There's the sweet spot in the universe

There I was, in a room, surrounded by great minds with an incredible desire to do good for others. To create something that will change people's lives by giving them the power of communication without words. "I found it," I thought, "this is the sweet spot in the universe."

The focus on the conversation was "how to move ahead", not why or why not. We were moving one step closer to a vision that began more than 25 years ago with one man who cared enough to care, and another who brought others into the caring. There was no other place I wanted to be.

I met this man of vision and inspiration at a SOHO conference last year that was featuring pictogram applications for health care providers. Wanting to understand the importance of the product, I asked the pictogram creator how this came to be.  He told me about his experience as a young speech pathologist trying to teach a young girl how to speak.  He realized that the spoken word was out of her reach, and sought ways for non-verbal people to communicate.

His life's work became immersed in understanding how visual graphics can help people communicate with their care givers, family and friends.

His legacy and his life is inspirational. When we say that one person can make a difference when he or she has a big enough heart, it is true. I have seen it, and it makes me want to be a better person. It makes me want to help.

Others joined the quest to give words to the unspoken, and now his dream to help the little girl has expanded from one to many. His caring has come to life beyond the measure of one man.

On that day, my perspective on life and work was altered, and every day since. He inspired me to use my time and talents to help find that sweet spot where people come together to help bring worthwhile ideas to life in an environment that is ready for sustained change.

So if you are looking for me, you will find me at the sweet spot in the universe.

Planner's nightmare realized.

Planning is one of those things you love, or not.  For some it is painful, possibly because of an experience.I have done some thinking about this and here are some conclusions as to why this phenomenon is occurring so vehemently.

1. We use words that no one else would use in the real world.

Planner speak: "Honey, I have undertaken an initiative to achieve maximized revenue potential by offsetting our spending in key focus areas, such as footwear, automobile usage and entertainment. This is necessary given that our financial strength is at risk this quarter, and I fear our shareholder will require additional capital, thus impacting our long term goal of future sustainability."

People speak: "You cannot spend another dime on shoes, hauling kids around and hanging out with your friends because we are broke. The bank is taking our house so we are out on the street.


2. We think flow charts are good communication tools.

Planner speak:

Step 1 - develop an environmental scan.
Step 2 - document risks.
Step 3 - Assess risk.
Step 4 - Develop action plan.
Step 5 - Seek approval.
(Step 5A: Make adjustments based on feedback.
Step 6 - determine resource requirement.
Step 7 - seek approval.
Step 8 - Implement.
Step 9 - Feedback.

People speak: What do we need to do? How much money do we need? How many people do we need?


3. We force them to do stuff they haven't done since grade school.

Planner speak: OK everyone, let's count off from 1 to 4:

Group 1 - you are talking about how we are going to achieve our employee satisfaction target of 80% in 5 years.

Group 2 - you are talking about how we are going to maintain our customer satisfaction rating of 85%.

Group 3 - you are talking about how to achieve our CSR Index of 85% by 2014.

Group 4 - you need to tell us how we are going to achieve our revenue targets by 2014 and ensure our expenses are in line."

People speak:

Group 1: Why should we care about employee satisfaction? Isn't it good enough that they have a job?

Group 2: "When do we go for a beer? OK, who is going to write this down. OK, so what do you think. Yea, I think so. That's good enough.

Group 3: Does anyone know what a CSR index means?

Group 4: We're expensive because you guys waste money. And we can't get our stuff done because you guys don't do what you are supposed to do.

All: OK. Who's presenting? (Tip: Pick the keener wanna-be planner with the smelly marker up his nose.)"


4. We think everyone cares.


Planner speak: "We will align the organization by ensuring each department plans includes the core measures of the balanced scorecard. Each measure will have supporting initiatives. (Pointing to the strategy map). At the end, we will document all the measures, targets and initiatives and be able to conclude that alignment is occurring and where gaps exist."

People speak: "blah, blah, blah. When is this over? If my boss can't figure this out, I am safe. Let's hope he cares less than I do. Oh, a text message. . . important business, gotta run."


So, here's the best I can offer for advice for those venturing into the next board room or full out planning process design:


1. Speak English. Use words you would use in a social environment. Use words they can spell and talk about with their friends.

2. Realize that your zeal is not shared. Kill the flow charts, flip charts, and smelly markers. They don't care. They just want to leave quickly. Set meetings for no more than 3 hours.

3. Make it entertaining. Kill the bossy facilitation style and resist the urge to be a grade school teacher unless you want them to throw spit balls. Give them the floor to talk about what matters the most and don't talk to too much during the meeting. Build in recreational activities and don't be afraid to sing and dance.

4. Make them look smart. After all the group work is done, take their ideas and turn them into a masterpiece that they will love and that makes them smart. The goal is to hear them say, "That's exactly what I meant to say. I get it."

5. Keep it simple. Do things once. Listen. Observe and don't expect them to do their job. If they wanted to plan, they would have done so by now.