The need to help

Pawan Murthy spoke at the October 5, 2010 Columbus Young Professionals networking breakfast, here are my notes.

Psychological Egoism - there is no deed that is unselfish (selfless)

I am ok with this theory. If everyone did this and realized it was beneficial, it would happen a lot more often.

Steve Geyer, Founder Shadowbox

The people who know you denots the currency of your success (quality  and quantity, ex: 1M pesos vs 10USD)

Dont put all your emotional eggs in one basket. If you spread things out when something fails all is not lost.

Guard your reputation with you life.

What struggles have you overcome?
What struggles are you working to overcome?

Consider helping others out.  A good way to decide how you want to help is by reviewing the needs of persons.  Maslow's hierarchy is a framework of an individuals needs.

I wonder, is there a group hierarchy of needs framework?
Where do you help?

An Evening with Matt Groening

Matt Groening discussed his career in comics and television with Tom Gammill, an acclaimed writer/producer/cartoonist, who has written for such programs as Seinfeld, Late Night with David Letterman, and The Simpsons.

After Groening and Gammill came out, they thanked everyone for coming and introduced a video with some of their favorite clips, also it had some cool entrance music.

Groening shared some great examples of his early work on Life Is Hell and shared his inspirations.

By the end of the session they welcomed questions from the audience.  I didn't have a full idea of what I wanted to ask, but I could not resist the chance to ask something to the creator of The Simpsons.

Only moments after my question I started thinking of better questions.

• "Mr Groening, thanks for coming out tonight.  Could you share how The Simpsons has had to deal with pressure from the networks to include in-show advertising?"
• "Throughout all your experiences what has been the biggest frustration or struggle and how have you dealt with it, and what did it teach you?"

I can't recall the exact question or my phrasing, but it was something to the effect of "You had already mentioned a little about how other cartoons have been an inspiration, can you comment on how Itchy and Scratchy were created and maybe the influence of Tom and Jerry?"  

Groening responded with yeah [something, something]  and then I asked if they ever really completed an episode - especially the one when the nerds unplugged the TV.  He's tried to pitch a full episode of Itchy and Scratchy but it was not received well by the other writers, and so they have never written an full episode.

Here is a follow-up article by the Dispatch

Words of wisdom from ar-tic-u-la-tion

When preparing for you next presentation remember:

1. It's all about the audience
2. Don't be nervous
3. Slow it down
4. Body talk matters
5. Tell me the time, not how the watch is made

HA!

• Take a deep breath
• shrug your shoulders
• laugh out loud, you have nervousness in you body - release it through laughter

65%

• Non-verbal communication is 65% of your presentation
• eye contact, posture, clothing, facial expressions, tone/volume, hands gestures
• Avoid the ping-pong head (looking side-to side across the audience, express one thought, then switch eye contact
• Avoid moving your hands before you speak, gesture along with voice and tone

"That that is is that that is not is not"

• Speak like a sentence with punctuation, otherwise you sound really strange. "That that is, is. That that is not, is not"
• For a comma: pause
• For a period: take a breath
• After a paragraph: swallow
• Silence can be very powerful, it allows people to process what you have said

Case in Point

• Answer one question
• Highlight one point
• Then use the rest of your time to provide support to that one point

Going the distance

The first Tuesday of each month the CYP CLUB hosts a Speaker Networking Breakfast at the Champps Restaurant in the Lennox Town Center, if you are interested in joining email me.

On December 1st we were honored to welcome Debra Penzone, President of The Charles Penzone, Family of Salons. Debra addressed the issue of customer service and how to go the distance and she gave one of the most dynamic and well-planned presentations I have seen in a while.

The key takeaway for me was the statistics on first impressions. Penzone highlighted that when you meet someone for the first time they are “documenting” who you are and therefore are making assumptions based on what is before them that you are always “that way.”

For example when you meet someone if you are mumbley and grumbley they infer that is how you regularly act. On the converse if you present a pleasant posture they will believe you to be positive.

The cliché of “You can never make a second impression” heavily leans on this notion. When making new acquaintances, be sure to make the extra effort to be yourself, if only for the first time.

My second takeaway was how important what you aren’t saying. As it turns out only 7% of dialogue communication is based on the content. The rest is a mix of vocal tone, and body language. Even body language is comprised of many subsets such as, hand gestures, stance and posture, eyebrows and facial expressions. Debra incorporated the whole mixture very well as she paced the floor, emphasized expressions with her hands, and included the all important pause.

Many thanks to Debra Penzone for spending her morning with the Columbus Young Professionals and sharing her insights and wisdom on customer services.

It's All About Character

During a lunch and learn hosted by Columbus Young Professionals Dr. Mike Thomson shared ways to save your sanity. These are my notes.

Dr. Mike starts out by pointing out that everyone needs to operate just like they are self-employed. You should have a sales department, a Marketing group, a Research and Development division, a production center, and most of all a quality control unit. Once you recognize the need for each of these areas then you can start to live.

Ways to Save your Sanity:

1. The only people without problems are dead.

Keep in mind that 80% of people have a JOB (just over broke) and then the remaining 20% are thinking differently.

Also you should notice that the Hearse never has a U-Haul following behind it.

2. The world is filled with a boatload of jerks

Dr. Mike shares how happy he is that these jerks are around. You see this gives you and I some advantages. The jerks are a great example. Yeah, and example of what not to be. Just watch them and then do the opposite.

3. In a tornado, even a turkey can fly.

You are never stuck unless you decide that there is no way out.

Beware the "Yeah, but ____ disease."

You are not depressed, you are depressing.

Spend only two minutes on a problem, then begin working to solve it.

The five ways to Save your Sanity:

The very contagious disease: Optimal Rectitus - otherwise known as having a crappy outlook

Good character is making good choices when no one else is watching.

Lures: Things people throw out to displace responsibility. Spit them out, it is up to you to take do everything you had control over. If other people choose not to accept their responsibility it does not automatically become yours to fix.

Getting closer

If you sit a 10 year old Robert down and start to explain how a atom works do you choose liken the orbit of the electrons to that of the solar system as we currently believe it, or to what is known as probability clouds?

Once you are done reading what a probability cloud is on wikipedia.org I would like to share with you the clever concept of Accessibility versus Accuracy as I heard it from "Made to Stick" by Dan and Chip Heath.

When you are sharing a concept you have to first make a decision, do you want them to get the idea, or get the idea?

Sharing with elementary students how the electrons of an atom revolve around the nucleus much like the solar system will get them close enough to understand. If your audience is comprised of Ph.D. candidates you might want to take the probability cloud approach, which would be more accurate.

Do you have a complex message that you are blessed to share. Consider the benefits of Accessibility versus Accuracy.