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Archives for August 2016

Blindspot Review

August 31, 2016 By Tom Mungavan Leave a Comment

Change Masters has a mission of helping our clients see themselves as others do. More importantly, helping our clients align their intentions and how they are perceived by others. All of us, including me, have a gap between what we intend and what others perceive to be our intention.  We all fall short of communicating our intent to broad audiences. We all have a gap between our “higher-self” that we aspire to, or the way we like to think of ourselves, and the “real-self” that shows up every day in our behavior and communication … particularly when we are tired.

Blindspot: Hidden Bias of Good People by Mahzarin Banaji and Anthony Greenwald
Blindspot: Hidden Bias of Good People by Mahzarin Banaji and Anthony Greenwald

I am continually interested in how perceptions are formed and how the gaps in our perception impact everyday life. When I found the book, Blindspot: Hidden Biases of Good People by Mahzarin Banaji and Anthony Greenwald, I was curious. The book focuses on documented and generally accepted social science studies to look at our preconceptions in many areas. Why do we enthusiastically support our local sports team? Why do we think God is on our side when we go to war?

The authors look at the gaps in the discussion of race in the United States. Why do so many of the white majority (at the moment) think race prejudice has improved significantly, while many minorities still feel the consequences of prejudice?

The book establishes and explains the explicit bias and implicit bias gap in each of us. In this time of explosive campaign rhetoric, thoughtful discourse is very welcome. Hopefully, these insights will help bridge our internal gaps, as well as allow us to extend grace to others who we judge for having gaps between stated beliefs and perceived conflicting behavior.

Only 15% of the population would explicitly say they are prejudiced. Explicit racism is dramatically less than 50 years ago.  After all, the country elected a liberal black president; twice.  Few would argue that there has not been  progress.

The truth the authors explore in the book is that many people who do not see themselves as prejudiced … act in prejudiced ways that are often very subtle, and yet powerful in aggregate. Many of our biases are invisible to us. Its like water to a fish.

It is not a book about race

The book is about how we form our world view and what modifies that view over time.  It expands on how children recognize their mother’s voice at birth and are thus attracted to them first.  It is about our hidden bias regarding the role of women and the limitations that are created for women… by both men and women.  It is about hiring, developing and promoting people in the workplace. It provides insights into how minorities of various types often feel like outsiders, even when the explicit messages are welcoming to them.

When we were testing the title of our book, “Seeing Yourself as Others Do“, people would at first smile at the thought of knowing how they are seen, and then frown as they wondered if they really wanted to know.  The “Blindspot” book is a little like that.  It tells us what we need to know … even if some of it is uncomfortable.

 

 

 

Coffee Was the Mother of Webcams

August 29, 2016 By Tom Mungavan Leave a Comment

First Webcam Coffee Pot
First Webcam Coffee Pot

Webcams have been around for 25 years. They are built into most laptop computers, tables and higher-end smartphones.  Computer geeks at  University of Cambridge are credited with creating the first webcam. Their motivation was a cup of coffee.  In 1998 the BBC did a story on the birth of the webcam. A camera was set up in the Trojan Room focused on the coffee pot, and visible on the Internet (as simplistic as it was then) so that the geeks could check to see if there was coffee in the pot before making the trip for a cup of java.

You can now “travel the world” by viewing a wide variety of webcams; including ski areas, tourist attractions, bus stops, airports, and coffee pots. They can be used to create your own home movies, or to share an important moment with friends via video.

The webcam has also made it possible to “video-conference” around the world.  Students away at college or deployed military can see and talk with their families on Skype. Using desktop conferencing, business meetings can be done without missing the ability to sleep in your own bed. World-wide events are now streamed using webcams that are as sophisticated as most Network TV cameras.

Webcam technology has evolved very quickly.  The office coffee pot has not evolved quite that much.

All the Work and None of the Benefit?

August 23, 2016 By Change Masters Academy Leave a Comment

sharing_thoughts_anim_300_clr_13979You can do the best technical work ever, but if you can’t influence others to buy it or want to see it, it’s all for naught.  Use Change Masters Seven Steps to help you influence better at work or at home. Be able to answer the following questions to influence more effectively:

What do you want?

1. Be clear on precisely what you’re trying to get done and list the concrete actions you need to take to move your idea one step forward or get you to the next meeting.

2. Who needs to change?

Make sure you’ve included all the parties this change touches.

3. What’s the relevance?

What is the importance of your idea to others?  Be able to simply articulate how your proposed change will positively impact their way of doing business.

4. Can you relate what you want to what they need?

Look at the world from their point of view, taking into account their rewards, motivations, and fears.

5. Who might be against the idea, and why?

Be able to articulate their concerns up front, and any “watch-outs” to consider.

6. Who are your allies on the concept?

Actively reinforce the benefits to them and be prepared to reciprocate their help.

7. How do you need to deliver the message?

What delivery style and approach works best for this individual or group?

Bonus Tip: Be persistent

Teenagers and toddlers are master persuaders, so think like they do!  They know that influence is never a one-time event.  They keep selling incrementally over time.  Help people focus on the small gains to keep them going for the big win.

August 2016 – Change Masters President’s Letter

August 17, 2016 By Tom Mungavan Leave a Comment

Summer is a great time to enjoy the finer things in life. I hope you have had time to relax and play.  We have enjoyed a wonderful summer in Minnesota. Many people think there is snow ten months of the year here. The truth is that Minnesota was the number two tourist destination before air conditioning became wide-spread, because of our beautiful summers and lakes. Summers here are as good as the winters are bad.  Who would have guessed?

Road Trip

Pulling VW Beetle to LA
Pulling VW Beetle to LA

We have also enjoyed a road trip where we trailered a car to our daughter in LA. With the National Park Centennial we decided it was a good time to start seeing the USA in a way that is only accessible by road. We started with a 4,500 mile (7,200 km) trip. We visited three national parks and also attended our daughter’s pinning ceremony in Los Angeles, where she became a registered nurse. The longer version of the story is in a blog post. [LINK]

We are excited by a number of new initiatives that we will be expanding over the next several months.

Coaches in Cars™

Coaches in Cars Video Studio
Coaches in Cars Video Studio

In addition to seeing some beautiful parts of the country, we turned the “windshield time” on the road into creative time. Inspired by James Corden’s Carpool Karaoke , we outfitted our vehicle with eight cameras and used our car as a mobile video recording studio. We wanted to test the viability of the approach, and also capture some great video.

We attached cameras to the outside of the car as well. We photographed some beautiful landscapes that will be included in the Coaches in Cars videos. We are already planning our next trip.

Rocky Mountains
Rocky Mountains

We also used our mobile studio to video-record Tom Debrowski, former Executive Vice President of Operations for Mattel. He continues to be a wonderful source of experience in global operations, and as a very disciplined and motivational leader. It was a delightful experience to work with him; an experience that we can replicate with other leaders to share their enormously  valuable experience. I will post additional information as we build on our first experiments.

 Remote Communication

We have progressed another step forward in addressing the important area of remote communications. Our first pilot workshop, delivered entirely remotely, was completed and rated as very successful by the participants.  Additional information is below.

Change Masters Smart Phone App

Smartphone AppWe are in the alpha test phase of a Change Masters iPhone app.We will be looking for people to be part of our beta test community once we have it ready. After we have it fully operational for the iPhone, we will expand to Android Smartphones. The Diamond Principle™ app uses our famous OPPOV™ model and our SOME™ model to help build a winning way to influence and persuade. It will be supported by online training and examples.

Here are some recent blog topics of interest:

 When “Yes” Means “No”

Yes_noThe New York Times article, “How to Deal With a Foreign Colleague Who Can’t Say No” identifies the cultural differences that must be understood to bridge the remote communication gap.

-In many cultures, saying “no” is seen as rude … so people say “yes” when they mean “no”. [continued …]

 

3-D Personality on a Flat Screen

2016-06-06_3_D WorkshopWe recently completed our first pilot of a virtual coaching workshop with participants videoconferencing from Europe, the Middle East, Asia, South America, and the USA. The “3-D Personality on a Flat Screen” workshop focuses on how to significantly improve effectiveness when using remote communication. It’s amazing to see how we can successfully, and personally, coach people around the world.  We use our online video development, along with leading-edge videoconferencing techniques to improve effectiveness and productivity.
There is no longer enough time or money for national or global companies to fly to distant locations, or frequently gather dispersed teams into one place. “I prefer to meet in person” is frequently the response we hear when talking about the use of videoconferencing to connect with others. Audio conferences are often the first line of defense. A number of people spend 50% or more [continued …]

The Secret of Popularity

The article quotes an Australian study that says teens can benefit from being able to tell the difference between  ‘perceived popularity’  (the high-status mean girls and boys) and ‘sociometric popularity’ (the nice kid everyone likes).
The same is true for us in the business world.  Our OPPOV™ model helps people look … [continued …]

Creating Command of the Room with Charisma (Yes, You!)

Strong executive presence is crucial for success in your professional career. The first thing most people think of regarding executive presence is command of the room with charisma.3d peoples symbols
We have all seen people who project ease, competence and courage. They appear to own their space, no matter what the situation requires. These people have mastered a sense of authentic confidence and charisma to command a room.
Some believe you have to be born with charisma or you will never have it. We know that this is a myth!
We’ve seen far too many legendary leaders who have intentionally developed charisma in a credible manner. Winston Churchill, John Kennedy and James Earl Jones, to name a few, were all awkward, shy children. Churchill stuttered and James Earl Jones was effectively mute until he was 11-years-old. Each of them became charismatic and confident communicators because they chose to work at building their charisma. [continued …]

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