Even my brain can be more efficient….

Today’s blog is inspired by a few things that are going on “At the Whiteboard” this week:

1. We have a new client (dance, dance, dance!) that we are delivering our Whiteboard University Curriculum to. We are working on the change management piece to inspire the staff members to make new habits in their work, that will become routines, and effectively change the culture.
2. I was recently given a Lumosity subscription. Lumosity is a website with brain games that stimulate the brain dramatically, changing and remodeling itself to become more efficient and effective in processing information, paying attention, remembering, thinking creatively, and solving problems.
3. I’m reading the most brilliant book, The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg. It talks about how once you develop certain habits, it takes your brain less effort to perform them and how the use of habits, routines, cues, and rewards can be invaluable in transforming an organization. It is a fantastic and interesting read, and I highly recommend it.

Now my brain needs a workout too?

These seemingly independent items in my life seemed to collide and beat me over the head with the same message.

Make processes a routine or habit, making your brain more efficient and ready to perform more value added tasks (Click to Tweet).

It’s so easy to be overwhelmed with large changes in our lives – both those active changes that we ourselves decide to commence (moving, getting married, having children), and the passive ones that are imposed on us (office reorganization, new legislation, new political environment). Do you ever feel that everything is happening at once? Too many changes? Are the changes overwhelming and it seems that you’ll never be in a normal state again?

See how these 3 tips can help you make effective change, add brain value, and just be BETTER! (You know our tagline by now… Better. Faster. Cheaper)

Exercising your Brain makes you ZEN!

1. When implementing large scale organizational (or family or personal changes) think about changing small key habits of every person involved. Its the consummation of all those small new routines and habits that make a change work large scale!
2. Exercise your brain and improve your memory, response time, and problem solving skills and make your brain more efficient. When change or unexpected things happen, you’ll be ready to adapt better and have less stress. For example, I’m terrible at doing simple arithmetic fast in my head. And its stressful when I make an error calculating a tip or estimating a percentage. So I practice my arithmetic skills on Lumosity. Once I’ve exercised my brain to respond better and more accurately, I can do this without the stress of failure and focus my brain effort on other more important things!
3. Make things that can be a chore or something you talk yourself out of, habits and routines in your life (i.e. eating well, working out, reading the paper every day). Once they become a habit, its way less effort to have the internal dialogue in your brain, and allows you to focus your efforts on the complex work or life issues that really add VALUE.

Tell us what habits, routine, change, and exercising your brain mean in your day-to-day activities, we’d love to hear them. Email us at info@whiteboardconsulting.ca/staging or tweet us @whiteboardcons using #betterfastercheaper.

Until next week….
Nicole

Too many times I have sat down with friends, colleagues, and clients to discuss complex ideas, when, before I know it, my mouth involuntarily rounds into an ‘o’ and starts sputtering, “oh, oh, wait, wait, waaait! ”, while my hand flails into action, drawing all my thoughts out as I verbalize them.

Circles, squares, arrows, stick men, what ever the wishful Picasso in me serves up, I notice people aren’t looking at me, they are fixated on my visuals. What, am I not animated enough?

Pictures are Worth a Thousand Words

According to the Visual Teaching Alliance, not only does the brain process visual information 60,000 times faster than text, but 90% of all information that comes to the brain is visual. Click to Tweet That explains a lot; think of children’s books, magazines, ikea instructions, you get the ‘picture’.

Discussing ideas and reading text only creates part of the big picture (makes sense since 65% of us are visual learners). The rest requires some kind of visual to bring the audience along with the story. Believe me, no artistic gift is required, my stick men look more like tree branches than men.

The Picasso Basics

I’ve found, through years of doodling for people, that there are several techniques to communicate more effectively:

#1. Don’t get fancy, this ins’t a game of Pictionary. Stick to the basics, that is; boxes, circles, arrows, signs, happy faces, etc. The more elaborate you get, the more likely the exercise will turn into a session of Pictionary. Your audience should not have to guess.

#2. Slooooooow it Down. Let the pictures synch in with your verbal story telling. You don’t want to lose your audience. Think of me reading Hasel and Gretel, telling you about the kids getting lost in the woods, while showing you a picture of the witch in the oven. Huh? I know.

#3. Think Linearly. Most people think linearly when it comes to processes or time (guess that explains why Facebook changed its design to show you a timeline). So, if at all possible, draw your doodles in order, whether it’s steps or dates.

If you love to doodle your ideas out and have your own tips and tricks, we’d love to hear them. Email us at info@whiteboardconsulting.ca/staging or Tweet us@whiteboardcons using #betterfastercheaper.

Until next week!
Nicole

Buzzwords drive me nuts. Your organization probably has its own over-used business cliches. You may even have played Buzzword Bingo in order to liven up a long and tedious meeting.

Buzzwords, or catch phrases, are different from “jargon” in that jargon has a specific use or purpose, whereas buzzwords are so overused that they have become cliched. In fact, the user can be perceived as insincere, unoriginal, or ingratiating.

One such word that’s been bugging me recently is “facilitate”. The fact that it has become a buzzword immediately imparts a negative connotation, and as someone who facilitates – that is just wrong!

What is facilitation anyway?

fa·cil·i·tate transitive verb \fə-ˈsi-lə-ˌtāt\ : to make easier : help bring about

Thank you Merriam-Webster Dictionary for that very unspecific definition. I skimmed some of the comments below the definition, and read the following, which I found much more helpful:

Facilitating is like a traffic cop directing the traffic. He’s not telling anyone where to go…he’s just helping them get where THEY want to go.

In fact, facilitation is an art form, really. Think of the traffic cop in the comment above. Have you ever seen a video of those amazing traffic cops who keep things moving along with style? (No? Click here)

The fact is, every organization needs an artful facilitator from time to time. Whether you are trying to develop a complex strategic plan, decide upon a course of action, or brainstorm solutions, sometimes it’s helpful to have an objective third party leading the discussion.

Herding Cats isn’t Easy

Could someone involved in the issue facilitate the discussion? Certainly. But it’s a lot easier to herd cats when you aren’t one of the cats. Click to tweet. People who are too close to the issue have trouble separating themselves, hearing all sides, and considering all options.

A skilled facilitator can:

1. ask the “dumb” questions that no one else will. By doing this, the facilitator addresses all the hidden issues or “elephants in the room” and brings everyone to the same level for a healthy discussion.
2. remain completely objective. If an external facilitator is selected, then he or she has absolutely no vested interest in the outcome. It’s unlikely that he or she knows the parties around the table and therefore has no “baggage” or preconceived notions. Like the traffic cop, the facilitator helps the group get to where THEY want to go.
3. ensure that everyone participates in the discussion. We’ve all seen that person who sits with arms folded and brow furrowed. A truly talented facilitator can burst through that facade and encourage participation.

Next time you hear the word facilitate, consider the intent. Is it being used incorrectly? Perhaps you can throw a different idea in the ring, run it up the flagpole, think outside the box, and start a paradigm shift.

BINGO!

Until next time,
Ruth.

PS – Make sure to follow us on Twitter @whiteboardcons to stay up to date on what we’re up to this week. Have thoughts or ideas? Use #betterfastercheaper to join the conversation!

I might as well be using transparencies…..

I always found the most memorable professors in University to be the ones that didn’t throw up a million wordy slides. Worse, if they provided the slides before or after class and then just read them aloud, what was the point of going to class?

Sometimes it was the professors that used those horrible transparency sheets, and they’d cover some things and then reveal them as they were working through their material that impacted me the most because I couldn’t read ahead and get bored. And I’m someone who likes a lot of “WOW” in my presentations. Sometimes we do the same, and just use a whiteboard as a presentation tool if we really want to impact the client.

In the public sector going to a presentation was either an absolute delight or a nightmare. Have you ever been to a presentation and had someone read all their slides aloud? What’s the point? I can read alone! Have you ever been the presenter and had people reading through your slides in advance? It’s the absolute worst feeling ever!

What is a good “deck” anyways?

I’ve always been comfortable in front of an audience – nervous beforehand, but always comfortable once talking. I didn’t need loads of speaking notes, but I always prepared well.

But there are a few quick and easy tips to making an effective presentation that can make your audience say WOW! And when you are prepared and your audience is paying attention, it can be way less nerve wracking!

Are you tired of having people yawn through your presentation? Or read ahead on the printed materials you have? Or check their Blackberries while you are presenting the big project you’ve been working on for months? Do you want them to say “WOW! That was great!”? Then read on…

Three quick and easy tips to a POWERFUL presentation.

1. Know your stuff & know your audience.

They key to being able to present well is knowing your topic, and knowing the key points you need to get to your audience. Click to Tweet! Who is your audience? Are they senior executives who need to understand the story and key points quickly? Or are you presenting to a technical audience who needs to understand the details? If the former, bring them along to story and get to your decision point quickly. Have all the details in an appendix or attachments so if they ask details, you have them ready. If you are presenting to the technical folks, have the details up front and save the corporate strategic bits for the appendix.

2. Don’t use your words…..

Give people a reason to pay attention. Don’t give everything away with all the text on your slides! Lure them in with your ability to talk plainly and expressively about your topic without knowing exactly what you are going to say before you say it. Grab your audience’s attention. Everyone seems to have a hyperdrive attention span these days. It takes some practice, and can be scary, but once you master it – it is so much more enjoyable to present.

3. Anticipate questions and have answers prepared in advance.

Have a dry run with someone that you trust, respect, and is a member of or understands your target audience well. This is a great way to be super ready for a presentation and learn about some questions that your audience might ask, and help you flesh out or cut out information as necessary. Ask for feedback and opportunities to improve, and then apply them. You’ll be glad you did.

As we always say, everything is a process so try out these steps. Practice, improve, and repeat. Soon enough you’ll be the star of every senior management meeting.

Check out how Ruth & I design our slides and speak to them during our webinar with Ian Brodie here.

If you have tips or tricks to presentations, we’d love to hear them. Email us at info@whiteboardconsulting.ca/staging or Tweet us@whiteboardcons using #betterfastercheaper.

If you or your organization would like some help with designing and delivering effective presentations, let us know. We’d love to help.

Until next week…..
Nicole

A survey administered by ESPN magazine today proclaimed the Toronto Maple Leafs as the worst of all major sports teams in basketball, baseball, hockey, and football. That’s 122 teams! (Read the full article here.)

Of the survey’s eight criteria, the Leafs came in last or second last in four categories, and ranked no higher than 104th (and that was for likeability of the stadium).

Leafs fans are in high dudgeon over the news. But whether you agree with the extreme nature of the results or not, you have to admit – something is surely wrong with the management of the Leafs brand.

Voice of the Customer

What is it the Leafs are missing? The eight criteria in this survey include:
*Bang for the Buck (wins vs. fan-generated revenue)
*Fan Relations (treatment of fans by players, coaches, and management)
*Ownership (honesty and loyalty to core players and the community)
*Affordability (tickets, concessions, parking)
*Stadium Experience (quality of arena, promotions, and environment)
*Players (effort and likability)
*Coaching (strength of leadership)
*Title Track (championships already won or expected)

I was pretty impressed by this list. It’s varied, it includes both objective statistics (revenues, wins, quality measurements) and subjective statistics (honestly, loyalty, leadership, likability), and it has about ten years behind its methodology for consistency and comparison.

Let’s look at the subjective measures a bit more closely. Do you notice a theme here? Half of the criteria are directly linked to the customer, and I would argue the other half are at least indirectly related.

Does Leafs management use the voice of the customer in its brand strategy? Hard to say, but I’m going to guess “no”, based on the Fan Relations score (119th).

What Gets Measured Gets Done

Leafs fans are unique in that they tend not to vote with their feet. Despite being “the worst team in major sport”, the Toronto Maple Leafs continue to sell out each game. This probably has more to do with sentimentality of its place in hockey history and its knucklehead die-hard fans than good administration.

Most business owners do not have this luxury. Customers vote with their feet all the time, and the only – and I mean only – way to avoid this is to measure what is important to them, and take appropriate action based on the results. Click to Tweet.

I would love to be a fly on the wall of the leafs Management Team as they discuss this survey. A strong team will take this as critical feedback, perform root cause analysis, do some customer surveys, engage staff and players in developing action plans, put project plans and project leadership in place, and set its own performance goals for the coming year. A poor team will blame the survey methodology, highlight excellent attendance records, and maintain the status quo.

What would you do?

Until next week…..
Ruth

PS – Make sure to follow us on Twitter @whiteboardcons to stay up to date on what we’re up to this week. Have thoughts or ideas? Use #betterfastercheaper to join the conversation!

HOW MR. PARETO HEAD SAVED THE DAY…AGAIN!

On the topic of data and numbers, I was recently working with a client in the piano industry to try to determine the biggest cost to his business as a result of defects.

I got a lot of great data sent my way, and a strong, ahem, nudge, towards what he and his team thought was the problem.

FREQUENCY OR COST, TAKE YOUR PICK.

This is when I decided to call on Mr. Pareto. Mr. Pareto, although now long gone from this world, created a wonderful tool called the Pareto Chart. How do you pronounce that you ask? I used to say Pa-rei-to (with a long e-i ), until I was corrected by my good Italian friend, “It’s Pa-RE-to. Short E, get rid of the I, and roll your R!”. Yes Sir!

Regardless of how you want to call it, it’s a great tool. What this tool does is that it allows you to see the trees from the forrest. My client insisted that his most common defect was sticking keys on the pianos. He was right. He dealt with 268 sticky keys this past year at a cost of $200 each to repair.

So using the Pareto Chart, I tracked all the types of defects he received, their frequency, and their cost to fix. In doing this exercise, I found out that although it’s true that the sticky keys are the most common problem, it’s not the most expensive! The mystery deepens…..

TURN ON THE MR. PARETO MAGIC

It turned out that the ‘pin block’ (or the thing-a-ma-jig that makes sure the piano doesn’t go out of tune), which costs $3,000 to fix, was defective in 29 pianos.

Thus in essence, even though his team had to deal with more sticky keys than pin blocks, sticky keys were only costing half ($41k) of what pin blocks were costing him to fix ($87k).

Moral of the story; Don’t judge the book by its cover. Open it up and read it. You might be surprised with what you find.

Have a great long weekend everyone!

Until next week…..
Nicole

DATA, CONSULTING, AND WEIGHT LOSS

Today’s blog is all about data. Being a group exercise instructor in the fitness industry always has me looking into the latest thing, and while I’m not a firm believer in quick fixes, Tim Ferriss’s The 4 Hour Body has a really strong data component that really got me excited.

WHAT’S FAT GOT TO DO WITH IT?

Earlier this month we were preparing to deliver a Change Management Course, and one of the key themes was that you cannot effectively change an organization with big sweeping changes all at once. The key to success is many people implementing many small changes that contribute to the overall goal. Click to Tweet

Have you ever wondered why there is so much resistance to change?

Often organizations implement changes and they are met with resistance – [enter surly employee: “This idea is STUPID and is never going to work”]. By understanding how people deal with change and applying that understanding to your transformation will make your project far more successful.

VARIATION IS EVIL!

So, the 4HB has this great story about a man who tracked his weight loss using a target weight loss, maximum acceptable weight loss, and minimum acceptable weight loss. And although he didn’t make HUGE changes to his diet and exercise, he consistently lost weight. And he chalked it up to a year’s worth of tiny incremental changes. Tiny changes are way easier than big changes, right?

I chalk it up to the fact that people respond well to numbers and controls and, that VARIATION IS EVIL….but that’s Ruth’s line so I’m going to let her do a whole blog post on that.

SO WHAT? My point is, if you want to see some changes. Start by tracking your data. You might see a change without even really trying. Change by osmosis. See Ruth’s previous post on process improvement by osmosis here. Apparently you can do almost anything without really trying.

Until next week…..
Nicole
PS – Make sure to follow us on Twitter @whiteboardcons to stay up to date on what we’re up to this week. Have thoughts or ideas? Use #betterfastercheaper to join the conversation!

You know that expression, right? It implies that doctors are the worst patients and that they should take their own medicine without lecturing others.

How many times have you felt that way about your own profession and applying its principles in your personal life?

Well, this week it happened to me.

Say It Isn’t So!

No, it’s true. Even a process geek like me can have moments of utter chaos which induce that scary blank stare. You know the one – you have so much to do that you just stare at your calendar/inbox/voicemail and do nothing. Just stare. Hoping it will go away.

Well last Saturday I had everything under control. My to-do lists were all in order, and I planned on getting a bit of work done in advance of a very busy week. And then there was a thunderstorm and a subsequent rainy afternoon and I thought it would be better to take the afternoon off and read on the porch and listen to the rain. And the next day I got an offer to visit with a friend and thought that would be more fun than getting a jump on work. After all, I had all the tasks planned out for the week and it would be fine. Busy, but fine.

Sunday evening I found out about a business opportunity that had to be responded to within 48 hours. The response required (and I counted afterwards to verify) 48 person-hours of work.

That’s when the blank stare hit me.

Monday morning was awful. My morning routine was a disaster as I hadn’t slept well. I wasn’t prepared for the day ahead and was lucky that I’m pretty good at winging it. Instead of getting to work I ended up procrastinating and making things worse!

A digital slap upside the head

Like many people, I procrastinate by checking Facebook, and I posted that my ability for procrastination would win an Olympic gold medal! A friend commented “Ruth, you need to take your own course!” And by that, he meant that if I’m able to teach Process Improvement 101, I ought to be able apply the tools and tricks to get myself through this crisis.

That was just what I needed to hear, and he was exactly right.

Prioritizing tasks is nothing more than a process, and all good processes should make you more efficient, not less. My process for prioritizing tasks is so simple, and actually quite calming – I just make a list. (or two or three)

When faced with an overwhelming feeling that you’ll never get it all done, make a list. Click to tweet. Just write it all down, in no particular order. When every single thing you need to do is listed, make three sub-lists: Urgent, Priority, and Later.

Now look at the Urgent list. Add due dates and times. Grab a paper calendar (use a ruler and make one if you don’t have one) and plot the things you need to do urgently into each day. Cancel or move meetings or social engagements that are in the way.

Do the same thing with the Priority list, and finally the Later list. The tasks from these two lists may stretch into two or three (or more) weeks, giving you some breathing room to focus on the urgent items.

Once you see things on paper and have the time mapped out, I guarantee you’ll feel better and the blank stare will go away. It worked for me! I had a heck of a busy week, but it all got done.

Now go get your paper and pencil and get started!

Until next week,
Ruth.

PS – Make sure to follow us on Twitter @whiteboardcons to stay up to date on what we’re up to this week. Have thoughts or ideas? Use #betterfastercheaper to join the conversation!

Have you ever been frustrated because you KNOW that a specific tool is all you need to fix something? Maybe you believe you need to hire an assistant to ease the office workload. Maybe you want a time tracking tool to keep track of the hours you can bill to a client.

Then some process geek comes along and tells you that you need to take certain steps before you can get that tool that you know you need.

Typical process consultants making mountains out of molehills (or peacocks out of processes), right?

Maybe You’re Both Right

Perhaps it would help if you thought of business process analysis like a Swiss Army knife.

There are many sub-tools in the famous red pocket knife, and each one is important in its own way. If you’re out fishing and the only thing you brought with you besides a fishing pole is your Swiss Army knife, you know that you are ready for all the stages of the fishing process.

You might use the pick to dig for worms, the screwdriver to tighten the screws on your fly reel, the scissors to cut the line when you land the big trout, the knife to clean the fish, and the bottle opener to have a celebratory drink! (Or you may use the saw to cut the branches that have ensnared your line, but that’s another story.)

If all you brought with you was a knife, you might be ok, but you would be making things harder for yourself. Sometimes, the tool that is so obvious to you is only part of the solution. click to tweet

First Time Right

In the world of business process analysis, you need a Swiss Army Knife of tools. You need a proper problem statement, a couple of process maps, maybe a fishbone diagram, some data, and a communication strategy. Without using these tools, you’re only doing half a job, and you may just cause more problems for yourself that you’ll have to fix later.

Why not do it once and do it right?

Let’s use an example: Things are crazy busy in your office, and you just cant keep up with administrative demands. You know that you need an assistant, and you are annoyed when your office consultant advises you to do a bit of process work first.

You may very well be right. But without process analysis how will you know you’re getting value for the salary dollars you will expend? How will you describe the assistant’s job duties and ensure that they fit in with the rhythm of your office activities? Will you simply hand over current processes, without knowing if they are efficient and effective?

Being the smart business owner that you are, you’ll take the time you need to structure things properly, so that not only can you hire that assistant, but you know that it will be money well spent!

Do the process work. Prove the solution. Be first time right.

Until next week,
Ruth.

PS – Make sure to follow us on Twitter @whiteboardcons to stay up to date on what we’re up to this week. Have thoughts or ideas? Use #betterfastercheaper to join the conversation!

Change. It’s one of those scary words, that to many, illicit the symptoms of fear; nausea, heart palpitations, knots in your stomach, and the list goes on. But why, considering our world is always changing?

Well, probably because in many occasions, change has turned our lives upside down, hitting us in the face without the opportunity to prepare for it. For some, change equals the unknown, and for others, change equals opportunity. Whatever way you look at it, we can’t escape it, so how do we deal with it?

Change? But Why?!

In the world of business, ‘change’ is generally JUST done; it’s a deliverable, and objective that is met through planning and implementation. A service needs to be cut? Done. Teams need to be merged? Done.

Often what companies fail to realize, is that in between these deliverables and objectives, there are people (alive, kicking and fearing everything they can possibly conjure up in their mind about this change!).

The thing is, change is an event. It just happens. Deliverable completed. Check . But, we as humans need time to adapt and get on board with it. So how do you do it? How can we help employees and team members adjust to change?

The Path of Least Resistance: Communicate

Helping people adapt to change is not easy, trust me; a few may stay in denial for ever. But some, and hopefully most, will start to budge and jump on board with the change.

The key here is communication.

Here are 3 ways you can help people adapt to change through communication:

1. Bring them along with the story (in this case the change): If you can involve them in the development of the change, then do so. People will be less likely to resist if they feel that they’ve had a say or have been exposed to the thought process, and thus understand the whys, the what’s and the how’s, etc.

2. Paint the Whole Picture: Don’t just tell people the pro’s about the change. They’ll think that you’re trying to pull the wool over their eyes, and in return they won’t buy-in to the change. Be honest. Discuss the cons as well, and what you’re doing to address them.

3. Open the Forum!: Sometimes hearing you talk or reading materials you’ve provided is not enough. Some people need to share their feelings openly and in a group who is experiencing the same impact . This approach allows for a healthy discussion and it allows for people to share thoughts or opinions they might not have done so one on one with you.

Until Next Time!

Nicole