Hey everyone, here we go. . . . . .

 

IN OUR WORLD

 

This week, my wandering ways finds me in the chilly wilds of Minneapolis, where I get to introduce my Repeatable Successful Acts (RSA) platform as a new aspect of the sales process.  I have been looking forward to working with these people for a long time.   Discussion extended over a long period, looking for the right opportunity.  A little patience in a volatile market can come in handy!

 

The November newsletter is in the works and with a little quiet time I should have it out next week.

 

This trip makes the debut of my new Dell micro-notebook computer.  Weighing in at only 2.2 lbs it is a road warriors dream.  It is very basic, but will do anything you would need while traveling.  Email, internet access and Office software coupled with a VGA output for projecting and I am hoping it will relieve me of lugging around what now feels like a computer brick!

 

Next week should give me a little catch up time with a quick trip to New York thrown in where I will actually be auditioning my content and unusual style to a committee who is putting together a large number of 2010 programs that will connect a national education initiative.

 

My videos at creativeventures.com have been down lately, but should be returning this week!  Thanks John!  You can also now find me on YouTube.

 

Hey, as Ellis Paul says; “the world ain’t slowin down for no one.”

 

 

 

HEY, YOU CAN FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER –CREATIVEVENTURE

 

AND ON FACEBOOK – STEPHEN HARVILL!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

 

The idea of INTENTFUL OUTCOME is a critical piece to your planning strategy.  Can you define the exact outcome you are looking for in any piece of your evolving strategy?

 

You should be fully focused on a well defined future that YOU are working towards.  Can you list the connections between the cause you are driving and the effect you need to become reality?  This idea of intentful outcome is what drives outcome.  It impacts everything, from the budget to the next meeting you have on the calendar.  Without this type of thinking you are allowing things to just “happen”.

 

Here is a simple primer in this type of thinking:

 

·        The Psychology of Judgment:  As you are planning you are constantly judging, both on a conscious and unconscious level.  You are injecting opinion in your thinking.  This is OK, but it can also stall your thinking.  Allow your idea to expand beyond your initial opinion.  Add a little time between thinking about the issue and implanting your plan.  This allows your judgment to expand.  Remember – TIME NEVER OUTWEIGHS THOUGHT.

·        The Return to Why:  Start your intent by asking “why?”  Why are we having this meeting?  Why is this a piece of the budget?  Why are we marketing to this segment?  Get your whiteboard ready and create the “grand list”.  It is the visualization of intent.  By answering why you can define your initial intent.  This gives you direction and you should plan all aspects of the action around a laser-like focus on your response.  Here’s a bonus idea – ask everyone involved in the project the same “why” question.

·        The Purpose:  I ask all my clients AFTER attending a meeting; “what was your purpose for this use of time?”  It’s very important to define the action as a use of time, as a user of resources to help everyone recognize that time is a tangible asset.  The answer usually gives me all I need to know about the process that drove the meeting.  More often than not, I find the answer somewhat unfocused and clearly not achieving the INTENDED OUTCOME.

 

Planning creates intent and intent is a direction to outcome!

 

 

 

 

ENTERTAINMENT

 

 

MOVIES:    Paranormal Activity:  This is a cultural phenomenon.  Made for about $10,000 and already grossing over $32 million this very scary thriller is the talk of the movie industry.  It has a very limited release but I’ll bet you can find it.  Said to be as scary as anything you have seen, it is not my “tub of popcorn” but I wanted it on the table for your weekend choices.

 

NetFlix Fans:  Get Shorty:   This is one of Laura’s favorite movies and she will stop the remote dead in its tracks when it is on.

 

TV:    Believe it or not, as much as I like TV, I have been working on so many projects that I have fallen behind (that and an exhaustive travel schedule).  So what’s on my DVR is really important.  The line up includes:  Monk, Lie to Me, The Mentalist, and Leverage.  What, NO HOUSE MD.  Of course, I NEVER MISS HOUSE.

 

BOOKS:  Pursuit of Honor – By Flynn:    The new Mitch Rapp thriller has hit the market!  I love these books and can’t wait to get in on my Kindle!

 

MUSIC:   My friend David Wilcox is in town this weekend and I will be hustling back from Minneapolis and heading straight from the airport to the concert.   Here is something new from David and it’s filled with his playful view of the universe!

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqEAG5o-LFU        

 

WEB SITES:   Here you go sports fans: 

 

 

 www.lockerblogger.com    

 

 

SOUTH OF NORMAL

 

A couple of things:

 

• On my late Sunday flight back from California I was dressed in my typical “going home” uniform of Levi’s, black t-shirt, but this time I threw on my HOUSE MD hat.  During our unplanned landing in Abilene (storms in the Big D), a woman came up from coach and honestly asked me if I was Hugh Laurie.  She thought I was House!  What a fantastic moment!  I wanted so much to say “yes” but alas I told the truth only to be confronted with the accusation that I was lying!  I told her Laurie was a Brit and she said” yes, but he speaks like an American on the show”.  Funny stuff!
• Let me get this straight – Two Northwest Air pilots get into a heated discussion and fly 600 miles past their destination before an alert flight attendant bangs on the cockpit door to get their attention!  They failed to answer an urgent stream of radio blasts from everyone on the ground and NORAD was ready to scramble fighter jets to see what the hell was going on.  Now I am one for a good argument (one of my favorite intellectual pastimes) but geez guys, land the damn plane first!
• Somali pirates are back with a vengeance taking three ships in a week!  There have been over 178 pirate attacks this year with 36 ships hijacked.  They are currently holding 7 ships and 165 crew member’s hostage.  It is estimated they have pocketed over $38 million in ransoms.  Maritime law does not allow commercial ships to arm themselves, but hey guys it might be time to pick up some flintlocks!

 

Music makes me blissfully aware

David Wilcox

 

 

 

Drop me a note with your comments at steve@creativeventures.com

 

 

 

Thanks for stopping by and until next time, Adios and Aloha.

 

 

 

 

Hey everyone, here we go. . . . . .

 

IN OUR WORLD

 

Coming to you LIVE from beautiful Half Moon Bay in Northern California (just south of San Francisco) where I am getting ready to launch a new relationship in the medical industry.  The work is strategic and I am so JAZZED about the direction the project is taking.   Half Moon Bay is also the home of the great surf break, Maverick.  Huge waves, cold water, rocky shore – the place of legends.

 

Before jumping on the flight that brought me here, I had an unbelievably productive couple of days in dealing with:

 

• Follow Up:  For me it is critical to create idea traction.  It’s not about launching an idea, it’s about the depth of engagement and meaning the idea should generate.  Normally this requires connecting idea to action, to create application value, so I focus as strongly on the follow up or connected piece as I do the creation and delivery side of the equation.
• Writing:  I finished my latest article – Einstein’s Notebook.  This is a piece I have been working on since Las Vegas and it is now done.  If you want a PDF copy let me know.  It should be on the web site soon.
• Planning:  I am a religious planner and spent a hunk of time making sure all the projects on the table are in their proper planning sequence.

 

Next week I am off to introduce the Repeatable Successful Acts platform to an entirely new client base.  I will be in chilly Minnesota.

 

 

 

HEY, YOU CAN FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER –CREATIVEVENTURE

 

AND ON FACEBOOK – STEPHEN HARVILL!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

 

OK, 2010 is barreling towards us.  Budgets and strategies are in full planning mode.  I am here today to plead with you to SLOW DOWN.  Speed is killing thinking making it deader than a slow moving armadillo on a Texas highway.

 

I know that deadlines tend to drive action and I fall victim to this psychological force as well as you (just ask my publisher).  I want you to step back from the abyss of speed based decision making and take a look at a bigger picture.

 

Here is just one idea to help frame your planning process:

 

DEFINE YOUR BUSINESS MODEL BEFORE YOU MAKE A BIG DECISION

 

• Start with asking; who is my REAL customer.  Define them in three core statements.  Step back and look at who your future is based upon.  Remember, no one goes out of business due to the economy; they go out of business due to a lack of customers.
• What are our three core steps for “getting money out of their wallets?”  You need to have a simple, core understanding of connecting sales to outcome. 
• Involve everyone.  Ask your team and their team to get involved in these two core questions.  Make sure the team you ask is diverse in gender, age and any other demographic measuring stick.

 

There you go, just one idea to help with positioning the way you think.  I know the processes and systems in play within your organization are, unfortunately, complex, but your questions don’t have to be!

 

 

 

 

ENTERTAINMENT

 

 

MOVIES:    Law Abiding Citizen:  I really liked this movie.  It gives you two interesting characters, neither of which holds the higher moral ground which creates interesting interaction.

 

NetFlix Fans:  The Italian Job:   I love heist movies and this one was interesting with a great cast.

 

TV:    Brand new USA series hits the TV screen Friday night – White Collar.  Looks good and USA has a fantastic track record.

 

BOOKS:  Think Like a Genius – By Siler:    Really interesting approach to developing ideas.

 

MUSIC:   The latest, 40 Dogs, from Austin’s great Bob Schneider.   

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6w5Y05f0Lig&feature=related       

 

WEB SITES:   An odd British site that covers everything from politics to UFO’s: 

 

 

 http://www.thetruthseeker.co.uk/    

 

 

SOUTH OF NORMAL

 

We often worry about a reality that is just a figment of our media driven imagination.  Here are a couple of examples:

 

• In 2001 a headline grabbing shark attack occurred when 8 year old Jessie Arbogast was attacked in the shallow water off of Pensacola Fl.  The country was in a shark fear frenzy.  The media fed the fear with story after story of the scary nature of sharks (hey, any eating machine is scary – check out the crowds at a Vegas buffet).  The fact that worldwide, there were only 68 reported shark attacks that entire year and only 4 of those were fatal never made the media.  That was only a little over the 10 year average of 60.3.
• Meanwhile in 2001 elephants killed over 200 people, yet our fear factor of these big guys is nothing compared to a shark.  A Romanized version of the Dumbo and Babar give us our elephant reality.
• Who should you fear more, a stranger or someone you know?  Strangers of course, right?  Well, 3 out of 4 murders are committed by someone the victim knew.  Similarly 7 out of 10 rape victims knew their assailants.
• Did you know that 90% of identity theft occurs off-line, not on the internet?  Changing PIN numbers is a good idea, but it ain’t where the bad guys are looking.  Instead shred your key stuff and keep an eye on your mailbox.
• Though global warming is a key environmental issue, over the past 100 years the global temps have only risen 1.3 degrees.  Even the most brilliant climate scientists are unable to predict how atmospheric changes will impact our “pale blue dot.”

 

The idea here is to question to develop a reality based on thinking.

 

 

Einstein’s visions blooming uncontrolled.

Counting Crows

 

 

 

Drop me a note with your comments at steve@creativeventures.com

 

 

 

Thanks for stopping by and until next time, Adios and Aloha.

Hey everyone, here we go. . . . . .

 

IN OUR WORLD

 

I am coming to you live from San Francisco and yes, it remains my favorite city to visit.  Though I was not in The City, I still enjoy the Northern CA environment.  My flight in was delayed almost 4 hours due to air traffic problems in San Francisco, reminding me of the glory of travel.  Lucky my good friend who picked me up was keep track of the flight.  On the way to the suburbs we passed a world record traffic jam on the Bay Bridge.  An 18 wheeler turned over causing, I kid you not, a 5 ½ hour traffic jam with no cars moving even an inch!

 

This weekend is the BIG Texas / OU game at the Cotton Bowl – Big times in Big D.

 

Next week I head back to Northern California to begin work with a new client.  The tough part is that it’s at the Half Moon Bay Ritz Carlton – Damn!  I hope to head down to the big surf break Maverick, just to watch!

 

I have a new article in the works called Einstein’s Notebook.  It will be as cool as the title!

 

The October newsletter is ready to roll:    http://www.creativeventures.com/Newsletter/200910.html

 

 

 

HEY, YOU CAN FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER –CREATIVEVENTURE

 

AND ON FACEBOOK – STEPHEN HARVILL!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

 

Let’s talk about presentations.  There are all kinds of presentations and each is really an opportunity.  Now those opportunities might be disguised as boring report driven presentations or worst yet economic progress updates, but they are still presentations.  They still have an audience and if you are responsible for presenting you are still in charge of not boring them to death.

 

I use the word “opportunity” on purpose.  When you are in front of a team you are in a position of opportunity.  You can choose to impact through your actions or suck the life out of the group faster than an army of vampires.

 

A few suggestions around the dreaded report update:

 

• Don’t you dare copy report sheets and insert them into a power point.  My God, are you insane!  No one wants to try and read 9 point font in different columns while you talk. Stop that.
• THINK.  If you were in the audience what would you need to understand what’s going on.  Think simple and connected.  What and why.   Make a slide that tells what you have measured.  Not a lot of figures, just the simple what.  Then tell them why.  What is the impact of the numbers?
• This is a journey.  Take them on it in a way they will understand, see and engage in.

 

Presenters, in any program, have a responsibility to the audience.  Take advantage of it.  It is an OPPORTUNITY to position yourself as a leader. 

 

 

 

 

ENTERTAINMENT

 

 

MOVIES:    Where the Wild Things Are:  Let the wild rumpus begin!

 

NetFlix Fans:  Land of the Lost:   My son Dylan (the product of a movie going family) kind of liked this farce remake of a campy TV series.

 

TV:    Saturday will be filled with college football – UT/OK then the Razorbacks against #1 Florida.  Go Horns and Hogs!  I also kind of like the new NCIS Los Angeles on Tuesday nights.

 

BOOKS:  Full Steam Ahead    – By Blanchard :    Pretty good read.  Quick read with good content.

 

MUSIC:   Fantastic song by My Morning Jacket – I’m Amazed. 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzdoOGUsEKg      

 

WEB SITES:   Just what it says. 

 

 

 www.culturalhappenings.com     

 

 

SOUTH OF NORMAL

 

Three things of interest:

 

• The National Association for Business Economists found that 81%  of the top economists believe the recession is over.  They also feel that employment and real estate will take a lot longer to recover.
• The Chicago Cubs filed bankruptcy.  That has got to be the last of all insults.
• General Motors set sales records in CHINA.  Their sales climbed 55% in the 1^st nine months of the year to 1.3 million vehicles.

 

 

I’m amazed at the quiet hours

My Morning Jacket

 

 

 

Drop me a note with your comments at steve@creativeventures.com

 

 

 

Thanks for stopping by and until next time, Adios and Aloha.

 

 

 

 

Hey everyone, here we go. . . . . .

 

IN OUR WORLD

 

Wow, what a great week!

 

I started, what I hope is a great long term relationship with a Dallas client by creating a custom day of learning around Communication and Thinking skill sets.  The group was highly participatory and way fun to work with.  I hope the seeds of skills we planted will grow.

 

Then I was off to Pittsburg to deliver an introduction to our Repeatable Successful Acts sales platform in the morning and then a brief repeat at an invitation only luncheon.   I was lucky to jump on an early flight home to get ready for a West Coast swing next week.

 

Fantastic times!

 

The October newsletter is ready to roll:    http://www.creativeventures.com/Newsletter/200910.html

 

 

 

HEY, YOU CAN FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER –CREATIVEVENTURE

 

AND ON FACEBOOK – STEPHEN HARVILL!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

 

I want to talk about an idea called Performance Gravity.  I have been introducing it in a couple of our latest programs.

 

Most companies develop a sense of comfort in what they do. Forged in repeated behaviors, this comfort creates a calming sense of reality.  What they DO becomes a steady processes filled with familiar systems.  That’s OK; in fact, it is the life blood of a strong brand.  You think of it as reliability.  You buy a bag of Doritos and they are always good.  A Big Mac is a Big Mac, no matter where you are.

 

BUT, often this same Performance Gravity existence causes you to miss new opportunities.  Despite the success of a Big Mac, McDonalds still tries to break out of their own gravitational nature by trying new things.  Their take on adding exotic coffee drinks has been a big winner.  They find these new niches by challenging their successful Performance Gravity.

 

Many organizations don’t look to expand their business orbits and find themselves missing key moments of opportunity.  Their Performance Gravity creates such a sense of comfort that they aren’t even looking for new things.  They are fat and content.

 

The newspaper industry is a great example.  Dominate in their historic gravity and armed with a monopoly sense of entitlement, they missed the signs of shifting and changing methods of connecting to news.  The music industry refused to acknowledge a massive change in the products gravity and lost their historically dominate position in distribution to Apple’s iTunes.

 

Spend your next staff meeting challenging a single aspect of your Performance Gravity.  Find something you do with such regularity that it seems to defy even thinking about.  Ask your team about it and see, if there is a way to leverage that pull of behavior so that you might find a single opportunity. 

 

In today’s chaotic world, a single discovered opportunity is a wonderful thing.

 

 

 

 

ENTERTAINMENT

 

 

MOVIES:    Couples Retreat:  The previews make this one look funny and the possibilities of another bad Cowboy football game could make me in desperate need of a laugh.

 

NetFlix Fans:  State of Play:   I loved this newspaper reporter thriller with Russell Crowe. 

 

TV:    ESPN is really upping their commitment to original programming with a series of documentary films 30 on 30.  The first was on Wayne Gretzky and done by one of my favorite directors, Peter Berg.  Fantastic stuff!

 

BOOKS:  Just Listen    – By Goulston :    Really good stuff on our forgotten communication skill set, “listening”!

 

MUSIC:   Just stumbled upon this great solo version of My Grace is Gone by Dave Matthews . 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmC3kpM3C_k&feature=PlayList&p=0D3E318BAF24DC82&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=32      

 

WEB SITES:   A place for artists, trend setters and designers. 

 

 

 www.mymodernmet.com     

 

 

SOUTH OF NORMAL

 

Let me introduce Ms. Dambias Moyo.  You may have heard of her as she made the talk show circuit with a rather South of Normal pitch on how to save Africa.  Stop sending financial aid.  What? 

 

Her strange stand is based on some simple thinking:

 

• Europe and the US have sent billions in aid with great intent, but gobbled up by corrupt regimes allowing little to get to the actual needy.
• Loans have burdened already destitute nations with huge debt.
• Most of Africa is poorer today then decades ago.

 

She is not condemning all aid; she simply has a different idea:

 

• Taper off on financial assistance a little at a time.
• Replace it with direct investment.  Look at Africa like a business.  Have an entrepreneurial mind set.  This simple change is huge and having an impact in many emerging economies if many forms.  The micro business loans that allow small cottage industries to produce sustaining revenue to families is a great starting point.

 

It is simply about a different mind set.

 

She is pulling away from Performance Gravity.

 

 

Where you end and I begin is a river running through

My Grace is Gone – Dave Matthews

 

 

 

Drop me a note with your comments at steve@creativeventures.com

 

 

 

Thanks for stopping by and until next time, Adios and Aloha.

 

 

 

 

Hey everyone, here we go. . . . . .

 

IN OUR WORLD

 

Finished a wonderful week in Las Vegas.  Tons of stuff got done on a couple of fronts; planning for a big event in 2010 that will be hosted by the Mirage Hotel, my full on introduction to Zappos with a tour of their magical corporate headquarters (look for pictures on my Facebook site) and the beginning of a teambuilding event involving Creech and Nellis Air Force bases.  WOW, that’s a busy few days.

 

 

So after arriving home last night, I have to hit the ground running at top speed as I have two major projects next week.  One is a full day workshop on the impact of marrying communication and thinking skill sets to create the core of relationship building and the other in Pittsburg introducing the Repeatable Successful Acts sales platform to a new group of financial advisors.

 

The Repeatable Successful Acts platform continues to build momentum like a charging avalanche.  Looking forward to tracking the impact.

 

 

 

HEY, YOU CAN FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER –CREATIVEVENTURE

 

AND ON FACEBOOK – STEPHEN HARVILL!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

 

You hear the term “customer centric” all the time.  It is supposed to refer to all the activities of a company being driven to one key source, the customer. 

 

Lets start with the premise that a totally “customer centric” organization is crazy.  All of you regular readers know I believe you need to be an “employee centric” organization before you can jump to the customer.  Take care of your employees and then take care of your customer.  Without the right order the end user, the customer, has no hope of being a centric issue.

 

Now, let’s assume you have followed an “employee centric” strategy and have a team ready to move their focus to the customer.  Start with a true “value proposition”.  Here is a test to determine if you have a strong value proposition.  At your next meeting ask your team to provide no more than three sentences that describe your company’s value proposition.

 

It may not surprise you to know that there is a HUGE inconsistency in people’s ability to clearly articulate their company’s value proposition.  Even if you have fulfilled the requirement of focusing on your team and assuming that focus included training your team on your company (good idea by the way) without constant training, gaps occur.  

 

We just finished this exercise with a client and the leadership of the organization was SHOCKED that their core leadership team could not find, anywhere in their company experience, a connection to customer value. 

 

Guess what?  It’s your job to MAKE THAT CONNECTION. 

 

Start with current reality and simply ask the question.

 

 

 

 

ENTERTAINMENT

 

 

MOVIES:    I know what you’re thinking; yep Zombieland will get Steve to the movies.  Nope, nothing to get me to the theater this week.

 

NetFlix Fans:  Bottle Shock:   I know I have recommended this little movie before, but I just had two people send me emails specifically thanking me for the idea to watch this movie.  RENT IT.

 

TV:    As a TV fan, I am somewhat crippled by my travel schedule.  I am recording my favorite shows, but they are building up in the DVR to the point of bursting.  My HIGHEST recommendation goes to the unbelievable Ken Burns documentary now showing on PBS channels – Our National Parks – America’s Best Idea.  This may be Burns best work.

 

BOOKS:  The Power of Less   – By Babuta :    Recommended by a client and a very good read!

 

MUSIC:   Wonderful Josh Ritter song. 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbCPDHZG2W4     

 

WEB SITES:   Great book store and website. 

 

 

 http://www.portbookandnews.com/NASApp/store/IndexJsp     

 

 

SOUTH OF NORMAL

 

Observations from the road:

 

• There is no greater place to observe the wide variety of the human species than Las Vegas – PERIOD!
• I am not a fan of ultra luxury hotels where a club sandwich is $33 and there is place to buy a Gatorade.  Where the designer feels compelled to trick you by placing light switches in hidden recesses and the controls to the shower resemble a modern chrome sculptor. 
• There should be a line at the security section of the airport that says; “Never traveled by air before.”
• I hate cab drivers who think you have never been to this particular town before and take you on the scenic route to drive up that fare.
• Please, Please, Please put in a simple list that tells which TV stations are which, so you don’t have to surf to find ESPN.
• I kind of miss the old “key” that let you into your room.  I get a little tired of putting in the plastic card a dozen times before you get the little green light that says; “yes, you can now enter the room you just paid $250 dollars for.

 

Hey, I love my job (if you can call it that) and travel is part of the deal.  Every once and a while I like to blow off a little steam!

 

 

And it seems so close as he reaches out his hand

But we are never quite as close as we are lead to understand.

Dreaming of Michelangelo – Counting Crows

 

 

 

Drop me a note with your comments at steve@creativeventures.com

 

 

 

Thanks for stopping by and until next time, Adios and Aloha.