The temperatures in Texas continue to remind us that though the days are getting shorter, the heat is far from gone. Sometime it's good to create a little heat in your company.

I have been blessed with my travels taking to where the climate has been a lot cooler and embarking on key projects that are as exciting as they are impactful.

I thought I would share a couple of the trends (don't confuse them with fads) that I am working on.

• SKILL ENHANCEMENT: More and more companies are beginning to increase their investment in the skills that drive the success of their key resource, their people. I am involved in both curriculum design and teaching for many of my clients. In times of volatile unpredictability the ability to focus on those things that you can control provides a foundation for core strategy. Look at your team, decide what skill will lift them to a new level of performance and design a learning program that will drive new results.
• PLANNING: One of the great unrecognized skills that drive success is the ability to plan. At the heart of planning is decision making. What tools and filters do you use to select the areas that get your energy. Planning is seldom taught as a core learning area, when in fact, great success can often be traced directly to the ability to plan. I am really pleased to see more and more organizations working towards making their people great planners.
• INVOVLEMENT: There are two levels of engagement, buy-in and enrollment. Buy-In is the lowest form of engagement and is often given begrudgingly when a command comes from up the corporate ladder. The participants in the "buy-in" idea were given no say in the development of the idea and then told; "hey everyone, we need your buy-in on this". A higher level of engagement is enrollment and it occurs when you expand the number of participants in the development of the idea. The more involved someone is the more committed they are. Seems simple unless you are talking about goal setting that involves hundreds of people. I have developed two platforms that increase the size of those you can involve by using the principle of NO MORE THAN 3. A number of my clients are committing to getting more people enrolled.

These ideas are being repeated throughout my client base pushing them towards the momentum of trends.

Creating "Ta-Da Moments

“An ounce of performance is worth a pound of promises.”
– Mae West

There is a scene in the epic Pixar film, Wall-E where the little robot hero shows his new found love EVA what he does. He pulls a pile of trash into his compartment, applies pressure and out pops a perfect cube of compressed garbage. He looks at it, then at EVA and proclaims in his electronic robot sound – "Ta-Da". It was a sound of pride at his performance. Wall-E knew what he did was significant. It created impact.

We should all have the goal of creating Ta-Da moments. The opportunity is there everyday. Clients know when this happens. They sense that they are involved in a special moment and special moments build relationships.

Tony Hsieh is the CEO of Zappos the online shoe and merchandise sales giant. You hear about Tony and his unique culture all the time. At the core of their award winning and often legendary customer service is a cultural notion that what everyone does is important and that the Zappos Ta-Da moments are created out of INTENT. They focus on the team ahead of the customer. It is a core Creative Venture tenant, you can not make the client the center of your business universe if you have not made your team the best provider of service you can. At the core of a customer centric philosophy is an employee focus. Kind of weird. At Zappos, the driving philosophy is contained in their 10 point value statement. At the top is "Create WOW through service", quickly followed by "pursue growth through learning." Tony knows that Ta-Da moments are MADE and he pursues them with strategic fervor.

Perhaps no one provides more Ta-Da moments than Guy Laliberte the founder of Cirque De Soleil. Guy's dream redefined the ancient entertainment form of the circus. Founded in 1984 Cirque De Soleil has inspired more than 25 million people. Guy knew that through their mission; "Invoke, provoke, evoke the imagination, the senses and emotions of people" he could build a customer foundation on Ta-Da moments and that people would come back for more and more. This is the Cirque De Soleil double edged Ta-Da sword. Can you challenge yourself and your team to create bigger and better Ta-Da moments? Is there a limit to your ability to create Ta-Da moments? Guy knew this would be an issue and instead of bigger and better, he and his creative team pursue DIFFERENT. It is not about the size and scope of the Ta-Da, it's about simply making it different.

So what do you do in pursuit of the Ta-Da? In creating strategies of differentiation for clients I start with a simple formula. Here you go:

• THE BEGINNING - Call in a team of 5-10 people from your company. Make sure they are all from different areas, management, support, sales etc. Ask them all one question, no preparation, just ask them, "What do we do?" Get ready to record the answers because you are about to hear the REAL story of your organization or team. Here is the beginning of a Ta-Da strategy. If your 5-10 people can not define your story, the story you expect to be communicated, you have a starting point to Ta-Da. Begin your work on creating extraordinary experiences through your story. Work to have your identity percolate through your company and team at every level.
• CONTROL Ta-Da - Tony and Guy control their phenomenal Ta-Da's. They know Ta-Da's become strategies and tactics. They know they separate and differentiate their organizations and know their tremendous bottom-line economic success is based on the skill sets of their people. Hey, it's not a secret, TRAIN and ENHANCE your employee's skill sets so they have a fighting chance to be Ta-Da heroes. This idea of spectacular performance in the mundane does not happen by chance, it happens by design.
• THERE IS NO Ta-Da OPPORTUNITY IN WHAT I DO - Huh, what??? Sometimes we get what the rock band U2 calls "stuck in the moment". We think that because we do the same stuff all the time that there is no chance to really become Ta-Da performers. WRONG. If your team feels that way, it's YOUR fault. Every piece of a puzzle creates the whole. Often companies only spend training resources on their top line people. Big mistake. To develop the opportunity to create a Ta-Da client experience EVERYONE has to be on board. Every employee and I mean EVERY one at Zappos, whether you are an attorney in legal, a CPA in accounting or a phone jockey in the sales pit does the SAME training and it lasts 4 weeks! Don't isolate your goals from all levels of the company.

Start thinking like a Ta-Da company! Clients define their relationship on a relatively small number of interactions. The problem is we never really know what a customer thinks is a "moment of truth", what they will hang their loyalty hat on.
Challenge yourself and your team, prepare them and look for the opportunity to spread your arms and shout Ta-Da!

Take a REAL Vacation – In the last 20 years the average number of work hours in a week has increased 12%. The average American only gets 9.6 vacation days a year and 15% of those go unused. People who skip vacations for 4-5 years are 30% more likely to have heart attacks. These facts from a recent State University of New York study paint a pretty dismal picture of the American philosophy of vacation. We need to disconnect from our 24/7 work zone and recharge our batteries to help us gain productivity. Vacations cut down on stress related illness. So, damn it, take a holiday!

Morning People vs. Night People! Professor C. Randler of the University of Education at Heidelberg College in Germany just finished an extensive study of 367 students to identify the work habits of the most successful and productive graduates. The answer: the highest percentage identified themselves as "morning people." The students with the most energy and best grades were at their peak during the morning hours. The study showed the morning students were exceeding their "night time" brethren in class position. Morning students were more proactive in pursuing problems; they tested better and had a more positive outlook on their student experience. This has a direct translation to business success as morning people carry their habits to the work place. So get to bed a little earlier and join us morning dudes for a sunrise cup of coffee!

Always Look on the Bright Side of Life – Prudential Insurance Co. just completed their test for professional knowledge and guess what? They found a new area to test for – OPTIMISM. Yep, test for a positive attitude. It turns out that optimists outsold 90% of the sales force that tested high in only professional knowledge. Optimists are more likely to place an 11th call after being turned down 10 straight times. Industry knowledge is important but optimism sells! Psychologists have known that the external world is not the predictor of happiness but instead most happiness is seen through your lens of reality. Here are the keys:

• Create a positive network. Positive people surround themselves with positive people. It seems the energy is infectious.
• Positive people believe their actions matter. They DO!
• Use your energy on the most important things.
• Oh, yeah, smile a lot!

CONTACT
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You can contact Steve at steve@creativeventures.com or give him a call at 972-490-7717.
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