Week of May 10, 2010

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

IN OUR WORLD

I started this blog while in Orlando and am finishing it in Ft. Worth.  That’s the type of week it has been.  Here it is in a nutshell:

• On Monday I launched a One Level Above (OLA) strategy for three different divisions of a client.  The entire impact platform is designed around taking the existing performance and doing ONE THING that raises the bar on their performance standards.  This OLA strategy sounds easy, right, do just one thing.  The problem is that this one thing carries total accountability.  When you have gone through the process that results in the right choice, it takes total commitment to show impact.
• Off to Orlando where I introduced the Repeatable Successful Acts with a hard stress on planning.  The power behavior of planning is a game changer in any sales process.  I then did a workshop that drilled the idea down to two other RSA’s – Bang Your Drum and Attack the Second Level.
• Jumped off the plane from Orlando and ran over to Ft. Worth where I had the absolute honor of delivering the keynote address to the annual Hugh O’Brien Youth Leadership Organization – HOBY.  The world’s largest teen leadership organization.  We often hear that the young kids in the country are slipping.  WRONG!  We have more dedicated bright young leaders than any country in the world.

Next week all my work will keep me in Dallas!

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THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

Lets visit a little about an often missed opportunity, that of MOMENTUM.  In the physical world, momentum is defined in Newton’s 2^nd Law:

Force, applied to a body produces a proportional acceleration or F=ma.

Though this definition has held its ground for a long time, I am instead talking about an intangible form of momentum.  The kind you can recognize but that does not necessarily carry a well defined formula.  It is the energy of success.

You see it in sports all the time.  A team goes on a scoring tear and no matter what the other team does it just can’t seem to stem the flow.  So, a coach calls time out.  The purpose, to regroup and hopefully cool off the other teams momentum.  You can’t see this type of momentum and no formula can really define it, but it is as clear to anyone watching as is a bowling ball rocketing down a lane on a momentum collision course with the pins.

This type of momentum is visible in business all the time and is often ignored which leaves a phenomenal amount of potential on the table.  We know we created it at the end of an event.  The event can be a meeting or a conference or even a successful client call.  We know we hit a home run and often bask in the glow of the moment.  Though I highly recommend “basking in the glow” I also know that the good energy that was just created is fleeting.

So let me recommend a couple of methods to extend your momentum:

• The Three Part Drip:  This is all about capturing momentum.  It is a PLANNED activity that reconnects participants in any good activity back to those moments of the highest energy.  Think about producing a 3 part process that highlights the most important moments of the event.  Now this does not have to be a conference, it could be a great one on one meeting or a major purchase made by a client.  It is any event that created a high positive return.  Now capture three key aspects and deliver them in a memorable fashion.  Create a custom HTML template that looks different from anything they have seen before.  Use video clips from a major meeting (WHAT!  You didn’t fork over the money to have some of the meeting filmed?  Contact me about the power of “rich media”.).  Send out a specific newsletter about the event.  Extend this “drip” idea to one per week for 3 consecutive weeks.  A great way to capture some of your GOOD momentum.
• The Handwritten Note:  You have all heard me preach about this forever.  When you have a great meeting, let the other guy know it.  Capture the goodwill through the most simple but powerful act you can muster, SEND THEM A HANDWRITTEN NOTE!  It is a guaranteed momentum grabber.

Emotion energy creates momentum.  Don’t let it get away!

ENTERTAINMENT

MOVIES: It’s BLOCKBUSTER TIME!  Here is the next big summer release – Robin Hood.  I love the combination of Crowe and Scott and can’t wait to see it.  By the way Iron Man 2 ROCKED!

NetFlix Fans:  Edge of Darkness: This movie is destined to make my Best of List for 2010.  It was smart and exciting with a great story and wonderful acting.

TV: Fox announced it will renew two of my favorite shows – Lie to Me and The Human Target for next season.  ABC announced a new cop procedural show for next season called The Whole Truth.  It has a neat twist as the perspective will change during the show making it a challenge each week to figure out who did it.

BOOKS:  Get Rid of Performance Review – By Culbert/Rout.  This book immediately struck home with me as I think the way performance reviews are done is comical and of little value.  In fact, I think they are wasteful of opportunity.  The authors think you should change the focus from areas that need improvement and look at what the employee does well and work to make them better at their strengths.  A good read.

MUSIC: I have been listening to the new Dave Matthews live from Las Vegas CD non-stop and thought I would share the feel of the music with this live version of Lie In Our Graves.

WEB SITES: Worlds leading Q&A site.

www.answers.com

SOUTH OF NORMAL

I just read an article by a person who is up in arms and shouting from his soapbox about the death of English as the language of our country.  It made me think that the fellow is a little angry and not really thinking very straight, which has become a common malady in the world.  He was upset about billboards being and certain state electoral ballots being in Spanish.  These micro language comparisons are based on a micro view of the world.  Here are the facts:

• In about 2 months India will become the largest English speaking country on the planet.
• In about 6 months China will surpass India and take the lead in English chatting folks.
• The US will sink to third place in the native tongue rankings.

In both India and China this is not as big an overthrow as you might think.  When you have billions of people, a small percentage of English speaking people are a HUGE number.

This is good news for the good old US of A as it means that English IS the planetary language.  English is the linguistic operating system of the world.  So stop you South of Normal ranting about a miniscule impact of Spanish on our language system and rejoice in us winning the language sweepstakes.

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

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