Lest we forget this weekend….

During its first 100 years of existence, more than 683,000 Americans lost their lives, with the Civil War accounting for 623,026 of that total (91.2%). Comparatively, in the next 100 years, another 626,000 Americans died through two World Wars and several more regional conflicts (World War 2 representing 65% of that total). Using this comparison, the Civil War might very well be the most costly war that America has ever fought. (Partial Sources: U.S. Army Military History Institute and iCasualties.org)

Summary of Fatalities in Major Conflicts

Revolutionary War (1775-1783) 25,000

World War 2 (1941-1945) 405,399

Korean War (1950-1953) 36,516

Vietnam War (1955-1975) 58,209

Afghanistan (2001-Present) 1,893 (as of 02/2012)

Iraq (2003-2011) 4,484 (as of 02/2012)

Never Speak with your Back to the Audience – One of Three Use-of-Powerpoint Suggestions

(First, a confession.  I’m not much of a fan of Powerpoint.  I seldom use it (actually, I prefer Keynote), and when I do, it is mostly images, and mostly to introduce my speech/presentation.  So, take this as criticism from one who is not a fan).

Here is the deal.  You should speak to your audience.  So look your audience members in the eye.  Eyeball to eyeball.  You are not speaking to a projection screen, you are speaking to people.  So look at the people – eyes front at all times!, toward your audience members.  They, and they alone, are your audience.

Have you watched any TED talks?  The speakers always look in the direction of their audience.  Yes, they have a pretty big budget, with multiple monitors in front of the speakers.  But the principle is crystal clear – eyes front!

Never stand facing this direction

Recently, I saw again what I have seen too many times to mention.  A speaker was presenting a report to a room full of folks.  For practically the entire time, he stood facing the screen, with his back to his audience, reading the slides at times almost word for word.

Aaaauuuuugggghhhh!

So – here are your communication tips of the day, for when you speak with PowerPoint or Keynote slides.

#1 — Never speak with your back to the audience.  Not one word.  Look at your audience at all times, and not, not ever!, at the screen.

#2 — Never have a chart or graph on a PowerPoint slide that is too small for the audience to read easily.  If you just have to have it on the screen, even if it is too small to read, make sure your audience members have a copy in their own hands that they can read clearly and easily.

#3 – Darken the screen when you want your audience to pay more attention to you directly.  Do this frequently throughout your presentation.  In other words, be in control of the eyeball direction of your audience members.  When you want them looking at the screen, then have a slide on the screen.  When you want them looking at you, darken the screen.

Instead, stand facing this direction

All of this should remind you that PowerPoint slides are not the presentation.  They are presentation aids.  You are presenting your presentation.  So look your audience members in the eye, speak directly to them, every minute, every word of your presentation.

(And, read my earlier blog post, A Set of PowerPoint Slides is NOT a “presentation” – a rant)

How to Get the Corporate Antibodies on Your Side

Here is an excerpt from an article written by Mitra Best for the Harvard Business Review blog. To read the complete article, check out the wealth of free resources, and sign up for a subscription to HBR email alerts, please click here.

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People often ask me why it’s so hard for big companies to be innovative. My answer is “corporate antibodies” — the people and processes that extinguish a new idea as soon as it begins to course through the organization.

Corporate antibodies are not just naysayers; they are necessary to protect the company from risk. When they attack an idea, it’s because they perceive that idea to be a foreign object trying to harm the stability of the organization. But that doesn’t mean innovation can’t happen, even in the biggest, most entrenched firm. It simply means that senior leaders need to prepare their antibody system not only to identify ideas that are too risky but to recognize the ones that will strengthen and grow the company.

Easy to say, of course.

At PwC, we learned a powerful lesson in how to engage our corporate antibodies. We learned it through our experience with an internal contest — “PowerPitch” — in which we challenged everyone in the firm to submit a business brief proposing our next $100 million opportunity. It was fun to bring our finalists to New York as if they were American Idol contestants ready for their close-ups. In the end though, the competition wasn’t about the flash and dazzle. It was a lesson in how to prime the organization to become an optimal environment for innovation to thrive — an effort that started a full year before the competition was held.

How did we do it? We began by lining up the biggest sponsor to champion the project, identifying the most powerful naysayers to help us mitigate the risks we were about to introduce, and then systematically recruiting our general management structure to do the real legwork.

[Here are the first two of several initiatives Mitra discusses.]

Getting the Big Gun on Board

We started at the top — by convincing PwC chairman Bob Moritz that he needed to lead the charge in a high-profile way. He manifested his support with two of the most potent weapons a chief executive has — empowerment and sponsorship.

By establishing the Innovation Office, and empowering me with resources to run it, he sent a crucial signal to the organization that innovation is on top of his agenda. By explicitly sponsoring the contest, he put his weight behind the initiative. He launched the contest through a companywide Webcast and reinforced the importance of innovation to the future of the organization through a series of e-mail communications. He was relying, he said, on absolutely every single person to participate. That got people going.

Getting the Naysayers to Join Us

It wasn’t hard to identify the most powerful corporate antibodies. They were the people whose job it is to worry about risks to the on-going organization — legal, risk management, finance, IT, and the brand team. To make them into allies, we held a series of highly personalized meetings in which we asked each person to use his or her core area of expertise to help us plan out the details of our PowerPitch initiative. For example, we sought the Office of General Counsel’s help in developing terms and conditions for the contest. We collaborated with our CFO to think through the budget and prize strategy. We engaged our brand team to help us increase the impact of the project through our newly launched visual identity.

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To read the complete article, please click here.

To check out Mitra’s other articles, please click here.

Mitra M. Best is the U.S. Innovation Leader at PricewaterhouseCoopers, leading the disciplined approach to inspire, evaluate and implement innovative ideas across the organization with the critical mission to support the development of new services and market opportunities across industries. Mitra influences and advises PwC senior leaders on new ideas and approaches to organizational strategy, works with clients and third parties to foster open innovation, and promotes the PwC brand as an innovative leader in the marketplace.

Emotional Equations: A book review by Bob Morris

Emotional Equations: Simple Truths for Creating Happiness + Success
Chip Conley
Free Press/A Division of Simon & Schuster (2012)

An “operating manual” from an “emotional concierge” for those who seek meaning in life on the other side of complexity

I have read and reviewed Chip Conley’s previous books and with all due respect to them, I think this one will have much wide and much deeper impact because the equations he forged during what must have been an especially severe crucible can be of incalculable value to others who have also struggled – with mixed results, at best – to find meaning in their lives. I share Conley’s high regard for Viktor Frankl (1905-1997) and for two of his books, The Will to Meaning (1988) and then Man’s Search for Meaning (2006). The name of Conley’s hotel company is Joie de Vivre but as he explains, there was very little joy in his life when he felt compelled to re-read Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning. Over several careful readings and countless hours of rigorous reflection, Conley was able to “distill its wisdom down to a simple equation: Despair = Suffering – Meaning.”  That “little mental rule of thumb” became his “lighthouse.” He turned his life around and that, in turn, enabled him to turn his company around.

Just as Dan Roam discovered the power of clarifying and communicating immensely complicated ideas with simple drawings, Conley discovered the power of (his word) “distilling immensely complicated concepts with simple equations, ones that required basic skills such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Conley possesses an almost insatiable curiosity to understand what works, what does, and why. He recalls one friend who told him, “Your internal math is haywire.” He notes, “Chaos is a math theory, but it also describes how many of us feel in troubled times.” Almost anyone who reads this book can identify with Conley’s candidly described struggles with finding meaning and significance as well as serenity in his emotionally turbulent life. Hence the importance of the aforementioned equation: “Despair = Suffering – Meaning.”

In fact, Conley brilliantly presents his material within a six-Part framework, organized within 19 chapters for each of which he devised a formula as its title. For example:

1. Emotions = Life
5. Regret = Disappointment + Responsibility
12. Authenticity = Self-Awareness x Courage
14. Integrity = Authenticity x Invisibility x Reliability

Then in Chapter 20, the final chapter, Conley explains to his reader how to create her or his own Emotional Equation. After posing two critically important questions for the reader to consider, Conley provides three case studies based on real-world experiences of several people who had explained to him how they created their own Emotional Equations. In the first, the focus is on RESISTANCE (“Growth = Change – Resistance), the second on HUMILIATION (“Humiliation = (Shame x Anger) – Power”), and the third on EMPATHY (“Empathy = Compassion (for self) + Presence (for others).”

Those who view all this as obvious, simplistic, gimmicky, etc. would be well-advised to recall Oliver Wendell Holmes assertion, long ago, that he “wouldn’t give a fig” for simplicity on this side of complexity but “would give his life” for simplicity on the other side of complexity. What Chip Conley shares so frankly and so generously in this book is what he learned about meaning in life during his journey to the other side of its complexity.

I highly recommend Frankl’s two books, especially Man’s Search for Meaning, as well as Roam’s two “napkin” books and then the sequel, Blah Blah Blah: What to Do When Words Don’t Work. It may also be of interest to know that, in Da Vinci’s Ghost, Toby Lester observes, “Francesco [di Giorgio Martini, 1439-1502, Italy's most renowned architect and companion of Leonardo] didn’t just state his church-body analogy [`Basilicas have the proportions of the human body'] and move on. He drew it too. That’s because, uncommonly for his time but in complete sympathy with Leonardo, he believed in the explanatory power of images. `Without a drawing,’ he explained in the epilogue of his Treatise, `one cannot express and clarify one’s ideas.’” The same can also be said of Conley’s equations but, in fact, they are actually not “simple.” Nor is hard-earned wisdom.

Michael Marquardt: A second interview by Bob Morris

Michael Marquardt is Professor of Human Resource Development and International Affairs at George Washington University. Mike also serves as President of the World Institute for Action Learning. He has held a number of senior management, training and marketing positions and has trained managers in over 100 countries since beginning his international experience in Spain in 1969. Consulting assignments have included Marriott, Microsoft, Motorola, Nortel, Alcoa, Boeing, Caterpillar, United Nations Development Program, Xerox, and Nokia as well as the governments of Indonesia, Laos, Ethiopia, Zambia, Egypt, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Russia, Jamaica, Honduras, and Swaziland.

Mike is the author of 24 books and more than 100 professional articles in the fields of leadership, learning, globalization and organizational change including Optimizing the Power of Action Learning, Leading with Questions, Building the Learning Organization (selected as Book of the Year by the Academy of HRD), Action Learning in Action, Global Leaders for the 21st Century, and Global Teams. More than one million copies of his publications have been sold in nearly a dozen languages worldwide.  His latest book, Breakthrough Problem Solving with Action Learning: Concepts and Cases, was co-authored with Roland K. Yeo and published by Stanford University Press (2012). He has received honorary doctoral degrees from universities in Europe, Asia and North America for his work and writings in the field of action learning and leadership development

Here is an excerpt from my interview of him. To read the complete interview, please click here.

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Morris: Before discussing Breakthrough Problem Solving with Action Learning, a few general questions. First, who has had the greatest influence on your personal growth? How so?

Marquardt: My mother certainly had a great influence on my love of learning, my joy in asking questions, and my commitment to making the world a better place for others. No one in any part of our family had ever gone to college, and yet my mother pushed us all to get a college education – 3 of her children got doctoral degrees and 3 obtained Masters Degrees. Whenever we came back from college to our family farm, she would ask about everything we learned. We used to feel sorry for the person sitting next to her on an airplane as she would spend the entire flight asking about everything that person knew. And she wanted us to get into professions that helped others – 2 of my sisters are nurses, another sister was a social worker. One of my brothers ended up being a doctor and the other one is a fellow professor.

Morris: The greatest impact on your professional development? How so?

Marquardt: I would say Len Nadler and Reg Revans. Len Nadler, my professor at George Washington University, is considered the Father of Human Resource Development (HRD) and inspired me to do global HRD work. Reg Revans, considered the Father of Action Learning, inspired me to make action learning the passion of my life.

Morris: Years ago, was there a turning point (if not an epiphany) that set you on the career course you continue to follow? Please explain.

Marquardt: After 20 years of global work with a number of government agencies and global companies, I became a professor at George Washington University in 1994. The first course I was asked to teach was “Action Learning” as the position I was filling had taught this course before she retired. I did not even know what action learning was, and yet I needed to prepare and deliver this course to 25 senior executive who were part of GWU’s  Doctoral Executive Leadership Program. With some trepidation, I prepared the course as well as I could – using the existing syllabus and a Revans textbook. I created 5 teams of 5 students, and asked each team to identify a problem in one of their organizations which they were to solve during the semester. Fortunately, the course turned out well for the students, but I quickly became convinced that action learning was the greatest problem-solving and leadership development tool out there, better than anything I had seen in my previous 20 years of using scores of different tools for training leaders or developing organizations. I have become a devoted advocate and practitioner of action learning ever since.

Morris: To what extent has your formal education been invaluable to what you have accomplished in life thus far?

Marquardt: I believe all of my formal education has enabled me to understand and appreciate action learning, as action learning is built on a wide array of disciplines that are integrated and generate its power. Thus, my undergraduate degree and studies in philosophy and economics, my master’s degree in education and group dynamics, and my doctorate in HRD that included psychology, management science and adult learning have all been valuable in re-creating action learning.

Morris: Briefly, what are the core principles of action learning?

Marquardt: Simply described, action learning is a dynamic process that involves a small group of people solving real problems, while at the same time focusing on what they are learning and how their learning can better solve the problem, develop leadership skills, build the team and change the organization.

Action learning program derives its power and benefits from six interactive and interdependent components. The strength and success of action learning is built upon how well these elements are employed and reinforced.

1. A problem (project, challenge, opportunity, issue or task)

Action learning centers around a problem (be it a project, a challenge, an issue, or task), the resolution of which is of high importance to an individual, team and/or organization.  The problem should be significant, be within the responsibility of the team, and provide opportunity for learning.  Why is the selection of the problem so important? Because it is one of the fundamental beliefs of action learning that we learn best when undertaking some action, which we then reflect upon and learn from.  The main reason for having a problem or project is that it gives the group something to focus on that is real and important, that is relevant and means something to them.  It creates a “hook” on which to test stored-up knowledge.

2. An action learning group or team

The core entity in action learning is the action learning group (also called a set or team). The group is composed of 4-8 individuals who examine an organizational problem that has no easily identifiable solution.  Ideally, the make-up of the group is diverse so as to maximize various perspectives and to obtain fresh viewpoints.

3. A process that emphasizes insightful questioning and reflective listening

By focusing on the right questions rather than the right answers, action learning focuses on what one does not know as well as on what one does know.  Action learning tackles problems through a process of first asking questions to clarify the exact nature of the problem, reflecting and identifying possible solutions, and only then taking action.

4. A requirement of taking action

For action learning advocates, there is no real learning unless action is taken, for one is never sure the idea or plan will be effective until it has been implemented. Therefore members of the action learning group must have the power to take action themselves or be assured that their recommendations will be implemented, (barring any significant change in the environment or the group’s obvious lack of essential information).

5. A commitment to learning

Solving an organizational problem provides immediate, short-term benefits to the company. The greater, longer-term, multiplier benefit, however, is the learning gained by each group members and how the group’s learnings can be applied on a systems-wide basis throughout the organization. The learning that occurs in action learning has greater value strategically for the organization than the immediate tactical advantage of early problem correction.  Action learning places equal emphasis on the learning/development of individuals the team and organizations as it does on solving problems and developing successful action strategies.

6. Action learning coach

Coaching is necessary for the group to focus on the important (i.e., the learnings) as well as the urgent (i.e., resolving the problem). The action learning coach helps the team members reflect on both what they are learning and how they are solving problems. Through selective interventions and insightful questions, the coach enables group members to improve their performance and develop their leadership skills. The learning coach also helps the team focus on what they are achieving, what they are finding difficult, what processes they are employing, and the implications of these processes.

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To read the complete interview, please click here.

To check out his faculty page at GWU’s Graduate School of Education and Human Development, please click here.

To learn more about the World Institute for Action Learning, please click here.

For Mike’s Amazon page, please click here.

To watch a video, please click here.

How to Hire for Passion, Not Just Talent

Here is another valuable Management Tip of the Day from Harvard Business Review. To sign up for a free subscription to any/all HBR newsletters, please click here.

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People are more creative when they feel passionate about their work.

Whether they are driven by interest, enjoyment, satisfaction, or a sense of personal challenge, they are more likely to take risks, look for multiple solutions to a problem, and seek out the best one rather than the easiest.

These are the people you want on your team.

•  Get to know potential hires as thoroughly as possible, even before you have an opening for them.

•  Ask them why they do what they do, what disappointments they’ve had, what their dream jobs would be.

•  Look for fire in their eyes as they talk about the work itself, and listen for a deep desire to do something that hasn’t been done before.

•  When you talk to their references, listen for mentions of passion.

Today’s Management Tip was adapted from “Talent, Passion, and the Creativity Maze” by Teresa Amabile and Steve Kramer.

To read that article and join the discussion, please click here.

Also, you may wish to check out Management Tips from Harvard Business Review by clicking here.