Taking a Professional Development Course? Burn the PowerPoint Handouts!

I just finished delivering my umpteenth Project Management course at The University of Akron. I'm not 100% sure but I think this one edged me well beyond the 200th professional development course for the new millennium.

This particular class was a pretty good bunch - 19 individuals; mostly adult learners; about half of the group possessed a pretty good project management background; about half of the rest had virtually no project background; and the remaining handful varied in experience. These folks pushed my delivery techniques up about six notches beyond the normal course composition due to their widely varied experience and relative interest. But... I think I hurt their feelings. Here's why.

I've been noticing for nearly a decade that students are becoming more and more attracted to PowerPoint list presentations and almost frighteningly addicted to PowerPoint Handouts. (You know? That stack of 3 to a page images of my presentation slides along with lines to take notes) A significant part of the perception seems to be that, if you do not present using PowerPoint (or one of its little brothers), you do not know how to teach (I'll get to this in another post). Even more chilling is the attitude that, if you don't hand out detailed notes pages (based on your PowerPoint) you are doing something wrong. (That's what I want to cover here.)

Well, (OOPS...) My PowerPoints display minimal information and (GASP...) I don't like PowerPoint handout stacks. Here's why...

When I deliver a course that includes PowerPoint handouts, I consistently notice that the students don't take their own notes. Why should they? I've already written out all the information for them in the handouts. I've also noted, again consistently, that when I ask questions in the presence of handouts, students can't seem to respond with their own unique thoughts. Instead they fire back answers based on simply looking at the following slides in the handout stack. Easy as pie to learn when you need not think your own thoughts and you can peek ahead to see the line of discussion. The amount of learning going on in these scenarios is more closely focused on telling me what they think I want to hear than on what's genuinely in their heads.

On the other hand, when I teach without benefit of the PowerPoint handouts, students write voluminous notes. They also ask unique questions and respond to mine with answers from their own perspectives - their own experiences. They process what they're learning and apply it to their own realities. Learning genuinely happens in these classrooms and everyone benefits. In this environment, not only do the students stay mentally alert but they frequently pull me up to new perspectives and enable me to answer more complex questions while building new ideas into the next course.

So... I'm torn. Deliver courses with PowerPoint handouts or leave the handouts off the resource list? In terms of learning theory I know students retain more information longer when they have to listen and transfer the concepts in their minds into their own handwriting and jot them down. Involving the optimal number of senses in the delivery is without a doubt the way to go to deliver value. However, there are two interesting problems with all this: First - Students who have grown used to the PowerPoint experience will hammer the instructor on the evaluations if they don't get their handouts. Second - The university departments for which I've worked become upset when instructors don't deliver those vital handouts to students.

Lately I've been consuming the fruit punch and handing students the PowerPoint slide deck pages for their notes and my evaluations are way up but I'm not comfortable with the learning. Interesting dichotomy...

Working from Home...

Today I received a question from a friend about how he could convert his "corporate" training responsibilities (services) into home-based services.

In brief, getting at some potential answers to this question will depend on several scenarios:

• What is your vision for this initiative?
• In what ways does your vision match, or conflict with, the existing process?
• What is (are) your role(s) as tech trainer?
• What specific content do you teach?
• How are the training programs formatted & delivered?
• What role(s) do you play in development/delivery?
• What is the specific audience for each session?
• Is your proposed home-based work related to developing programs or delivering them?
• In what ways will the corporate culture support or inhibit your concept?
• What is the nature of your in-home office in terms of your ability to provide quality services?
• Will your existing programs convert easily to home-based delivery?
• Can your audience handle the conversion?
• Will you experience negative backlash when you are no longer available to conduct face-to-face operations (or when you reduce this time)?

Answer these questions and a high percentage of the request is going to become more clear.

Disposable Employees = Disposable Trust = Disposable Economy = Disposable Nations...

Below is my response to a recent post on BNET (One of the most useful Internet sites I have found.)

You can find the original here: Employee Loyalty is Dead. Good Riddance.

I was once told the my "altruism was going to get me fired." The speaker was an academic dean in a career position that I absolutely loved - teaching at a university that really needed what I had to offer. Unfortunately, I had purpose and ethics and felt that the knowledge delivered to my students was the most important value I could deliver to the enterprise. (In this case, I spoke out against grade inflation; a new football program that sacrificed academics in favor of attracting athletic numbers; and an apathetic tenured faculty.)

Shortly there-after, I discovered that my entire portfolio of highly specialized intellectual property (I had developed four unique courses and programs, three of which were part of the required curriculum.) had been absorbed by, was now "owned" by the enterprise and I found myself out of a job/career. As a contract employee I was completely disposable once the enterprise sucked me dry - or anytime I disagreed with anything that conflicted with the latest politically correct concept or propagandized belief.

Not only was I "removed" but I was completely and carefully ostracized from the entire campus community (people I thought of as friends). I never heard from any of my fellow faculty members again. Interestingly enough, since I was also pretty popular with students, I was quietly disposed of after they had all left for summer break. (Several of them hunted me down and we still connect now and then.)

I'm 57 years old and have been searching for an enterprise that valued my knowledge, skills, and capabilities, and one that was willing to allow me to fully apply them to a purpose larger than myself. Essentially, all I've wanted was a place where I could thrive and contribute to a community of value - to be considered something more than a piece of employment meat. What I have found is a long succession of the same old same old - enterprises operated by executive management according to what's minimally legal and who have carefully crafted the personnel and operational infrastructure to ensure they are never put at risk by individuals more capable than themselves.

I have been watching this mentality literally destroy my country and it is one of THE most significant disappointments in my life. Nearly a decade ago, I founded an organization that I thought would move beyond the petty scrabbling of personal greed into a valuable service arena - only to discover that management had once again ensured its own plush lifestyle and, once sucked dry, I was no longer welcome. Once again - I became ostracized and cut off from my community of friends. (Out of over two hundred, only eight continue to communicate with me.)

To be truly human is to reach out beyond our own needs and greeds. Anything less is the function of chaos. If the enterprise wants innovation it must be compelled to nurture and reward those who innovate, not drain them and return the empties for new models. When employee loyalty is rewarded with disloyal actions on the part of the employer, nobody wins. There IS no possibility of win-win when one party is abused by the other.

I have never spoken these thoughts or attitudes out loud but I honestly believe that if we expect to turn this country of ours away from the self-centered - self-righteous - corporate mind-set we need to take our country back from that corporate mind set. As long as what is legal trumps what is right, we are doomed to continue to slide down a very slippery slope into a very nasty place. As long as the needs of the shareholders and the image of executive management trump the lives of the employees who shed the blood, sweat, and tears to put the company into its current successful position, we are NOT going to succeed.

This isn't to suggest that ALL corporations are wrong - plenty of them still value the employees that made them great. Unfortunately, there are way too many enterprises that exist solely (or is that soul-lessly?) for the good of the company instead of the good of the community.

I'm an American - not Italian American; not Irish American; not Latin American; not any other "dash" American. My concern is that, in this disposable employee mentality, we just may be seeing a seriously deadly change in the value of American lives - one that could put us - the BIG US - quite literally out of business. I don't expect, nor am I asking for, anyone to follow me into any mythical promised land. What I do expect is for people to start voting with their feet and start speaking out when others begin destroying the foundational beliefs and culture that define our families, our companies, our countries and our world. If we don't get out of our apathetic little clouds, we're all going to discover that what has been done to destroy the trust of the individual employee has also been done to destroy all our hopes for a decent future for our children.

And, yes. I've decided to remain altruistic - look for it on my business card. The alternatives - the ones we're seeing now: economically, politically, and all-too-frequently right here in our homes - simply suck.

If You Can't Communicate, You Can't Thrive

When was the last time you took an effective communications course? Seminar? Read a 3.5 paragraph article on how to get your message through? Let me guess... That basic Public Speaking class you slept through in high school? 5? 10? 20 years ago?


Would you like to do better at what you do? In my experience the vast majority of problems people face - at home, at work, with that traffic cop who stopped you for speeding last week - hinge on your ability to send and receive a clear message.


Options? Keep in mind that, in today's seriously bazaar job market, this single facet of your capabilities could easily make or break your career. Invest some time, even a tiny amount, learning how to communicate more effectively. Then, (you KNEW I'd throw in a difficult caveat, didn't you?) actually practice USING what you learned.


I guarantee your life will change!

Customer Service is About Your Attitude Towards Other People

Not long ago, I purchased a "magnetic" bracelet from TGW.com. The product was touted as being of high quality and the price matched the hype. In less than three months the micro-welds on two of the bracelet links broke and I nearly lost the product. (On the advice of a jeweler I eventually used automotive "Lock Nut" to make shaky repairs. But why was I patching this product?)

I sent a very friendly note to TGW.com about what I considered either a defect or poor workmanship. I received no answer so I sent a note to the company that manufactured the bracelet. No answer.

Why is this germane to this blog series? Because neither company apparently gave a "diddly squat" about this particular consumer. It would have taken a single employee less than five minutes to (at the very least) apologize for my problems. Since I received no answer, I can only believe that once the money has changed hands these folks move on to the next buck, the next prospect - leaving a potentially valuable customer hanging.

I can understand how a company can become busy and even possibly miss out on some simple customer issues as this. I am not angry at these companies - They are only doing big company "things." However, they have permanently lost both a customer and a potential repeat buyer.

Is this your idea of quality customer care? How about your idea of simple courtesy? In business, or in life in general, there is no essential difference between these two critical human concepts. You either care about your ethics and attitude - and they apply to personal as well as business relationships - or you don't.

I personally spend countless hours doing my best to provide value to the people who I encounter. It doesn't matter whether they spend money with my company or not - my goal is to do my best to help them solve problems and live a better life. I'm not always successful - in fact, over the years I have had some sheer whoppers of "dumbicity" - but I DO push myself hard to perform. When I screw something up, I bend over backwards to correct the error and do my best not to repeat the mistake. I even go so far as to try and provide others with a recap & lessons learned so they can avoid the same problems - without having to take the lumps.

My company is nowhere near as wealthy or successful as the two mentioned above. Then again, it doesn't need to be. At least I wouldn't want it to be if this is the bottom line reflection of success. Years ago, I built up a pretty good freelance photography business. I did fine but an acquaintance built the same style business in about 1/4 the time and became extremely successful. His secret - the more negative attitude he threw at his customers, the more money they threw at him. Are we (the theoretical "we") doing something a bit backward here or is this a realistic business practice? Sometimes I honestly wonder... (I mean - seriously. This is one of the issues that literally keep me up at night.)

How do you treat others? How do your co-workers treat other businesses? Do you care? Do you take the time to look at where the customer or other individual is really coming from? Do you honestly to try and relate to their needs? Which attitude will help you become more successful? Do your personal ethics end where the corporate door begins? Which do you choose?

Only you can decide...

Want to Learn Something New?

Free Online Knowledge Briefing - April 22nd, 2010

For over ten years, I have commented that we lose way too many of our technology dollars to essentially empty IT spending. Industry studies have consistently backed up my perspectives, with some actually placing losses at more than $10 for every $1 spent. There a plenty of purported solutions to this waste. Unfortunately, very few of them are designed to produce positive ROI without serious additional spending.

On April 22nd, 2010 I'll deliver the first of an online Knowledge Briefing Series covering a wide range of methods any company can use to minimize risks while putting the brakes on wasteful IT spending - without negative impact on your budget or operations.

Tired of the unnecessarily high costs & risks of business technologies? This is your chance to identify the life cycle technology asset management issues that create those problems and to walk through the simple, common sense, and cost effective procedures that you can use to begin saving serious IT dollars.

Each registered participant receives a customized Session Workbook to use in documenting delivered content. We'll add to the Workbook with each new online session we deliver.

Let's conduct a quick cost-benefit analysis...

The Costs?

• It's free...
• The methods are proven,
  
• I'm not selling you anything and,
  
• It's only a single hour out of your day...
  

The Benefits?
Your company could easily begin converting those all-too-frequently negative technology investments to gaining $5 (or more) in value for every $1 you spend.

You have absolutely nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Series intro URL: Minimizing Technology Costs & Risks, April 22.

Session One: Minimizing Exposure to Punitive Software Non Compliance Audits

As an employee, are you disposable?

It's human nature to put a lot of effort into a new job (or other new experience) and then, after we're established, back off. We all tend to coast in certain areas of work & life. However, especially in this economy, those who coast are beginning to discover that their job security is at serious risk.

Are you coasting? If so, you are most likely at risk of becoming disposable. (As in the next to be unemployed.) That being the case, how can you go from disposable to indispensable? (And, before we go any further, keep in mind that merely being good at what you do does NOT prevent management from tossing you into the dumpster with everyone else.)

Want to up your odds of surviving the next purge? Try this. Make a list of all the skills and abilities you bring to your job. Once you complete that list, make a second column showing the number of those skills your employer has tapped into. Now, create a third list of the skills your employer - or future employer - genuinely values. The difference between what you know and what they value is your new target of opportunity (or maybe your target of survival).

Let me give a simple example. One of the absolute key elements of some jobs is the ability to dispassionately create and communicate a cost-benefit analysis (CBA). Unfortunately, few people can effectively create a CBA - and even fewer can communicate the resultant information to their business environment. Could you do this? If not, here's a very easy add-on to your personal-professional toolkit.

How about increasing your employment possibilities? Are there other simple skills (such as a CBA) that you could add to your toolkit that would help you become more valuable to your employer? Make a list and go after them. Also, understand that there may be no need to attend a costly course or training program. Many of these basic skills can be self-taught.

Wait... Self-taught? Isn't that something like taking control of your own professional growth? Or maybe taking the initiative? Could those two skills also be listed in among the needs of modern businesses?

Try this - It's easy! I just gave you three options for improving your employment capacities. How many more can you locate? Keep in mind that sometimes "merely" keeping a job isn't going to suffice. Sometimes you need to take control over your own options and (even though you "feel" secure) ensure that you are prepared for the worst.

Still coasting? On the other hand, you could just kick back in the recliner and wait for the next big surprise. Then you can stumble back onto the unemployment line with no advance preparation...

Nah! You're smarter than that. How can we help you improve? That's what we do.

Obama invites the CEOs of major corporations to the White House for advice!

These folks are seen as the potential vehicles for reducing tech-related costs of big government. Hopefully we'll gain a few new answers on how to enhance services and efficiencies, too. Here's the article I'm referring to on the Washington Post site.

OK... This makes a certain amount of (non)sense: Invite the top corporate CEOs in for advice on how to reduce costs. Granted, their companies have grown and they ARE successful. But, were these executives the ones who brought the original intellectual property, or the knowledge, or the capabilities to the table? Were they the ones actually managing the projects that built the enterprise? Doubtful. Instead, perhaps many of these folks were hired for their 'pretty' factor, or their abilities to connect the enterprise with other major corporations. (Or maybe to connect with political figures?)

However, if this government is serious about reducing costs I think it's time to start asking the small- to mid-sized business owners how they execute effective and rapid change. These are the business people who survive or fail based on their abilities to streamline costs while continuing to deliver value to their customers. There is no multi-billion dollar infrastructure for these folks to rely on as a parachute. There is no bailout in their future business forecasts.

Wait just a second: I could be wrong but weren't the enterprises we recently had to bailout once ranked among these "major" corporations?

The individual people on the front lines of America made this country what it is. They sweat and bled to build this dream. Maybe we should listen to some of their common sense ideas for stepping up to the productivity plate and stepping back from the “me first” buffet? Maybe the core message we're searching for isn't so much how we can go about patching the ship of state. Maybe, instead, we should be asking, “In what ways can we get serious results?”

Perhaps we need to look to Einstein's definition of insanity: “Doing things the same way every time and expecting different results.”

Need Work? Check Out This Great Article in Money Magazine

Those of us who are no longer young--or within a couple decades of being so--sometimes need to develop more sophisticated methods of job hunting. Today I read a very interesting article by Paul Keegan in the July 2009 issue of Money Magazine Special Report.

Go from fired, or retired, to hired. (Paul Keegan) Page 62

If you can find this article, it's worth a look. Essentially six experts helped "make over" several candidates to give them a more sporting chance in the job market. There were a lot of very good tips--many of which most of us never consider.

So, check it out. (And, if you can find an online link, let us know so others can benefit...) If I manage to find it again, I'll modify this post.

Now, of course the magazine wasn't mine. Naturally, I read it while waiting for my turn under the barber's scissors. And, naturally, I jotted down the details on my smart phone. Then, of course, when I want on line I couldn't locate the article so...

Intellectual property rights my.... (assets)!

I am constantly astounded at the number of enterprises that actually expect their employees to simply hand over their intellectual property rights. There is a time and a place for that "work for hire" contract, but I think corporations are way too greedy to understand the concept.

You really need to keep an eye on these rights or they will be taken away from you...

Are you a new graduate? Fully employed knowledge worker? Just a "plain old normal" person? Watch your prospective employer very carefully. In these days of virtually no corporate loyalty to employees, quiet little work for hire clauses manage to slip their slimy tentacles into even the most common sense employment or mutual benefit agreement. Sorry to point out the obvious but, your rights to your creations have been thoroughly subsumed by the corporate legal mentality (What's LEGAL takes precedence over what's RIGHT or what's ETHICAL. This is also reflected in the "If you want the job, sign this onerous agreement," mentality.)

The result? Anything you create--in some cases even if it isn't at work--can easily become the sole property of the company. Don't expect to get a cut of the millions in profits leveraged from your creative juices--those belong to the company... (Here's your hat and cheap imitation gold watch---now, beat it.)

Why am I pursuing this rant? Because companies are constantly whining that their employees are no longer "innovative." Is our collective leadership so disconnected from reality that they actually believe today's knowledge workers do not recognize the pattern? When your longevity with a specific employer is measured by the clueless whims of the latest executive butt in the corner office, why would you be willing to take one for the team?

Folks, this is common sense stuff. If our employees cannot expect honest and fair treatment of their ideas and dreams from executive management, where does management get off expecting them to give it all away? And don't use the empty cliche about their paycheck being their reward... A good knowledge worker doesn't need you anywhere near as much as YOU need THEM.

Want to build credibility? Try volunteering to help someone else...

Are you constantly waiting to be trained? Or to gain experience in some career area of expertise? If so, quit waiting for someone else to get you off your duff and go volunteer.

Very frequently, our own bosses cannot simply hand us the opportunity to learn a new skill or process. Learning on the job can be both expensive and detrimental to your future employment (should you make a serious mistake). Instead of littering the work place with your pleas to grow, go help someone--or some enterprise--less fortunate.

I've been working to increase my knowledge of grants and the arenas surrounding fund raising. Neither is a strength for me and, like most small businesses, mine can't afford to hire highly experienced experts.

Solution: I volunteer my time serving on the fund raising committee of a local non-profit organization. Using this resource, I can build my skills, experience, and background while doing something good for someone beside me. Check it out. You might actually meet new people, make new connections, and accomplish something you could never approach in your narrow day-to-day job.

Don't limit yourself to what you can see in your immediate surroundings--there is an entire world of possibilities out there that you've probably never considered tapping into.

Is truth important, or are we tied down by "politically correct"?

"Do you want the unvarnished truth, or do you want to hear the sweet-talk?"

When it comes to business processes and project status, I've heard it both ways. Some executives want you to sweet-talk them and some want to be made clearly aware of the precise facts. How about you?

Granted, there are always conditions and dependencies. Every situation is different... Let's assume that we'll all be polite, but not play diplomatic double-speak games. That being the case, in general, how do you feel, as an employee, about "telling it like it is"? Or, if you're in management, how do you want your personnel to deliver communications?

OK - So you're credible... Can you prove it?

A lot of us believe we are credible. Some highly so. Unfortunately, others, including those for which we have worked, might not be in complete agreement. When this disconnect occurs, all the work you have done--the value you delivered--simply disappears and the mistakes--or apparent mistakes--are blasted right to the top.

It's been my experience that a majority of my employers have simply had no clue what I can bring to the table. I'll bet you are in the same boat. Most frequently--and this has been proven time and again by credible research--the "c-suite" has never even tried to tap into your potential. For the most part, these folks are busy being busy and simply have no time or interest in recognizing the potential value in the minds of their personnel.

Result? No matter how good you may be, the "enterprise" doesn't have a clue. Could this be one of the reasons why so many companies feel the need to bring in outside experts--simply to tell management precisely the same things existing personnel have been trying to say? Yep...

Real World - In nearly every project management, negotiations, or technology asset management course I teach, at least 2/3 of the attendees report that their company (their immediate superior?) rarely, if ever, taps into their capabilities. These same folks inform us that their company will pay incredible fees to consultants who proceed to convey the same messages the employees have been trying (unsuccessfully) to convey.

So...and a great deal of my ranting will come back to this critical point: If you want to be credible, you have to take responsibility for documenting what you know, enhancing your own professional development, and ensuring that your name equates with value--both within your own enterprise, AND in your professional industry.

Nobody else is going to perform these tasks for you. YOU have to take control. The days are long gone when we could even partially rely on a single employer (even a dozen or more) to provide us with a stable income. We have all become disposable commodities--to be sucked dry, then tossed on the trash heap along with the other diapers. For the most part, the enterprise has moved on from being an ethical local resource to being a pure profit center. Loyalties are significantly more frequently tied to how much money you made for the company--today--than how much value you bring over the long term. Who was it that said: "If you want loyalty, buy a dog"?

Again: If we, as professionals, expect to remain of value to the enterprise then WE must take control of our own capacity to carry that value wherever we go. The tool kit we used to carry in our hands is now in our respective brains--it's our talents and abilities to link thought with actions. As such, that mental/professional toolkit goes with us wherever we go. Either we (YOU) are in control of our (YOUR) future or we (YOU) are not.

(Sorry... My purpose in this blog is to speak up. If this offends you...read the books Nickel & Dimed, or Bait & Switch--Or any of a thousand other resources that clarify the current relationship between employer and employee.)

Employment: Will Your Professional Value-Adds Transfer Jobs?

Will your personal/professionals transfer to your next job? In this economy, they better, or you are in for a heap of trouble. Ask yourself a few career-critical questions:

• What unique skills, talent, and value do I bring to the enterprise?
• How mobile are these value-adds?
• In how many different ways (industries) can I apply them?
• Do my value-adds stand independently, or do I need others to deliver?

Check out this short article for some easily implemented strategies/tactics to enhance your personal/professional portability.

Read the Knowledge Brief HERE

Don't get caught as a Pirate simply because you didn't do the paperwork!

One of the key reasons we hear so much about software piracy or music piracy is that virtually any use an average person or company makes of these copyright protected products can be easily interpreted as illegal.

In reality, the vast majority of so-called software piracy events are nothing more than license violations-coupled with lousy record keeping business processes. Of equal importance is that the so-called anti-piracy industry, in reality, invests significantly more time and effort in copyright enforcement than in violations prevention (We’ll discuss this side of the scam in another Briefing).

Our First Bottom Line: There is an enormous and highly lucrative global copyright enforcement industry that feeds on consumer lethargy and it will continue to feed on our individual bottom lines until we all wake up and take action. Software piracy is--to a very real extent--in the eyes of the beholder. Unfortunately the most powerful beholders have arranged it so that the legal definitions of piracy are so conveniently cloudy virtually anyone--right down to an 11-year old child (and younger) can violate federal and global copyright laws.

Read on HERE for some serious details on how you set yourself up for that punitive copyright violation audit...

Is Dell Credible?

Dell recently announced the lay-offs of more than 8,000 of its North American workers. At the same time, Mike Dell also announce the company would purchase $70 million in Chinese hardware during 2008. As well, Dell executives have a salary and perks package that exceeds $60 million.

Do you find this disturbing? On what level? Social ethics? Business ethics? Employment ethics? Shareholder responsibility? Other?

Did you ever buy Dell products or services? In what ways will Dells treatment of employees influence your future acquisitions?

Are you afraid to argue?

Some of the more notorious members of my extended family are Italian and man, can those people argue. But, you know what? Even when they're howling at the moon, you always know precisely where they stand. What's more, after the average (and very noisy) discussion ends, everybody remains friends and goes on their merry way.

Here's my point: Are you afraid to argue with, or question, those around you? Do you tend to put on your cute little happy face--no matter how wrong you honestly believe the other person to be? At work, are you the proverbial "Yes, Man" or woman? If so, you may have found that you are losing your personal and professional direction.

It never ceases to amaze me that the students in my collegiate project management courses, technology asset management courses, or even negotiations programs absolutely refuse to question my perspectives. These are working adults, professionals in their respective fields, and I literally have to push them to think critically--to question the ideas and concepts we discuss.

Is this you? Do you always agree with the boss, simply because they're the boss? Do you see things happening within your life or career that threaten to improve the status quo and merely ignore them? Are you a corporate drone, having been beaten down by "THIS is the way we DO things here!"? If so, is that a good thing?

I have a personal perspective that goes something like this: "You are either in this (pick a profession or job) to be productive and contribute positively to our mutual growth or you are here as a spectator--watching the rest of us DO on your behalf."

And why am I intruding on your personal space with this drivel? Because I firmly believe that one of the key problems I encounter--time and time again--in nearly every corporate setting--is that people are no longer encouraged to, or willing to, ask questions. Without this level of free thought, our abilities to survive, grow, and compete are seriously diminished.

Resource: Take a look at the book Fierce Conversations, by Susan Scott, (Berkley Books). I firmly agree with Ms. Scott that it is time for us all to begin seriously considering how our meek and accepting perspectives have limited our potentials. Let me know what you think...

Are You Credible?

Do you know what makes you credible? With your friends? In your job? At your school? Are you a good friend? A good worker? Good student? Good family member?

Is credibility important? If so, why?

This blog is all about personal and professional credibility. It's about the things that encourage other people to trust you and consider you in their lives.

We'll start with honesty and integrity.

Do the people around you trust you? Do they know that they can have complete faith in your words and actions? I know what I think and what I have learned from countless books, articles and conversations on this subject, but I need to know what you think.

Let me ask you: How do you feel about the importance of honesty and integrity in those around you?