le propre de l’entrepreneur  eclaire que d’anticiper le futur avant les autres?

Réflexion sur les thèmes : démographie, habitation, mouvements des populations, communication  mondiale et écologie.

En 2030, la population mondiale était légèrement inférieure à 8 milliards, proche des prévisions minimales de l’ONU en 2006. Le changement climatique avait ruiné la vie de centaines de millions de personnes. L’énergie demeurait un pro­blème majeur, malgré la diminution de moitié des taux de croissance par rap­port à l’ère pré-2012. De fait, confrontées à une situation d’urgence permanente, les administrations et les entreprises n’avaient pas vraiment investi pour modi­fier leurs modes de production.

Les individus avaient pris une longueur d’avance en raison des contraintes éco­nomiques, et parce que des millions de chômeurs avaient inventé de nombreux emplois de proximité : taxis locaux (souvent à 2 roues) sur demande, collecte sélective des ordures, gestion du recyclage, répare-tout, etc. Ces nouveaux mé tiers finirent ainsi par jouer un rôle social essentiel.

Les multiples équilibres locaux qui avaient émergé de la post-mondialisation ressentirent vite le besoin de redéfinir (et de défendre) leurs territoires. Elles voulaient affirmer et vivre leurs nouvelles valeurs, définir qui leur appartenait et qui leur était étranger, protéger leurs fragiles économies contre la concurrence. Après la Cata­logne, beaucoup de régions européennes, ainsi que certains Etats d’Amérique du Nord, obtin­rent– au moins de fait – un statut de quasi-in dépendance. Des villes comme Barcelone firent pratiquement sécession. Des passeports internes apparurent dans plusieurs pays et les frontières furent bien entendu rétablies (dès 2020) dans l’Union Européenne.

Les réfugiés climatiques et politiques avaient également be­soin de territoires. L’une des rares initiatives internationales de cette époque aboutit à la création de trois « Refugistans », achetés à la Russie, à l’Australie et à la Tanzanie avant d’être via­bilisés. L’histoire de ces nouveaux pays reste à écrire, mais leurs premières années font penser à la naissance de l’Australie à la Conquête de l’Ouest américain.

Les « territoires » n’étaient toutefois pas tous géographiques. Qu’elles soient re­ligieuses, ethniques, culturelles ou autres, des communautés finirent également par constituer leurs propres frontières, définir une notion de citoyenneté, créer des règles et des institutions et utiliser l’Altronet pour fonctionner de manière cohérente. L’état quasi-indépendant de Californie fut le premier à reconnaître leur existence en révisant sa constitution pour devenir un « Etat des Commu­nautés ».

L’Altronet joua un rôle majeur en permettant à de nouvelles formes d’organisa­tions fédératives d’émerger. Les devises locales et les systèmes d’échanges l’uti­lisaient pour le commerce et la compensation des échanges entre eux. Plusieurs conflits opposant des communautés furent réglés grâce à l’Altroverse, la fédé­ration libre des univers virtuels qui émergea dans les années 2015 sous le nom de « Metaverse », et qui fusionna avec l’Altronet quelques années plus tard. De véritables procès, avec juges, procureurs et avocats, furent ainsi été organisés dans cet espace en 3 dimensions. L’Altronet permit sans nul doute d’empêcher de nombreux conflits depuis sa création, même si, bien sûr, il permit aussi de multiplier d’autres formes de conflits, moins meurtriers : les cyberguerres. Cer­tains pensent que l’Altronet est le mécanisme qui permettra de regrouper effi­cacement les nombreuses communautés entrelacées dans une nouvelle com­munauté internationale, plus ouverte.­

Quand être tolérant et quand être intransigeant ? La lecture de l’Evangile du jour m’éclaire sur le sujet.

Autant que Jésus est tolérant envers la personne qui semble usurper son nom pour une cause honorable, notre messie condamne avec fermeté les gens qui entrainent les autres au péché.
Pour chaque individu, Jésus nous demande de veiller que les membres de notre corps qui nous entrainent à la perdition soient amputés afin de préserver le reste du corps. J’extrapole cette pensée, je dois veiller que toute chose ou personne qui pourrait être une cause de perdition et mon éloignement de Toi, devient l’objet de mon dédain et de son élimination.

Je dois être intransigeant sur mes choix de vie.

Seigneur, faible humain que je suis, je te demande le don de discernement et la volonté et la force de tenir mon cap vers Toi.

I took some of the insights of Dr. Laurie Anderson a professional executive coach and business strategic planner to work out my 4 Ms formula. You would imagine the number of ways the 4 Ms could be put to use. I was asked recently what method is used to do my coaching work.

To start with, I have to establish credibility with the coachee and work out his need. I normally use first the NLP SCORE method. Then we agree on the outcome after much questioning and listening. The 4Ms is used to describe the project.

A road map is then devised carving in sizeable chunks the overall agreed outcome.

Again using the 4Ms – Mission, Message, Method & Metrics each chunk is translated in a session project. Like a Russian doll each element of the 4M’s is subjected to the 4Ms methodology:

Mission standing for the WHAT and WHAT FOR,

Message standing for the HOW and translation in communications,

Method standing for the HOW TO, devising the most adaptable channel and ways to transfer the mission and finally

Metrics standing for HOW MUCH, the measurements to assess the tracking to the set outcomes.

Assess Four Elements

Answering these questions isn’t easy because these questions force executives to assess four key elements that should be, but are not commonly, top-of-mind:

1. Mission: Are you clear, articulate, and intrinsically connected to your purpose as a leader? Can you easily identify the core operating principles, values, or behaviors that you are committed to modeling as a leader? Would people who know you well be able to see the authenticity of your leadership platform, or does it sound generic?

2. Message: Do you have a concise, differentiating, understandable, relevant, timely, memorable call-to-action for people to follow? Do people know what they should start doing and stop doing to manifest this new state, or do they think you are just asking them to do more (what you want now in addition to what you wanted yesterday)?

3. Method: Have you figured out how your particular call-to-action should best be achieved? Can you, with confidence, show the way? Do you know the critical success factors and the elements that will guarantee your failure? Remember: people want to win but in the most effective and efficient way. Beyond surviving a change, they want to prosper with it and through it.

4. Metrics: Have you selected the core measures that you will track to ensure progress? Are the metrics credible and simple to remember, track, and report? Does everyone know and agree with how success will be determined?

It is interesting to note each element above described is subject to the scrutiny of my 5 Wifes & 2 Husbands methodical tool which is my universal questioning tool.

Have you ever between taught ‘how to attend a meeting or how to run a meeting’? Meetings is a communications tool that is used most of the time in any organisation, yet almost most persons have not thought of the organisation of meetings or its improvements.

At toastmasters, all members are requested to attend meetings and are trained in the optimum use of the important communications tool called ‘meetings’.

I came back from my Syndic meeting of the property where I reside last Wednesday, frustrated in the way the meeting was held. Yesterday, I attended a meeting of the shareholders of an association; I was again horrified by the way the meeting was run and prepared. I am now pondering in the waste in time, money and personal irritation occurring throughout Mauritius in meetings of any sort.

Patti Hathaway, a certified professional speaker who I came to know through my AMA membership offers some tips to make our meetings more effective.

Ten Tips for More Effective Meetings

By Patti Hathaway, CSP

Love them or hate them, meetings are an everyday fact of life for most businesspeople. If you keep these ten tips in mind, everyone involved will be able to use their time more productively—assuring a positive experience.

Provide specific goals and objectives

Every person attending a meeting should be able to answer these key questions:

• What is the purpose of this meeting?
• How can I contribute?

1. It is essential to send out an agenda prior to any meeting. List your meeting objective (i.e., the purpose for the meeting) on the agenda.
2. Outline any preparation you would like the participants to do prior to the meeting. Also, a list of any materials participants should bring to the meeting.
3. Invite only those people who can contribute to the meeting.

Avoid the “information assumption” trap

1. Avoid lecture meetings. Is there a more efficient way to distribute certain information instead of calling a meeting?
2. Prepare action item minutes.
3. Get participants actively involved in the meeting: appoint a timekeeper and ask for help in facilitating the meeting.
4. Have participants attend only for the time they are actually needed.

The “platinum rule” of meeting success

1. Are your participants “big picture” or “detail” people? What format should you use for the project team’s final report? What kind of meeting minutes will best meet the needs of your participants?
2. Start on time. Also set (and adhere to) an ending time when scheduling the meeting.
3. Keep in mind that Robert’s Rules of Order does not necesarily increase the effectiveness of meetings. Develop your own rules of the road to best meet your group’s specific objectives and needs.

John C Maxwell wrote a book entitled ‘Talent is not enough’. I believe that too much talents inhibit success.

Talent is often overrated and frequently misunderstood. When people

achieve great things, others often explain their accomplishments by simply

attributing everything to talent. But that is a false and misleading way of

looking at success. If talent alone is enough, then why do you know of highly

talented people who are not highly successful?

Leadership expert Dr. John C. Maxwell knows that people are never

successful by talent alone, and he outlines 13 crucial things you can do to

maximize your natural talents and become a “talent-plus” person. He is

weighing in on the subject of talent –– and, as always, his opinion and his

insights might surprise you.

A long-time admirer of great talents in sports, business, leadership and

philanthropy, Maxwell says that what separates the talented from the truly

successful is making the right choices. In Talent Is Never Enough, Maxwell

lays out a road map for anyone interested in making the most of their

natural abilities.

“People who neglect to make the right choices to release and maximize

their talent continually underperform,” writes Maxwell. “Their talent gives

them an opportunity, but their wrong choices can shut the door.” Talent, he

contends, is a given, but success must be earned.

I t I took pleasure in memorising the topics which Dr. Maxwell developed in his book:

1. Belief Lifts Your Talent

2. Passion Energizes Your Talent

3. Focus Directs Your Talent

4. Practice Sharpens Your Talent

5. Perseverance Sustains Your Talent

6. Courage Tests Your Talent

7. Teachability Expands Your Talent

8. Character Protects Your Talent

9. Responsibility Strengthens Your Talent

10. Teamwork Multiplies Your Talent

After the small accident which occurred on the 23th August, I dropped my Nikon which has severed me for a number of years on the floor. Now that I am preparing my next trip overseas I decided to get a new camera which will suit my needs as soon as possible.

Guess what I choose and what price?

I have been watching an hour long youtube presentation on persuasion by the author of The Art of Woo: G. Richard Shell. Woo with integrity was his last chapter!

This reminded me of an article from Daniel Williams on a similar note which I had kept to read once in a while.

Today leaders must cut through the clutter, focus their leadership agenda, and endlessly persuade.

What do you think is the most needed leadership skill in the digital economy? A top priority should be communicating your leadership agenda. Why? Because business leaders are under enormous pressure to sell their corporate strategies to their best customers, employees, and partners—just to retain them. In an economic downturn, communication and influence skills only increase in importance.

In my experience, the best leaders use a thoughtful and systematic approach to communicating their leadership agenda. These leaders master six skills.

• Listen. Your leadership team has forged a new strategic direction. Now it’s time to execute. But before you do, you must listen, to yourself. Start with some inward reflection. Think through what you want to say and why. Once you have found your authentic voice, listen to others. Test your arguments and explore new ideas. Far from being dogmatic or arrogant, the best communicators learn about the people they hope to influence, their needs, aspirations, and concerns.
• Prepare. Influencing requires careful preparation and planning. Take time to research and develop your ideas. Think through an influence strategy before you start communicating. Don’t go straight from inspiration to communication without preparation and testing.
• Align your messages strategically. Remember, everything you say and do sends a message: Your passion, the clarity of your ideas, your policies and business practices, the structure of your organization, who makes decisions, who gets promoted, who gets fired, and media relations to the press and analysts. The best communicators ensure that all their messages—whether formal (corporate speak), organizational (policies and practices), or personal (what you say)—are aligned with their core business strategies, personal values, and behavior.
• Feel passionate. Pursue the ideas and values you feel passionate about. Communicate that passion to others. If you don’t, you will never connect emotionally with your audience and win them over to a shared vision and course of action. The best leaders draw upon their emotions to get buy-in. They understand that peoples’ hearts and souls are often greater motivators than pure reason alone.
• Use vivid language and compelling stories. To influence, you must position your arguments and present vivid supporting evidence. As one executive said, “There’s just as much strategy in how you present your position as in the position itself.” Use graphics to enhance your message. And tell a story. Story telling is a powerful tool in a leader’s literary basket.
• Influence continually. Seldom will you win over all the critical stakeholders to your leadership agenda in the first try. Rapid communication can never replace a systematic and thoughtful approach to winning people over to your agenda. The best leaders view influencing as an ongoing process that is linked to a larger strategy for change. Persuasion often demands listening to the people you are trying to influence, testing your message, incorporating feedback, developing new messages, retesting, making compromises, and then trying again. Yes, this process can be time-consuming and difficult. But the credibility and influence you gain will make it worth your while.

Today for the Muslim population it is a great day. It is the end of a month long of mortification. Today  marks for the Muslim world, the celebration of the feast of the mightiest of all, the greatest of the great, the one and only one- God. Glory to thee, God the merciful!

God is the Greatest, God is the Greatest, God is the Greatest,

There is no deity but God

God is the Greatest, God is the Greatest

and to God goes all praise

I fully abide to the prayers of my Muslim friends and feel connected with them in Glorifying and being in awe of God.

The expression ‘God the greatest and the merciful’ which is said every morning by all the mosques in the call to prayer, gives me this morning, the sense of two deep thoughts.

For one, the merciful God is the expression of the God of unconditional love; God would have mercy on us for all the sins we might commit. Why would God have forgiveness for us? God is love and would always have mercy on us.

For 2, when we evoke and praise God for being merciful we, humans admit and recognise that we are weak and prone to be sinful. We are still locked into our human nature waiting to be sublimated to a higher being to where we are destined. To be in prayer, that is to be conscious of God presence and to appear in front of Him, immediately transforms our being. If we have faith in Him, He mercifully shares His spirit to sanctify us.

With the Muslim friends thus today, I pray thee God to bring peace to all mankind. I pray that mankind believes in the God of love. God is the greatest!