Perception is Choice

"Our state of mind has a great effect on others. For example, if you do a thing while thinking "I do not want to do it," you might easily get tired. However, if you do a thing which you like, you will not tire so easily. Therefore, if you use your mind in a positive way, your body also becomes positive. If you use your mind in a negative way, your body also becomes negative. The state of the mind has a great effect on the body. The state of mind also has a great effect on others."

- Koichi Tohei
Founder and Grand Master
Shin Shin Toitsu Aikido
(1920 - 2011)

Every Thought creates a City. Every Word, a Universe.

A colleague can change air currents with her mind. It's not a simple thing though; it takes a lot of effort. When we travel together, her preflight routine includes losing her ticket, finding coffee of the correct temperature, calling the kids at least three times, reconsidering the seat assignment and the plane configuration. With all the prep completed, we sit back for takeoff – well to be honest, she "goes fetal" and within twenty minutes, there's turbulence. See. She did it again. Twenty times I fly alone – no turbulence. I've been wondering whether to suggest that she consider relaxing about flying and give the heavens a break.

Another colleague ruins contracts telepathically. Work on a deal fourteen months; get it right up to the signing stage. She finds out about it, says, "It'll never work! Are they really gonna do this?" Kiss of death. That's it, the deal falls through. She's lethal – talented, but lethal.

Another pessimist kills the phones. We'll be enjoying a high and active sales day with the phones ringing off the hook. He'll walk in and kill the energy in the room and – through the phone lines, the enthusiasm in the rest of the world. The phones die and prove his hypothesis – that he'll never succeed.

A friend resents other drivers. He turns the ignition and the crazies come out. Passing, swerving, cutting in, squealing brakes – he's angry with all of them and critical of everyone's speed, attention, throttle control and following distance. The minute he thinks about driving, the nuts behind the wheel start mentally targeting and converging on our parking lot. Strangely, when he's not thinking about it, traffic mellows out.

On a positive note, one friend walks in and the room starts to buzz. It gets lighter, everyone wants to hang out with him and be his friend. (I like travelling with him because people buy us dinner...) Maybe it has something to do with the fact that he seems to love life so intensely...

What’s our point? Whether you love, hate, fear or criticize someone or some thing, your strong (even unconscious) perceptions can have a palpable effect on things, people, even the atmosphere. So become conscious of this power, and start using it positively!

Applications:

1. Personal:

Concentrate on having a smooth, safe drive to work. Take a new path and open the windows. Change your viewpoint about the experience; and change the experience.

2. At Home:

The way you choose to see a mate or partner can make the difference between boredom and passion. Choose to take the high road and allow love to flower again.

3. At Work:

Find something to love, respect or enjoy about your clients. Change up your presentation style by having the audience do impromptu "position statements" to level the playing field before you do the main event – by enjoying (not resisting) the experience – you can change it and make it a win.

Perception is Choice. Your choices influence traffic, sales, other people and the very heavens – in addition to whether I want to fly with you. Start by becoming aware of your previously unconscious choices about how you see life, communication and other people. Is it possible that your power used unconsciously, is obstructing your progress? Why not choose to see the positive and create a better universe?

The Assets are the Stories

"So the secret is to tell your story to everyone and anyone at every opportunity." So for how long? "You tell it until you puke!"

Anonymous Cola Executive

"In our industry, the assets go up and down in the elevator."

Bill Bernbach
Chairman and Founder
Doyle, Dane Bernbach

Let's say we're discussing financial services (although the point applies to any industry)…

The company creates a model for managing money and apportioning portfolios.

The actuaries work the equations to prove the model.

The portfolio guys trade instruments to achieve the optimum allocation.

The company originates a story, and sales management orchestrates and coordinates the field, the desk and marketing to get everyone on the same page..."One Story, Many Voices!"

Deposits start to roll in... Assets.

Now hold on there, Hotshot, those assets don't belong to you; they belong to the investor, and are controlled by a financial advisor. They are "Assets Under Management" – under your stewardship – but not yours to keep.

So what are your assets?

Well, you pick up a few points in fees... so your own portfolio is growing, slowly. But...

Has it occurred to you that your real assets might be the people who hatch the strategies and tell the stories; the people who manage the portfolios and bring the imaginary story into reality?

Has it occurred to you that the real assets may be the stories themselves?

If that's true, shouldn't you put more effort into managing your portfolio?

If the stories were assets, you'd make certain that nobody did any freelancing out in the field. You'd ensure that the desk, the field and the literature aligned themselves around the core story, with small variations for locale, circumstances and firm. You'd teach people to tell it, rather than making yourself the most unique performer in the world; you want everyone telling it…just like you. You'd repeat yourself – for years if need be. If the story is an asset, you'd know that it gains value in the retelling. The objective – if the stories are assets – is to get everyone repeating your words back to you. The retelling becomes an aspect of shared culture – it’s a little like brand heaven

Is this true? Who does this best? Consider:

The story of Christmas. The story of the United States of America. The story of Henry Ford. The story of Passover. The story of New York City. The story of Luke Skywalker and the Galactic Empire. The story of the Shao Lin Temple and Kung Fu. The story of Mickey Mouse and Walt Disney. The story of the Catholic Church. The story of Enzo Ferrari. The story of JP Morgan and the Great Depression.

Applications:

1. Personally: Your life is your raw material. Work it, Baby! Tell your stories to entertain, teach and get work.

2. At Home: A family is a micro culture filled with storytelling moments. Pull the gang together with your shared stories of love, sacrifice, adventures, losses and wins.

3. Office: Have we made the point? Culture is composed of stories. Discover, savor and retell the stories of your firm – watch it and your career grow.

Stories are Assets. Story Telling is what you do to grow your portfolio.

Integrated story telling is a significant contributor to corporate viability.

Quit freelancing, you guys, and get to work on building value.

In Praise of Brevity

"Be Sincere. Be Brief. Be Seated!"

Franklin D. Roosevelt
32nd President of the United States
(1882 - 1945)

At Gettysburg in 1863, Edward Everett delivered an eloquent speech of 13,607 words lasting two hours, just to have every word immediately forgotten when, moments later, President Abraham Lincoln delivered his famous three minute, 272 word address.

In our experience we all have a split personality – a little arrogant, and at the same time a little insecure.

Both of these augur against brevity in presentations. Arrogance inclines us to fill a page with data just to prove we’ve mastered the subject. Insecurity inclines us to fill another in fear of leaving something out. To satisfy our hutzpah and doubts, we over produce, over analyze and over verbalize. Consider this conflict: we’re all A.D.D., yet we generate twice the material and three times the slides actually required to do the job.

Time for a new standard – less is more – Brevity is king. Think Well Structured, Concise and Well Delivered.

Imagine your own response if a colleague used half the allotted time, delivered a big idea – supported by three arguments with one or two pieces of evidence – showed a maximum of 9 slides, gave a quick summary, main idea & a call to action – and ended?! Wouldn’t it be a shock (and a pleasant one) if you could get the idea, understand the analysis and embrace the next step in minimal time?

Applications:

1. Personal: Both Arrogance and Insecurity are all about you – not your listener. It’s not about you, it’s about them! Put your attention where it belongs.

2. Home/Family: Keep it brief! Your family is being schooled by the media – ten seconds is an eternity.

3. Office: Present the minimum amount of information! Then allow the audience to draw the additional information out of you in the Q & A – a conversation may “break out.” And all time limits fade in the presence of interested listeners.

The higher you rise, the less time you'll get to impress. Presidents, Deans and Heads of State are impatient, demanding and more than a little critical. So get it right and get 'er done!

Less is More!

"Less is More!"

Mies van der Rohe
American-German Architect
(1886 - 1969)