Communication According to Laurent

Employee Loyalty, a Thing of the Past?

2011-11-29T20:47:00.001-05:00

Jessie has had a bad year. Between health issues, family issues and work-related issues, she's feeling out of her element. The work she used to be able to do regularly now seems like a giant mountain. She gets no joy and no fulfilment from it anymore. She also feels as though she is no longer performing as well as she used to. She decides to discuss it with her boss.

"I saw on the job board that another department needs to fill a position that I have the skills to do, and I think that it's a job I could do well and that I would enjoy."

"But," says her boss, "I can't let you go to that department. You are needed here and we're already understaffed. I really need all the people I have."

"All right," replies Jessie. "May I have some unpaid leave, then? I need a break to get my energy back, get my head straight in order to contribute."

"As I said Jessie, we really need everyone on board. I can't give you any more time off, I'm sorry."

"So am I," concluded Jessie. "I quit."

This vignette is based on a true story-well, more than one true story actually. It's not an uncommon situation by any stretch of the imagination. I regularly hear from people who are ready to leave their company as soon as they find something better. In many cases, the bosses' saving grace is that the law of inertia works in their favour: employees are so entrenched in their ways that it takes more effort for them to walk away than to just stay where they are and complain.

However, some employees-usually the best ones-will make that effort and walk away without looking back. Once they've made up their mind, there usually isn't anything their bosses can do to make them change their minds. These bosses then face a more difficult situation than they did before. What are the chances that you, as the superior of an employee, are inadvertently pushing them to the door? Answering a few questions may give you an idea.

Do you know your employees' medium- and long-term goals?

Do your employees have a future in your company?

Do they know what that future can look like?

Do you discuss your employees' future within the company?

Do you discuss it with your superiors?

Do you discuss it with the employee?

Do you establish career plans with your employees?

Do you feel it is primarily your responsibility, rather than HR's?

Do you have a formal training plan to get the employee from where they are to where they want to be?

Do you have measures and incentives in place to keep the best employees happy and willing to stay with the company to build their future?

I think many employers have given up on building long term career plans with employees, because they feel that loyalty is on the decline. That may be the case, but I think it's mainly a by-product of savage downsizing in the past. Many employees may now feel that jumping from one company to another is better for their career than staying in a single company. I think the opposite is true: when employees are happy and fulfilled in the workplace, they perform better and are unwilling to go through the travails of searching for a new position elsewhere. However, this happens only if the employer clearly demonstrates to the employees, through word and deed, that they value each employee's unique individual contribution to the company's success.

All good employees have a desire to feel needed and appreciated for the work they do. It's just human nature.

I think Jessie was a good employee, but her boss didn't seem to think so. Now he's lost her and he may be worse off than before. As for Jessie, she's getting a head start on a passion that she had planned to pursue only ten to fifteen years from now.

If you had been Jessie's boss, would she still be working for you?

Employees Are Our Most Important Asset?

2011-11-24T22:15:00.001-05:00

Everyone is replaceable, but nobody is disposable. It's the difference between having employees and having resources. To be replaceable means that should an employee leave or be fired, it is possible to find a replacement. Typically, finding such a replacement requires an investment. As a leader, you've invested time, money, and emotion into building a team. When team members leave, in order to replace them you need to find the right balance of skills and attitude, so that the new hire fits.

When an employee is disposable, it means that they are of limited use and that once their expiry date has passed, you just discard them with no further thought. That's fine for a tin can but doesn't work for people. Employees feel it when a person in a position of authority thinks little of them. When they do, of course, they rebel. They won't go down in the streets and protest as they are currently doing in Greece or on Wall Street, but their actions will show it. They will work more slowly; they will be sick more often; they will find more problems with the work they need to do; it might even go as far as sabotaging projects, just to make the leader look bad.

Ask any leader in any company, and chances are, at some point you will hear that famous phrase: "Our people are our most important asset." Yet when you dig a little deeper, you find that it is just lip service. It can take on many forms:

managers who don't speak to their subordinates face to face, but prefer to do it by email;
there are those who don't reply to messages or to requests unless they are repeated more than once;
some accept meetings, show up late, yet ask to be brought up to speed while everyone else waits;
some schedule meetings and show up late to their own meetings, or are unprepared for their meetings;
employees are forced to work with suboptimal tools, even though those tools are essential to their productivity;
employees are not made aware of important information which may affect their work;
changes are planned with no input, and often no backing, by the employees, which just makes it more difficult for the changes to be implemented.

These are just some situations which can adversely affect employee morale, and can undermine a manager's leadership.

If people were to step walk into your office, how could they tell that employees are not disposable? How would they really see that people are your most important asset?

Give Your 110%

2011-11-15T23:44:00.001-05:00

"I want you to give your 110% to this effort!" How many times have you heard this? How many times have you said this?

Let's put aside the fact that you can't give 110%, and that you can't give 100% all the time or else you'll burn out. After all, if humans could give 100% all the time, Usain Bolt would run the marathon in about 67 minutes, which is about half as much as the current world record. As a leader, you really just want your employees to give the maximum effort as often as possible. No matter what you try, it will never be 100%.

Employees aren't robots, they're people and people get tired, they get distracted, they get sick, and so on. Each of these factors takes away from the 100% and there's nothing you can do about it. However, there are many other factors that take away from that effort which can be controlled.

Social interaction: Social interaction is an important part of the work. People who work together often eventually start sharing information about each other, they laugh together, they develop friendships, and so on. It's an important part of creating a team mentality. However, it can get out of hand when all people do is joke around and do very little work (think of the comedy ":The Office").
Not having the right tools: Technology in all fields is progressing at breakneck speed. It's nearly impossible to keep up. If we take computer programs, for example. Many companies wait before upgrading the software they use. However, when tools are five or six years behind current versions, employees may be wasting time doing things that more recent versions can do more effectively.
Skills deficiency: Does John have the proper skills to do his work, or is he putting twice the effort to do the same work that others in his team are doing? Is his supervisor aware of John's predicament? What help is available for John to get up to speed?
Micro-management: Is Sally putting more work into reaching her goals or into reporting what she is doing? When are the scheduled milestones where Sally must report progress or warn about possible issues? Is there enough trust between her and her supervisor to let her be as effective as possible, while the supervisor is not concerned that she is not doing her work properly?
Negative atmosphere: This can take on many forms, from gossiping, to outright conflicts, to overt politicking, the the threat of pending layoffs. When the atmosphere is overly negative, employees put more effort into protecting themselves and trying to work around the landmines than they do on getting the work done.

Of course, there can be many other types of distractions or issues that affect the effective output of an employee. Some are under the leader's control (ineffective business processes, too many mandatory meetings) while some aren't (personal issues, sickness). This is illustrated in the following diagram:

No matter what you do, employees cannot give 100% everyday, all day. However, if as a leader you can find the reasons that affect this output, and you can effectively address them, then you might just get 80% all day. That's much better than average.

Facebook baiting

2011-11-11T23:02:00.001-05:00

There's a trend in Facebook that I find somewhat disturbing. People post movies on their walls or send movies to you and encourage you to click the movie. When you do, the first thing you see is a message that sayss "You must share/like this before seeing it." This begs the question: What, exactly, am I sharing? What, exactly, am I liking?

Maybe somebody can light my candle, here, but I don't understand why you would need to force people to share things or commit to saying they like it, if they haven't seen it yet. My first reaction—well, my only reaction, really—is to ignore such movies, even if the title is enticing. So if the idea is to get more people talking about it, or sharing it, isn't that a counter productive approach? Let people view the movie and let them decide after the fact whether it's worth sharing or not. Otherwise, the message you are really sending is "Send this along before you realize that it's really not that good."

Employees Are People Too

2011-11-08T20:16:00.001-05:00

As a leader, how do you see your employees? What do they represent? Are they your most important asset? Are they a never ending source of problems? Do they represent a bigger budget and more responsibilities? Or are they something else completely? It's a simple question, really, when you think about it. Fortunately, it also has a simple answer: Employees are people. That's it. They're people.

Now, they may be people that have been hired to do a certain task; they may be people who help achieve goals; they may be people who represent assets-and expenditures-on the balance sheet, but first and foremost, they are people. Why is this important? Because sometimes leaders get so caught up in the tasks, the goals, the budgets and the other "stuff" that is important to get their job done, that they forget that the only way do succeed at these things is to deal with people first. Not numbers, not the top line and the bottom line, but individuals. These individuals are not just a means to an end: They are the only means to your end. Without them, there are no results, there is no top line, and the bottom falls out.

If leaders forget that they are dealing with individuals first, it can cause all sorts of problems, sometimes in the short term, sometimes over the long term. But the results are the same: more effort is needed to get the work done, there are more problems to manage, and the atmosphere in the workplace becomes more noxious. Eventually, it catches up to the leader: missed deadlines, cost overruns, and of course, more stress which can lead to health issues.

Over the next few weeks, I will be covering various aspects of this human side of leadership. As always, I welcome comments, questions, and suggestions.

No matter what the title on the business card, leaders cannot exist unless people accept to follow their lead. Nobody is anointed a leader, people decide to grant them that distinction. They can be bosses or supervisors by decree, but they are leaders by consensus. By underestimating this human aspect of leadership, leaders seriously undermine their effectiveness.

Stepping up to the challenge

2011-11-01T22:39:00.001-04:00

Steve Jobs redefined the digital landscape. Linus Torvalds galvanized a movement which enables much of the Internet to exist. Terry Fox attempted to cross Canada on one leg. How can you rise to such a challenge?

Have a powerful "Why." If you read about people who have accomplished great feats, when they were not forced to do it, it always boils down to the reason. Whether it be Terry Fox, Steve Jobs, Linus Torvalds, or someone trying to stop smoking or to lose weight. All have a powerful reason to accomplish what they set out to do. Without a powerful reason, the challenge will best you.

Plan and prepare. If you are going to run a marathon, you can't simply show up on the finish line and hope to finish. You must prepare in advance, whether it be running longer distances than usual, changing your diet or getting the proper running gear.

Start. It's fine to get ready and to plan, but if you don't actually start, nothing will happen. The first step is often the most difficult. You can either start slow and pick up speed as you go along or start with a bang and ride the momentum. The latter is best because once you get a good start, it becomes harder to simply give up since you've done so much in so little time.

Measure. How will you know close you are to your goal? If you can't measure your progress, it is difficult to know if your are moving in the right direction. Eventually this can become disheartening and can cause you to simply give up.

Have a support system. The harder the task, the more you need one or more people to support you along the way. Let them know how you are progressing. That person (or those people) must be people who believe in you and will encourage you when you face the inevitable roadblocks. Stay away for people who live to criticize and put people down.

Celebrate. The end goal shouldn't be the only thing to celebrate along the way. There should be various milestones to celebrate. Celebrations make the entire process more enjoyable and increase the chances of success. Beating yourself over the head won't have nearly the same effect. Celebrate, have fun, and enjoy the ride.

Back in May, I decided that I wanted to participate in this year's National Novel Writing Month. The challenge is to complete a 50,000 word novel in one month. That's an average of almost 1,700 words per day. To put it in perspective, if you type 30 words per minute, which is not that fast, you have to type without interruption for one hour every day for the entire month. My average, so far, is about 500 words per day. Completing the novel will be quite a challenge!

I'll let you know how it went in December.

Creating Loyal Employees

2011-10-26T16:22:00.001-04:00

Every day, I receive offers in my mailbox from companies with which I have done business in the past. Sometimes I'm interested, but most of the time I'm not and I delete them, often without reading them first. However, I don't unsubscribe because once in a while, I need their services and I know I can get offers which will be useful to me. That makes me loyal to certain companies or brands.

Businesses face the same challenges every day. However, you can't make employees become loyal partners simply by offering them specials or dangling carrots for them. Eventually, employees will find this behaviour condescending and it may have the opposite effect. However, loyal, and even passionate employees are important to businesses for they are the ones that propel things forward in good times and in bad.

Creating loyal employees is not difficult, but it requires time and perseverance. It doesn't happen overnight and it especially doesn't happen because the leaders want it: it happens because employees want it. Otherwise, they simply go on with their work, waiting for a better offer to come along.

How do you create loyal employees?

Treat them fairly.
Give them meaningful work.
Give them adequate resources to complete their work effectively.
Give them latitude to make choices in the work they do.
Take the time to explain how their work fits and benefits the overall picture.
Take the time to thank them and acknowledge their contribution.

These are simple steps, but many companies fail to implement them all. Employees know this, so when they find a company where all of these elements are present in their everyday life, they tend to want to stick around. Not only do they become loyal employees, but eventually, they even become fans and advocates. There's no better situation for a business.

Network marketing's devious tricks

2011-09-06T21:13:00.000-04:00

Last night, a woman called from a network marketing company, and she claims that a distant cousin (Jane) is part of her "organization." The woman claims that she is furthering Jane's education and as part of the process, wants me to give names of people who would want to build a business, yada, yada, yada. I start by humouring her, to see how she does her pitch. She's enthusiastic, she seems to believe in what she says, she's just vague enough to make a desperate person want to meet her and listen to what she has to sell. So far, so good. However, things start breaking apart when she realizes that I'm not too keen on being part of her network, and that I don't want to send her the names of people I know because they would not be interested. Her response is: "Don't filter! Just go through your cell phone, and write down all the numbers in there, then go through your Facebook page and write all the names and contact information you have there. Then you can send me the information by email." She's got some nerve! That's pretty much when I lost my patience and hung up.

It's interesting how, in network marketing, people seem to think that you just want to give them all the names of people you know because it's the "right thing to do" in their world. This isn't the first time I've had this sort of call and usually, I hang up after thirty seconds. This time I was in a good mood, so I was more patient. One thing I never got to ask her was: "Why doesn't Jane call me herself instead of sending you. If you're helping her in her training, shouldn't she be doing all of this on her own? Isn't that part of the learning process?" What a deceptive approach.

Why can't all voice mail systems use the same shortcuts?

2011-04-28T19:36:00.001-04:00

I mean, it seems rather simple, no? Press the # key to skip the message and leave your voice mail. This works in many cases, but other times, when you press #, you are greeted with a message that says "Please enter your password" and then you're stuck. The only option is to call again, then listen to the entire greeting (which is sometimes obnoxiously long), followed by the moron-specific instructions (e.g. "please wait for the beep to leave a message. When you are finished, you can hang up or press the pound key for more options." Argh! It makes me want to throw the phone across the room!

Try calling yourself and see how long it takes for you to leave a message. If a caller can't leave a message in less than 15 seconds (even 10 seconds) then your system needs fixing. This can be as simple as saying "Press 1 to leave a message immediately. Hello you've reached Laurent Duperval, and let me tell you about my life..."

Of course, you can always try to get your phone carrier to fix their system to allow # instead of some other key.

Kinect rock-tude

2011-01-14T22:14:00.001-05:00

I don't say this often but... Microsoft rocks!

The kids received a Kinect for Christmas and it's amazing. I have no idea how it compares to the other consoles and frankly my dear, I don't give a damn. This thing is cool!

Friday nights are much more interesting when you're competing for points against your kids than when you're listening to yet another movie. Tonight, Kinect saved us from that cinematic masterpiece, Vampires Suck! Dubbed in French, no less.

We bought Dance Central which is an awesome game. I had tried the other dance title on the Wii and, to tell you the truth, when I played, you could mistake me for one of those vampires. On Dance Central, though, I rock! Well, except on those girlie dances. I can't quite get my feminine side to come out like it should. But those dude-songs are awesome!

The soundtrack is great and reminds me of my club days. You know, before I suddenly turned old and started to dance in front of my TV instead... Too bad House of Pain isn't part of the mix. It'll probably be downloadable soon, though. Hint! Hint!

I also tried the game that comes with the Kinect. First time I actually took time to play it and, honestly, it is purty darn decent. The one where you have to jump to make the thing go faster had blood and sweat pumping out my ears. I guess that's how it's supposed to be. And that's what makes it such a superior system compared to the Wii.

I remember playing the boxing game on the Wii about a year ago and feeling highly frustrated from the experience. I was playing against an "expert" and here I was, punching and jabbing and flailing my fists in wild uppercuts while she was merely flicking her wrists... and she won! After one game, i was on the floor, heaving and panting, wondering if should call 911 and she was filing her nails. I'd like to see her cheat now!

Too bad Electronic Arts won't come out with a FIFA title for the Kinect. Oh well, maybe in a couple more generations of the device.

Are dynasties bad for sports?

2010-10-19T00:16:00.001-04:00

During a discussion with my colleague Richard Martin, we discussed the issue of salary caps and their effect on sports. Salary caps, to me, have a negative effect on sports. With a salary cap, all teams are equal and any given year, any team can win. That's fine for sportsmanship, but is it good for sports?

I used to watch basketball and I stopped when Michael Jordan left. Why? Because I couldn't rally for any given team. The Jordan-era Bulls had Pippen, Jordan, Rodman, and Phiil Jackson. I just loved watching the team play, I wasn't watching to see a particular player. Today, I don't watch basketball because... well, after the Bulls dynasty ended, there was little interest on my part. The league started to focus more on individuals than teams.

Same goes for hockey and football. It isn't so much about the teams as it is about the individual players. Dynasties have disappeared. Teams can't win back-to-back championships, and I contend that it's not that good for sports. Dynasties creates legions of fans, equality doesn't.

If we look at soccer, you have dynasties which stand the test of time: Manchester United, Real Madrid, AC Milan, Brazil, Germany, etc. Those are the teams that create the quasi-religious fever surrounding the sport. Those are the teams that make the World Cup the second biggest sports even in the world.

Dynasties are like black holes: they attract people to them. Many people will be attracted by a dynasty because of the caliber of the players, the fluid play, the nonstop wins. Many others will be attracted because they want to see the dynasty brought to its knees, they want to see the minnow knock down the giant, they want to hate the team that wins all the time. That's good, it makes the weaker teams work that much harder.

However, when all teams are equal, when it's a coin toss from one year to the next, the sport loses some of its luster and some of its magic. It becomes ho-hum.

And so it is in business: businesses work because there are superstar companies and there are jobber companies. There are superstar salespeople and there are run-of-the-mill salespeople. If you try to rein in stellar companies, to try to bring them down to the level of lesser-performing ones, you destroy initiative, innovation, and ultimately, leadership. Just look at what happened to Microsoft. They were ahead of the game on many fronts, not always because of their clean business tactics. They were brought down by the DOJ and today... well, they still make decent products but where is the buzz? Where is the innovation? Where are the rabid fans?

In a company where you reduce compensation for the best performers in order to level the playing field and salaries, the best performers will either stop putting in the efforts or they will leave to go to another company which better appreciates their value. They'll take their dynasty to a better playground.

Dynasties set the standard, they pave the way. As the ad used to say: "We're #2 so we work harder." That's what dynasties do.

Until they are toppled and replaced by another.

How big a change does Haiti truly need?

2010-08-06T23:07:00.001-04:00

Unless you've been living under a rock, or have no interest in international politics, you are probably aware that Haiti is preparing to have an election this year. There hasn't been such an international buzz around Haitian elections since the first democratic election that brought Jean-Bertrand Aristide to power in 1990. This year, the buzz is all around Wyclef Jean, the hip hop star-cum-president hopeful.

Judging by the media hype, you would think that Wyclef is the only artist looking to be elected in November. Actually, another charismatic singer has thron his hat in the race: Michel "Sweet Micky" Martelly, also know as Prezidan (president, in Haitian creole).

Clef is getting all the press, but honestly, if both of them were to be on the ballot, I wouldn't be so quick to say that he is a shoe-in. In fact, if there were only two candidates, Clef and Sweet Micky, it would probably be a very close race. And you know that whoever wins, it's going to be some party. With the headache to go along with it...

I can't comment on either man's political acumen, nor can I say that either of them is better equipped to become president. The problem in Haiti is that anyone who touches the presidency becomes corrupt. Everyone. It happened to Aristide, many people say it happened to Préval, the current president. Let's not mention the litany of army generals in the '90s. The Duvaliers before that, Magloire, and so on. The position is poisoned. In order to fix this, I think something very different has to happen, and that may be where Clef has an advantage.

He's been around the world, has been educated in the US, and is an accomplished businessman. That should help him bring new eyes and a new vision of what Haiti can and should be as a country, the first Black-led independent country. La perle des Antilles, the Carribean Pearl.

Clef has charisma, he can make things move. He loves his country and can probably propose a vision that is much more optimistic than a politician could. Because, let's face it: in order for Haiti to get out of this mess, the people need a dream. They need hope, they need something to look up to, something drive for. Maybe it's education for all. Maybe it's rebuilding a new city, where everyone will have safe housing. Maybe it's a job for everyone who is willing and able to work. Maybe it's food on the table three times a day, every day. Maybe it's knowing that all your babies will reach adulthood, that they won't die of malnutrition or water poisoning or some other ailment brought on by poverty and famine. There has to be something more than waking up and barely being able to survive.

What Clef doesn't have, yet, is a team. If he were to be elected, I could see him as the leader. I could see him as the one pointing the way. I don't see him as the president, though. I don't see him as the one to make the difficult decisions about monetary policy, foreign affairs, and so on. He will need a solid team to whom he can say "This is what I want our country to look like. Tell me how we're going to do it." He has to be surrounded by people who will say "Let me find a way" not "We can't do that." Can he create that team? If so, does he have enough humility to stand back and say "OK, you know this better than I do. Explain to me how it works, do your thing, and I'll talk to the people."

Which could be another issue: Clef's French and Creole are not quite there yet. I won't say his Creole is "mawon" but will the people look past the accent if, indeed, he is able to lead the country efficiently? I don't know.

Can Clef draw enough money and machinery to clean up the rubble that is Port-au-Prince in order to let it rise from its ashes?

Can he do it in five years, which is all he is allowed to have under the current constitution?

Can he clean up his image quickly enough and make people forget about all the allegations surrounding his Yele Haiti foundation?

Is he ready? Is he able? We all know he's willing and that may be half the battle. He'll have to go through a lot of muckraking and mudslinging just to reach the vote. And it won't stop there, he'll probably still be attacked after the vote, if he wins. Will he be able to withstand it?

For most of these questions, I don't know.

How about the other singer, Sweet Micky? Can he make a decent president? I don't know. I know he's charismatic, I know he can work a crowd, I've seen him do it. Unfortunately, the only images I have of Martelly is of a man so drunk on stage that he can barely stand straight, uttering a constant stream of profanity-laced ramblings. From what I hear, he has always been rather cozy with the richer and shadier individuals in power. To me, that doesn't bode well for his presidency.

As I mentioned in an interview after the earthquake, Haiti isn't lacking a president. What it's lacking is a leader. Préval was an awful leader during the earthquake. He was largely unseen, and unheard. He should have been on the radio, on TV, every day, to let the people know what was happening, what he was doing to clear this mess, and how he was planning on pulling the country out of yet another catastrophe.

There needs to be a severe change of direction in the country. But not so abrupt that it causes it to go past the tipping point and fall.

Learning From Amazon's Success

2010-07-13T22:26:00.001-04:00

After seeing him open the Montreal Jazz Festival, I wanted to get a book of guitar tabs from Brian Setzer (of the Stray Cats) for a little fun... and masochism. I checked out my usual music store to see if they had the book or not. They were out of stock and it would take two weeks to get it. I could have waited but...

I've been meaning to get "On Writing" by Stephen King, for a couple of reasons. First, I have been told that it's a great book on writing, if a bit unconventional (it is written by King, after all). Second, I need a bit of inspiration because my writing has severely declined in the past few months, as much in quantity as in quality. So I needed a little boost.

Need more than a book? That's a job for Amazon. I hit the site, selected "On Writing" and read the foreword. I liked what I read, so I added the book to my cart. Then I searched for the Brian Setzer book. There were a couple but I knew which one I wanted so I added it to my cart.

Then, Amazon told me that I would probably like a book call "Guitar Aerobics." Really? I'm not sure. "Well then," replied the site, "Look Inside." So I did. And I read the critics, and I bought the book. Which raised my total over $39, so I got free shipping and handling.

When I wanted to check out, they told me that the Stephen King book would take 9-12 days before it was ready. Did I want two shipments or just one? I chose one shipment and was told that I would get the books around July 26. I'm writing this on July 13 and I've been enjoying my three books for the past four days.

Why does Amazon succeed, and what does it take to succeed in any business? Here are three reasons:

Options: I can choose whatever I want from Amazon, and I am given options at all times. Different shipping methods, multiple accounts in various countries, I can ship to any address, I can use multiple credit cards, and so on. Choice is good, although you need to limit the number of options you offer, as not to overwhelm the client. The fewer options you offer, the less flexibility you have, the tougher it is to succeed.
Underpromise/Overdeliver: they said it would take almost three weeks to get my goods, yet they delivered in fewer than five days. Could this be a ploy? Possibly, if you like conspiracy theories. I don't. And I've had other experiences with Amazon where they had told me it would take 10 days to receive my order, and a few days later I received another message saying "We can't hold our promise, do you wish to cancel your order?" So I think they are honest and just managed to get the order to me sooner.
Master the upsell: this is where many fail, yes, including me. Upselling is the art of offering clients what they need instead of only what they want. I wanted the Stephen King book and the Brian Setzer book. Turns out I needed the Aerobics book also. Who knew? Yet many people are afraid to offer more to the client, because they feel it is greedy. It isn't and one of the things I have learned about selling is that if you have something that is beneficial to a client an you don't offer it to them, it is a disservice on your part. It is your duty to offer it to the client, and it is their choice to accept it or not.   In this particular case, Amazon's upsell ended up costing little more than my original purchase, with shipping and handling. Except that now I don't feel like I've spent money, but rather that I've invested in my guitar playing. Not bad for $5.

Now that I've been able to enjoy my books for a few days, what do I think? It's going to take a long time to go through the aerobics book (if I ever complete it), I'll never be as good a guitarist as Setzer, nor as good a writer as King.

But Amazon will get my business again.

The problem with social media

2010-07-11T19:01:00.000-04:00

I have three identities on Twitter: @lduperval, @duperval and @laurentduperval. Only the first one is valid. The other two are there just to protect my name, sort of like buying a lot of domain names, without doing anything with them but preventing people from squatting.

On the two identities I don't use, there is a message that says: "I don't use this address, use @lduperval instead." Well, despite this warning, I still have 14 followers on @duperval. Nobody is following on @laurentduperval. Yet, the message is much more explicit on @duperval than on @laurentduperval.

This tells me that the people who follow you, aren't necessarily discriminating, They just pick names out of a hat and add that to their list. Nevertheless, all those social media experts are telling you: "You have to invest more in social media. Follow everyone who follows you." I dunno. It seems to me that it's better to have fewer followers who actually read and are interested in what you say, rather than thousands of followers who don't really give a hoot.

Employee Disengagement: Why It Matters

2010-04-14T22:54:00.001-04:00

A Case Study in Driving Employee Engagement looks at the impact of employee disengagement in the workplace. It looks at the costs, what to do with a disengaged employee, and how to keep engaged employees from losing their enthusiasm.

A Day in The City

2010-04-05T21:05:00.000-04:00

Just came back from an Easter weekend stay at my friends' in Connecticut. While we were there, we decided to take in a Broadway show. I let my wife decide on the show, since I had no real preference. She picked "In The Heights" because, she said, it had great reviews. Yeah, right! I think it was because of Corbin Bleu... At first she called him Cordon Bleu; I wonder if it wasn't a comment on his "tastiness." But I digress.

We rode the train from CT to Grand Central Station. No much to say except that I've been in planes that had more leg room that the place where we were sitting. Since we arrived at two hours before the show, we had plenty of time to walk around and take in some of the sights and the sunshine. Indeed, it was a lovely day in The City. So we grabbed a couple of slices of pie and headed to Times Square.

It had been a long time since I'd been in Manhattan and it was quite different from what I remember. Maybe it was because we went in early spring, but the streets weren't as crowded as I remember them. People were polite, they didn't seem rushed, and I found it was a generally relaxed atmosphere. Heck, if it wasn't for all the tall buildings, you coulda been in Montreal!

By the time we passed through Times Square, it was time for the show to begin so we settled down. It was a great choice. In a word, it's the intertwined stories of people living in the barrio, in Washington Heights. It chronicles the struggles and the dreams of people who have been working hard to make something of their lives, after having started from practically nothing. THe music was a great mix of salsa, reggaeton, bachata, hip hop, and so on. Not your typical Broadway musical, to say the least. There was a lot of energy emanating from the stage. The orchestra was top notch and the lighting and effects were fantastic. Highly recommended if you get a chance.

After the show, we headed to Central Park where we took the time to visit some of the locations we had seen so often in movies: the skating rink, the little bridges, and so on. We found this guy trying to make a living:

and this guy trying to look cool:

and this lovely woman making the apple tree look good:

We went to eat at a Brazilian restaurant on 46th street. Great food and their Capinhero (I think that's what it's called) was excellent. Unfortunately, the restaurant made an errot while serving our food. Though I notified the waiter about it, he did nothing to make amends... so I had to take it out on his tip. Too bad because otherwise, it was a fine dinner.

We stepped out again and headed to Times Square to see the nigh lights and to get some souvenirs for the kids. I was surprised to find that there was more action and more people in the streets than there had been in the afternoon. This, despite the fact the the temperature had dropped considerably.

We got the souvenirs and headed back to Grand Central. That's when we realized that I left the souvenir bag on the counter at the shop. We didn't feel like doing the 40-minute walk to and from the shop so we hailed a cab, instead. Then we experienced Manhattan traffic jams at 9:30PM. I think it would have been faster if we had gone on foot.

To return to Grand Central, we hailed another cab but on 44th street, instead of 42nd like we did the first time. We we got on the cab (at the corner of 44th and 8th avenue) we told the driver we wanted to go to Grand Central station. His reply? "Can you tell me how to get there?" Here we are, tourists from Montreal and we have to tell the driver how to get to Grand Central Station, one of the great landmarks of the city.

Only in New Yohk!

Hollywood, here I come!

2010-04-01T06:49:00.001-04:00

Ever since I won the lottery two weeks ago, things have really taken a drastic turn. The ad is true: it doesn't really change things, except that...

It was a harder secret to keep than what I expected. I had to keep things the same at work, at home, with friends, and family. I didn't want to let the cat out of the bag until I knew exactly what I was going to do. Now that it's settled, I can finally let it out!

A couple of friends of mine, Nick and Eddy, moved to California a few years ago to make it big in show business. They haven't hit the big time yet, but they're making a decent living and they really like it there. What's more important, though, is that in the seven years they've been there, they managed to create a pretty nice network, and they have the ear of a couple of people close to some producers.

One of those producers is Jon Favreau. Nick says that Favreau may have an interest in my retelling of Peter Pan as a darker character, tortured by the fact that he was abandoned by his parents in the grime of New York. He liked the (partial) synopsis and would like to hear more, but he's too busy right now with the Iron Man II tsunami coming up. So I'm going to work on it some more and head down to LaLa land to pitch my idea and my vision.

I'm not quite sure how it's going to turn out, but I have a few interesting ideas for casting: Charlize Theron as Tinkerbell, the exotic dancer; I'm torn between Scarlet Johansen and Lauren Ambrose as Wendy the waitress. I originally thought of Gary Oldman as Kap'n Hook, the Kingpin but after seeing Christoph Waltz in Inglourious Basterds, I'm thinking he might make a better villain. I'm thinking of giving myself a part as one of Hook's cronies, but I dunno if that'll work. Anyway, we're still a long way from that.

So my plan is to wait until after the launch of Iron Man and then make my pitch. Exciting times!

My wife and the children don't know about this yet, I'm planning on springing it on them as an Easter surprise. I'm planning on taking them on a trip this summer, all I have to do now is figure out the destination. I'll see where they want to go. I'd like to check out Australia, but by then it'll be winter time. Maybe I'll wait until next winter and go to Hawaii instead.

For now, though, I put a sizable deposit on a brand new 2010 Mercedes S600 for the family and I'm thinking of getting a little something for me too. I had to borrow some money for the deposit, though, since I still have to cash in the money. But it's all planned: I'll surprise my wife and the kids by taking them out to Loto-Quebec and having the car waiting outside when we come out.

Well, it was supposed to be a surprise but my nosey daughter read over my shoulder and saw the title of this post. So now she's asking all sorts of questions, that I don't want to answer just yet. She'll probably be telling everybody at school now... *Sigh* Oh well, such is life with kids, I guess.

In the meantime, every night before I go to sleep I just admire that ticket. Dang! Look at it, it's so beautiful. It's almost like it has a glow around it!

Hmmmm.... that's weird....

Lemme check something....

HOLY !!*"?/(!(?!*"(?Y/"!&?"/(?*?(?)!"@!##!&+!@))(#!!)!!!)(><!!!

WHAT THE !()!#@$)#$)*!_&*@!!^$!(!@(^#@!*$@^!!!!!

I DON'T BELIEVE THIS!! I LOOKED AT THE RESULTS FOR THE WRONG DATE!! I DIDN'T WIN!

OH NOO! HOW AM I GONNA PAY FOR THAT CAR!!

I am in DEEEEEP trouble.

P.S. April Fool's!

Starting the day with a smile

2010-01-28T22:33:00.001-05:00

Some people have no sense of humour. This morning I was heading to town in the train, and a man entered with his toddler. After a few minutes, the child became a bit agitated. He began chirping and making noise, like a toddler would. I noticed that people around him were smiling or laughing at his antics. All except one woman, who got up and stomped out in a huff. As I looked at her face, I could almost hear her thoughts: "How dare he bring that */*"%?& kid in my wagon?"

I wonder if she had a nice day?

When Social Media Shines

2010-01-13T17:58:00.001-05:00

I heard the news as I was driving home last night: a major earthquake in Haiti had brought the country to its knees. I still have family there, and from the news reports I knew that the earthquake had hit close to where they lived.

So I went for the immediate, old-timer's reflex: I called my aunt on the phone. She confirmed what the news stations said: it is almost impossible t get a line and she hasn't heard from anybody.

When I finally reached home, I went straight for my Twitter and Facebook accounts and there, I managed to get information that would have been impossible to get any other way.

I began with Twitter in order to figure out what was happening, and to see if anyone in my network had any information on the situation. It was all very chaotic; a good place to get a global overview of things but nothing like what I really wanted to know: is my family all right?

Facebook is a whole different story, though. On Twitter, I'm willing to connect with pretty much anybody. But on Facebook, I triage. If I don't know you personally or if I don't recognize your picture, you don't get on my list. So the people in my Facebook are a much more tightly knit group of individuals than in any other network (LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.).

Through my Facebook friends, real information started trickling in: one aunt and uncle were OK but had lost their home; two other aunts and my grandmother were fine, just rattled a bit; another uncle and aunt, who live in an area that was severely affected by the quake were also OK but their hous had suffered. By 1 AM, I had heard all of the important news I needed to know: my family was all right, and I could go to sleep (somewhat) peacefully. Everything else could wait until the next day.

I'll admit that I'm not normally a big user of any of the social media platforms. The only one I strive to use regularly is Twitter (more on that later). However, after going through yesterday's ordeal, I have new respect for these tools: there was no other way I could have gotten as much information from as many different sources. Trying to do this by the phone, or even by email, would have been impossible. With the social media tools, one status update from a friend gave more information than I could get by making 20 different phone calls.

Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, and other social media sites can become a huge time-sucking black hole if ou aren't careful. As a solo entrepreneur, I have to watch out for that, which is the reason I tend to limit my time on these platforms. I use them a few minutes per day, late in the evening, which ensures I don't spend five hours.

In a time of crisis, though, there isn't any better tool.

What about Twitter? Well, I use an automated system (SocialOomph.com) to schedule tweets on various topics during the week. I do so in a semi-disciplined manner. Every Sunday night, I sit down and write enough "Laurent's Gems" to fill the week, and then I schedule them. I have found that by doing so, once again, I save a lot of time and it forces me to write something coherent at least once a week.

In all of the earthquake turmoil, I forgot to turn it off temporarily, so after a string of "Where's My Family" updates, here comes another one that tells you to consider working in a smaller company if you are dissatisfied with your job.

Yeah, I know, awkward.

I wish I had thought of this...

2009-11-28T20:11:00.001-05:00

... but Alan Weiss did it before me. Score:

Alan: lots
Me: Not so much

My Report to the President

The little train conductor who couldn't (part 2)

2009-11-10T08:38:00.001-05:00

Yesterday, the same thing happened again: I got to the train station (at yet a different time) and the commuter train's passing coincided with the passing of a freight train. We were about twelve, waiting anxiously for the caboose to pass us by. When it finally did, we heard the bell which signaled the departure of the commuter train. Internally, I went "F****** S***!!! Not again!" But this time, the conductor waited until we boarded before the train left.

I'll have to start getting earlier to the train station if I want to live a long life.

The little train conductor who couldn't

2009-11-06T20:24:00.001-05:00

If I have to go downtown during rush hour and I plan to spend the day, I take the train. It's relatively comfortable, it's stress-free, and doesn't take much more time than driving.

The agency in charge of the train service around Montreal, the AMT, has been working hard to get people from the suburbs to leave their car at home (or in the free parking spaces) and to take the train instead. It has worked relatively well, until this year.

Last winter, a couple of the busiest lines had major mechanical problems during winter months, which caused passengers to be stranded on platforms, with plummeting temperatures and blistering winds. Not surprisingly, this has lead to a decline in ridership on the lines that were most affected.

I applaud the AMT's efforts to address the mechanical issues and I hope they are successful. I also hope they will be training their employees.

Today, about 25 other passengers and I were left stranded on the train station's platform, because of a stupid employee. Here is what happened: where I take the train, there are four tracks so at any given time, there could conceivably be four trains present. This morning, at around 7:50, a freight train showed up. At about 7:56, the commuter train pulled in also, but the freight train was still running.

At about 7:57, the last car of the freight train finally pulled away and all 25 would-be passengers ran to the commuter train. The first of the lot was about 20 feet from the train door when the conductor decided to pull away. He just stood on the steps of the car, looked at the helpless people looking at him, and shook his head as if he were powerless to do anything about it.

Bull!

The previous day, the exact same thing happened, although earlier in the day. However, when we reached the car, the conductor smiled and said: "You were scared, weren't you? When I saw the train I figured I would just wait a bit to give you guys a chance."

So it wasn't that this morning's conductor couldn't wait a few more seconds, it's just that he chose not to. He didn't want to fall behind his schedule so he saved those precious few seconds by pulling away while leaving 25 customers fuming and, who knows, maybe some will lose their jobs because of this.

Some might think: "It's important to keep the train on schedule for the benefit of the other customers." To which I say: "I agree." However, 1) I don't think that a few seconds would have been that big of a deal and 2) the trains periodically run late for other reasons (like people working on the tracks).

As far as I'm concerned, this morning's display was shameful customer service.

Get Them at Hello: How To Improve Your Hiring Process

2009-10-17T14:51:00.001-04:00

On my French blog, I recently wrote about an experience I had when I joined a singing ensemble. (Please, no jokes about my voice!) In a nutshell, I joined the ensemble at the beginning of September and participated in the yearly 3-day camp, which is when we get a good overview of the songs we will be performing at the end of March.

The selection process was typical: I went through an audition where they asked a few questions about me and why I had chosen to join the group. Then they tested my singing abilities, and that was it. A few days later I received the news: out of 30 applicants, I was one of the 12 chosen.

The first time I showed up, many people made it their duty to come and say "Hi" and to welcome me aboard. But it was nothing compared to what happened at the camp. All new "hires" were front and centre of various activities over the course of the weekend. The pinnacle, for me, was when they sat us in the middle of a room, surrounded us and all 70+ veterans sang us a song. That event really made me feel special within the group. And it got me thinking: when was the last time I was welcomed in such a manner? In particular, when has it happened at work?

As a consultant, I don't expect people to make a big deal about my presence. In fact, in many cases, they may resent it. That's fine. But as an employee, expectations are different. You expect to become part of something special, part of a team; you search for a way to belong. Too often, that part of the work experience is completely forgotten, or neglected.

What is the typical hiring process?

Apply for a position that looks and sounds like hundreds of other positions
Go through an interview process, which is more or less involved.
When you first join the company, you go through the HR process to understand your working conditions.
Do your job.
Retire.

Can this be improved? Yes it can. And in fact, it should. Studies have shown that when people feel unwelcome or ill-treated in a new job, they are more likely to keep searching for jobs elsewhere. Although I haven't found a study that says so, I believe that there must be some truth to the complementary view: an employee who feels welcome is less likely to bolt after a few short months.

So what can be done to improve the initial impression? Here are a few ideas:

Change your job announcements: in fact, write the job postings to match the type or personality you are searching for. You want someone outgoing and dynamic? Make your posting sizzle. You want someone who is detail-oriented and likes solving arduous puzzles? You can say so within your posting also. Having a clear idea of the person you are trying to attract, and writing the job description accordingly will cull many unqualified applicants.
Make a big deal out of it: make the new hire feel welcome by making a big deal out of his/her presence. There are many ways to do this, so I won't get into details. Of course, you want to do something that will not make the person feel uncomfortable, otherwise you will get the opposite effect of what you are trying to accomplish. Here is an example of what not to do: A friend of mine was a new hire in a team, and the company was planning a special event one afternoon. However, they needed someone to stay at the office to answer email, take calls, etc. Guess who was asked to stay behind while the others went out and had fun? That was a great opportunity to help a new employee bond and become part of the team, but it was wasted. Shortly thereafter, the new employee left.
Make it smooth: it is highly annoying for a new hire to not be able to be effective immediately. Little things like computer accounts that don't work, not having the proper equipment to work with, not having a key to enter and leave work premises, and so on, leave a grating feeling. These things happen, of course, and you may just be unlucky. But if it happens regularly, it's no longer an annoyance: it's a symptom.
Mentoring or shadowing: this is a great way to make existing employees feel special also. When someone is hired, assign a mentor to them, or let them choose one. In order for this to be effective, let existing employees know that you want to start a mentoring program. Let people sign up if they want to, don't force it upon them. Then, either assign mentors to new hires on a rotating basis, or, let the new employees become familiar with the people they will be working with and let them choose their mentors after a few weeks.
Give them the opportunity to have immediate impact: nothing is more boring than being given a stack of documents to read on your first day on the job, especially if going through that stack can take a week or two. Instead, give new employees the opportunity of feeling useful as soon as possible.

Dr. Guido Quelle, President of Mandat Managementberatung GmbH in Germany, implements many of these elements with new employees. He explains it as follows:

Rookies whom we recruit when they finished their exam at the university get a six-month internal training program. They learn the Mandat-approach, get to know how we use our intellectual property, learn how we approach and develop clients, learn the culture, how to bring value to clients, and they also lead an important internal project.

As soon as possible, we take them with us to clients. There, they learn how we work directly with clients. When they start, they don't have a task, just to observe. We tell our clients, that the colleague is new with us and since we don't have daily rates, they don't pay for him or her sitting there. We always ask the colleague after a meeting what he observed. After a few meetings, the new colleague starts to facilitate meetings, steers sub projects, calls members of the project team in order to make sure that they do what they promised, etc.

The new colleague has a mentor, it's [my managing director] or me. The whole first year is more or less an "assistance" year. During the second year, the colleague gets more and more important tasks. Together with his internal mentor, he prepares himself for leading whole projects. There's always a feedback conversation between the mentor and the consultant after a meeting.

As you can see, the hiring process is not complete until new employees feel that they are part of team. The operative word, here, is feel. Emotions are what make people enjoy their work and makes them stay. As has often been said, you come into a company for the job, but you leave because of the people. You can increase loyalty and retention of employees, simply by analyzing and adjusting your "welcome" approach.

© 2009 Laurent Duperval, All rights reserved

Improving GNOME Evolution

2009-10-09T23:47:00.001-04:00

I haven't written a tech-only blog entry in a long, long, long time. Well, here goes!

I've been a fairly happy Mozilla Thunderbird user for years. But lately, I've been getting more and more frustrated with it, and I began looking for a new mail client. So far, of all the others I tested, GNOME Evolution is the one that comes closest to what I want. Closest, but not there yet. It's not missing much, and that's what I plan on covering here.

So why would I want to change in the first place? Because I've been having nagging performance issues with Thunderbird. I have a local IMAP setup for my email and periodically, Thunderbird will spike the CPU for no apparent reason. When it does, my system slows down to a crawl. Sometimes the only way I can fix it is by killing the Thunderbird process. I tried the latest Thunderbird 3 beta 4, and although I like a lot of the improvements, performance is worse than the previous version. Hence, Evolution.

I generally like it, and I find performance is better, without the spikes I see in Thunderbird. Here are some of the things I'd like to see improved, many of which are paper cuts:

Keyboard shortcuts: I don't like the shortcuts that have been assigned by the Evolution team. Maybe it's because I have been using Thunderbird for so long, but I get frustrated when I try a keyboard shortcut I am used to, but don't get the result I expect. I'd like to be able to configure my own shortcuts, like I can in OpenOffice.org.
Automatic filtering: One of the things I like about Thunderbird is the way it starts filtering your email as you type in the search box. You don't have to press Enter to launch the search. Same goes for the address book.
Mailbox ordering: Mail accounts are ordered alphabetically. I would rather be able to specify the ordering. Of course, I can specify "dumb" names like 00-FIrst, 01-Second, etc. But that isn't quite what I'm looking for. However, since this is predicatable, it makes it easier to order accounts than it is in Thunderbird. In the latter, you have no control: they appear in the order they were created.
Slow reply: Whenever I reply, there is an annoying delay before the reply window appears.
Webkit: I know work is being done on this. Webkit is the toolkit used by Google Chrome to display Web pages. HTML display is awful in Evolution, nothing like Thunderbird's ability to do the same.
Importing: This one is almost a deal breaker for me. Evolution doesn't import Thunderbird data correctly. I tried importing LDIF, CSV, and ICS but in each case, some of the cards were not imported correctly. I wish Evolution would allow me to specify where to put the content of each imported column, like OpenOffice.org does when importing into Calc.
New vs. Recent: I like the fact that Thunderbird makes a difference between "New" and "Brand New" email. For the latter, it displays a star, while the former has no star. In Evolution, it's difficult to see a difference between new email, and mail that has just come in.
Favourite folders: Another TB feature I like. I can specify some folders as favourite folders and only see them in my control panel. There isn't something like this in Evolution.

Well, that's it. I am still hoping that the final (64-bit Linux) build of Thunderbird will fix the performance issues I am experiencing. If not, maybe I'll have to do something I haven't done in years: break out my C coding skills... Yeah, right!

Twitter: Friend or Foe?

2009-09-10T18:13:00.001-04:00

“Social media sites are all the rage today,” says Laurent Duperval, president of Duperval Consulting. “We are still in a learning process, trying to figure out how to use these tools as efficaciously as possible. It is similar to what we went through with email and the Internet.”

Read more here: Twitter: Friend Or Foe?

Now THAT's customer service!

2009-08-13T12:27:00.001-04:00

We bought a Moen faucet about five years ago. Some time ago, one of the pieces of the faucet broke and the handle became loose. We made do for a while, but it eventually bugged me enough that I called the company to order a new part. After asking me a few clarifying questions, the customer service representative who answered identified the piece that was broken and sent it to me... along with another part that, she says, I should change as well.

I was never asked for my receipt. She asked me what year I bought the faucet, not to see if I was still under warranty, but because a few years ago the shape of the piece was changed, and she wanted to make sure I received the right one.

No headache. No hassle. They did not make me feel bad, nor guilty, for calling them. My next faucet will be a Moen.

Focus on Job Descriptions, Not Job Titles

2009-06-22T23:12:00.001-04:00

Read more here: http://tinyurl.com/nlf4l6

Five Mistakes To Avoid During a Technical Presentation

2009-05-29T14:41:00.001-04:00

... focusing solely on content is not sufficient to keep the audience engaged. You can distinguish yourself from the majority of other speakers by avoiding the same common mistakes.

You can read the rest on CIOUpdate.com:
Five Mistakes To Avoid During a Technical Presentation

Why people really quit

2009-05-20T21:37:00.001-04:00

An interesting article in this morning's Globe and Mail, discussing why people quit their jobs:

The real deal on why people quit

The interesting part of this article is not really why people quit, but the marked disparity between why people quit and why leaders think people quit. This disparity is quite significant because it will always cause companies to compensate incorrectly to keep people aboard.

Hiring costs are as high or higher (200% according to the above article) than keeping an employee aboard. But if companies don't know the real reason why people are leaving, they will keep throwing money at a situation they cannot fix, because they aren't fixing the real problem.

Another item of note: 5/5 top reasons given by employees have to do with the company. 4/5 reasons given by managers have to do with the employee (I am assuming that "insufficient pay" goes both ways, that is, management sees it as an employee issue and employees see it as a management issue). The only one that is common is "lack of opportunity for training and development." So in other words, employees say "I'm leaving because of the company" while companies say "It has very little to do with us."

What to do, then? Here are a few ideas:

Exit interviews. I've had a few jobs in my time and when I left, I was never asked why I left. So for the most part, nobody really knows why I left any company, and I suspect this is often the case. I don't think I'm an exception. Thoughts: in your company, are exit interviews mandatory when someone leaves? Are the results taken into account and brought back to the attention of the employee's supervisor? Are results analyzed to determine whether a particular supervisor or department is having trouble keeping its staff? Is the exit interview done by the employee's supervisor or by an impartial party?
Leadership development: Leaders aren't born, they are made. Just as anyone learns their trade in order to do his or her job, they need to learn how to be a leader too. Are leaders in a company trained and groomed appropriately? Are they aware of what makes good leaders? Are they coached on how to become a good leader or are they fed to the wolves?
Leadership willingness: I've seen instances of people taking on leadership roles, not because they wanted to but because they felt they had to do it, or their careers would suffer as a result. You can't force someone to become a good leader if they aren't interested in becoming so in the first place. When looking at the leaders in your organization, have they been catapulted in their current position because they were good at what they did previously? Or was it part of their career plan? I've seen many IT professionals, for example, leave a company because they were moved to a management position when all they wanted to do was code.
Self-assessment: Few companies will say "we are a bad place to work." Yet according to this article, it is the main reason people leave (leadership, money, bad working environment). How often do organizations assess their claims against their employees' perception? When a company says "Our people are our biggest asset" is that really what their employees believe? Or is it management's wishful thinking?

According to many reports and analysts, we are slowly but surely heading out of this recession. During the 18 months of devastating job losses and stress, have your employees felt that they were operating under stellar leadership? Or will they be heading out in droves once the job market opens up again?

It's not too late to prevent the latter.

How Not To Read a Speech

2009-05-19T16:38:00.001-04:00

This morning, I attended the funeral of a friend's mother and I had the opportunity to see two speeches, one from a professional and one from a non-professional. The amateur got it right.

The professional (the priest) read his sermon, as well as many other parts of the ceremony. In fact, at times I had the impression that he was on automatic pilot, and was just going through the motions. He made the following mistakes:

He rarely looked up. He was very focused on his sheet, reading almost every word and rarely connected with the audience.
No vocal intonation. I go to Catholic churches and for the most part, the priests are boring. They all sound the same, display no energy, and no passion. Come on! This is supposed to be your calling in life. This is supposed to be the one thing that makes you happy. At least make it sound that way!
He read the script to the letter. At least two or three times, the priest said "he" instead of "she" when speaking of the deceased. I found that highly disrespectful, while also being very impersonal. It gives the impression that he couldn't be bothered to do anything special for this person, that she was just one of many others that pass through his church.

The non-professional read a speech that was written by the daughter of the deceased. This is what she did:

She took notes before reading it. I saw her reviewing the text and scribbling something on the sheet. She didn't just get up and read it, at least she was familiar with the text before standing in front of the audience.
She spoke slowly, paused, and put some life in her voice. She acted as though she was delivering the message for her friend instead of just reading words on a sheet.
She connected and it showed. She took the time to look up between sentences and establishing eye contact with the people in the first row. When I looked around the church, I could see that that crowd reacted much more during her three minute speech than they did for the entire duration of the priest's performance.

I abhor speeches that are read, but sometimes you have no choice but to read a speech. There is a right way, and a wrong way to do it. In this case, don't act like a professional!

Because We Can

2009-05-11T17:03:00.001-04:00

As I was returning from Rhode Island to Canada on a Friday evening, things were quite different at the border. Normally, you go directly to the Canadian border, answer a couple of questions and on you go. But this time, I saw flashers on the US side, and part of the road was blocked.

I patiently waited in line, wondering what the problem was. When it was finally my turn, a young man asked me for my passport, with authority. He asked me a barrage of questions, barely leaving me enough time to answer one before he blurted the other. I answered diligently and he hand me my passport.

Before leaving, I asked: "I come here often and I've never been stopped like this before. Is it because of the swine flu?"

The young man replied: "No, it's because we can."

I stared.

An older man, who clearly was not as enamoured with his newfound power, explained that it's something they do once in a while, that it was part of their normal field operations.

This morning, I was reading an article in the Globe and Mail about changes in the stores. In the comments section, many people complained that some stores had abysmal service, with clerks who are barely willing to help. Why? Probably because they can, since their employers can't, or won't, do anything about it.

11 Little-Known Ways to Advance Your Career

2009-04-14T17:24:00.001-04:00

"Most people hate any form of public speaking but it is one of the most potent publicity and marketing vehicles available to you..."

Read more:

11 Little-Known Ways to Advance Your Career

A Manager's Guide to Surviving Layoffs

2009-04-02T08:12:00.001-04:00

"...what's a manager to do? Hand wringing and pacing are options, but not good ones. You can hide in your office and hope no one hates you for too long. But, again, this is not really a good option. You could lie and tell everyone that everything is going to be okay, put on a happy face and pretend that the layoffs haven't affected you or the employees left behind, but, again, not a good option, say the experts."

Read more on CIOUpdate.com: http://tinyurl.com/db96bf

How to nail your second interview

2009-03-24T10:27:00.001-04:00

Entry Level Careers Examiner: Nailing the second interview

Is Obama "special?"

2009-03-21T19:08:00.001-04:00

This week on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno Obama acted like "one of the boys." During an exchange with Jay Leno, he commented on his performance as a bowler and the conversation went like this:

LENO: Now, are they going to put a basketball -- I imagine the bowling alley has been just burned and closed down.

OBAMA: No, no. I have been practicing all -- (laughter.)

LENO: Really? Really?

OBAMA: I bowled a 129. (Laughter and applause.)

LENO: No, that's very good. Yes. That's very good, Mr. President.

OBAMA: It's like -- it was like Special Olympics, or something. (Laughter.)

LENO: No, that's very good.

OBAMA: No, listen, I'm making progress on the bowling, yes.

Ouch! For a man who is perceived as an excellent communicator, that is a major faux pas. Yet he made amends. On his way back to the White House, his team made him realize that what he had say was pretty stupid and insensitive. Obama agreed, and proceeded to call Timothy Shriver, the chairman of the Special Olympics committee and apologized. That is more than most people would be willing to do, president or not.

Apologizing is a key part of building and maintaining healthy relationships. Yet, most of use refuse to do so because we feel that it diminishes us. Quite the contrary: it takes a healthy and confident person to apologize.

Shriver said it was a teachable moment, and indeed it was. But rather than dwell on the negative aspects of Obama's mistake, let's look at what he did right:

He apologized. Obama did the right thing. He made a mistake, he realized it and he made amends. There isn't much more to say on this.
He listened. Members of his team told him he made a mistake. Yet, he listened and accepted their judgement. Too many times, I see leaders who hire people to help them, but refuse to listen. They have made up their minds and are only looking for people to validate their opinions. It doesn't always work like that. In this instance, Obama listened to what others said, and acted accordingly.
He gives people power. In a business setting, how often are employees able to go to the boss and tell him or her: "Yo! You messed up, big time!" Evidently, Obama gave enough power to his employees, which enabled them to set him right. Let's not forget that we are dealing with one of the most powerful men in the world, here. What employees find annoying is when they are given a certain responsibility, but no authority to act, or even worse, they are yelled at and criticized when they do the work they were hired to do. It seems as though Obama hasn't fallen for that trap.
He acted immediately. Let's face it, Obama could have easily said "Whatever, if these people can't take a joke, that's their problem." But he didn't. When he realized that he had done something stupid, he acted immediately. He could just as easily have dismissed the whole thing as a "minor peccadillo" and went about his business. Instead, he chose to do the right thing.

If anything, Obama proved that he is just as human and stupid as the next guy. Which is a relief, when you consider his robotic demeanour when he reads the teleprompter.

Many cynics might say: "Yeah, well, he just did what his cronies told him to do." Maybe. But the fact remains that an insensitive and boorish individual would have dismissed his team's comments by saying something like: "C'mon, it's just a joke. They can take it." Obama realized that what he did was dumb and insensitive and acted accordingly.

Now, let's see what he does about the American economy.

Bridging the gap between business and IT

2009-03-13T14:07:00.001-04:00

This post was inspired by a recent blog entry.

Many executives feel that IT has no clue about the business. Conversely, many IT professionals feel executives and management don't understand, or care about IT. Unless the systems don't perform as expected.

There is misconception on both sides, which causes frustration, delays, and eventually affects the bottom line. IT objectives and the business objectives need to be aligned in order to narrow that gap, increase productivity, satisfaction, and ultimately, the financials.

Some things to consider:

IT does not function in a vacuum: A clear understanding of IT's impact on the client and on the company's bottom line is key. It is management's job to clearly articulate and deliver this message to IT.
Clear up communication issues: it takes time and requires openness on the side of IT and management. In particular, being able to formulate dissent or incomprehension (sometimes more than once) without being castigated is key.
Eliminate personal agendas: Managers can build such a culture by effectively and regularly conveying the vision of the business to the employees, and showing them how they contribute to that vision.
Focus on client satisfaction: the systems, the network, and the processes are not the clients. Is everyone clear on who the clients are, and what it takes to satisfy them?
From CYA to teamwork: is the corporate culture one that encourages each person to cover his/her behind, for fear of reprisals? Or is it one which accepts that errors occur, and focuses on providing solutions that prevent such errors from repeating?

Bridging the gap has to focus on individuals as much as procedures and processes. You can put as many processes in place as you want, but if the people who are supposed to use them decide not to, you've invested your time and energy in the wrong place.

Using web conference software to present

2009-03-11T16:46:00.001-04:00

One of my clients uses web conferencing software to present their solutions to potential clients. Some of the things I have noted in their presentations that can help your next webinar or conference:

Have many slides that change often. Sameness is your enemy. If people get bored, they will quickly go to their iPhones or their Blackberrys.
If you can, use two computers when you present: one as the host, the other to monitor what the audience is seeing. Sometimes there is a lag between what you see and what the audience sees. It's useful to know what your audience is seeing.
Practice, practice, practice, to feel at ease with the technology. Nothing feels as amateurish as someone bumbling around, trying to figure out the technology during the delivery.
If you are trying to convince someone at the other end, get them emotionally involved and if it is a small group, get them to say something out loud. Limit the number of time you incite them to say no (for example, "Do you have a question?")

Social networking and business

2009-03-10T15:54:00.001-04:00

Many of the social networking sites will eventually become part of the standard work environment. Already, you can see some businesses taking advantage of the instant nature of Twitter. Dell, for example, is using it to expand ins customer service offerings. I have dealt with companies who have used instant messaging as a way to keep people updated on the status of various projects and troubleshooting situations.

I remember when email and the Internet were also a fad that would never take hold. Today in the Globe and Mail, there was an article showing that social media had passed email in overall Internet activity (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20090310.COMPUTERS10/TPStory).

I think most businesses are afraid of these tools because the leaders do not use them nor understand them. As younger generations take over, or launch their new companies, these tools will become more entrenched in the overall business processes.

Social networking tools can be seen as a competitive advantage to prospective employees. Sure, in the current economic climate, that may not mean much, but once things improve (and they will) it can be enough to make your best new recruits bolt to another employer offering more bells and whistles.

So how can they be useful, and not become time wasters? The same way the Web managed to be come a useful tool: minimal control processes, accompanied by lots of education.

Finding fault or getting the best out?

2009-03-08T21:54:00.001-04:00

The school system is based on a fault-finding approach, and that typically finds its way in our dealings with other people in business situations. The problem with fault-finding is that it is inherently disheartening.

Nobody's perfect and most people seek to improve their results by improving what they currently do. Fault-finding is focused on the past, and rarely looks to the future. But you can't fix the past, so sticking to fault-finding does not help anything.

Many managers, unfortunately, know how to criticize but aren't necessarily sure how to follow that criticism with steps toward an improved situation. To reach that improved situation, well, you need to know what that situation is!

I remember hearing a speaker ask a crowd of sales people: "Are you ready to bring your business to the next level?" and the crowd roared its approval. He followed that question with this one: "How many of you know what the next level looks like?" Not many hands went up. This is typical of fault-finding; we know what we don't want, but not necessarily what we DO want.

Instead of finding fault and criticizing, it's better to provide feedback. How is feedback different? Feedback is a loop. It's not a monologue but a dialogue. It gives the other person a chance to reply, to push back, to provide his or her opinion when needed. Doing so brings up another issue: ego.

People in leadership positions, but with fragile egos, will not accept pushback. They have difficulty accepting another person's opinion or objections. They won't accept that they could be wrong, so instead of giving someone else the opportunity to debate, they simply close the door to that option. This is the typical attitude of "I'm the boss, just do as I say."

Changing one's away of dealing with subordinates and moving from a coercive model to a cooperative model requires much work on oneself. In order to succeed, you need to have healthy self-esteem, you need to learn not to take things personally, and you need to learn to listen.

Furthermore, you need to focus more on the employee's needs and wants, and finding a way of aligning them with your objectives, instead of forcing the employee to adopt your point of view. You need to demonstrate more empathy. In short, you need to care more about the employee as a person, and not just as another body helping you to attain your goals.

That change is much more difficult to achieve than it seems. So rather than going through the challenges required to change ourselves, we prefer to try and change others... using the same old, ineffective methods.

Do you speak like Oscar LOSERS?

2009-02-23T00:40:00.001-05:00

Every year I watch the Academy Awards to hear the acceptance speeches. And what amazes (and saddens me) every year, is how often the winners act like losers. Many of the winners are people who act for a living, or have been actors in past lives. Furthermore, many of them won earlier this year in other award ceremonies. You can NOT tell me that it hasn't given them the adequate preparation time to give a decent speech.

Now, I have never won a big award like this, so I can imagine that the adrenaline level is extremely high and it probably affects the delivery in unforeseen manners. Still, there are some things that just make some winners seem like LOSERS:

Lists and more lists: Some people come on the stage and all they do is read a list of names, without giving much more importance to one or another, adding no personal commentary. This, to me, is similar to someone delivering a presentation and reading the PowerPoint slides during the entire speech. I understand the importance of thanking as many people as possible. However, there needs to be something more than a list of credits. Just a tad of a personal touch.
Outpouring of nothing: this is supposed to be a joyous occasion. Some award recipients look like they have been condemned to eternal suffering. No smile, no excitement, nothing. I see many people do that when they stand in front of an audience. An otherwise entertaining and outgoing woman becomes an utter bore. A strong, confident man becomes a meek weakling. All because they may be trying too hard to control their emotions. Yes, you need to keep some emotions in check, but you need not thwart them completely.
Surprise, surprise: this year, I didn't hear anyone say: "I wasn't expecting this," nor did I hear "I don't know what to say." So kudos for that. Unless something is absolutely, completely unexpected (one chance out of five is not completely unexpected), there is no reason for these types of comments. You don't apologize for being unprepared.
Errring and Uhmming your way though: one "uhm," "ahh," or "err" doesn't kill a speech. But 20 in 45 seconds? Puh-leez! Ok, so maybe I'm exaggerating a bit, yet some bad speeches are made considerably worse by the constant hesitation of the winner. It is a habit that is quite annoying, and even Barack Obama suffers from it (just watch any interview where his speech is unprepared). Getting rid of those annoyances will greatly enhance any speech.
Respecting time: there are rules and some people feel their moment in the limelight is more important. I say, if they give you 45 seconds, aim for 35 seconds. It helps you focus your message and, for the audience at home, it makes the show more watchable. Is 45 seconds insufficient for such an important moment? Fine, give them 60, but whatever the amount of time available, award recipients need to respect it. If the people want more time to speak, then they will need to give out fewer awards on air. Always respect the time given for your speech.
Saying thank you: this is one thing that everyone does. They show appreciation for the recognition they receive. My belief is that most speeches should end on the words "Thank you" or something to that effect. Of course, sometimes you don't want to end on "Thank you" because it does not fit the final bang you are looking to deliver. However, I disagree with the school of thought that says "You never thank the audience. They should thank you for sharing your wisdom." Hardly. The audience took time out of their lives to listen. Saying thank you is just good form. In no way does it diminish you, or your speech.

You may never be in a situation where thousands of eyes are fixed upon you while millions are watching on television. Yet, you may need to give a speech in front of colleagues, or toast the bride at a wedding, or maybe you will receive an "outstanding service to the company" award. If that ever happens, will you pull it off, or will you end up like a LOSERS?

Wisdom

2009-02-18T08:31:00.001-05:00

I just finished watching an interesting TED 2009 talk by Dr. Barry Schwarz:

Barry Schwartz on our loss of wisdom

He makes an interesting point that the more regulations and incentives are put in place, the less wise we become. Why? Because these rules encourage us to act without thinking, and to put the onus on the aforementioned rules.

I have seen this often in companies:

An IT project that should take about one month, can take two or three because there are so many procedures to follow before doing the actual implementation. The procedures take precedence over the results.
Because of rigid communication protocols, employees have no access to their boss's superior unless the boss "introduces them".
Customer service is anything but, because management will not let their staff make decisions on their own. Should the client require anything special, employees must refuse ("It's our policy") or have to wait until their supervisor is available so he/she can make any decision.

Alan Weiss says that an effective consultant focuses on outputs rather than inputs. In other words, you must focus on the expected results rather than methodology. If your methodolody or procedures don't help get to the result faster, then you should replace it by something else. That's the right thing to do.

However, too often there may be an excessive amount of time, effort, and resources invested in the wrong things. Cutting funding, changing focus, or eliminating cherished procedures is tantamount to admitting that it was a mistake; this is not something that is palatable, for many reasons.

Wisdom is the ability to make these choices and decisions, not because they are easy or scripted, but rather because they are the right thing to do, at this time. Sometimes, one decision can be wise in one situation and foolish in the next.

A sports team fires a coach because the team is not producing results as expected. It's a wise decision if the departure of the coach boosts morale and productivity. It is a foolish decision if the decision was made because "that's what we do when the team isn't working out" or if no noticeable changes occur after the firing.
A company lays off employees to save money. It's a wise decision if indeed, it is the best option to assure long-term survival instead of short term profit. It is an unwise decision if it only helps the bottom line for one or two quarters, but doesn't help the company thrive or survive the tough times.
Airlines typically will not reimburse or change ticket reservations once they have been made, unless clients pay a premium or a service charge. This can be seen as a wise decision since it helps manage cashflow and helps with staff planning. In an unusual move, JetBlue Airways has decided to reimburse passengers who bought tickets early but have lost their jobs in the interim.

As Dr. Schwarz explains, you aren't born wise, you become wise. And you can only become wise by making decisions that are not taken from a cookie-cutter approach.

I come from an IT background, and I remember the problems I had in certain small firms when we were bidding against larger firms. We often lost the bids, simply because we were the "little guy" and our approach was different. As they said, "You can't be fired for picking IBM or Microsoft."

Sure you can't be fired. But is it the wise thing to do?

Comics and visual design

2009-02-08T16:09:00.001-05:00

I have been reading a lot about visual design, lately, and its impact on communication. While listening to a some TED talks, the following comic strip was mentioned. It is a very(!) large strip. To read it, follow the light blue line:

Pup Ponders the Heat Death of the Universe

The definition of security

2009-02-02T21:25:00.001-05:00

I called to cancel a service I have been using for a couple of years. This is the conversation we had:

Me: Hello, I am calling to cancel my service.

Him: Yes sir, may I have your name please?

Me: Laurent Duperval.

Him: Thank you. Now, to validate that I am speaking to the correct person, can you please give me your email address?

Me: Sure. (I give him my business address)

Him: Thank you, sir. By any chance did you ever have an email which was (he spells out my personal email address).

Me: Yes, and I still use it.

Him: Excellent. Now, let's see what we can do for you...

Hmmmm..........

Simple, visually pleasing explanations

2009-01-23T09:01:00.001-05:00

I discovered a company called Common Craft today. They use a mix of paper, drawings, and video to explain concepts "in plain English." The idea seems simple, but in fact, is rather difficult to do. As I explained elsewhere, distilling your expertise into a language that even a layman can understand is a daunting task, at best. However, the people at Common Craft do it exceptionally well. Here is an example which explains what Twitter is all about:

Simple explanations, visual support that enhances the information and captivates the audience, bite-sized and digestible quickly. That's what great information does. And you don't need PowerPoint!

If you're interested, I also have a Twitter account: http://twitter.com/lduperval.

Obama: a speech for the times, maybe someday for the ages

2009-01-20T17:42:00.001-05:00

As I watched the inauguration ceremony for Barack Obama, I was in awe of the entire operation. It felt more like a rock concert than an inauguration. The crowd of thousands chanting “Obama! Obama!” waiting to see its hero. Anticipation was palpable. All around the world, people watching, eagerly waiting to hear the first words of the 44^th president of the United States of America.

Anyone expecting a rah-rah-rah speech must have been sorely disappointed. This was a down-to-earth, accountability- and responsibility-filled speech. Barack Obama pulled no punches and delivered a rousing, but difficult speech. He did not shy away from the fact that times are difficult and the American people have a lot of work to do, in order to get out of the current mess.

Rating his performance, I would give it a 9.5 on content and 8.5 on delivery.

Delivery

Obama's delivery was nearly flawless. There were a couple of hesitations, but nothing major. Martin Luther King stumbled slightly also in his “I Have A Dream” speech.

Obama spoke in a deep, soothing voice. He did not move much, he did not rush the speech, he was poised. His tone was conversational. He was at ease and he put his listeners at ease.

His delivery, sing-song at times, reminded me of Martin Luther King as he spoke to a throng of supporters on the Washington DC steps.

So why 8.5, for such a great speaker? Maybe because my expectations were so high. However, there were two elements from his delivery that perturbed me. One was purely mechanical, the other was emotional.

Mechanically: I HATE that teleprompter! He looks like a Bobble Head when he's constantly switching from the left to the right. Furthermore, he does it multiple times in the same sentence. It is hugely annoying. I never recommend that people write out their speech and read it during delivery, but at times I wondered if that wouldn't have been better for him.

He never looked at the camera nor did he look at the crowd. The only time he tried to make contact with his audience was when he thanked George Bush for his service to the nation. At that moment, he briefly turned away from his text but returned to it immediately after.

I am not sure why Obama so heavily relies on his text to deliver his speeches. Is it because he cannot remember it all? Is it a crutch he uses? Or is it the equivalent of PowerPoint in business presentations: a necessary tool that everyone feels the need to use?

He needs to ditch the teleprompter completely, or find a better way to use it because it affects his effectiveness.

Emotionally, I was constantly expecting the Big Explosion. Something outstanding, a defining moment in the speech. There were a few, somehow, they didn't stand out from the rest of the speech. Obama did not put more emphasis on one part of the speech, than another. All of it seemed to be of equal importance. Yet, in most great speeches, there is an emotional nugget that is carried on for generations:

We have nothing to fear but fear itself.
Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.
I do not know that woman... oops, no, that's a different speech!

While there are many good moments in the speech (as we will see in the content), he did not use any of the tools that make a speech memorable: alliteration, repetition, the rule of three, just to name a few. That made the speech less appealing emotionally: it's the Moment that really defined the speech.

Content

What was so good about the content? At what is considered a defining moment in America, Obama's words were timeless and deeply rooted in the nation's history. He named no names, he named no nations. His words could be spoken again, almost verbatim, at another time, and they would still have the same power. Words such as:

“In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. ”
“Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.”
“To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West — know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy.”
“Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.”

When analyzing the words, you can see that the speech was inspired by some of the greatest American speakers. One line stuck out for me, one that could have been uttered by John F Kennedy: “The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works.”

His speech contained beautiful imagery: “To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.”

That image is also an excellent example of the inclusive language used by Obama. He has promised to bring people back together, and his words are tailored to that effect:

“To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.”

Obama shows that he definitely understands American history, that he knows where the nation needs to be headed, and that he will get it there albeit with the help of friends and “former foes” alike. He shows that he expects hard work, sacrifice, ambition and creativity from everyone, including himself.

His speech needed to get that message across clearly and simply.

It delivered.

Obama's speech: lessons for all speakers

2009-01-20T13:44:00.001-05:00

Many preparation and delivery lessons can be gleaned from studying Obama's inaugural speech. Here are just a few:

It's OK to be nervous. When Obama first appeared on screen, you could tell from his pursed lips that this wasn't a walk in the park for him. As others before him spoke, he clenched his jaw and often closed his eyes. These are typical behaviours of someone who is a bit nervous before speaking. It took him a while to shake those jitters but they seemed to have disappeared by the time he delivered his speech.
Writing is important. You cannot come up with phrases like “To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.” You can't. This has to be written, rehearsed, and re-written. If you are aiming to deliver a powerful speech, think of writing it out.
You can make mistakes. On a couple of occasions, Obama had a slight hesitation in the speech. Notice that he did not apologize, he did not become flustered, he did not lose his composure. He just kept on going. His biggest blunder, though, occurred before the speech when he messed up the words during his swearing in (to his defence, the chief judge messed up first). What did he do? He smiled and kept on going. He will be picked on a bit by the comedians, but that's it.
Converse with the audience. There was not a lot of fanfare during his delivery. He did not jump up and down to make a point. He remained poised and calm throughout, as if speaking to more than one million people in his backyard. That helped make it more effective.
Don't lie. Obama pulled no punches. To summarize his speech: times are hard, we made errors in the past and everyone is paying for it today. Everyone has some responsibility for the current mess and everyone is going to work together to fix it. This was not your typical rosy, rar-rah-rah, "You can do it!" speech. It was somber and set the tone for what's to come. It won't be fun, but it's got to be done. A great speech will set the tone for the changes to come, but if you lie to the audience it will come back to bite you.

Obama's speech may have longer-lasting impacts on oratory style, but that's for another discussion.

RCMP leadership

2009-01-08T11:13:00.001-05:00

An interesting article this morning about the leadership at the RCMP in Quebec. While I have yet to see the full report, some interesting information emanates from this article:

All of the information emanates from the employees. It seems like the researchers did a form of 360-degree evaluation, where they asked all sorts of questions to the employees, in order to get a real portrait of their life at work.
Competition for promotion gets in the way of real work. I was asked recently if competition in the workplace was a good idea or not. I think most of the time it is, but there are instances where it is not. For example, if it gets in the way of corporate objectives. Another is if there are limited resources available and too many people are competing for the same resource. With the RCMP, it seems to be the case on both these counts.
Without knowing how things work internally, it looks like the criteria for success are incorrect. They seem to be pointing to personal victories instead of victories that benefit the whole of the organization. Hence the complaints that "careerism" is favoured.
Lack of training for senior officials. This one, unfortunately, is rampant. It isn't something that is specific to the RCMP. Too many senior executives do not have, nor take, the time to properly develop and update their people skills. They often lift their nose at the concept, thinking that the bottom line is the most important part of the business, and that people should just understand this and follow along. Men, especially, are guilty of this.
What they often fail to realize is that the human aspect of a business is often its most important and costly. Just take a look at what is happening at the Detroit Big Three. Our skills with people are constantly put to the test and what used to work, may not work as well today. In the case of the RCMP, it seems that conflict management does not work properly at all, since there is no crackdown on dubious behaviours.
Image polishing at all costs. According to its employees, the RCMP seems more interested in the image it projects than what is really affecting its operations. Managing one's image is fine, but at some point in time, you can no longer tame such a beast. Madoff tried it and failed. Satyam tried and failed. Now the RCMP seems to be failing also. At some point, to re-establish an image, you have to eliminate the previous one. Trying to hide issues at all costs, especially in a government agency, can only bring about charges of lack of transparency.
I don't advocate full disclosure at all levels. However, given the choice between addressing a serious issue that can portray an unflattering image in the media, and sweeping an issue under the rug in the hope that it will disappear, I recommend the former.
Management doesn't listen and doesn't have a clue. Once again, that is not limited to the RCMP. It is amazing how often I will speak to the employees of a client who tell me of all sorts of issues that they see in the company, yet when I speak to the senior executives, they tend to dismiss it as "employees who are never happy." While there is some of that, when the same issues get reported over and over again, by multiple employees of varying responsibility levels, it's time to listen and act.

In another article, the RCMP made a list of resolutions for 2009. Many of them had to do with operations and infrastructure. But if they want to keep on "getting their man", let's they don't forget the human side.

Bruce Wayne or Tony Stark?

2009-01-05T12:29:00.001-05:00

In December I participated in a fun interview:

Entrepreneur.com: Who Is The Better Entrepreneur: Bruce Wayne or Tony Stark?

Not all of my answers appeared so here are the other answers I provided, but that were not published:

Who would you rather work for?

WayneCorp. I'm not big on munitions. Wayne Enterprises has a social focus which I prefer. I'd rather find different, useful ways to help my fellow man/woman rather than focus on more innovative ways of destroying him/her.

Who had a better strategy for building up his company?

You got me. I need to study their histories better.

However, it's important to know that Wayne Enterprises was already a gigantic operation when Bruce Wayne inherited it. I think that Stark Enterprises was still iin growth mode, though I'm not sure.

The skills needed to manage a mature, centuries-old company are somewhat different than a constantly growing, relatively young company.

And some other comments:

Bruce Wayne has one trusted advisor (Alfred) who he listens to periodically. He is willing to admit that he may be wrong and will try to correct the course before disaster strikes. He does more planning than reacting. Tony Stark, on the other hand, trusts himself to make all the right decisions all the time. He will head right into disaster and figure out a way to get out of his mess. Somehow, he always does, but it would be much less of a hassle for him and for his entourage if he took more time to plan ahead. Executives need trusted advisors, and need to listen to them even if they don't agree.
Both are highly innovative and resourceful which is essential in a world of rapid change. They both have the ability to act under constant pressure (usually) without a complete breakdown.
Both have demons they are constantly battling with (depression, substance abuse, womanizing, etc.) Fortunately for them, the wear and tear on their psyches and bodies are strictly limited to the written page. For any executive, any form of abuse needs to be dealt with and eliminated as much as possible. Executives have a responsibility toward their company, employees and other stakeholders. Substance abuse affects mood and judgment which are critical to effectiveness. Therapy, for both of them, is essential. Many high-powered individuals may not seek help because they feel they are constantly in control and therapy is a sign of weakness. It is actually the opposite: it takes a strong person to admit they need help and cannot do it alone.

A place where kids can be kids?

2008-12-09T20:15:00.001-05:00

I've never been to Chuck E. Cheese but I've been to a number of McDonald's Playhouses. With three kids, my wife and I sometimes cave in to all the whining around when we pass in front of a restaurant around mealtime. I've never thought twice of it, except for the bad habits associated with fast food. But that's a whole 'nother discussion!

What prompted this post, however, is the following article from the Wall Street Journal:

Calling All Cars: Trouble at Chuck E. Cheese's, Again - WSJ.com

The article mentions a number of altercations at Chuck E. Cheese locations, where police needed to get involved in order to break things up. What really got me was this quote: "... in some cities, law-enforcement officials say the number of disruptions at their local outlet is far higher than at nearby restaurants, and even many bars." Holy kiddie brawls, Batman! In a restaurant for kids?

At first, I was surprised. But when you think about it, it fits neatly in our current society. Anyone heard of soccer fights? Or hockey brawls?

A few days ago, Sean Avery was handed a six game suspension for an off-colour comment about his ex-girlfriends. This from the same league that handed Tom Kostopoulos a scant three-day suspension for a hit that cost Mike Van Ryn "a broken nose, a broken finger, a gash on his forward, some lost teeth, and a concussion." The same can be seen in little league where some parents encourage their progeny to duke it out with the other children, in a bid to establish their "superiority."

A few years ago, I coached my son's soccer team. He was only 7, but before the season started, league officials had all coaches attend a meeting where they clearly laid out the disciplinary rules for the season. It seemed that the previous year, there had been some nasty altercations between parents, as well as some parents taking it out on young children on the field. Last year, I saw some inklings of this behaviour from the parents of our nine-year old kids.

So is it any wonder that in a place designed for kids, but where they serve alcohol (duh!), adults would be so badly behaved?

In business, similar behaviour can be seen, but in more subtle ways. I will pass on the many instances of disgruntled employees who have gone over the edge, and focus on more subtle behaviours. These behaviours include intimidation, sabotage, and gossipping.

All of these behaviours can be devastating to the victims, to the teams, and to the companies involved. And whether you like it or not, it's not a problem with the employees. It's a problem with their manages.

Intimidation, sabotage, and gossipping cannot continue unless it is implicitly endorsed by management. How do you implicitly endorse such bad behaviour? Easy: don't do anything about it, lay blame on the person who complains, and don't give them an opportunity to seek help.

Not every one is well-equipped to deal with these types of work-related problems. Yet, when a manager tells an employee to "figure it out himself and not act like a baby," the results may not be what is expected.

An employee may choose to stop talking and not do anything, instead of confronting someone that he/she perceives as stronger and more powerful than he/she. This will affect his/her productivity. If the problem affects more than one person, then an entire team can be demoralized because of one individual. Tempers can flare, and people can easily fly off the handle.

I've seen teams go bad when one person caused problems for other team members, but management did nothing to intervene and stop bad behaviour. Eventually, overall productivity declined until the offending individual was let go.

What would I recommend to Chuck E. Cheese? I would start by removing alcohol in all locations. Then, I would publicize that event because the fact that I am blogging about it (and I've never been there) is an indication that Chuck E. Cheese is probably getting a lot of negative publicity.

After removing the alcohol, I would take a look at the numbers to determine whether the incident rate goes down. With every incident, I would look for a common pattern and address the root cause, until Chuck E. Cheese, indeed, becomes a place where "a kid can be a kid."

Is this all the leadership we have to offer?

2008-12-05T10:24:00.001-05:00

The recent melodrama of Canadian politics has made one thing clear: we have a dearth of effective leaders in our government.

An effective leader knows what to do and gets it done. His or her prime directive should be to put the enterprise first, and him/her after. Evidently, none of our current leaders seem to realize this.

Let's see, now:

Michael Ignatieff: he was pegged as the next Liberal leader. In that capacity, now more than ever, he should step up to the plate and take a stance. Instead, he chooses to sit back, be non-committal, waiting to step forward when conditions are favourable. Not the sign of a great leader: I will jump in when things favour me.

Stéphane Dion: I admire the guy's tenacity, but enough is enough. Wednesday's blunder makes Inspector Clouseau look like Stephen Hawking. Few people want him as the head of the Liberal party, yet he clings on like a desperate cat hanging from a tree limb. An effective leader recognizes when he/she is no longer helpful. Mr. Dion is no longer helping the Liberal party: he is severely hindering it. If there was an election today, Mr. Dion's mistake would probably hand a majority government to the Tories.

Stephen Harper: in a scant few days, Stephen Harper has tarnished his image as a strategic, competent leader and now appears as a self-absorbed, power-hungry man. He showed that he is willing to go to almost any length in order to hold on to power. In the last two months, he has twice shown that he is completely out of touch with his surroundings. Once, after proposing a measure that infuriated Quebecers and most likely cost him his majority. And now, the current political upheaval. His address on national television was one filled with fear-mongering, blaming, and finger-pointing. He has become the most polarizing figure in Canadian politics and for the first time in years, "sovereignty" has once again become the centre of political discourse.
Jack Layton and Gilles Duceppe: both acknowledge that they need to rely on each other to get through the current mess. However, how long could such a coalition last? Mr. Duceppe has stated that he is willing to vote in favour of any measure that is favourable to Quebec. He has also pledged not to undermine the coalition for the next 18 months. But how will he vote if a measure is proposed, that does not favour Quebec?
Bob Rae: after dilly dallying, Mr. Rae seems to have donned his suit of armor and is ready to do battle. He stepped to the forefront of the coalition, ready to lead them to battle. Too bad the governor-general has scuttled his plans, for now. Nevertheless, he is the one that currently projects the best leadership qualities. He is calling for calm, and working to reassure business leaders that there is no 'crisis' in Ottawa, while simultaneously working with the other party leaders. In the past few days, he has decided to enter the leadership race and has stepped up to role of coalition advocate. If he does it well, keeps on message and maintains his enthusiasm until the Liberal leadership race in May, he may well become Mr. Dion's successor.

We're in the middle of an unprecedented economic crisis, with daily announcements of massive layoffs, dire warnings of tough times, and meanwhile, our government is putting more effort on saving its hide than it is on creating a better future for all Canadians.

When I look at our neighbours to the South, who just elected a unifying figure to counter eight years of disastrous PR, all I can think about is this: Is this really all we have to offer ourselves?

Surviving your first performance review, last part

2008-11-28T11:02:00.001-05:00

A few tips for those who received a negative review:

Surviving your first performance review (part 5): Thriving after a negative review

Voluntary layoffs? Think real hard first

2008-11-26T14:59:00.001-05:00

To piggy back on my earlier post on the subject, asking people to voluntarily leave their current job, in order to cut costs, can backfire:

The Globe and Mail: Voluntary layoffs seen backfiring

The problem with such an approach is that employers see employees as only a number on the balance sheet. And if they can set that number low enough to have a high number on the bottom line, they think they have won. Wrong on so many counts!

When laying off employees, you do much more than reduce your expenses:

You affect morale, especially if you do it over and over again. Cut once, cut deep.
You affect productivity, especially if you announce layoffs weeks ahead of the actual cut. By the time you actually make the cut, you may have more than expected because people will tend to focus on the expected bad news, prepare their resumes, and so on. When your focus is not on your job (for whatever reason), performance will almost always suffer;
With voluntary layoffs, you run the risk of losing even more if your best people decide that they want to leave. Your performance will automatically be reduced, because that star performer leaves not only with his her salary (a win on your balance sheet) but also with the accompanying results (a loss that will outweigh the win on the balance sheet).

Voluntary layoffs may seem like a good plan, that humanizes the layoff process, but you need to think of the company in the long term. Sometimes, saving money can cost much more than you expect.

Performance reviews part II

2008-11-25T10:11:00.001-05:00

Part two of the article on surviving your first performance review:

Surviving your first performance review (part 2): What they expect

Layoffs, hospitals and budgets

2008-11-24T09:25:00.001-05:00

With rounds after rounds of layoffs expected in the coming months, this is a timely piece:

The Art of Laying People Off

I especially like Guy's #10: don't let people self-select themselves, because you will lose your best people.

In Quebec, the government did that a few years ago in the health sector. Nurses and doctors were offered early retirement and many of them jumped at the chance. On top of that, they limited the number of admissions in medical faculties. Net result? Today there is a severe shortage of medical staff, at a time where needs are constantly increasing. It will take another 7 years before things get back to normal.

The reasons for doing so were for budget-balancing purposes, which is highly laudable, but I think the government officials failed to look at the big picture. They failed to take into account that many in the health-care sector were fed up with the system and were only looking for a way out. They failed to see that needs for medical personnel would increase, not decrease over time. They failed to adequately project the effects of limiting the number of health-care professionals trained by the system.

How bad is it? There is a large shortfall of family doctors in Quebec, partly because of the decisions made in the '90s and partly because of the bad rap general practitioners (GPs) receive in medical schools. I was recently discussing this with a specialist, and as he explained it to me, most professors in medical universities are specialists. Hence, they will vow for their profession and will encourage students to follow in their footsteps. Few GPs teach in university, so there is no emotional appeal to incite students to become family doctors. In fact, according to an article in today's Journal de Montréal, in 2008 300 new GPs were added to the workforce, while there was a need for 346. The race is not lost, but it's going to be difficult to win.

The lesson, for any business, is that you should not let your best people go, just to save money. In the long run, the costs can greatly outweigh any savings you make on the balance sheet.

Your first performance review is approaching?

2008-11-24T08:58:00.001-05:00

What should entry-level empoyees expect from their first performance review? See some answers (including mine) here:

Entry Level Careers Examiner: Surviving your first performance review (part 1): What to expect

Confronting issues

2008-11-19T14:35:00.001-05:00

A quote from Alan Weiss:

Confront EVERY issue. Life is too short to be worried about what people think of you.

Too many communication issues are a result of our fear of confrontation, simply because we are afraid of what others will say about us. I count myself within that group, at times and with certain people. Identifying the times and the people who cause that reaction, is a good step toward overcoming that fear.

You gain respect when you confront people who are more successful, more powerful, or more confident than you are. Doing so, and doing it well, raises your profile in everyone's eyes, including your own. But that only happens when you are willing to step forward, and take a risk.

How to connect emotionally with an audience, in a few seconds, using PowerPoint (or Keynote, or OpenOffice Impress)

2008-11-18T11:05:00.001-05:00

When you look at the following video, focus on your feelings; don't focus on the speaker. What emotions do you get from this presentation? And more importantly, why?

David Hoffman on losing everything | Video on TED.com

PowerPoint slides tips for presenters

2008-11-17T12:37:00.001-05:00

At the Toastmasters District 61 conference this weekend, I presented a workshop entitled "Breathe New Life Into Your PowerPoint Slides." The goal of the workshop was to explain to the attendees how to avoid "Death By PowerPoint" simply by changing a few things about the way they created their slides.

I presented a lot of the concepts that Garr Reynolds discusses in his Presentation Zen blog. My PowerPoint slides have been greatly influenced by the information on his site. Judging from the reaction I received, I believe that many of the attendees will change their views about the function and the design of their slides as a result of attending this workshop.

A few of the elements I focused on:

Death by PowerPoint is never the fault of PowerPoint it's always the presenter's fault. Sorry.
Slides are there to aid the presentation, they are not the presentation. When building a PowerPoint "presentation" the slides are only part of the picture (no pun intended). The most important part of the presentation consists of the information you provide and the way you deliver it.
The slides are primarily for the benefit of the audience, not the speaker. Yet most of the time, they are built with the speaker in mind.

One thing I learned: you cannot over-check your technology. Before the start of the workshop, I checked everything inside and out, making sure it all worked. I did this because I don't begin by showing the title slide on the screen as people walk in. At the start of my presentation, the screen is blank because the first slide is designed to elicit laughter. Well, it did, but not the way I expected it.

For some reason, when I put up the very first slide, nothing was displayed on the screen. My first joke fell flat, and I had to fiddle with my computer to get it going again. It took about 10 seconds, but it was long enough for someone in the audience to say "It kills me when that happens." I'm not sure if the comment was directed at me, or if she was sharing her past experience...

I got things back on track quickly, although the image was only projected on the screen: my laptop's display was blank, which forced me to turn my head constantly to make sure the audience was looking at the right slide during the speech. Not as seamless as I wanted it to be, but it worked out very well in the end.

It's all about proper preparation, putting the audience first, and not depending on the tool to deliver your message.

District 61 Fall conference

2008-11-16T20:46:00.001-05:00

As I am writing this, I am lying in bed, my lovely wife asleep by my side, in the lovely Manoir St-Sauveur, at the end of the second evening of the Toastmasters District 61 2008 Fall Conference. I've been to a few conferences and I can safely say that this has been one of the best experiences (if not the best) I've had at Toastmasters.

A few months ago, my friend LouLou called me and told me: "I'm organizing the district conference and I want you to be the master of ceremonies for the banquet. Would you do that?" LouLou is a big fan of mine. When I listen to her talk about me, sometimes I feel like I could walk on water.

I thought about it a bit. I hadn't been to a conference in a long time. Most of the time, when I attended, I did so as a competitor in one of the speech contests. Once, I had chaired a contest. But a banquet? I almost said no, but I decided to accept. She was thrilled! And I told her, "Well, since I'll be there anyway, put me down for a workshop." And so today, I had double duty as workshop leader and as banquet MC.

My workshop went very well, but I'll discuss it in a separate post.

MC'ing the evening's proceedings was even better. Honestly, I wasn't sure about the banquet. I wasn't sure my style of irreverence would go over well. And since I hadn't MC'd a formal banquet before, I wasn't sure how it would come off.

Well, if the standing ovation was any indication, it looks like I did a pretty good job. After the banquet, I received many compliments from people telling me how much they enjoyed themselves.

To me that's what it was all about: giving a bit back to the community and organization that helped me launch my speaking and training career. I'm not sure I took the time to thank them in my closing remarks, because I was too busy trying to get a few jokes in before the curtain went down. If I had to do it over again, I would focus my closing remarks more on expressing the gratitude I felt, rather than trying to be clever.

I've MC'd other events before, and looking back on my past successes, these are some of the things that stand out:

Although, as MC, I am the most visible person, I am not the star. The MC's role should be to let the guests shine, by not keeping the spotlight on him/her at all times. Billy Crystal was a great MC, because he took the spotlight only when needed but kept it on the actors, producers, directors most of the time. Other Oscar hosts were not as gracious.
The MC must be adaptable. Although you have a script, I have found that things rarely go as planned. This weekend, I had to adapt the ceremony to the meal service and other unexpected events that occurred. If I had decided that we absolutely, positively had to stick to the script, it would have been a disaster. One phrase will stick with me for a long time, I'm sure: remember the member. You don't want to know.
Making it personal will make it more memorable. Whenever I can, I try to make things somewhat personal. Last year at a wedding, I asked married members of the audience to share a story that would entertain us, but also would be helpful to the newlyweds as they began their life together. This weekend, the theme was "The Oscars" so I asked all the people I introduced about their favourite movie. In the process, we all learned a few great things about some of the leaders of District 61. It made them shine even more, and I was happy to contribute.
Use humour and be yourself: a few years ago, I attended a CAPS conference where the MC was side-splittingly (is that a word?) hilarious. The reason was simple: he was irreverent, he had no idea who were the sacred cows among the speakers, and he acted accordingly. His wit was quick, and anyone who tried to have the last word with him paid the price. He was invited to host the following year also. Boring galas, banquets, and other ceremonies are often caused by hosts who are afraid (or don't know how) to be funny.

Next weekend, I am slated to host a charity evening. I will see if the same rules can apply. It will be a first, once again.

This was a great weekend, I saw some old friends I had not seen in a long time, and it was great to be in such a festive and positive atmosphere.

I thank LouLou for asking me to host the banquet. It was an honour, and a privilege to serve the District. Hopefully, it contributed to making LouLou's conference a great success!

Voting with your funny bone

2008-11-02T21:30:00.001-05:00

The past couple of weeks have seen Sarah Palin and John McCain show up on Saturday Night Live, letting the folks at SNL have a little fun at their expense.

Now, this is not an endorsement by any stretch of the imagination, but if I had to vote solely on the "fun factor", the McCain-Palin ticket would win, hands down.

Palin has appeared on Saturday Night Live while McCain has appeared on SNL and David Letterman. In both instances, the folks at SNL had a chance to poke fun at the candidates, although I thought McCain did better than Palin. As for his Letterman stint, McCain showed up even though Letterman had been picking on him the previous day because McCain had reneged on a promise to appear on "the big show", choosing instead to be interviewed by Katie Couric.

Barack Obama has also been on some shows, but nothing like Palin and especially McCain.

For those who don't know, Sarah Palin was spoofed by Tina Fey on Saturday Night Live's season opener. Fey did a nail-on impression of Palin that received rave reviews and was the talk of the water cooler for weeks. You can see it on Saturday Night Live's site. A few weeks later, Palin agreed to appear on SNL, and appeared in two sketches: The Palin Rap and the opening of the show.

As you can see, they didn't give Palin much to work with. But they gave McCain much better material and he delivered: a QVC Opening (which included his wife) and Weekend Update. On The Late Show, he traded barbs with David Letterman, who kept on nagging him about skipping the show the previous day. McCain could easily have said "no" and skipped out completely. But he came on, faced the music, and gave a great show. There was even a tense moment where I felt Letterman was truly upset and agitated about the state of the economy and the country. McCain, to his credit, treated that part of the interview seriously and gave a decent answer to Letterman's questions. This occured only a few days after a debate with Obama. That two-minute segment had more emotion and grit than the entire 90 minutes he had spent "debating" with his adversary.

During the SNL skit, I discovered a side of McCain that I hadn't noticed in the debates: when he's at ease, he is actually a very funny guy. Notice in his skits that he pauses when the audience laughs, in order not to step on their laughter. He doesn't hesitate much and he doesn't have a fake, scary grin like he did at the Republican convention. He genuinely is enjoying himself. I feel like all his TV appearances are a testament to that.

As for the Obama-Biden ticket? Well, so far, they are no fun at all. They don't seem to be making the rounds of the comedy shows and Obama's few apparitions barely made me crack a smile. Obama is smooth, even, and unemotional in his appearances. Those are great traits for a president trying to be reassuring to a nation in distress. But together, they make for boring TV!

I don't know what's going to happen on November 4th. Will the so-called "Bradley effect" prevail? Or will Obama win, as all polls seem to indicate? Will the appearances on comedy shows make McCain appear like a lovable, funny human being? Or will it portray him as a goofball? I'll be watching closely to see.

I will say this in closing, though: if McCain does not win, I hope Saturday Night Live gives him a spot as a regular guest. He could become one of the most valuable members of the team.

McCain vs Obama

2008-10-07T23:15:00.001-04:00

Tonight was the second of three U.S. presidential debates, in a town hall format. So basically, they are responding to questions, either from the Internet, or from people present at the session. I'm not sure what the rules are, but it seems like they had as much time as they wanted to answer the original question but were allowed only one minute to "discuss" the question.

The moderator was Tom Brokaw, the NBC News anchor, who also acted as timekeeper.

The Good

Obama showed confidence. Once he started talking on issues that he felt comfortable with, he stuttered less and was more assertive in his statements. At one point, Obama even said “During my first term,” signalling that he fully expects to win and to be re-elected.

McCain tried, not always successfully, to inject a little humour in the debate. Yes, this is a serious situation but a little humour is often welcome.

Both candidates got up, got close to the people asking questions and looked them in the eyes when answering. They didn't just sit in their seats and force people to strain their necks to view them as they answered. There were a couple of instances, though, where I found that McCain walked in too closely to the crowd. Yet, after looking closely, it looks like it was a trick of the camera. At the beginning, McCain spent too much time speaking to the person who asked the question and not enough time addressing the audience as a whole. As the debate progressed, he improved that aspect.

Both were gracious enough at the beginning, acknowledging that each had done some good things, and even agreeing on a few issues. As time went by, though, the cordiality slowly went by the wayside.

Obama seemed more at ease than McCain. His movements were more fluid and he was better able to connect with the audience. In fact, I saw more nodding of the heads and smiles in the background when Obama spoke than when McCain spoke, a testament to Obama's greater effectiveness. McCain did not seem as comfortable. Of course, part of it is due to the injuries he suffered in Vietnam. However, it's questionable whether people will look past that when they look at him.

The last question of the evening was an opportunity for both candidates to show a little vulnerability. McCain took it and admitted he didn't know the future. OK, a bit banal, but still he admitted to it. Obama didn't. Yes, he said that his wife Michelle has a list of things he doesn't know, but Obama himself did not admit it. That only adds to his image of being arrogant and over-confident.

The Bad

Not enough stories. A lot of the themes tonight were very emotional for many American people. Yet both candidates failed to deliver compelling stories to illustrate those issues. Obama came close when replying to the "Obama Doctrine" question. In his answer, he posed questions directly to the American people, asking them to give a moral answer. But most of the examples were reduced to attacking the opposing party.

Obama stuttered at crucial times in his answers. They gave the impression that he was either lying, making it up on the spot, or he wasn't convinced about what he was saying.

McCain used the term “my friend” and “my friends” too often. It can be endearing, but as with any colloquialism, when overused it loses its effectiveness and becomes annoying.

McCain, at one point, forgot to use his microphone while answering. Normally, that would only be funny. However, that can be seen as a “brain fart” which is not a good thing for him.

When asked whether medical coverage is a right, a privilege, or a responsibility, McCain said responsibility. I am sure many people who have trouble paying medical bills felt insulted or stunned by that answer. That could play against him during this campaign. Especially since Obama stated it was a right.

The Ugly

Where was the timer? If you have ever been to a Toastmasters meeting, you know that one of the important functions in a meeting is the timekeeper. The timekeeper is the one that reigns in the people who think that their time is more valuable than other people's time. He or she uses (surprise, surprise!) red, yellow, green lights to tell people when to stop talking. And they are punished when they go overtime.

During the discussion period, Obama and McCain paid no mind to the time, and received a small warning from Brokaw. In effect, they were allowed to ignore the rules as they pleased.

McCain was dismissive and disrespectful twice in the debate: when he called Obama “that one” and when he assumed that one person had never heard about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. That's a slight on McCain, and one that is not very presidential.

Final word

Overall, it was an interesting debate, as much in its form as in the content. I would have preferred more interaction between the candidates and a bit more dialogue so they could challenge each other more effectively.

The debate itself was closely fought. Obama wins it though, because he came off as more polished, more confident, and he better connected with his audience.

Recent quotes on other sites

2008-10-01T11:20:00.001-04:00

I was quoted in Infoworld on angry IT workers:

Staff reductions following the dot-com crash have stripped many IT staffs to the bone, forcing those that remain to double or triple their workloads. The piling on of work can demoralize the people charged with keeping the business going, says Laurent Duperval.

Read more here:Angry IT workers: A ticking time bomb?

I also was quoted on CareerBuilder.com on being the bad guy at work, and the effects:

"Employees want to be treated with respect and they want to feel valuable," Duperval cautions. If your type of bad guy is disrespectful and humiliating, then don't expect to receive much appreciation in return.

Read more here: Does It Pay To Be the Bad Guy at Work?

And if you are considering using an OS in a consumer device, think Linux:

Technology News: Mobile Tech: Linux Where You'd Least Expect It

Honesty in sales

2008-09-18T10:50:00.001-04:00

Yesterday my wife stopped to gas up the car at a local hardware chain. As she was waiting for the tank to fill, watching the numbers go by faster than the price of a barrel dictates, she was accosted by a woman flashing a large smile, and the conversation sounded like this:

"Madam, today is your lucky day. We are going to give you a $10 coupon which you may apply to your next gas purchase. Isn't that great?"

"Yes it is, thank you."

"Great, all I need is a bit of information to be able to send you the coupon by mail. What is your name? Address? How many children? How much money do you make? When did you get married?"

At which point my wife, spotting a logo at the bottom of the woman's notepad, interrupted to ask: "Are you registering me for a credit card?"

"Yes, I am. So if you'll give me this information I can..."

"I'm not interested," my wife firmly replied.

"What?" was the incredulous answer, "you don't want $10?"

"Sure, I'll take the $10 but I don't want the credit card. Besides, I don't live around here so this won't be of any use to me."

"Ma'am, I'm sure there is a store close to you. Where do you live?"

My wife was flabbergasted. As the woman walked away, she watched her attitude as she coached a younger salesperson doing a similar job. This woman's approach was highly aggressive and she had a derogatory attitude toward anyone who didn't want to buy her credit card.

There are several things wrong with this scenario. Number one: are these people reading the news at all? We have a phenomenal financial crisis on our hands and a lot of it is due to the high level of indebtedness of the general population. Regardless, they are aggressively pushing people to add more debt to what they already have.

Number two: the woman's approach was deceitful. Under the guise of wanting to give a gift, she was only interested in selling a credit card. If my wife had not asked, I am not sure she would have told her what was happening. This lack of honesty is the main reason people dislike salespeople.

Selling is about relationships. If you don't like a person, you will not buy from him or her. Furthermore, a bad salesperson tarnishes your image and it makes people not want to return and give you their business.

When people have bad experiences, they will talk about it much more than if they have a good experience. I would not have heard about this incident if it had not bothered my wife enough for her to tell me about it. And I suspect she will tell other people around her also.

I won't say the name of the company at fault because I don't know if the problem is a bad salesperson, an unscrupulous third-party credit card company, or if it is the company itself.

All I know is that they left a bitter taste in my wife's mouth, and that's never a good thing in business.

High price of gas fuels debate over telecommuting

2008-09-14T13:42:00.001-04:00

With gas prices hovering around $4 a gallon, who wouldn't want to join the growing number of U.S. employees whose route to work is just a few short strides from the bedroom to a home-based office? You can read more here:

High price of gas fuels debate over telecommuting

Eliminating spam through education

2008-09-12T17:39:00.001-04:00

How often do you receive messages from friends or colleagues warning you of a latest health scare, a child that was recently abducted, or an offer from Microsoft to send you $128,443 if you forward your email to 15932 of your closest friends? Most of these messages (not all of them) are fakes that are easily verifiable with a quick Internet search.

I used to get a few of them per week from people I know, but it has dwindled a lot over time. I figure it's either because people don't like me anymore, or because my approach to dealing with such messages has helped them send fewer of them. Of course, I like to think that it's the latter!

If you get a lot of these messages, I invite you to try and educate the people who send them. Reply to the sender and let him/her know that you have found it to be a hoax. It's a simple three step process:

Search for the most meaningful terms in the message. For example "microwave causes cancer". If there is specific information in the message, use that as it will give you a more precise result, for example "John Hopkins Hospital microwave cancer." You can also search on known hoax-debunking sites such as snopes.com or hoaxbuster.com.
Follow the first few links from the search page to find which ones are interesting.
Send the links to the original sender, with an invitation to send them to the people who received the original message.

Maybe if we can stem the tide of these useless messages, it can help take care of the email clutter we face every day.

Delivering a motivational speech, political style

2008-09-06T15:44:00.001-04:00

Have you seen Sarah Palin's speech at the Republican convention? This was a great speech, whether you agree with the GOP's political agenda or not.

Why was it so great?

She was engaging: she smiled during the entire speech. Her smile seemed genuine and like it or not , a genuine smile is always more appealing than a sourpuss face. Too many political candidates forget to smile when they speak to their constituency. You can learn how to do so, but it always comes off better if you don't have to fake it. Palin seemed to thoroughly enjoy her moment in the sun, and it showed. If you want people to enjoy your speech, you need to enjoy delivering it also.
She made it personal: most of her stories were personal. This is a hallmark of this year's political campaign: all candidates and their running mates focus on personal stories whether it be Palin's dealings with the old guard in Alaska, McCain's days as a political prisoner, or Obama's rise to become the first black presidential candidate. It is easier to identify with someone when that person opens up and lets us know how they are very similar to us.
She made it about the audience: she identified the most important issues for the people in the room and addressed those, while skimming over the others. It is a fact that most voters don't really care about what happens outside of their country: it's what happens close to home that is important. In this type of setting, discussing foreign policy is a waste of time, except when your sons or daughters are serving overseas in a war-torn nation. For most Americans, foreign policy is not very meaningful unless it helps get their sons and daughters home safely, and soon. Palin stuck to themes that are important locally.
She showed grace and fury: one way to deliver a speech with impact is to include contrasting elements. She did so by using fierce words and tone of voice when talking about her political opponents ("What is the difference between hockey moms and a pit bull? Lipstick!") but using a decidedly more nurturing tone when speaking about children with special needs.
Few facts, much emotion: if you are looking for policy statements and programs in Palin's speech, you will find it lacking. But what she lacked in content, she more than made up for with flare. She brought the crowd on an emotional roller coaster ride for close to 45 minutes, and they loved it!

I don't fancy myself a seasoned political analyst by any stretch of the imagination. However, if the GOP wins the vote in November, Palin's performance last Wednesday night will no doubt be seen as a cornerstone of that victory.

You can see Sarah Palin's speech here: Vice Presidential Candidate Gov. Sarah Palin (AK) Full Speech at the RNC

Standing in the eye of the storm

2008-09-01T10:34:00.001-04:00

Last week, I was discussing the Maple Leaf situation with some of my colleagues. Many of them disagreed with the approach taken by Maple Leaf to handle the current situation. Their perspective was that it was better to send a PR representative instead of the president. The reasoning was as follows: if things get worse, who do you send to the front lines then?

I disagree: Maple Leaf did the right thing and I wish more companies would follow their lead. When your company is facing a critical issue, one that could potentially spell the end, you don't send a mouthpiece to do the dirty work: you do it yourself. And you do it often.

Sending a representative for such important issues gives the following message: This isn't important enough for the president to be involved. For Pete's sake, people are dying here! If there is any time to send your president to face the storm, this is it!

This weekend, Maple Leaf put another full ad in the paper where president McCain (wow, that's a funny thing to say in September 2008) explained what steps are being taken to resolve the problem. Once again, he is reassuring their customers that all precautions are being taken fix the current problem and to prevent something like this from happening again.

Mr. McCain has done a lot of things right during the crisis:

he apologized and admitted guilt;
he has not tried to lay blame on anyone but himself and his company. Specifically, he hasn't tried to blame the current inspection process in Canada;
he has taken precautions beyond the minimal requirements to help resolve the issue;
he has communicated often to keep people aware of what is going on, and he is explaining and describing the progress and process.

Many companies can learn from Maple Leaf's stance: when things go wrong, if you are in a leadership position then you need to maintain that position throughout difficult times. You can't just hide and hope it goes away; you can't stop talking and expect people around you to fill in the blanks. You need to take responsibility, keep communication channels open, and take concrete steps to resolve the issue.

This works in business when dealing with clients or when dealing with employees. And by the way, it also works at home with your loved ones!

Process before results?

2008-08-27T09:24:00.001-04:00

To follow up on yesterday's post: I saw an item in today's paper where food inspectors were complaining of the workload and the processes used in monitoring food processing plants.

It seems a new process was put in place to inspect a company's plant, however the system put more work on each inspector's shoulders while giving them less time to actually investigate. According to some inspectors, it gives them a more "hands-off" approach and prevents them from making observations they used to do before the new process was put in place. Some inspectors have even started asking the question: "I don't have time to do both so which is more important: the inspection or the paperwork?"

Processes are important in any well-functioning system but the processes must help reach results better, faster and more cheaply. If those are not the results you are seeing, then the process is flawed.

Process should never have priority over results. Bear in mind that any new process will inevitably bring about a certain slowdown or will change results in the short term. That's a natural phenomenon, until the process becomes second nature.

However, any new process must be closely monitored to see that you get the expected results and that you do not suffer from The aaw of unintended consequences.

Does your strategy serve the client or the business?

2008-08-26T16:17:00.001-04:00

This morning an article in the Montreal Gazette mentioned that an Air Canada Jazz affiliate had chosen to ditch life vests from its aircraft as a cost-cutting measure. The gist of the story can be found on CanWest's news site. A spokesperson for Air Canada Jazz put the blame on high fuel costs.

Airline regulations only require airplanes to provide life vests if the plane flies more than 90 kilometers from land. The regional carrier rerouted some of its planes to make sure they met this criterion. In other words, they are complying with their obligations.

Contrast this with Maple Leaf, the meat packing company. This week, there was an outbreak of listeria, a deadly bacteria that has already killed 12 people in Canada.

In today's paper, there was a signed, full-page letter from Maple Leaf president Michael H. McCain apologizing for the problem and expressing his sympathies to the families of the victims. In the letter, he also outlined how his company had decided to go beyond the call of duty: they have recalled all of the products that came from the plant where the problem was found, even if the evidence showed that only part of the meat was tainted. He also decided to close that plant until appropriate measures are implemented.

To put things in perspective, there have been few water landings by commercial aircraft. So in effect, the life vests are probably a luxury. However the perception will linger that Air Canada Jazz, to "save a few bucks" has put the safety of their passengers in jeopardy.

Information is what you say and communication is what the other person understands. Air Canada Jazz needs to step up their communication strategy to make their clients understand that they in no greater danger now that life vests are no longer standard equipment on some of their aircraft.

The 'Big Brown' Syndrome in IT

2008-08-21T16:07:00.001-04:00

Keeping IT rolling smoothly means paying attention to everyone, not just the best and the brightest. You can read more here:

The 'Big Brown' Syndrome in IT

Law of unintended consequences

2008-08-19T11:07:00.001-04:00

This weekend I met someone who made me wonder about the long lasting impact we have on people, often without our realizing it.

I attended a festival in my hometown of Sherbrooke, Québec. As I was watching a dance show, someone tapped me on the shoulder and said, “Hey Whodini, how are you?”

I looked at the young man sporting mirrored shades and replied, "I'm doing fine thanks."

"You don't remember me do you?"

"Can't say that I do, sorry."

"Remember back in the 80s you used to work in a video arcade? Whenever you worked, you always played a lot of rap and hip-hop in the arcade. We loved it and you were the only guy we knew who listened to that kind of music and you made us a tape. Today I have a large collection of rap and hip-hop records, and it keeps on growing. For the past 16 years, my friend and I have been hosting a hip-hop radio show every week."

I was a bit taken aback that someone I had no contact with, other than seeing him once in awhile during a part-time job, would remember me almost 20 years later. I was even more surprised that a little gesture that I had forgotten about had had such an impact for so long.

I never would have known about this, had I not bumped into him quite accidentally. Then it got me to thinking: how many other people have I unwittingly affected, for better or for worse?

If I had to make a complete list of all of the people I have met, and had to evaluate all of the results of those interactions, what would the conclusion be? Would it be overwhelmingly positive? Negative? Somewhat positive? Or would I mostly have left them indifferent?

If you've ever read the book “Freakonomics”, you've heard about the law of unintended consequences. It's the law that says that any action will have some sort of unexpected outcome, such as what happened above.

I've been fortunate enough to know of (now) two unintended consequences of my actions. Someone else once told me that I had showed him what software I used to balance my chequebook. From there, he developed an interest in money management and today he has his own business. Who knew?

A more notable example is Facebook. It was originally developed to help a few college buddies keep in touch after school. Today, Facebook is the darling of the Internet and putting one's profile on site has much more impact than it used to.

How have you been impacted by unintended consequences? Or how have you impacted others in ways you did not expect?

Telemarketing III

2008-08-11T23:43:00.001-04:00

I'm not even sure this is telemarketing or not. Maybe it's just a bad case of customer service.

As a member of Alan Weiss's mentor program, I am constantly being reminded that I need to follow up consistently. This lesson came to mind as soon as I received a call from a company that will remain nameless... because I don't remember what it was.

They called me around 10 pm and... well, instead of telling you, how about taking you LIVE to the phone call I received just moments ago. Roll tape!

(Phone rings)

Me: Hello?

Them: Hello Mr. Duperval, my name is So-N-So, how are you tonight?

Me: (Uh oh! Cialdini at work) I'm fine thanks.

Them: I'm calling from SomeCompany.com. On January 4th you sent a query through our Web site and I am following up. I don't have the question in front of me but I'll be glad to answer if you let me know what it was.

Me: ...

Them: Sir?

Me: Are you serious? That was seven months ago! How on Earth do you expect me to remember what I asked you?

Them: I understand sir. I just wanted to let you know that we have received your query and that we are following up. I apologize for the delay in responding. You may be interested to know that we have a new download of the software available and I invite you to get the latest copy. Do you have any more questions sir?

Me: Dude, I didn't have any questions to begin with!

Them: Fine, well thank you for your business and have a great evening! Goodbye!

Me: .....

Well, at least it gave me a good laugh.

Seven ways Your E-Mail Can Get You Fired

2008-08-04T20:32:00.001-04:00

US News and World Report has an article about using email in a way that can be detrimental to your job. I was quoted as part of the article. You can find it here:

7 Ways Your E-mail Can Get You Fired

Interestingly enough, I was working on a larger document discussing the pitfalls of electronic communication. I will let you know when that document is ready.

Sometimes, being good just isn't enough

2008-07-25T00:08:00.001-04:00

I am comforting my wife who is lamenting the loss of Will on "So You Think You Can Dance." The general sentiment is that Will was the best dancer of the lot, and many (including the judges, I believe) expected him to win the competition.

Yet tonight, he was kicked off the show. His talent, his grace, and his good looks did not save him.

Personally, I think it's a shame because I thought he was much better than Mark. But that's just me. Evidently, I was the minority. Plus, I didn't vote.

The results of the show are a mirror of what occurs in a number of situations in real life:

the most competent person is not necessarily the one that gets the promotion;
the one with the toughest job doesn't have the highest salary;
the one with the most talent doesn't have the most recognition.

It's just part of life. But when it happens to us, we become angry, we become upset, we blame other people, we carry a grudge, and so on. The result hurts us and affects the people around us also. The solution? A change of attitude. Instead of blaming and getting upset, focus on what you can control.

At one my son's recent soccer games, we were saddled with an incompetent referee. He made many bad calls and, surprise, surprise, the calls went against my son's team. At some point, the parents became loud and began yelling and cursing at the referee. He had to interrupt the game to let us know: "If you keep yelling, I will stop the game."

We had no control over what was happening on the field. We had to make a choice: if we kept complaining, the kids' game would be stopped and the coach would be fined. If we shut up, the situation would probably not change but the kids would be able to play their game and the coach would be off the hook. We shut up.

To some, such an attitude is a sign of weakness. To some, we should have continued to voice our disapproval because "the ref was wrong."

This response shows that the wrong criteria are used to evaluate the parents' reaction. The right criteria is: what is best for the kids?

You may have heard this before: you can be happy or you can be right. Too often, our ego gets in the way and we try to be right just for the sake of being right. Sometimes, it's worth the battle but sometimes it's just a waste of energy.

In business, the person who gets the promotion is judged on criteria tat may have nothing to do with their current job. The person who has the highest salary is probably bringing more value to the company, even if the job may not seem as hard. The person with the most talent probably doesn't have the best marketing vehicle.

In "So You Think You Can Dance" the votes didn't go toward the most talented dancer, probably because the criteria used to vote was something other than "best dancer," however you define it.

Some people have decided to stop watching the show because they disagree with the voting. Meh. I'll still watch it when I can, because I enjoy dancing and I think the kids on the show dance very well.

Plus, I gotta see it this is going to end up being a train wreck.

How strong is social pressure?

2008-07-18T16:07:00.001-04:00

Guy Kawasaki's recent post, How to Change Someone's Mind, triggered a long-forgotten experience I had in college. Kawasaki mentions Robert Cialdini's book "Influence". One of the six components of influence is what Cialdini calls "Social Proof". Social proof is when you act in certain way because others around you are doing the same thing.

This reminded me of an experiment in social pressure that I conducted in college. It was a simple experiment to see how others' reactions affected our own reactions, especially when we knew they were wrong. The experiment wasn't original, but I don't remember who did the original research on the subject.

The setup: We had fifteen cardboard sheets which had three geometrical shapes on them. We corralled a team of seven participants and one test subject.

The experiment: We gathered the team and the subject in a room and sat them in a semi-circle. The subject was at one of the extremities of the semi-circle. We showed all of them one of the cardboards and asked them: "Which of the shapes is smallest?" We started with the team members and the subject was always the last to answer.

The twist: For ten of the fifteen cardboards, the team was instructed to give the wrong answer. Sometimes the difference between the smallest object and the answer given was subtle. But other times the difference was so large as to be absurd. For example, we had a small triangle, a medium one and a large one. You could easily fit four small triangles in the largest one. Yet, the team was instructed to say that the largest one was the smallest one.

The result: to our surprise, of all the subjects we tested, only one went against the crowd every time. We saw such looks of bewilderment on the subjects' faces that we had to work very hard not to laugh. I remember one subject staring wide-eyed as the other people said that the largest triangle was in fact the smallest one. He even interrupted the process to verify his understanding: "You want to know which is the smallest one, right?"

We stopped finding the experiment as funny when one of our subjects agreed with the team on all fifteen answers. After the subject left the room, we felt the energy being sucked out of the room; none of us could believe it and we felt bad.

How have you seen social pressure affect performance and behaviour in your workplace?

More telemarketing

2008-07-17T20:22:00.001-04:00

Today I received another call from telemarketers. Yes, I know I can get on a no call list, but as long as it gives me material to write about...

This call was different. I realized, from the start, that it was a sales call but I decided to give her the benefit of the doubt.

She did a lot of things right:

She asked me "How are you?" Seems innocuous enough, but it can turn out to be a very important question. That question triggers the consistency and commitment response that Robert Cialdini explains in his book on influence. Simply put, if you ask someone how they feel, and the answer "fine" or "good," that alone increases your chances of closing a sale;
She pronounced my name correctly.
I gave her two minutes to make her case. After that time, she told me "It's been two minutes, may I go on?" Nice.
When I told her why I wasn't going to buy, she actually shut up and let me speak for about two minutes. The last time I had such a discussion with a telemarketer, the woman at the other end constantly tried to interrupt me to let me know how wrong I was.

At the end, she asked me if I was satisfied with the way she handled the call and I had to say yes. It was, in fact, an enjoyable call because even if I disagreed with her, she worked professionally and she treated me with respect.

You want my money? Get my name right! Click!

2008-07-14T20:10:00.001-04:00

Tonight, we received yet another call from telemarketers who don't seem to know the difference between a "p" and a "b". I let the person speak for about 2 minutes as she proceeded to call me Mr. Duberval at least four times. When she asked me "Mr. Duberval, can we count on your contribution?" I replied "No," since she evidently was not referring to me. Click.

Herein lies two of my pet peeves about telemarketing:

Pronounce my name correctly: my name isn't that hard to pronounce, especially in French. Yet, it regularly gets butchered by telemarketers. I've been called Mr. Duberval, Mr. Duverbal, and others. My favourite, though, remains Mr. Duverpal which translates to "Mr. Light Green" in English. If you're going to ask me for money, at least take the time to pronounce my name properly. If you don't know how to pronounce it, ask me, I'll gladly help out. Then, I may be more inclined to listen to you, and I might even buy.
Get my name right: my wife and I don't have the same last name. In many countries, wives still take on their husband's last name but in Quebec, they keep their maiden names. Our home phone line is registered to my wife's name. Nothing says "telemarketer" quite as well as someone who hears my voice on the phone and says: "Hello, Mr. Wife, how are you today?" My answer: "There is no Mr. Wife here, sorry." Click.
Act like you care about me: one of my biggest annoyances is a subscription company that calls me every other month or so, to make me an offer. The problem is, I'm already registered. When that happens, it makes me feel like a number. What am I saying? It makes me feel like less than a number: at least a number can be weeded out to avoid duplication. I must admit that the only reason I still subscribe is that I like their product. Otherwise, I would click them also.

Telemarketing loses its effectiveness if you cannot touch the client emotionally. You can do that much faster if you can make the potential client seem important. And you make a client feel important by getting his or her name right.

Otherwise, you may just be clicking your way to oblivion.

Defusing arguments quickly

2008-04-22T10:14:00.001-04:00

Have you ever been in an argument and the situation becomes more acrimonious with each exchange? How do you stop that rapidly? Seth Godin has an interesting piece on his blog about this. Notice that he talks about written communication, but the same is true for oral communication also:

Accept the other person's point of view. In any given situation, no matter what feelings the other person conveys, she is right. She is conveying her sentiment of anger, frustration, fear, and so on. Telling a person that her feelings are wrong only exarcerbates the situation.
You don't have to agree with her feelings. Just because someone else has the right to harbour the feelings she wants, it does not mean that you have to agree with her.
Look for solutions. Once you've agreed with a person's feelings, they can't escalate them. think of little kids: why does teasing work so well? Because the person being teased reacts. If the person being teased stops reacting, the teaser gets bored an finds a new target. It's similar in a heated argument. Once you start accepting the other person's point of view, you take all the wind out of her sails. The only option left is to look at what can be done to make the situation better.

Annoying Web Sites

2008-04-11T12:02:00.001-04:00

Ugh! Don't you hate going to Web sites and having to wade through layers of useless "stuff" before getting to the meat? Here are a few things that can be highly annoying about a Web site (any resemblance to Web sites living or dead is purely coincidental):

Flash-only home page: Not everyone installs Flash. And even so, Flash slows down access to your site and hogs bandwidth. Many people including me, evidently) will block Flash animations. If your home page is only Flash-based, you run the risk of people turning away.
Flash-only Web site: this is even worse! Unless your products and services can only be described with Flash technology, spare us please! Plain-Jane HTML may seem boring, but it's quick, efficient and gets the job done well. Keep the Flash separate from the rest of your site.
Hard-to-find contact information: Do we have to dig through multiple layers of muck before finding a way to contact you? Once the information is found, do we have to go through 7 steps before being able to send you a message or being able to contact you directly? Do you really want people to contact you or are you doing your best imitation of Voice Mail Hell on your site?
Email-only contact: In this day of high-tech-only communication, it feels good when you can pick up a phone and call someone and talk to an actual, live, real human being. Email forms are fine, but it shouldn't be the only way to contact you.
Psychedelic animations: Do you really need 47 animated images on the site? Where is the attention supposed to be drawn? Animated images can be fine for directing someone's attention to one special element on a page. But putting too many just makes me go nuts. And I'm sure I'm not the only one, or there would be no use for this.

And there is probably more, but I'll stop here. If your Web site is a way to attract people to you, make it easy on the user. Don't give them all the reasons in the world to stay away!

Picking fun at oneself

2008-04-07T00:11:00.001-04:00

Here is a great video on Bill Gates's final day.

Video Le dernier jour de Bille Gates vost_fr - Microsoft, Bill, Gate, dernier, vost - Dailymotion Share Your Videos

You can never take yourself too seriously. It's refreshing to see such a monument of a man poke fun at himself so easily. And he does itin such a way that he still remains dignified in the end.

Kudos! I was rarely a fan of the software company, but the man did good!

A prank

2008-04-02T13:51:00.001-04:00

Every year, around this time, there are a few pranks going around. I particularly like the Linux/open source/techie pranks. Well, I began my professional like as a techie. And the techie in me is still very strong.

Nevertheless, we now have:

What Happens When You Call Microsoft Support To Remove Linux?

Enjoy!

Communication Tips for Geeks and Other Experts

2008-02-26T09:57:00.001-05:00

Information is what you say. Communication is what your audience understands.

Coming from a techie background (as a programmer, no less) I've been accustomed to the following tenet: if the client doesn't understand, then the client is stoopid. We've even got expressions for that: the problem is between the chair and the keyboard, this is an ID ten T problem (also known as ID10T), and so on.

As geeks, we often place ourselves above the fray, looking down upon the masses. We require our audiences or our clients to raise themselves to our level, to speak the same language we speak. If they are unable to do that, we consider them morons. We obfuscate our speech in techno-babble, to ensure that the "little people" clearly get our message: you aren't worthy, this is my domain, get out of my way.

This self-aggrandizing posturing is a mask for a geek's inability to speak in language that can be understood by most people, without making the listener feel stupid. It takes a lot effort to take your expertise and explain it in layman's terms. Few people do it effectively.

Seth Godin's recent post "The posture of a communicator " touches on this topic in a concise, insightful way.

A few tips to help geeks get their points across:

Ask questions. If your client or your audience or your listener doesn't understand, ask them what they don't understand. Also ask them what they do understand, to help you figure out what the gap is.
Use metaphors and other images to explain difficult concepts. It is harder to grasp a vague topic like directories and inodes; it is easier to understand folders and documents.
Put yourself in the other person's shoes. Think of something you can do, but not very well. In my case, that would be playing the guitar. I can make it sound like a guitar, but nobody would ever mistake me for a great (or even a good) guitarist. I can't fathom my reaction if in my first course, the teacher were to tell me: "What's wrong with you? A Gm7b5 chord is easy to play." (The chord is easy to play, I just can't figure it out without a picture in front of me.)

Oscars 2008

2008-02-24T23:48:00.001-05:00

Here are some of the lessons (good and bad) from the 2008 Oscar ceremony:

Brad Bird, winner for Ratatouille: start with a story. His anecdote explaining why he made movies set the stage perfectly for the thank you's that followed.

Javier Bardem (Best Supporting Actor): he displayed one of the most important qualities of a great speaker: confidence. He spoke well, he spoke convincingly, he spoke in Spanish. At the risk of offending many people in the audience, he took position and said what he believed he should say instead of saying what he felt the audience wanted to hear.

Tilda Swinton (Best Supporting Actress): one word: humour. She messed up the beginning of her speech but recovered well from the moment she began comparing the statuette to her agent. Lesson here: even if you don't start off well, you can still deliver a good speech.

The Coen Brothers: speak only if you have a message. When Ethan Coen took the stage, he said "We..." looked a bit lost and then said "Thank you." I'm not sure if time ran out or not, but it didn't leave a positive impression. You undoubtedly have been in situations where a speaker ended his speech and you were left with one question: "Why did he even bother to speak to us?" That's what I felt. The second time he came to the stage though, he played humorously on what happened earlier ("I don't have much to add to what I said before."). That was pretty good.

Karen Baker Landers and Per Hallberg (Sound Editing): they had planned something and they blew it. So they dropped their script and ad libbed. Once in awhile, things go awry. It's not the end of the world. Suck it up, do your best and go home.

Marion Cotillard (Best Actress): she was a wreck! I thought I was about to see a train fall off a cliff. But she finished with a brilliant line, "It's true, there are angels in this city!" Great sound bite and flattering to the hosts. Nice conclusion.

Christopher Rouse (Film Editing) and Stefan Ruzowitzky (Foreign Film): don't begin your speech like most other people would.

Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova (Best Original Song): a great emotional moment and kudos to Jon Stewart for bringing Irglova back to say her thanks. That was a gracious move on his part. As an MC, his role is to make sure that everything goes smoothly. As I was sitting with my wife, her reaction was "Well that's cheap, they could have given her a few seconds to speak." She had a great message to say and was given the opportunity to do so. However, I felt her message lacked compared to Hansard. He told a story, and that is memorable. His message: even with a $100,000 budget you can still make it to the Academy Awards.

Daniel Day-Lewis (Best Actor): he epitomized eloquence. His description of the ideas sprouting from the mind of the writer was a thing of beauty.

Overall, a decent show. It didn't seem as long and boring as previous years. Eitherr that, or I was in a particularly generous mood tonight!

The witch is gone

2008-02-19T09:35:00.001-05:00

Now that Barry Bonds has left the San Francisco Giants, the team has a chance to show what it can do without a superstar in it midst. Looking at the bottom line, Bonds has been an impressive baseball player. His career spanned more than 15 years, he has a number of records to his name. However, you can't help but wonder whether his attitude was helpful or hurtful for the team. With such a dominating performer, the Giants did not win the World Series.

This occurs in business also. There will be one or two people that outperform everyone else. They are good for business because they produce much higher revenues than all the others. However, their attitude can have an adverse effect on the employees' morale, and can adversely affect performance.

Bonds had a surly attitude with the media, but in the past, few if any Giants players complained about it. It is possible that his attitude was not the same in the dugout as it was in front of the cameras. That will be seen over time.

For now, it seems as though the attitude already feels less somber as they prepare for spring training. Time will tell if the attitude change will translate to winning on the field.

Is education getting even more expensive?

2008-02-13T22:23:00.001-05:00

Interesting article in the Globe And Mail:

Cash for grades may be 'small price to pay'

I wonder if that would have worked with me when I was in school? I hated it and I did as little as I could in order to pass. According to the article, paying students a fee to do their homework seems to work. They also state that it works not just for the courses that offer financial incentives, but also for other courses.

I remember reading in Freakonomics that giving incentives to people who already love what they do, can actually backfire and cause a decrease in performance. It also can cause the person to dislike the task she used to like.

So is it possible that incentives work better when they are given to a person that does not like a task? The article points somewhat in that direction, although there is still a lot of analysis left to do.

Now, the question is: do I really want to pay my kids to get them to do their homework?

The band should play on

2008-02-10T23:40:00.001-05:00

I watched a bit of the Grammies tonight, and saw when Kanye West received his award. His speech was too long, if the band-playing was any indication. Now, I don't know what the rules are, but I suppose nominees are given a list of guidelines for their acceptance speech. I know they do this for the Oscars. The actors are warned that should they speak too long, the band will start playing and they have to wrap it up.

At any rate, Kanye West gave his speech and the band started playing. West kept on speaking as if nothing was happening. At some point, he asked the the band to stop playing... and the band did. The audience applauded to show their approval.

The band should have kept on playing.

I have seen this too often in meetings. An agenda is set, time has been allocated to discuss specific issues. But some people in the meeting decide to take as much time as they want to state their views or opinions, and the meeting leader does not have the courage or the power to tell that person to shut up.

Net results? Meetings last longer than they should, some people are given more air time at the expense of others, and so on.

A successful meeting requires many of the same ingredients of a successful speech:

A roadmap: prepare an agenda containing a goal and the topics to cover.
An adequate amount of points to cover: too often, meetings or speeches try to cover too much ground. Having 14 bullet points is too much for a 60 minute meeting. More often than not, less is better.
Stick to the plan: if you realize that your speech is going to take more time than you expected, you need to cull on the fly. Same thing with a meeting. At some point, the moderator may need to say: "All right, we need to move on. We will schedule another meeting for this specific topic." Or: "We will not have enough time to cover everything we had planned to cover. I suggest that we complete the discussion on this important point and schedule a different meeting to address the rest of the points."

Doing so shows respect for everyone's time and will increase the effectiveness and usefulness of your meetings.

You Don't Abandon Your Team When They Are Down

2008-02-03T23:14:00.000-05:00

So, the New England Patriots did not win the Super Bowl. I think it's too bad, because it would have been fun to see another team have a perfect season. Of course, there were a couple of incidents during this season, so maybe it would have been a perfect season with an asterisk.

Bill Belichick, the Patriots coach, made a questionable call during the game, and failed to act in a leader-like manner at the end of the game.

The questionable call came when the Patriots had the ball at the Giants 39 yard line. It was first down, and Belichick had to choose: try for a field goal to get three points, or try to keep the ball moving in the hopes of scoring a touchdown. He chose to go for a touchdown, but they failed.

In hindsight, getting the three points could have sent the game into overtime, and provided the Patriots with more opportunities to win the game. He made a tough call, he took a chance, it didn't work out. That's okay.

However, at the end of the game, while there was still one second to play and the Giants had the ball, Belichick chose to get off the field and returned to the locker room, while leaving some of his players on the field to complete the game. That is not the mark of a great leader.

Even if he was disappointed, even if the situation was difficult, as a leader he should have stayed on the field until the game was officially over. He came on the field with a team, he should have left the field with that entire team.

As the coach, he basically showed utter contempt for the rules of the game, and worst of all, for his players. It will be interesting to see how fans and players react to that behavior.

First impressions

2008-01-19T09:54:00.001-05:00

Here is an interesting article on making first impressions:

Leadership: Directors of First Impressions

In Quebec, I have found that as a customer, I am generally well greeted. Not to the extent described in the article, but I don't feel like I am intruding into someone's life.

There is a bicycle shop close to my home where I buy most, if not all, of my biking gear. One of the reasons I buy from them is because the owner calls me by my name, even though I haven't been there very often. The first time it happened, I was slack-jawed. She saw me and said, "Hello Mr. Duperval." I think it was the second time I had gone to the shop. The previous time was almost a year before that.

Contrast that with the time I went to an electronics distribution company. Not one of those super stores, but one of those counters in the industrial section of town. I was greeted by the receptionist, and I explained to her what I was looking for. As she listened and called one of the salespeople, her voice and demeanor made me feel as though I was being a nuisance.

After letting the salesperson know I was at the front desk and needed help, she went back to her business. I stood and observed her behaviour. She was in the process of going through and filing her mail. Whenever the phone rang, she would sigh audibly, as if she was being bothered again.

This went on for about ten minutes. Never once did she check with the salesperson to see what the delay was. Never once did she apologize for the delay or try to contact me in any fashion. After 10 minutes of waiting, after such shabby treatment, I turned around and left without a word and went to spend my money elsewhere.

Public speaking on the campaign trail

2008-01-07T13:11:00.000-05:00

There are some interesting lessons on public speaking that can be gleaned from the current presidential race. Here are a few. Mike Huckabee displays poise while answering a question he deems inappropriate. Also, pay attention to the interviewer: he asks a question, Huckabee answers it, yet the interviewer asks the question again -- probably because he wasn't paying close attention to the answer.

Huckabee, again, using (mean) humour to make a point. If he can use humour in a presidential debate, why don't more people use humour in business presentations? No, I don't advocate nasty humour unless you are a professional comedian.

Speaking of John Edwards: these two clips shows how you use a catch phrase (in this case, "You can't 'nice' these people to death") and keep a constant message.

Mitt Romney, showing how you control your Q&A session. Don't get mad, keep your smile.

Hillary Clinton showing emotion in her statements. Public speaking is not about being stone-faced during your entire speech. If you feel anger, display anger. Controlled anger, but anger nevertheless.

Clinton, again, noting the evolution of language:

Barack Obama showing the dramatic difference in energy between reading a speech and delivering a speech.

Body movement from Barack Obama. Ok, it's not on the campaign trail but you gotta love a guy who dances like that!

Let it go, already!

2008-01-06T10:28:00.001-05:00

I had an interesting online discussion about this article:

ESPN - Slur incident at VMI sets WVU's Stewart on defensive - College Football

In case you chose not to read it, here is the gist: over 10 years ago, Bill Stewart, then a coach at Virginia Military Institute, used a racial slur (the N word) while talking to a student.

Today, he has been hired as a coach for a new school yet the school still has to defend their choice.

The incident occurred more than 10 years ago, Stewart explained what happened, apologized, resigned. What, does he have to sacrifice his first born on TV for people to just let it go and move on? Please!

We've all done idiotic things in our past, and we will continue making mistakes in the future. Very seldom should people be castigated for life because of their mistakes.

There is a larger issue here, which is that of language. The use of the N word is highly emotional, and can skewer one's perception of the message. This can often lead to miscommunication because we fixate on that single word instead of look at the bigger picture.

In this case, Stewart's intent was clear: he wanted to teach the young man that his antics could draw the ire of people in his community. His choice of words left to be desired.

One of my cousins told me something that sounds like this: "A n..... is the one that steals, does drugs and otherwise acts the fool."

No doubt you will be faced with situations where someone uses a word or phrase that you find highly offensive. What can you do?

Before dismissing that person's comments outright, take a moment. Breathe.
Unless the person is displaying an oft-repeated behaviour pattern, assume the best intentions. It's amazing how much less stressful life can be if you don't expect the worst from people.
Then ask the person to clarify his/her intent. A simple question like "What do you mean by that?" can go a long way.

If after those simple steps, it becomes clear to you that the person had ill intentions, then walk away.

Making (partial) good on a promise

2007-12-31T11:45:00.001-05:00

In a recent blog I took Canaca to task because they did not want to reimburse me for a purchase, even though it stated on their front page that I could get a full refund, for any reason, within 30 days of signing up.

Well, after a bit of back and forth, they made good, partially, on that promise. They will refund part of my initial fee and they will also refund an excess charge for currency conversion. It's not what I wanted, but it's better than nothing. I could keep on fighting them but at this point, I feel I have better things to do with my time.

Christmas, good cheer, and the in-laws

2007-12-21T10:36:00.001-05:00

Here is an interesting post on relationship dynamics around Christmas time:

Holiday gaffes

The comments from the readers are interesting also.

It had me thinking: how do you deal with in-laws when you don't get along with them? Should you even try to get along? Should you constantly keep your guard up and defend yourself and your convictions at every turn?

My philosophy, when it comes to personal relationships, is "Live and let live." I figure, unless lives are at stake, most arguments and ensuing resentment are not worth it. I wholeheartedly adhere to Steven Covey's Fifth Habit: "Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood." I also believe that nobody will be interested in you, until you show you are interested in them.

I've seen it in the workplace, I've seen it in families, I've seen it with my wife and my children. Until you start to take the focus away from yourself and turn it to others, the relationship dynamics cannot and will not change. Most of the time, the reason we keep the focus on ourselves boils down to one word: ego.

As Walt Kelly, the creator of the Pogo strip said: we have met the enemy and he is us.

You're only as good as your word

2007-12-13T09:52:00.001-05:00

NBC, the American television network, has decided to refund advertisers because it had promised them a certain level of performance and didn't live up to it.

Now, I don't know the specifics of the deal and I don't know if they were obliged to do so by contract, or not. My understanding is that when these situations occur, networks usually give advertisers credit for future ad sales. NBC has taken it further and decided to refund. Good on them.

I can't help but think of my own situation with my service providers. During the month of October, I had to switch my Web hosting to a different company. I had to go through 3 companies before I found the one that worked.

The first company I tried was Canaca, a Canadian company. I went with them because on their front page it says:

If you become dissatisfied with your web hosting service for any reason, you will receive a
full refund (minus domain name registration fee)

After two weeks of usage, I began getting complaints from people telling me that when they sent me email, it bounced backk to them. I also noticed that some of my mail was not reaching its destination. So I located another service provider, signed up with them and cancelled my account with Canaca. Or so I thought.

In followup emails after asking for cancellation, I received this message:

Also note that the 30 day money back guarantee is not a trial. It's a guarantee of service that we had promised you. If you have become unsatisfied with our services with the first 30 days due to "service that we promised you but did not provide", canaca.com will refund your hosting fee. If the issue is related to something that we did not promise you to provide then this 30 day money back guarantee will not apply. Also you are not in 30 days money back guarantee any more.

All of a sudden, now that I am not satisfied, the 30-day guarantee applies to "service that we promised you but did not provide", not "if you become dissatisfied with your web hosting service for any reason."

As if that was not enough, I noticed this little ditty on the bill from the company:

1. We have lowered our US --> CND exchange rate from 1.3 to 1.2

So, because I am a Canadian customer, paying a Canadian company, I am being charged a 20% premium on my bill. This, mind you, occurred when the Canadian dollar was at par, if not higher than the American dollar.

Unfortunately, I made the mistake of paying the bill when I received my credit card statement. I really should not have done that. Now it's going to take a while to get that money back. If I ever do, that is.

A personal and a corporate reputation can only be built on whether you are true to your word, or not. It is also built on integrity and ethical conduct. In this case, Canaca does not make the grade.

Getting great ideas

2007-12-12T11:04:00.001-05:00

Here is an interesting post on generating ideas. An extension of the "Think Outside The Box" approach:

Innovation Wednesday: Where Do Ideas Come From?

Which all ties in to an interesting quote I read in this morning's paper: the best way to have a good idea is to have many ideas.

Generating ideas, writing, playing a musical instrument all have a commonality: consistency and repetitiveness.

The only way to get better at any of them is to find a consistent way to put them into action and to repeat the action over and over again.

If you want to write, one of the best ways to improve is to set aside a portion of your day dedicated to writing. One or two hours a day. Over time, your writing improves and you produce faster.

Brian Tracy has a technique for idea-generation that he calls the "Twenty Questions" approach. Ask yourself a question and then find 20 answers to the question. The first few come quickly but around the 12th answer, you start to run out of ideas and you need to think a little deeper in order to get new ideas. He says that most of the best ideas occur around the tail end of the 20 answers.

Get Ready for the holiday office parties

2007-12-10T22:59:00.001-05:00

This couldn't come at a better time and I couldn't have said i better myself:

Avoid Ending your Career at the Holiday Party

I'll add another one: have someone be your chaperone, especially if you are prone to drinking. There is, of course, the usual DUI implications but you also may want that person to monitor your behaviour and make sure you don't go overboard.

Before doing so, make sure you have a clear understanding that if your chaperon says it's time to go, you will go. The last thing you want is to make a scene in front of everyone else.

While I'm at it, don't bring your spouse/significant other if you don't get along. Unless you both can fake it remarkably well. Nothing puts a damper on a good party like a quarrelling couple. If you can't hold it in until you get home, don't go together.

Things you don't want to hear at the doctor's office

2007-12-05T22:15:00.001-05:00

I had an eye examination with an ophthalmologist today, to figure out why my vision was becoming cloudy. She took a first look and said, "It's a small uveitis. Nevertheless, go with the nurse so she can dilate your pupil and I will look at your cornea in a few minutes."

So I did, and the nurse put a couple of drops in my eyes to make me look like a cat.

When I was called back to her office, the doctor sat me in my chair and started to look at my right eye, where I hadn't really noticed any blurred vision. She said, "Yep, it's inflamed alright."

Then she looked at my left eye and exclaimed, "Woah!"

You never want to hear a doctor say, "Woah!" when looking at your eyes.

She immediately added: "OK, let's lie you down to take a closer look." Here's a tip: a normal eye exam has you sitting, not lying.

She brought out some instruments I'd never seen before and started to poke my eyes left and right. I'll spare you the details, but I sort of felt like Arnold Schwarzennegger in Total Recall when he fell out of the pressurized cabins on Mars. If you've never seen the movie, go rent it!

After poking around, she sat me back up and started writing in my medical file. Then she said, "Do you have that prescription sheet I gave you? Please give it back to me."

Another tip: when doctors ask you to give back a prescription sheet to add more stuff to it, it's never a good sign.

After handing me back the sheet, she took me by the hand and said, "Come on, if we're lucky we'll be able to get a specialist to see you right now."

When a doctor leaves his/her office to accompany you to an unscheduled appointment with a specialist, it's time to panic!

We were unlucky. My next exam is on the 11th.

Late night drive-thru

2007-12-01T00:48:00.001-05:00

As we were coming back late from an event, a colleague and I decided to stop and get a bite to eat a the drive-thru of a fast food chain. We came to the mike and placed our order.

I asked for a sandwich. The reply came briskly: "We don't have any bread." The voice did not sound enthusiastic at all.

So I tried again: "Do you have the wraps instead?"

Answer: "Not at this time."

Not only was I not able to get what I wanted, but on top of that, the person at the other end sounded like he wanted to be anywhere but where he was at that particular time.

My colleague asked what was available. By the tone of his voice, I felt that the person coming from the speaker was thinking: "Who are you and why are you bugging me for food at this time of night?"

We finally placed our order and proceeded to the pick-up window. When we got there, the only thing we could see was the skull on his black T-shirt.

Fitting.

Why you should never end on a Q & A session

2007-11-23T12:09:00.001-05:00

I have been advocating to my clients and workshop attendees never to end a speech with the traditional Q&A (Question and Answer) session. Rather, do the Q&A first, and then conclude. Here's why:

Imagine that this was the last question of Mr. McCain's Q&A session. What impression would it leave in the minds of the audience?

The fact that only this segment, without the conclusion, appears on YouTube makes me wonder...

Q&A sessions are an important part of your speech. However, they wrest control from your hands and puts it squarely into the hands of your audience. You don't want that.

Always make sure that you leave a bit of time to conclude after you have answered questions. By doing so, you maintain control of your speech and you can end it on your terms, not on your audience's terms.

Happy Holidays?

2007-11-23T11:12:00.001-05:00

What's happened to us? Our society has slowly become one filled with fear, paranoia, and angst. To wit, this article from USA today which requires volunteer Santas to sign a clause protecting the US Postal Service from lawsuits and complaints:

Volunteer Santas have to sign a clause - USATODAY.com

All in the name of prevention, since no complaints have been filed about this service.

Lest you think, "It's because they're Americans!" here is something else on the Australian front:

Santas warned 'ho ho ho' offensive to women - Yahoo! News

For Pete's sake! "Ha! Ha! Ha?"

It gets better:

Santa told to slim down for Christmas to 'set a good example' | the Daily Mail

Sigh!

My understanding is that Christmas, and the Holiday Season in general, is supposed to be about joy, fun, and happiness. Why legislate to make the fun disappear?

Volunteers who reply to little kids' letters to Santa are giving the most precious gift we have: time. It makes the kids feel good, it makes the volunteers feel good. Why instill fear now?

"Ho! Ho! Ho!" is a rounder, fuller, warmer sound than "Ha! Ha! Ha!" It's already cold outside in the winter (well, in Canada it is), why remove the warmth?

And if your kids are taking nutrition advice from Santa, there's a larger problem to address.

I remember in my youth, the promises of the mythical "Leisure Society" where we would have more fun and play than ever before. I wonder when and why we decided to take a direction that is the completely opposite.

Ethics, politics, and storytelling

2007-11-22T11:29:00.001-05:00

Christmas is coming; my kids need new clothes; I'm flat broke but my friends and family expect me to display a certain lifestyle. I think I'll go rob a bank. The judge will understand.

Sounds preposterous, doesn't it? Yet, that's what it sounds like when a former politician says: "I accepted money because I was broke and I had a lifestyle to preserve." The act is then brushed off as a "colossal mistake." Never mind that he, Brian Mulroney, denied for years that he ever took the money. (For more background information on this, please see this Globe and mail article.) Although it is yet to be proven that Mr. Mulroney acted illegally, it does toe the lign of proper ethical conduct very closely.

Ethical conduct is closely tied to one's values. Being ethical means that you are being honest and you act with integrity. As I once heard, integrity is acting the same way whether people see you or not. So in the case of Mr. Mulroney, a simple way to know if it was ethical or not is to ask: "Would you have done it in front of a camera with people watching?"

Ethical conduct is something we constantly face in the world of professional speaking. In one of my study groups, a few weeks ago there was a heated debate about storytelling. Storytelling is a central part of public speaking. You can get your points across much faster and more easily when you tell stories to illustrate them.

Some stories have become so popular that most professional speakers cringe at the thought of hearing it one more time. Examples include The Starfish Story and The US Aircraft Story. The act of using those stories in and of itself is not unethical; it just shows that as a speaker, you lack originality.

However, many speakers will tell stories that they heard somewhere else and act as if it is their own stories. And sometimes, they even believe it is their own stories. Telling someone else's story and taking credit for it is considered highly unethical in the speaking business. Once people realize you've been lying, your credibility takes a big hit and your reputation is severely tarnished. It can take a long time to recover from something like that.

If you decide to use public speaking as part of, or as all of your professional endeavours, you can prevent such a situation from happening to you.

Make a decision to use very little of someone else's material. If all of your stories are original, it will be very unlikely that someone else tells the same story. It can happen, though. I know one speaker who told a story that was eerily similar to another speaker's story, which I had read in a book. When I confronted him with it, he maintained that the story was his, even after I cited the author, the book, and the page where I originally read the story. Is it possible that he had a similar experience, but in a different context and location. It should be noted, though, that I've never heard him tell the story again.
If you need to use someone else's material, get permission or at least give proper attribution. I've been bitten by this one, myself. I reported someone else's story, from my perspective. I gave proper attribution, saying it was not my story but my impressions about something that happened to someone else. I told the story's protagonist about it after the fact, and he was not too pleased about it. I made some factual mistakes and I did not get his permission beforehand, which was damaging to him. I made corrections afterwards and he was okay with it, but that's still a black mark on me.
Don't toe the line. If it feels awkward to do something or say something to an audience, don't. Now, that doesn't mean you cannot push the envelope. It means that you have to push it ethically, so if you are challenged on what you say or do, you have solid facts to explain your decisions and your actions.

Too often, ethics become situational. We will act ethically when others are present or looking, but act unethically when nobody is around to supervise.

In Mr. Mulroney's case, there will be an inquiry to determine whether he acted illegally or not. If he is at fault, he will probably be asked to repay the money in some form, or the matter may be taken to court. If not, he will be cleared but his reputation will still have been tarnished.

For the rest of us, life goes one. Yet every day, situations will come up which beg an answer to the following question: would I do this if there was a camera filming me?