Just as a chef is attuned to the subtleties of flavor and trends in the culinary arts.docx

Just as a chef is attuned to the subtleties of flavor and trends in the culinary arts.docx

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Justasachefisattunedtothesubtletiesofflavorandtrendsintheculinaryarts

Justasachefisattunedtothesubtletiesofflavorandtrendsintheculinaryarts,apresentationcoachisattunedtothesubtletiesoflanguageandtrendsinthecommunicationart.OnetrendI'venotedrecentlyistheexpression,"Doesthatmakesense?

"oftenusedbyaspeakerduringaconversation—orapresenterduringapresentation—tocheckwhetherthelisteneroraudiencehasunderstoodorappreciatedwhatthespeakerhasjustsaid.Unfortunately,theexpressionhastwonegativeimplications:

•Uncertaintyonthepartofthespeakerabouttheaccuracyorcredibilityofthecontent

•Doubtabouttheabilityoftheaudiencetocomprehendorappreciatethecontent.

"Doesthatmakesense?

"hasbecomesopervasive,itjoinstheranksoffillers,emptywordsthatsurroundanddiminishmeaningfulwords,justasweedsdiminishthebeautyofrosesinagarden.Mostspeakersareunawarethattheyareusingfillers,andmostaudiencesdon'tbothertothinkoftheirimplications.Thephrasehasattainedthefrequency—andmeaninglessnessof:

•"Youknow..."asiftobesurethelistenerispayingattention

•"LikeIsaid..."asiftosaythatthelistenerdidn'tunderstand

•"Again..."asiftosaythatthelistenerdidn'tgetitthefirsttime

•"Imean..."asiftosaythatthespeakerisunsureofhis/herownclarity

•"Tobehonest..."asiftosaythespeakerwasnottruthfulearlier

•"I'mlike..."theuniversalfillerwhichsaysabsolutelynothing

Responsiblespeakersorpresenters,intheirwell-intentionedefforttosatisfytheiraudience,haveeveryrighttocheckwhethertheirmaterialisgettingthrough.However,insteadofcastingnegativityonthecontentortheaudience,allaspeakerhastosayis:

"Doyouhaveanyquestions?

"

Whilealloftheprecedingcastdoubtonthecompetenceofthepresenterortheaudience,anothergroupofphrasesandwordscastsdoubtonthecontentitself:

•"Sortof"

•"Prettymuch"

•"Kindof"

•"Basically"

•"Really"

•"Actually"

•"Anyway"

These,too,havetakenonthefrequencyoffillers.Sometimesthesewordscanhaveapurpose.WriterMaudNewtonrecentlyanalyzedthelateDavidFosterWallace'spredilectionfor"qualifierslike'sortof'and'prettymuch.'"Shedeemedita"subtlerhetoricalstrategy"tomakeacriticalpointanddefuseitwithirony.Asaprimeexample,shecitedthetitleofoneofWallace'scollectedessays:

"CertainlytheEndofSomethingorOther,OneWouldSortofHavetoThink."

Presentersdonothavetheluxuryofindulginginironyor—withallduerespect—theliterarytalenttoengageinsuchartfulwordplay.Qualifyingwordslessentheimportanceandthevalueofthenounsandverbstheyaccompany.Thosenounsandverbsrepresenttheproducts,services,andactionsofthebusiness—thefamilyjewels—thatthepresenterispitching,andapresentershouldnotdiminishtheirworth.Parentsdonotdescribetheirchildrenas"sortofcute."

Instead,followtheadviceoftheStrunkandWhiteclassic,TheElementsofStyle:

"Usedefinite,specific,concretelanguage."Toaccomplishthisyoumustdiligentlydeletemeaninglesswordsandphrasesfromyourspeech,ataskeasiersaidthandoneduetotheirpervasiveness.Onewaytokickthehabitistocapturethenarrativeofyournextpresentationwiththevoicerecordfunctiononyoursmartphone,thenplayitbackpostmortemandlistentoyourownspeakingpattern.（You'reinforasurpriseinmorewaysthanone.）Youwillhavetorepeatthisprocessseveraltimesbeforeyoustartcorrectingyourself,butdoityoumust.

ForGreatLeadership,ClearYourHead

10:

17AMWednesdaySeptember14,2011

byJoshuaEhrlich | Comments（39）

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Gettingstuffdoneisoverrated.Knowingwhereyouaregoingandhowtogetthere—strategy—iseverything.Butmanymanagersstillspendtoomuchtimedoingandnotenoughtimethinking.Yourfirstchallengeislearninghowtostoptheaction.

Butfocusingandthinkingaboutthebigpicturearenotassimpleasblockingouttimeandturningoffyourdevices.Itisaboutmanagingyourattention,orwhatIcall"mindshifting."

Ioncecoachedanexecutivewhowasahighpotentialonthefasttrack,withtremendouscharisma,drive,andanalyticalskills.AndalthoughDeirdrewasgreatatexecuting,shestruggledwhenshetookonresponsibilityforthedirectionofherbusiness,oftenscatteredandstressedbytheamountofwork.Tobreakhertransactionalhabit,Isuggestedthefollowingfiverules.

Removetheobstacles.ForDeirdre（andmanyothermanagers）,herbiggestobstaclewastryingtodoitallherself.Notonlydidshelearntosay"no"toadministrativetasksandunnecessarymeetings,butshealsostartedaskingforhelpfromherteamwhensheneededit.Shecametofindthatinordertotrustanddelegate,sheneededtobuildastrongerteam,whichbecameherbig-picture,morestrategicpriority.Byfreeingherselffromtheallureofdetails,shewasabletostartzoomingout—thatis,lookingupaheadandoutwideatherteam'sstrategy.

Quietthenoise.WhenDeirdrebegantocarveoutquiettime,herfocusbecameclearer.Mindfulbreathinghelpedherquietinternaldistractions:

Eachmorningshewouldsitforfiveminutes,withtheintentoffocusingonherbreathing.Wheneverhermindwouldstarttowander,shewouldgentlybringherattentionbacktoherflowofbreath.Withpractice,herpresent-focusedmindfulnessimproved.Mindfulnesshelpsleaderstosolveproblemsmorecreativelyandlearnmorequicklyandflexibly（seeEllenLanger'sresearchatHarvard）.Mindfulnessalsohelpsyoutolerateanxietyanddiscomfort,whichhelpedDeirdrelistenmoreactivelyandtakepersonalrisks.Shebegantoreadmorebroadlyandexposeherselfbyattendingconferencesandnetworking.

Percolate.Thinkofthelasttimeyouhadagreatidea.Diditcomewhenyouwereunderpressure?

Morelikelyitcamewhenyougaveittimetogel.Deirdrebeganjournalingandreflectingonherideasoverthenextcoupleofmonths.Andwhensherealizedthatreflection—whileessential—couldbepotentiallyself-deceptive,sheengagedadiversegroupofseniormentors,peers,anddirectstohelpdevelopherideas.

Clarifyyourmessage.Halfthebattlewithstrategicthinkingisconveyingyourvision—whereyouwanttotakeyourbusiness—andconveyingitclearly.Itdoesn'thavetobegrand,justcompellingenoughtoalignyourteam'senergyandattention.Deirdrepracticedcommunicatinghervisionwithhercolleaguesandmentors.Sheaskedforlotsoffeedback,andclarifiedhermessagebasedonwhatpeopleheard.

Keepreflectingandadjusting.Besidesbeingclear,astrategymustbeeffective.Ifyourstrategyisoffthemark,don'tbeafraidtochangecourse.Deirdrereframedfailureasanopportunitytolearn.Shemadeitahabittoregularlyreflectontheavailabledatatoseewhetherherstrategywasstillworking.Overtimeshezeroedin,andheradjustmentsbecamefiner.

Stayingfocusedonthebigpictureinyourbusinessisnoeasytask,butincreasedmindfulnessandreflectioncanhelpyoutoconveyandexecuteyourleadershipstrategy.Ofcourse,someorallofthesetipsmaynotworkforeveryone.Findwhatworks,andthenkeeppolishingit.

H.JamesWilsonisSeniorResearcheratBabsonExecutiveEducation;DannaGreenbergisAssociateProfessorofManagementatBabsonCollege;andKateMcKone-SweetisChairoftheTechnology,Operations,andInformationManagementDivisionatBabsonCollege.Theyareco-authorsofTheNewEntrepreneurialLeader:

DevelopingLeadersWhoShapeSocial&EconomicOpportunity（Berrett-KoehlerPublishers2011）.

HowEntrepreneursFindOpportunity

11:

16AMFridaySeptember16,2011

byH.JamesWilson,DannaGreenberg,andKateMcKone-Sweet | Comments（6）

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In2003,JimPosswaswalkingdownaBostonstreetwhenhenoticedatrashvehicleinaction.Thetruckwasidlingatapickuppoint,blockingtraffic,withsmokepouringoutofitsexhaust.Litterwasstillalloverthestreet.

Therehastobeabetterway,hethoughttohimself.

Lookingintotheproblem,Posslearnedthatgarbagetrucksconsumemorethan1billiongallonsoffuelintheU.S.alone.Theyaverageonly2.8milespergallonandareamongthemostexpensivevehiclestooperate.Intheearly2000s,municipalitiesandwastecollectionserviceswereconsideringmorefuel-efficientvehiclesandbettercollectionroutestoreducetheiroverallcostsandenvironmentalfootprint.Posswasnotconvincedthatthiswastherightapproach.

Throughdiscussionswithdiversestakeholders,heturnedtheproblemupsidedown:

theanswermightnotbeaboutdevelopingamoreefficientcollectionprocess,butaboutreducingtheneedforfrequenttrashcollection.Asheconsideredthissolution,hediscoveredmultiplebenefits:

iftrashreceptaclesheldmoretrash,theywouldnotneedtobeemptiedsooften;iftrashdidnotneedtobecollectedsooften,collectioncostsandassociatedpollutionwouldbereduced;andifreceptaclesdidnotoverflow,therewouldbelesslitteronthestreets.Thereweremanyadvantagestothisapproach.

Byapplyingthesolartechnologyheused