Courageous Conversations

Engage your own employees to sell the message

Who knows your content and context better than your own employees? Nobody. Let's get together with your employees to create "user-generated" content that moves your message forward.(04:00)

• Capitalize on the social media, user-generated content trends to create materials that are uniquely yours.
• Your employees will know how to "sell" it to other employees better than anyone.
• Be on the front-edge of the curve without having to learn all the ins and outs yourself.
• Bring personal, real-life stories and situations to the people who need to hear them.

Download a Fact Sheet on Engaging Your Employees.pdf

No Bonus. Again

"All right," our employee Mickey is thinking. "We pulled back from the rink in 2009. Our budget was slashed. All sorts of my friends and colleagues were let go. But, I did what I had to on a shoe-string budget. Surely a nice bonus is on its way. Right?"

Bob, Mickey's boss, however is thinking: "That Mickey was an absolute trooper this year. She made it happen with a slashed budget and minimal staff. My question now is, how do I tell her that the cupboard is still bare?" (14:35)

• Engage in dialogue - Let the employee speak and be genuinely curious
• Ask questions - Not just statements
• Let it be bad news - It is bad news, so you might as well let it be

Download Lessons Learned

More Mutual Learning with Jim Oher

Mutual Learning is the basis to improve human interaction and facilitate, develop and enhance conversations individually and within a group.

Jim Oher, of Oher & Associates is back to illustrate the principles of Mutual Learning with two specific examples.(14:55)

• First example: A senior lawyer had delegated work to his associates. One associate gave him something he did not what. He never inquired as to why she did what she did as opposed to what he asked for. He did not learn more about her, she did not learn how she misunderstood and neither learned what to do differently next time.
• Second example: The guy had many stakeholders including a large sales force, content specialists, peers, etc. He had a reputation as a guy who knew all the cool new stuff yet wouldn't share it. He was addressing over 100 sales folks and had a large presentation deck. He sensed that it may not be what they really wanted to hear. So instead of marching through the deck, he opened up and asked the audience what was most pressing and what they needed to know. For the next hour he engaged the force like never before and his new reputation as being a responsible dynamic guy was solidly in place.

Click here to download as an MP3

Download the handouts

Check out and participate in Jim's Blog: The Hardlines

Send Jim an email to learn more

To learn more about the principles and assumptions of Mutual Learning, check out this previous podcast with Jim.

Capture a live event

An example of capturing a live event, editing the footage, and using it to communicate with the intended audience by sharing a real story of the organization.

This 5:25 video tells a little bit about the program itself, shows you the benefits and recipients of the program, plus recognition to the sponsor of the event.

Once again, who better to tell the story than the clients and employees.

And to top it off, this event only took place three days ago.

Capture a series of interviews

Here is a video example of using the content and context of the end users, capturing that information and using it to tell the story.

This is the simple process of interviewing people from the organization about their experience with the organization.

This particular video was used at the 90th Anniversary Celebration to convey the history without "boring speeches." The folks in the video were at the event.

You can us this format to "sell"your message to others inside the company, in training, or on the company's intranet.

"But you said it was taken care of"

Stan's colleague, Adele, consistently reassures him that the project is on track, on target and running smoothly.

Stan wants to believe Adele, but when the moment comes she hasn't followed-up on the commitments she promised. Stan discovered this fact after being berated by his boss, Larry. So, Stan scrambles to explain what happened.

As he walks out of Larry's office, he is angry and embarrassed but marches directly to Adele's office to "hash this out." (12:10)

Lessons Learned:

• Be Persistent - Stick it out. It takes time to say what we mean
• Be Specific - What exactly, went wrong
• Be Clear - Own the anger and frustration

Click here to download as an MP3

Download Lessons Learned

"I want a seat at the table"

June saw a recent survey that said 51% of CEOs said you should play an "active" role in developing strategy. But Steve, June’s boss falls into the minority of respondents who thinks you should only play an advisory (we'll call you if we need you) role.

June sees an opportunity for the company and herself if she can only get a "seat at the table.” She wants to convince Steve that in this turbulent, uncertain time - when the organization is just now beginning to look beyond the crisis - that your group’s input is invaluable to the strategy and she doesn't want to wait to be "invited”. (13:35)

Lessons Learned:

• Manageable Goals - Be realistic about this conversation
• Be Persistent - Respectfully push a little harder
• Be Sympathetic - Steve has valid reasons for his hesitancy
• Be Specific - Give examples of how the process hasn't worked in the past

Click here to download as an MP3

Download Lessons Learned

Mutual Learning

Mutual Learning is the basis to improve human interaction and facilitate, develop and enhance conversations individually and within a group.

Jim Oher, of Oher & Associates is back to talk about the principles of Mutual Learning. And how if utilized, these principles could help the current health care debate. (15:00)

Click here to download as an MP3

Download the handouts

Check out and participate in Jim's Blog: The Hardlines

Send Jim an email to learn more

Resilience Through Hardiness

"Imagine the hatred people will feel"

Wendy and Sandra recently attended a diversity and inclusion webinar. A few days later they are talking about their reactions to the event.

Sandra says to a question posed by Wendy, “The multiculturalism the American media is pushing is going to have a horrific long-term effect. Can you imagine the hatred kids are going to have of other races when their parents divorce and remarry people of different nationalities?”(13:05)

Lessons Learned:

• No assumptions - From both sides
• Seek to understand - Open-ended, non-judgmental questions
• Focus on behavior - What happened. Not, why I think he/she did it.
• We all have a culture - Goal is to find room for all.

Click here to download as an MP3

Download Lessons Learned

August 2009 - What's New - 90-seconds on your cell phone

Question is, with budgets tight, time is tight, and now more than ever, how do you provide training to your managers? Or maybe you have a group that needs to learn how to be a more effective team.

Either way, if you want a preview of what training, in short bites, on your cell phone looks and sounds like, let me know and will make it happen.(02:47)

Listen to Denise Bailey, creator of Diversity Works, talk about her use of Courageous Conversations on your Cell Phone (00:45)

• Reduce training time.
• Reduce training costs.
• Extend training to the item everybody carries with them - their cell phone.
• All delivered in 90-second modules.

Download a 90-seconds on your cell phone Fact Sheet