Change Masters Incorporated - The Blog

World class coaching delivered around the world™

  • Blog
  • Home
  • Sign-up for News and Tips
  • Change Masters Academy
  • Our Book

Archives for February 2016

iPhone Tip: Accessibility

February 26, 2016 By Tom Mungavan Leave a Comment

magnify_glass_searching_phone_400_clr_9656I found it by accident.  Somehow the text on my iPhone was magnified so I could actually read it … but only on the small part of the screen that was visible. It turns out that by double touching the screen with three fingers, I could magnify my screen. Doing it again sent the text back to normal size.

Accessibility functions are designed to assist those with vision or hearing limitations. If you go to General Settings > Accessibility there are many options for you to choose from in the categories of Vision (zoom, voice over, grey scale, screen speak, large text, etc.); Interaction (custom gestures, call routing, keyboard settings, etc.); Hearing (hearing aids, LED flash alerts, mono-audio, etc.); Media (subtitles, captioning, audio descriptions); and a Learning section.

February 2016 – Change Masters President’s Letter

February 22, 2016 By Tom Mungavan Leave a Comment

The interest we have received regarding need for improving remote communications has been amazing.  Everyone, it seems, understands the need to communicate better remotely.  Interestingly, our paradigm of looking at face-to-face communications in terms of visual, vocal, and content is also very helpful in looking at remote communication.  Desktop video-conferencing is quickly becoming the norm for the most effective remote communicators. WebEx, GoToMeeting, Join.me, Skype for Business, and others have dramatically improved the technology.

As leaders, we need to also dramatically improve our use of the technology. For your next desktop conference:

Visually make sure you have good lighting — soft light from the front and no bright back-lighting or distractions. Use a good webcam and fill the screen.

Vocally use a good noise cancelling microphone close to your mouth. Earphones are much better than computer speakers.

Content needs to be clear, concise, relevant and interesting.

The skill of running good meetings has always been important. In remote communications it’s even more important. Here are the basics from our book, as a reminder …

Meeting Basics that Really Make a Difference in Remote Communication

You can decide to have excellent meetings. Even in an environment where meetings are poorly run, you can be the exception. The following guidelines are meeting fundamentals, which can help you display executive presence. They’re common principles, which are constantly violated. The challenges of communication remotely via audio-conference or video-conference make the advantage of the basics even more important!

If You are Running the Meeting:video_conference_anim_150_clr_14830

  1. Be clear about the purpose of the meeting, even if it’s a routine team meeting. Ask if there is a better way to achieve the objective than having a meeting. If it is a regular meeting, can you do it half as often and be just as effective?
  2. Only invite those that can bring value or have a need to know; and be clear about your expectations.
  3. Have a timed agenda distributed well in advance of the meeting. If people only need participate for a small segment of the agenda, let them come and go for their time slot. Indicate if the agenda item is for decision, discussion, or feedback.
  4. Start and end on time (or early if possible). We know a Vice President who locked the door at the start time of his staff meetings. Anyone who was not there was not able to attend. He only had to do this a few times to make the message clear. Start on time even if not everyone is present, because it is respectful to those who do arrive on time.
  5. Be clear why each person attends and be clear about his or her role. Even if higher level people are in the meeting, remember that you are running the meeting.
  6. Stick to the agenda, but promote discussion and debate.
  7. Bring each point to conclusion, and document the conclusion. If there are follow-up actions, be sure the responsibilities are clear and accepted in the meeting by someone who is in the meeting. If the action is for someone not in attendance, someone present in the meeting should have that action until it is accepted by someone else.
  8. Make the meeting interesting. Show a movie clip to illustrate your concept or read an email from a satisfied customer. Break up the routine positively.
  9. Send out minutes with the action items to the meeting participants. Copy those that have a need to know and were not at the meeting.
  10. Seek feedback from participants on how future meetings could be improved. It demonstrates you value their time.

Participating In Meetings with Executive Presence:
If you are a participant invited to a meeting, you can ask the organizer about the purpose and your role in the meeting if they have not already offered that information. You can be selective in the meetings you attend or delegate. Once you decide to attend … participate well. Be a role model for being prepared and engaged in the meeting by doing the following:

  1. Know what you want to achieve in the meeting.
  2. Monitor your talk-time to see that you are participating enough without talking too much.
  3. Pick your battles.
  4. Continually look at the Other Person’s Point of View (OPPOV™) being demonstrated by the other participants.
  5. Be as authentically supportive of others in the meeting as possible.

From Seeing Yourself as Others Do — Authentic Executive Presence at Any Stage of Your Career by Carol Keers and Thomas Mungavan, 2009.

Chief Marketing Officer and the Chief Information Officer Need to Work Together

Humor can be a great teacher …

One dramatic shift in the need to work together is the dramatic change in the relationship between the CMO and the CIO. Matt Ariker, Martin Harrysson and Jesko Perrey from McKinsey report: Getting the CMI and CIO to Work Together as Partners

“The situation reflects a central truth in today’s big data world: both the CMO and CIO are on the hook for turning all that data into growth together. It may be a marriage of convenience, but it’s one that CMOs and CIOs need to make work especially as worldwide volume of data is growing at least 40 percent a year, with ever-increasing variety and velocity. That’s why many CMOs are waking up to the fact that IT can’t be treated like a back-office function anymore; rather, the CIO is becoming a strategic partner who is crucial to developing and executing marketing strategy.”

We have successfully worked with [more …]

Hardest Thing for a Leader

“The hardest thing a leader has to be in charge of is him or herself.”

Dr Henry Cloud

iPhone Tip: Accessibility

magnify_glass_searching_phone_400_clr_9656I found it by accident.  Somehow the phone on my iPhone was magnified so I could actually read it … but only the small part of the screen that was visible. It turns out that by double touching my screen with three fingers, I could magnify my screen. Doing it again sent the screen back to the normal size.

Accessibility functions are designed to assist those with seeing or hearing limitations. If you go to the General Settings > Accessibility there are many options for you to choose from in the categories of Vision (zoom, voice over, gray scale, screen speak, large text, etc.), Interaction (custom gestures, call routing, keyboard settings, etc.), Hearing (hearing aids, LED flash alerts, mono-audio, etc.), Media (subtitles, captioning, audio descriptions) and a Learning section.

Making a Difference One Person at a Time

After 30 years of coaching, we are working with customers where we are grooming the third generation of CEO for the company.  It is truly an honor to be a part of such transitions.  In a recent dinner with the retiring CEO in one of those companies, he shared how he would not have had the job if we had not coached him to be ready. He wants that for the new CEO who will soon take over for him.  It’s very rewarding to hear such comments. That is our mission.

It is not uncommon for us to talk with clients we have worked with many years ago and hear them say similar comments about our impact on their professional and personal lives.  We hope to celebrate our 30th Anniversary by collecting some of the touching stories and experiences we have heard from our clients.

 

 

The CMO and the CIO Succeed Together

February 21, 2016 By Tom Mungavan Leave a Comment

Expert sketch linkOne of the roles that I have played in my career has been to be a translator between the language of technology experts and executives in business organizations.  It often feels like the two groups are speaking different languages.

Humor can be a great teacher

There is great value to the organization if the two groups work together and understand each other. The importance today of collaboration is greater than ever.  There is a humorous video that illustrates the lack of communication in a sketch.

The person who can truly bridge the gap between the technical and business communications can dramatically improve outcomes and nurture innovation.  Too often business sees technologists as focused on all the reasons something cannot be done or will take forever. The technologists see business as being too general or not understanding the scope of what they are asking to have done. Fortunately, common ground can be found.

Chief Marketing Officer and the Chief Information Officer Need to Work Together

One dramatic shift in the need to work together is the dramatic change in the relationship between the CMO and the CIO. Matt Ariker, Martin Harrysson and Jesko Perrey from McKinsey report: Getting the CMI and CIO to Work Together as Partners

“The situation reflects a central truth in today’s big data world: both the CMO and CIO are on the hook for turning all that data into growth together. It may be a marriage of convenience, but it’s one that CMOs and CIOs need to make work especially as worldwide volume of data is growing at least 40 percent a year, with ever-increasing variety and velocity. That’s why many CMOs are waking up to the fact that IT can’t be treated like a back-office function anymore; rather, the CIO is becoming a strategic partner who is crucial to developing and executing marketing strategy.”

We have successfully worked with several hundred technology leaders over the last thirty years to help them effectively come to the table. They need to learn to make things simpler and clearer in senior business terms.  We see the marketing side of the equation needing to be much more concrete, more respectful of the technology expertise,  and be more data oriented to make the needed adjustments. The successful companies will find a way to make this team work together.

 

Hardest Thing for a Leader

February 21, 2016 By Tom Mungavan Leave a Comment

“The hardest thing a leader has to be in charge of is him or herself.”

Dr Henry Cloud

Next Page »

Follow Us!

Follow Us on  FacebookFollow Us on  LinkedIn

Archives

  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013

Change Masters Incorporated & Change Masters Academy © 2023