Thank Goodness It's Monday #378

BIG BIRD’S 2012 LEADERSHIP LESSON

FOR EVERYONE

Had enough post-debate Big Bird talk?

 

I’m guessing you probably have. But for me it’s been a –

Bird-in-the-hand moment. I have a story. Therefore I won’t let debate fatigue stop me from regaling you with a Big Bird-centric, non-political, TGIM-minded anecdote that I reported a decade-plus ago in the pocket-sized publication Leadership – with a human touch.

It’s not (overtly) political. You don’t have to be a fan of Sesame Street … supporter of Public Broadcasting … or even remotely liberal in your thinking to connect to the TGIM-minded Takeaway here.

 

So I’m simply going to seize this Big-Bird-in-the-headlines opportunity to share it again, almost verbatim.

Here ‘tis –

“You never turn down the opportunity to work with a legend like Carroll Spinney,” wrote actor Noah Wyle in Esquire magazine. 

“He has thrilled audiences from more than 140 countries daily for the last quarter of a century. His face has graced the cover of Time magazine. He and his coworkers have earned 71 Emmys.”

Perhaps you, like millions of his fans, know Carroll Spinney better as his 8-foot-2-inch, yellow-feathered alter ego: 

Sesame Street’s

Big Bird

And, like Noah Wyle, perhaps you have a fondness for Big Bird because he made mistakes … got frustrated … and was baffled by questions that plague kids and adults alike:

·         What makes a friend?

·         What’s good and bad?

·         What’s for lunch? 

 

Here is Wyle’s report on their first encounter:

“Excited doesn’t even begin to describe the feeling …. Sitting three chairs to my right was a slender, distinguished-looking gentleman wearing the bottom half of a feathery costume. White beard, kind face, gigantic orange feet.

 

Outtake from the upcoming
feature-length documentary film
I Am Big Bird
 

“I knew those feet.”

Their first conversation went like this:

“How do you do, Noah?  I’m Carroll Spinney,” Big Bird said to Wyle.

“How do you do? It’s an honor to work with you.”

“That’s nice of you to say,” was the Big Bird reply. “Today will be fun. Would you like to rehearse?”

With Wyle being gently guided by the ever-professional Spinney, the day’s rehearsal and filming went smoothly and quickly. After the last scene was wrapped up, Wyle reported:

“I walked over to Carroll and tried to articulate what I had learned coming back to Sesame Street: 

·         “That he was the most dedicated performer I had ever had the pleasure of working with.

·         “That I hoped to bring the same enthusiasm to my work.

·         “And whatever frustrations he may have had doing the same character for almost 30 years were appreciated.

·         “That I liked him a lot.”

“Carroll?” I said.

“Noah, thank you for joining us. It was very nice to meet you,” he said.

“Carroll, I just wanted to say –“

“Before you go, I have something for you,” he interrupted.

He reached behind himself and plucked two yellow tail feathers from the costume’s backside and handed them to me.

“Take these home to remember me by.”

TGIM Takeaway: Noah Wyle concludes, “It was something I didn’t expect him to do. It was something he probably wasn’t supposed to do. But I learned that it’s just the kind of thing you should do when you’re an old friend.”

Do I have to tell you how to get to Sesame Street in your daily dealings?

Follow that bird. Thanks for reading, friend.

 

(Now, what’s for lunch?)

Carroll Spinney
in October 2010

Geoff Steck   
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square

Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373
tgimguy@gmail.com

 

P. S. “Jim [Henson] had written letters to his five children to be opened only after his death. Brian read from his. Jim wrote, 'Be good to each other. Love and forgive everybody.' I remembered Jim telling me that he never wasted energy on hating anybody; he had too much thinking to do.” Carroll Spinney reports that in his book, The Wisdom of Big Bird (and the Dark Genius of Oscar the Grouch): Lessons from a Life in Feathers.

Thank Goodness It's Monday #377

DISCOVERING LESSONS FROM 1492

THAT COULD STILL CHANGE THE WORLD TODAY

Goodbye Columbus? Today we’re commemorating -- and maybe celebrating -- the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the New World.
 

Hello ...
Columbus?

Even the image we have of Chris
may be inaccurate,
unless it’s this one,
a detail from the painting
Virgin of the Navigators,
done by Alejo Fernández (1475 -1545)
between 1505 and 1536.
 
The state-sponsored painting was commissioned
for a chapel in Seville's Casa de Contratación
(House of Trade) and remains there to this day,
as the earliest known painting
about the discovery of the Americas.

But why? These days we know that much of the simplistic “everyone thought the world was flat” stuff we learned in Grammar School about “The Admiral of the Ocean Sea” is far from historically authentic.

These days we recognize there’s a lot more to the story. For starters --

·        Christopher Columbus didn’t actually accomplish what he intended (reach China and India by sailing West from Europe).

·        In 4 voyages he barely touched the continental landmass (and never North America).

·        It took a long time to realize that. (His refusal to accept that the lands he had visited and claimed for Spain were not part of Asia might explain, in part, why the American continent was named after the Florentine explorer Amerigo Vespucci and not after Columbus.)

·        He did some hard-to-justify things to the locals as well as crew members and individuals who represented him.

·        He wasn’t exactly a master of team management, modern style. Almost immediately he faced mutinies and folks conspiring to undermine his royal relationships.

·        He certainly didn’t produce the ROI his underwriters expected on his initial voyages.

·        And more. Much, much more.

Still … 

Chris was a persistent guy, no doubt. And he did do what no one before him had knowingly done. (In the 11^th Century Leif Ericson and those “northern” sailors who stumbled on the “New World” were just kinda knocking around the neighborhood and weren’t on an all-out quest to get to the East by sailing West.)
 

When all is said and done –

Quirky Christopher Columbus

changed the world’s perception of,

well,

THE WORLD!

 

TGIM ACTION IDEA: Not many folks do that. So on this 2012 Columbus Day, let’s quit knocking the guy long enough to see what we can find to emulate.

TGIM IDEA IN ACTION: To start the process, here are some thoughts grounded in historic Columbus-circa-1492 precedent that we can all apply, even in this modern age: 

►Think big. CC wasn’t just a guy with crazy ideas; he was a persistent, quirky guy with the courage of his convictions and the intent of executing his ideas at a grand scale. He had a plan. And when he presented it, he backed it up with convincing evidence. And, in the aggregate, he executed the key parts of his plan successfully.

►Connect with the right people. And persist. Ferdinand and Isabella weren’t the first monarchs that Columbus asked for support. He pitched his plan to many including Henry VII of England, Charles VIII of France, John II of Portugal, and twice to Ferdinand II & Isabella I, Monarchs of Aragon, Castile, and Leon in Spain, before they were convinced. It took him years, but he finally got royal backing for his endeavors. 

►Play the game. He told the powers that be what they wanted to hear in order to get the job done. In addition to the enticement of a fast-track to the riches of the East, he had a strong, lets-go-convert-the-heathen-natives pitch that appealed to the Catholic monarchs of Spain.

►Provide value. Know what you’re bringing to the negotiation. Columbus was convincing enough that the monarchs gave him an allowance, and gave him a letter ordering all cities and towns under their domain to provide him food and lodging at no cost. They didn’t want him to go elsewhere with his ideas. 

►Know your value. Ferdinand & Isabella promised Columbus that, if he succeeded, he would be given the rank of Admiral of the Ocean Sea and appointed Viceroy and Governor of all the new lands he could claim for Spain. He would be entitled to 10% of all the revenues from the New Lands in perpetuity. In addition he would also have the option of buying one-eighth interest in any commercial venture with the New Lands and receive one-eighth of the profits. And he also had the right to nominate three persons (from whom the sovereigns would choose one) for any office in the New Lands.

► Concentrate on your strengths. Hire the skills you need. CC was NOT first and foremost a mariner. He began his career path in 1473 as a business agent. So he hired sailors and experienced sea captains. He ran the expedition and navigated as an executive, not the guy hoisting sails and steering.

►Communicate with confidence. Columbus knew he would be commanding a team that spoke different languages. In order to communicate well, he spoke the language of his people. Although his first language was a rough Genoese dialect of Lingurian, he was ambitious enough to learn Latin, Portuguese, and Castilian. 

►Chart your own course with confidence. A self-educated, independent thinker, Columbus had the courage of his convictions. On his first voyage this helped him successfully return to Spain. Instead of going back the way they came, he used his knowledge of Trade Winds going East (the “Easterlies”) which convinced him to sail Northeast to the middle latitudes to catch the “Westerlies,” thereby avoiding putting unnecessary strain on his ships and crew.

►Share your special knowledge. When in 1503, his crew was beached for a year in Jamaica, the natives helped get water and food. That relationship kept them alive. Columbus balanced the equation by predicting a lunar eclipse, thus impressing the natives with his unique talent. Street cred, baby.

►Stay alert for unexpected opportunities. When Columbus met the New World natives and noted how fast they were learning the language his crew spoke, he wrote, "I believe that people from the mainland come here to take them as slaves. They ought to make good and skilled servants, for they repeat very quickly whatever we say to them." 

►Build your brand. All in all, despite being vilified and imprisoned by his sponsors between his third and fourth voyages, Chris and his family (brothers and children) remained prominent and somewhat recognized for their accomplishments in their day. 

And, hey! Five centuries+ later, it’s Christopher Columbus -- not name-on-a-map Amerigo Vespucci -- who reigns in the history books and has monuments and holidays and cities and countries around the New World named for him.

TGIM Takeaway: The world is not flat. There’s always something new to discover for those who make the effort. And even a deeply flawed man like Christopher Columbus has life lessons to teach us.

Smooth sailing to you this Columbus Day -- and in all the days ahead.

Geoff Steck   
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square

Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373
tgimguy@gmail.com

 

P. S. A nautical aside for Harry Potter fans: A corresponding efficient-Trade-Winds-travelling-technique to the one employed by Columbus (see "Chart your own course ..." above) appears to have been discovered first by the Portuguese, who referred to it as the Volta do mar ("Turn of the sea.") What do you think?

Thank Goodness It's Monday #376

NO PROBLEM!

WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE!

It may seem fussy and old fashioned, but lately I believe I’ve noticed a marked increase in sloppy speaking, especially in the world of sales and customer service.

And as you might guess from the headline, the phrase “No problem!” is often a problem for me and, so, is high on my annoying-expressions list. 

Site of the Most Grievous examples: Restaurants. 

Clearly we do have a problem when, after an unacceptable wait, I ask servers who really ought to be more on top of things, “Could you check with the kitchen on our order” … “About that water we asked for” or “Can I have the check, please?”

An apologetic acknowledgement and quick investigation and resolution is preferable to a chirpy, “No problem.” 

And perhaps WORST of all. It’s all gone enjoyably and we depart with a sincere, “Thank you.”

“No problem."

Am I a cranky, judgmental old guy?

You can plead “Guilty.”

Or you can plead “Not guilty.”

But you can’t plead “No problem.”

Yeah, maybe. 

But here’s at least a part of why I have a problem with “No problem.”

It’s kinda dismissive. Especially when it’s in response to “Thank you.” 

When I’m being grateful, a gracious response acknowledges that. “No problem” smacks of “Yeah, you didn’t inconvenience me so roll on.” 

Granted, it sounds OK to me in informal, friendly situations – “Thanks for helping move that furniture, friend.” “No problem, buddy.”  And maybe the difference is subtle but, in more professional, business-like formal exchanges, I’d prefer to hear: “You’re welcome” or “My pleasure.”  

·         Good news: I expect that, when enough of us tire of the dismissive and automatic “No problem” response and react accordingly, it will go the way of “Have a happy day!”

·         Bad news: Some classic phrases that can send quite negative messages continue to be heard almost daily in the business world.

I’ve been listening. Here are 10 common language slip-ups that can have a negative impact on customers’ perceptions of you, your firm and its people, products and processes and can sabotage sales and profits. 

They’re hardly “new,” but they persist. And they’re a problem. 

TGIM ACTION IDEA: Listen for their use and correct accordingly.

1. “I would hate to lose your business.” The lesson here is: Don’t suggest what you don’t want your customer/prospect to even consider. Instead say, “We value your business. What can I do to ensure that we continue to serve you for a long time to come?”

2. “To be honest with you ….” This implies that you have been telling me something akin to lies up to this point and now you plan to speak truthfully. Needless to say, this implication can impact the short-term conversation and undermine your long-term credibility.

3. “In my opinion …” or “I think ….” Although there is nothing intrinsically wrong with offering your point of view, it is much more powerful to provide statements from authorities or testimonials from loyal, satisfied customers. For example: “The CEO of Ramtron was quoted in Industry News as saying …” or “Our customers often say that ….”

4. “I’ll try to get this out today.” In other words, you’ll make an attempt, but you’re not willing to guarantee your success or take full responsibility for the end result? Saying you’ll “try” makes you and the company sound weak and ineffectual. Customers want to deal with someone who is committed to doing whatever it takes to get the job done. Be willing and prepared to make that commitment.

5. “It’s company policy to ….”  These are the most frustrating words to the ears of today’s buyers. Rules and policies are best explained in terms of how they benefit the customer: “Our customers find that pre-counted packs save time and money, so we stock them in shrink-wrapped sets of 20.”

6. “Of course, as everyone knows ….” Maybe your prospect doesn’t know. Avoid making assumptions that might alienate your customer. Encourage people to ask questions; request their comments or opinions. You might say, “What questions do you have about this feature?” or “I would like to know your opinion on this subject.”

7. “I don’t know.” You can’t know everything, that’s for sure. But there are other ways to state this that may be more flattering to you. Encourage continued trust from your customer. Say something like, “Jan is our expert on this subject. Let me connect you to her so she can answer your questions more precisely.” Or, “That’s a good question and I’d like to get more information before I answer it. May I call you back in a few minutes?”

8. “Unfortunately ….” As soon as prospects hear “unfortunately,” the mindset shifts to disappointment as they prepare for the letdown they believe will follow. Give people good news first and the bad news won’t appear so ominous. Tell them: “We’ll be happy to get those out to you. They’re scheduled to arrive here October 8. Let me get your order in now so you’ll be among the first to receive your shipment from that fresh stock.”

9. “So you’re not interested ….” This just reinforces prospects’ negative decisions. Instead, have them tell you what they are interested in: “Tell me what you’re looking for in a new system.”

10. “You have to ….” People don’t like being told what they have to do. They’d rather decide for themselves. If you feel that it would be in a customer’s best interest to take a certain action, say gently, “Here’s what you might do to ensure that you receive this item as quickly as possible ….”

So …

TGIM Challenge: Can you watch your language to assure that you win the business you deserve? Can you pass these insights and strategies along so what others say on your behalf helps boost the bottom line?

“No problem!” you say?

Great! 

Now “Have a happy day!” and enjoy the week ahead.

Geoff Steck   
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square

Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373
tgimguy@gmail.com

 

P. S. Lest you think I’m a complete “No problem” curmudgeon, here’s one permissible-in-my-view usage from the 1989 Nobel-Prize-winning Dali Lama: “For those who may not find happiness to exercise religious faith, it's okay to remain a radical atheist; it's absolutely an individual right, but the important thing is with a compassionate heart – then, no problem.”

Thank Goodness It's Monday #375

WHAT WE ALL CAN LEARN FROM

500,000 ERRORS

Dubious Achievement Award
Jose Reyes credited with the milestone 500,000th Major League Baseball error.
September 15, 2012

It’s unofficial, but … on Saturday, September 15, 2012, Major League Baseball recorded its 500,000 error (more or less).
 

Sez who? Sez Sean Forman, the founder of Sports-Reference.com website.

Forman himself concludes, “This is utterly random, completely meaningless and less than 100 percent accurate….” MLB official statistics keepers essentially agree by declining to comment on the milestone, citing the “inconsistency of record keeping with error totals before the current season.”

However, I say –

It’s close enough. And I’ll add, in the spirit of unearthing some actionable-in-the-wider- world TGIM Takeaways –

A half-million errors (more or less)

are not at all “completely meaningless”

But the meaning, perhaps surprisingly, might well be about what’s being done correctly.

Let’s see if we can get to that point by first looking back.

The tabulation reaching 500,000 errors begins with info gleaned in 1876 when the error rate per team could be as high as 6.01 a game.

 

This season it’s down to 0.62 – significantly less than one error per game.

Why the disparity? Even a casual follower of the game like me can figure out some of the reasons:

·         Equipment’s better.

·         The playing fields themselves are better tended, making them less likely to contribute error-creating ball behavior.

·         Huge increases in strikeouts and home runs lead to a decline in total chances for fielding errors.

·         Players get pretty good instruction in fielding fundamentals for years and years before turning pro. 

But, if – as many have observed over the years -- “baseball is like life” (or “life is like baseball”), are there also life lessons to be gleaned from the Half-A-Million Mistakes Milestone?

Here’s one big one: The corollary number to a less-than-one-fielding-error per team, per game statistic is a league-wide fielding percentage of .983 this season and a record of .984 tallied in 2007, 2008 and 2009.

In other words: In professional baseball, virtually every play in the field is correctly executed.

Here’s another: The nature of errors in the game of baseball is such that it’s the players who are regarded as the finest fielders who pile up the largest error count. 

So, for example, the combination of total volume of plays plus the difficulty associated with those plays, makes errors a fact of life for even the best shortstops. 

2012 stats: The top two active leaders in errors are Rafael Furcal (currently 250 errors in 13 seasons) likely one of the best throwing shortstops ever and Adrian Beltre, the game’s undisputed best third baseman (243 in 15 seasons).

Local Yankee fans: As of this writing Derek Jeter (240 over 18 seasons) and A-Rod (233 in 19 seasons) are #4 and #5 in the active player error derby.

TGIM TAKEAWAY: Mistakes happen. Sure, errors loom large, but often, as in baseball, it’s against the background of near perfection. It’s what you do after the mistake that may well determine the ongoing outcome. 

TGIM ACTION IDEA: Keep your eye on the donut, not the hole.

TGIM IDEA IN ACTION: Appreciate all the things that go right. Build on strengths. Have confidence that you can do what’s needed to be even better in the future.

Of course, if you sense some greater underlying lack of ability, seek guidance to remove the defect and correct limitations or weaknesses that repeatedly cost success. Otherwise --  

Don’t dwell on slipups. Don’t sweat the small stuff, even if it looms large in the moment. Shake off the infrequent glitch that’s inevitable if you’re striving diligently and get back to striving.

Play ball! See you at the World Series. 

Geoff Steck   
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square

Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373
tgimguy@gmail.com

P. S. “Errors, like straws, upon the surface flow; he who would search for pearls must dive below.” The poet, dramatist and critic John Dryden (1631 - 1700) said that.

Thank Goodness It's Monday #374

LESSONS FROM THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL

-- 100 YEARS AGO

Theodore Roosevelt
26th President of the United States
(in office 1901 - 1909)

Referring to the boyish and exuberant ways of her husband Theodore Roosevelt, First Lady Edith Roosevelt (1861 – 1948) identified him as “… (my) oldest and rather worst child.”

She also wrote in 1901: “To me, the shadow [of President McKinley’s assassination] still hangs over the White House, and I am in constant fear about Theodore ….” 

Remembering history: TR became President when McKinley was shot.

In the light of the following anecdote, as recounted in authors Richard Shenkman and Kurt Reiger’s book One-Night Stands with American History, it seems as if Edith Roosevelt had some foreknowledge of events that would transpire more than a decade later. 

Let’s stay alert for some TGIM Takeaways as we review the details. Here’s the first:  

TGIM Takeaway: It’s not always bad that politicians write long speeches. 

Here’s what Shenkman and Reiger write about a compelling century-old event: 

“In 1912 when Teddy Roosevelt was campaigning for the presidency as the candidate for the Bull Moose Party, he prepared his speeches on small sheets of paper with an extra spacing between the lines for easier delivery. 

“When the Rough Rider was in Milwaukee on October 14, his speech covered 50 heavy, glazed pages. Folded over and carried in his pocket, they numbered 100. This was a fortunate length, for as Roosevelt left his hotel for the rally, a would-be assassin fired a shot at the Bull Moose’s heart.

The bullet-damaged speech
and eyeglass case

“The bullet traveled through Roosevelt’s coat, vest, eyeglass case, the 100 pages of speech, and lodged against his fifth rib, cracking it, but not badly injuring the ex-President.

“Had the speech not altered the course and speed of the bullet, the missile would have passed directly through 
Roosevelt’s heart and killed him.”

Made-for-TV (had it existed) moment: The consummate campaigner and politician, TR leaped at the opportunity to turn near disaster to his advantage. Realizing the wound was superficial, he elected to take the stage and –

Deliver his speech. He told the audience of the attempt on his life, then boasted – 

“But it takes more than that to kill a bull moose!”

Theodore Roosevelt (pre-Photoshop)
allegedly riding a moose

He pulled the speech from his pocket, the bullet holes in view of all. He unbuttoned his vest to reveal his bloodstained shirt. Then he proceeded to deliver all 50 pages of his speech. (There’s a transcript of TR’s remarks HERE.) 

MORE TGIM TAKEAWAYS: To speak with greater authority and make a “bullet proof” presentation, consider adopting some of the strengths apparent in what TR managed to do a century ago.

·         Don’t delay beginning. After he was shot TR called for his driver to take him to the hall and told him, “I will make this speech or die.” If your talk is given in conjunction with a luncheon or dinner, it’s exasperating for the audience to wait until every last spoon is removed before you begin. 

·         Strive for control. Exhibit poise, regardless of the circumstances. 

·         Be earnest. And sincere. But also elicit (and demonstrate) empathy.

·         Appeal to the heart as well as the head. One moving appeal sometimes outweighs a half-hour of factual argument.

·         Never show annoyance. If TR could take a bullet and proceed, don’t show irritation when a noisy airplane passes overhead. (Don’t fight it. Stop talking and wait until the interruption stops. Then resume, without comment.)

The final word. Perhaps one more Takeaway from this tale is to caution us that, no matter how dramatic -- 

·         Speeches can go on too long. At its conclusion Roosevelt was examined in a Milwaukee hospital and then was observed for 8 days in a Chicago hospital. He was discharged on October 23, 1912 -- only a few days before the election. 

The bullet had effectively stopped TR's campaign. He finished second to Woodrow Wilson, but ahead of the incumbent President, William Howard Taft. The bullet was never removed, and caused no difficulty after the wound healed. 

Adding insult to injury: Not only did Teddy Roosevelt and the Bull Moose Party fail to win the national vote in 1912, they didn’t even carry Wisconsin.

“It’s hard to fail,” Teddy Roosevelt concluded. “but it’s worse never to have tried to succeed.”

To which I‘ll add an exuberant, “Bully!”

Geoff Steck   
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square

Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373
tgimguy@gmail.com

P. S. “I never thought my speeches were too long. I enjoyed them.” Vice President Hubert Humphrey (1911 – 1978) said that.