Becky Robinson's Blog, page 49

Is Technology Helping Us Get More – or Less – Personal in Public Relations?

The big promise of technology offers brands the ability to be more social, to personalize, and communicate better with their various audiences.

But is technology really making communication more personal, or it is really resulting in simply more communication?

Is technology allowing communications pros the ability to reach mass markets quicker and far more often? To spread the same message across that many more platforms?

If so, that’s not the way it’s supposed to be.

The ease of communication has made it too easy for communications professionals to play the numbers game. Tweet enough tweets, send enough pitches, email enough prospects, and you’ll get enough of a positive reply to justify that approach.

But it’s not long-term thinking, and frankly, it’s disrespectful to your audiences.

The ease of today’s technology and a little time investment really does make it far easier to know your audience and personalize your communication. For example, let’s look at public relations.

Today, there are so many “media outlets” available for PR pros to target for possible exposure for your client or employer. These include everything from traditional consumer and trade outlets, digital-only media, podcasts, Internet-only radio stations, to bloggers and other influencers.

With so many to choose from, it’s tempting to essentially spam them all.

But don’t.

Don’t forsake long-term relationships and benefits for a singular potential short-term hit.

So, how can you personalize your media outreach to develop productive, long-term media relationships?

Don’t play the numbers game: Whether you use Cision, Meltwater, MuckRack, or another media list tool, don’t play the numbers game and essentially “reply all” when sending news releases. Your media list should include reporters, bloggers, assignment editors, etc., who would really have an interest in your news. You can use beats, media outlet profile, blog focus, and the types of stories, posts, or videos the “outlet” publishes as your guide.

Play the numbers game: Very rare is the time when one or two media outlets are totally must-have for your story. As I noted above, there are so many media outlets today that you don’t need any one for a “hit.” You have plenty of media outlets from which to select for your media list – and many, many of them are hungry for your stories (i.e., content).

Know thy media: Once you have your list, use tools like Feedly, Twitter lists, Pocket, and simple subscribing to stay current on your key reporters, bloggers, and nearly every media outlet you might want to pitch.

Fake it: Use mail merge. You have a news release or pitch that you’re sending to a large yet targeted media list? Don’t worry. Your media contacts are not naïve. They’ll assume they’re not the only one to receive your news release. Still, when you can, at least make it look like you sent that email personally. The extra effort will be appreciated.

In the end, as with any relationship, it takes time and effort, not technology, to have it bear fruit.

 

Image Credit: ra2 studio

Featured on Friday: A Leadership Kick in the Ass by @btreasurer

What makes a great leader? Some say it’s success, money, fame, or recognition. Well, on a deeper level, a true leader is someone who can rise above their mistakes and grow in those moments. It is easy to find a book with guidance on how to become a great leader, but growing through your mess-ups is a topic rarely covered in the leadership world. Until now…

In his new book released on January 16th, our featured author has taken this very concept, what he calls “a leadership kick in the ass,” and provided guidance to leaders on how to capitalize on leadership “blunders.”

Meet Bill Treasurer

Bill Treasurer is the Founder & Chief Encouragement Officer at Giant Leap Consulting, a courage-building company that exists to help people and organizations live more courageously. He is considered the originator of the new organizational development practice of courage-building and is the author of Leaders Open Doors, the internationally bestselling book Courage Goes To Work, as well as the comprehensive off-the-shelf training program, Courageous Leadership: Using Courage To Transform The Workplace.

For over two decades, Bill has designed and delivered leadership and succession planning programs for experienced and emerging leaders for clients such as NASA, Accenture, CNN, Saks Fifth Avenue, Hugo Boss, UBS Bank, Walsh Construction, the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Centers for Disease Control, the National Science Foundation, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Bill’s insights have been featured in over 100 newspapers, including The Washington Post, The NY Daily News, The Chicago Tribune, Atlanta Journal Constitution, Boston Herald, and Investor’s Business Daily. Bill’s insights have also appeared in such magazines as Leader to Leader, Leadership Excellence, Business-to-Business, Parents Magazine, Redbook, Women’s Day, Fitness, and The Harvard Management Update.

Discover A Leadership Kick in the Ass

“This book’s title may have grabbed your attention, but its core topic—the human ego—is dear to my heart. Using candor and humor in equal measure, Bill Treasurer gets real about the leadership advantages of what I’ll just call effective redirection. Ha! This book is not just a fun read—it’s a wake-up call for leaders at every level.”

— Ken Blanchard, coauthor of The New One Minute Manager® and Collaboration Begins with You

“Failure may not be fun. But, as Treasurer has proven in his rich, in-the-trenches experience in business, you can learn more from one failure than from untold wins. A Leadership Kick in the Ass is exactly what you need to pick yourself up, find out what went wrong, and move on, smarter and stronger than ever!”

— Marshall Goldsmith, The Thinkers 50 #1 Leadership Thinker in the World.

“Bill artfully describes the harsh, if somewhat humbling, reality that leaders do learn some of the most valuable lessons through “mess ups!” The approach Bill takes in taking the reader through poignant examples, while offering guidance to seize learning opportunities as they occur, are but a couple of the elements which combine to make this a great read!”

— Mark Brasher, CEO, John Varvatos

“The greatest lessons in life don’t come from success. They come from our missteps, setbacks and screw-ups. This book will help you turn them into invaluable lessons that you’ll one day look back on with gratitude for all they taught you. An invaluable resource for any person who wants to be a truly extraordinary leader.”

— Margie Warrell, Bestselling author, Stop Playing Safe.

From Amazon: Even the best leaders—in fact, most of the best leaders—start out as decidedly bad ones. And sooner or later they reach a moment of reckoning that leadership expert Bill Treasurer calls the leadership kick in the ass. When it happens, it feels like it’s all over. But Treasurer says that with the right attitude, that kick can be a new beginning. Based on his work with thousands of leaders, this book reveals how to turn those ego-bruising events into the kind of transformative experiences that mark the paths of great leaders. As Steve Jobs famously said, “Getting fired was the best thing that ever happened to me.” This book is a survival guide, coach, and morale booster to help you use that kick to move forward instead of fall down. If you succeed, the next place you get kicked might be upstairs.

 

Learn more about A Leadership Kick in the Ass

The the best place to go to learn more about this inspiring book is on Bill Treasurer’s website. There you can find a free sample chapter, more information about the book’s origins, and beautiful share graphics to spread the word about his book.
Buy A Leadership Kick in the Ass is on Amazon or add to your Goodreads shelf.
Watch Bill’s webinar, also featuring Marshall Goldsmith, on Leadership and the Power of Being Humble.
You can follow Bill on Facebook, Twitter @btreasurer, , or on Instagram @billtreasurer.

 

Have you ever experienced a leadership kick?

Can I Have Your Attention Please?

In November 2016, I read an article posted in a Facebook group of social media lovers. This article, Quit Social Media. Your Career May Depend On It, was written by Cal Newport, author of several books including Deep Work and So Good They Can’t Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love.

After reading the article about quitting social media, as well as the book Deep Work, I did not believe it was necessary to quit social media (this is a good thing, since my work here at Weaving Influence involves me utilizing social media for the majority of my work time). I did, however, take to heart Dr. Newport’s admonition to readers to be deliberate about their attention, their time, and the priceless gift of intellect.

As 2017 begins, I plan to apply these three components of that admonition most tenaciously: attention, the vital few, and brain health.

Respect Your Attention

Dr. Newport believes our attraction to digital devices to be nearly fatal to our attention spans.

Our attraction to digital devices has created a permanent fracturing of our attention, affecting our ability to maintain focus and be present. ~ Cal Newport

Eight years ago, I read an article that discussed how people’s minds were getting re-wired by their dependence on their digital devices.

“Not me,” I thought. “How could that happen?”

Once I got a smartphone and became active on more social media sites like Twitter and Instagram, I began a precipitous slide into attention fragmentation.

When Time Magazine cites Microsoft research about the affects of an “increasingly digitalized lifestyle on the brain” and explains that “people now generally lose concentration after eight seconds,” which is shorter than the goldfish’s nine-second attention span, I wonder how I found myself on the less attentive side of a goldfish.

In his TEDx talk, Dr. Newport implores viewers to “treat your attention with respect.” He is right.

For many of us, choosing not to have a digital device is not much of an option. We may need it for work, juggling the logistics of a busy family, or reasons of personal security. Dr. Newport says he was smartphone-free until his first child was due, at which point his wife insisted (I’m with her on that!).

I am not a good person to give advice on this front. My phone is with me at virtually all times. Besides being asleep or having a medical procedure done, the longest I have gone without my phone is when I did a six-hour silent retreat last year.

But in the interest of starting 2017 off well, here are three suggestions:

Create “smart phone free” zones like the family dinner table (find other ideas in this article from NPR).
Allot designated times to respond to emails, messages, and texts (one person’s experience here).
Prioritize eye contact over screen contact. Screens will always be here; there’s no guarantee our loved ones will. Put the phone down or take your eyes off the laptop screen when you are with someone in person.

Pay Attention to the Vital Few

I have a good friend who, frequently, when I am fretting about the cacophony of responsibilities and demands of my life, reminds me to pay attention to the vital few rather than the trivial many.

An expression of the Pareto principle, also referred to as the “80/20” rule, the law of the vital few reminds us that 80% of our results come from 20% of our efforts. Dr. Newport concisely summarizes it by explaining “contributions to an outcome are not evenly distributed.”

For Dr. Newport, that means eliminating the use of social media on the premise that devoting time and energy to social media doesn’t even come close to contributing to 80% of his productivity.

While eliminating social media has clearly worked beautifully for him, it is not what I plan to do, nor do I think it is the best option for many people.

What we do owe ourselves, though, is an honest assessment of which of our choices regarding how to spend time and where to direct attention are making an impact on our productivity and the world.

Suggestions for honoring your vital few:

Get your email under control. Apps such as Sanebox, Mailstrom, and Unroll.me may help.
Audit your current social media choices to eliminate the ones that no longer serve you. For example, I stopped entering my workouts in DailyMile after years of meticulous tracking. The community is less important to me; I need the time back.
Write down your goals. As Brian Tracy said, “Only 3% of people have written goals and the other 97% work for them.” This isn’t about being a captain of industry; it’s about committing your goals to paper and designing a strategy to achieve them.

Remember Your Mind is a Muscle

I have grown more and more frustrated with my inability to remember the smallest of details over the last few years. I know the stress of caregiving is probably not helping, but 2017 is going to be my year to intentionally work on improving brain components like memory, speed, flexibility, attention, and problem solving.

A study called Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly (ACTIVE, referenced here) found that short mental workouts improved performance and was sustained even five years later. It certainly can’t hurt.

Suggestions for exercising the muscle of the mind:

Just like our physical bodies need exercise, our minds do also. I use Lumosity but there are many other options, including working crossword puzzles or learning new languages.
Practice your memory. There’s a great example in this Lifehack post about famous choreographer Twyla Tharp, who forces herself to remember a certain number of corrections she plans to give her dancers rather than writing them down.
Write by hand, regularly. As this Neurorelay piece shares, “The physical act of writing brings the information to the forefront and triggers your brain to pay close attention.”

Have you made a decision related to your attention, time management, or mental capabilities for 2017? I’d love to hear about it!

 

Image credit: daliu

Featured On Friday {Fanfare}: New Website for @MarkDYoungblood

The Weaving Influence team values our partnership with executive leadership coach Mark Youngblood, and we are thrilled to showcase the new website that we’ve designed and developed for him at MyInnerMastery.com.

Mark’s message is one of hope and possibility – specifically, that everyone has the power within them to create a successful and fulfilling life.

Mark Youngblood

Mark Youngblood is a lifelong student, teacher, and facilitator of Inner Mastery. His life purpose is to elevate human consciousness and promote spiritual growth, individually and collectively. He founded his company, Inner Mastery, Inc., over twenty years ago to promote personal and organizational transformation. His outreach presently includes executive coaching with top management, the Inner Mastery learning community, Dear Human series of books, public speaking, special workshops, and life coaching.

Mark began his career as a Certified Public Accountant and it took him about 18 minutes to realize this path did not appeal to him. After a few years, he transitioned into consulting to implement enterprise-wide software systems and lead large-scale organizational change efforts. He then transitioned into transformational coaching, which he has been practicing for nearly two decades. Mark is a Master Practitioner and Trainer of Neuro-Linguistic Programming who has read, studied, and practiced extensively in the art and science of personal transformation and spiritual growth.

Mark is a proud father and step-father, and is married to his high school sweetheart after 35 years apart. He is an avid traveler, a singer/songwriter, and an avid fine arts photographer.

Inner Mastery

Mark founded Inner Mastery, Inc., to help develop exceptional people, leaders, and organizations. Their work with individuals helps develop the understanding, mindsets, and life skills to transform life for the better. The benefits include better health, improved relationships, greater success, and a profound sense of spiritual connection. Their work with leaders helps them become exceptional operators at the top 80 percentile of leaders, producing results that are 200-400% greater than average leaders.

The behaviors and outcomes demonstrated by the executive team predict what is also happening throughout the organization. So, the highest leverage for improving organizational performance is to improve the executive team’s performance. They help executives achieve peak performance through their Exceptional Leader Coaching Program for top management, intensive team-building workshops, life coaching, and other special workshops for teams or individuals. They also host an online learning community, which offers an extraordinary personal and spiritual development experience in a loving, supportive, community environment.

Check out Mark’s new site to learn more:

Browse the Executive Coaching & Workshop Services
Join the Inner Mastery Community
Learn about Mark’s Book & Speaking Opportunities
Start reading the Inner Mastery Blog
Sign up for a free sample chapter of his new book!

Connect with Mark on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn — or send him a message here.

 

Interested in our book design or web design/development services? Contact us to learn more!

Will Live Video Save Twitter?

Twitter has been holding on for dear life for more than a year now. You can find article after article claiming the end is near. Even Donald Trump, possibly one of the most active Twitter users, left the social platform out of his tech summit — a snub that further demonstrated the hard times the company is facing.

Those who love Twitter are looking with hope to the newly rolled-out Twitter live video. Twitter live video is streamed via Periscope, but users no longer must download the app or have a Periscope account. This is an attempt to compete with Facebook, which has seen a resurgence in users, engagement, and dollars since rolling out Facebook Live last January.

The live option is only available on the mobile app. It’s easy to use: just click to tweet and you’ll have options to add a photo, video, or go live.  Right now, it’s getting sporadic use, primarily from news outlets.

The Golden Globes gave it a test-drive Sunday night, broadcasting red-carpet arrivals and the awards ceremony live via Twitter. Numbers for the live Twittercast aren’t available yet, but the high-profile partnership was certainly a shot in the arm for the struggling platform.

Will live video be enough to keep people on Twitter?  Probably not, but it’s a sign that Twitter’s leaders haven’t given up and are actively fighting for relevance in the ever-changing social space.

As for Periscope, Twitter has said publicly it’s committed to it — but it’s unclear if Periscope will have a future on its own, or if it will evolve into a support-only role for Twitter live. Twitter dismantled its previous video service, Vine, in 2016.

Are you ready to give Twitter live a chance?

 

 

Image credit: georgejmclittle

Featured on Friday: The #FiveThieves by @DrJohnIzzo

Welcome to 2017! It’s a New Year, and quite possibly a new you. With each ringing in of the New Year, we all hope that this will be the year things will change. We will finally get the dream job, lose the extra weight, make more time for our families- we will finally find true happiness.

Think about it, isn’t that what we all seek? Our basic human nature urges us to find a sustaining happiness, a purpose to serve in this flash of existence we call life. We all want to know that our lives served a purpose and made a lasting impact on the world.

In his new book released on January 2nd, our featured author sought to answer the question of happiness by gaining inspiration during a year-long sabbatical, walking the Camino de Santiago in Spain and living in the Andes of Peru.

Meet Dr. John Izzo

Dr. John Izzo has been a pioneer on creating successful businesses and emerging work trends for over twenty-five years. Izzo was a pioneer on employee engagement and social responsibility with his book Awakening Corporate Soul (1994), a trail blazer on shifting generational values when he wrote Values Shift-The New Work Ethic (2000), showed how individuals shape the future with Stepping Up (2014), blazed a new trail showing business why a rising class of people worldwide will shape the economy of the future with The Purpose Revolution, and is now inspiring individuals to choose to be content right now in his latest book, The Five Thieves of Happiness (2017).

He has spoken to over one million people, advised over 500 companies, authored six bestselling books and helped some of the world’s most admired companies. Known for his compelling combination of leading edge research, riveting storytelling, practical ideas to make a difference starting now and a keen sense of where the future is going your organization will leave inspired and ready to act. His clients have included IBM, Qantas, the Mayo Clinic, Verizon, RBC, TELUS, Westjet, DuPont, Humana, Microsoft, and McDonald’s.

Discover The Five Thieves of Happiness

In a world on the brink of returning either to the dark ages, or entering the next great renaissance, John’s book comes along to help us remember that happiness is available to us all, despite our circumstances, if we become present to the things that are keeping us from it, and choose it for ourselves.

— KoAnn Vikoren Skrzyniarz, Founder/CEO Sustainable Brands

Happiness is a choice, but it requires effort and wisdom to pursue. In this thought-provoking book, Izzo helps identify the biggest stumbling blocks so that you can find a clearer path to sustained happiness and meaning in your life.

— Shawn Achor, Happiness Researcher and New York Times Bestselling Author of ‘Before Happiness’

Most of us are waiting for happiness to be given to us from the ‘outside’. John shows us how to find in on the ‘inside.’

— Marshall Goldsmith, Bestselling Author of ‘What Got You Here, Won’t Get You There’

‘Five Thieves’ is a perfect complement to ‘Five Secrets.’ Dr. Izzo gives us not only a pencil with which to sketch the good, but now the eraser to rid the bad.”

— Dr. Geoff Smart, Chairman & Founder of ghSMART and Coauthor of ‘Who’

From Amazon: Happiness is our natural state, for each of us and for humanity as a whole, argues John Izzo. But that happiness is being stolen by insidious mental patterns that he depicts as thieves: the thief of control, the thief of conceit, the thief of coveting, the thief of consumption, and the thief of comfort. He discovered these thieves as he sought the true source of happiness during a year-long sabbatical, walking the Camino de Santiago in Spain and living in the Andes of Peru. This thoughtful and inspiring book describes the disguises these thieves wear, the tools they use to break into our hearts, and how to lock them out once and for all. Izzo shows how these same thieves of personal happiness are destroying society as well. This book will help us all discover, develop, and defend the happiness that is our true nature while creating a world we all want to live in.

Take The Five Thieves of Happiness Quiz!

If you haven’t seen Dr. Izzo’s Five Thieves quiz from one of our other posts, head over to take it! Dr. Izzo’s free, twenty question quiz will help you identify which thief is stealing your happiness. Once your thief has been identified, you will also be given guidance on how to “banish” your thief and helpful mantras to implement in your daily life.

>>> TAKE THE QUIZ HERE <<<

 

Learn more about The Five Thieves of Happiness

The the best place to go to learn more about this inspiring book is on Dr. Izzo’s website. There you can find a free sample chapter, more information about the book’s origins, and beautiful share graphics to spread the word about his book.
Buy The Five Thieves of Happiness on Amazon or add to your Goodreads shelf.
Watch The Five Thieves of Happiness webinar.
You can follow Dr. John Izzo on Facebook, Twitter @DrJohnIzzo, , or on Instagram @drjohnizzo.

 

How can you find joy or meaning right now?

Reflections on 2016 at Weaving Influence

If I’m super honest and vulnerable, I’ll tell you that I’ve had a lot of ups and downs in leading Weaving Influence this year. Unexpected staff departures. Client projects that didn’t go as well as I’d hoped. Times of doubt and wondering.

Despite a few setbacks, we finished the year strong and are set for an even stronger 2017.

Here are a few important observations from the year:

So much of what we do is fueled by relationships. In 2016, as in other years, our team’s top work experiences included times we met other team members or clients face to face. Three of us (including me), saw several clients and collaborators in Denver mid-year at the ATD International Conference and Expo. While at that event, we loved co-hosting a cocktail party with Berrett-Koehler and spending time with so many clients and friends at once. We had great team time in Atlanta while serving clients there. Several team members in the Washington, DC, area formed #widc and enjoyed meeting to work in person together. Though our team works virtually and flexibly, there is no joy greater than being together.

We can accomplish more than we think we can. Our company launched a start-up division in early 2017, Hometown Reads. Our first city launched on March 1st, with 20 books listed from Toledo, Ohio. By the end of the year, we had doubled my original expectations and launched 40 locations, to list nearly 1000 books on the site. We did this with a modest investment of time and money. We’re excited to continue to learn how to support authors more effectively, and the local angle is a new approach we hope will create great traction for authors. Read my reflections on what we accomplished at Hometown Reads in 2016 here.

We can accomplish more — together. We added a new team member to our business development process this year. After being the primary/only salesperson in our company since I founded it, I enjoyed having a talented team member to work explore new partnerships and to shepherd new opportunities. By focusing on a few key performance indicators, our biz-dev team created momentum for the company.

We’re maturing. Some of this year’s hard-knocks helped me see the ways we’re maturing as a company. Though we added some team members and said goodbye to a few, many of our team members have significant experience working with us, which adds tremendous value and comfort. We’ve had enough experiences as a team that we are resilient and hopeful. As we approach our 5th anniversary in June, we know how to recover from setbacks and how to stay focused on continuing to grow and learn.

Tell me something! What have you learned this year?

 

Copyright: pixelsaway / 123RF Stock Photo

The Year in Social Media

What a year it has been! Social media has gone from a way to connect with old high school friends to the top driver of news coverage in the world. If people need to know something, they are turning to social media platforms first. This means social media is the place to establish a new brand, or develop thought leadership, like never before. Just ask Chewbacca mom, Donald Trump, and all those people who snapped flower headband photos.

While we hope some 2016 social trends will fade in the new year (we’re talking about you, flower headbands!), there are some trends we predict will only continue to pick up steam. If you haven’t jumped on board yet, it might be time to give a few of these a try.

Facebook Live Video exploded in 2016. News channels have used it to stream breaking news coverage. Sports teams have streamed games. Parents have gone live at the school play. It’s everywhere and it’s available to everyone. What makes Facebook Live especially powerful is its placement in the newsfeed. Facebook gives live video powerful reach and even alerts friends and followers. If you haven’t utilized live video yet, start making plans for 2017. It’s the type of content that will deliver the best reach and engagement, and thus the greatest results.

Snapchat has been a favorite of millennials for a while now; in fact, the platform claims to reach 41% of people 18-24 each day. That’s why brands are flocking to the channel . . . and you should, too. It’s a great platform to really share an authentic and personal look at your work and life. If you need to reach a millennial audience, there is no excuse: open a Snapchat account today.

Instagram was the first platform millennials fell in love with, and this year, it’s come out swinging against SnapChat by unveiling ‘stories’ and some other features to keep a younger audience engaged. This is a great platform for brands and thought leaders with beautiful and interesting images to share. If you would rather write than snap a photo, Instagram may not be right for you, but we recommend experimenting. Communities grow quickly here and they respond well to advertising. The rivalry between Instagram and Snapchat means more innovations will likely come to each platform. Plus, audience numbers keep growing for both.

Gamification of Social Media started when Pokemon Go came out of nowhere and became the most popular download in history. While it is technically a game, it also combined social networking capabilities, unveiling new frontiers for social media. Pokemon Go has lost some of its steam, but we predict there will be other gamified social platforms to come and other opportunities for brands and thought leaders to connect with highly-specialized audiences.

Meme Power has existed since the beginning of social media, but this year memes grew in speed of deployment and reach. While there is no way to predict what will capture the eyes and clicks of the internet, a meme has a better chance than nearly anything. Turn your thoughts into clever memes. It works fast, and on every platform.

LinkedIn Pulse has become a top publishing outlet on social media. It’s a great place to develop thought leadership and create a network of people with similar interests and skills. In some cases, publishing a post on Pulse has delivered greater results than posting on a stand-alone website. If Pulse editors like your blog, its reach can go sky high. If you aren’t regularly sharing content here, sit down and map out a plan for 2017. Your personal brand will thank you.

While many things change in social media, there is one thing that stays the same—consistent, high-quality content delivers results.  It’s the only approach that has had lasting success.

While you plan for 2017, consider taking a few minutes to decide how you can be more targeted with your content, how you can deliver more consistently, and figure out where you need to be to reach your specific audience. We also challenge you to try one new thing on social media in 2017, because consistency is crucial, but it’s important to never stop growing with and responding to your audience.

What are you planning to experiment with in social media next year?

 

Image Credit: rvlsoft / 123RF Stock Photo

Featured on Friday: The #FiveThieves of Happiness Quiz

This time of year, most people’s thoughts turn towards happiness. Some, because they feel so over-the-top happy (there’s a reason why we have the saying “happier than a kid at Christmas”). Others, because they feel so un–happy.

Let’s talk about that second group for a few minutes. Would you consider yourself unhappy, not just in this holiday season, but with life in general?

Happiness can become a full-time grinding job if you think you have to struggle so much to get it. But Dr. John Izzo, author of the forthcoming book The Five Thieves of Happiness, believes finding happiness doesn’t have to be so hard. It’s not dependent on the “happenings” of your life, but rather on your inner world — the internal filters and mindsets that you use to process your experiences.

He names five mental thought patterns that we allow to rob us of our innate sense of happiness:

Control
Conceit
Coveting
Consumption
Comfort

Want to find out what thief is stealing your happiness? Izzo has created a simple 20 question quiz to help you determine which of these five common mental patterns are standing in your way.

>>> Take the quiz here <<<

The results not only highlight your top thief, but also offers four ways banish each one of the thieves for good. With each thief you banish, you’ll be closer to finding happiness!

Want to learn more about these five thieves?

We’ll share more about The Five Thieves of Happiness when it launches in January, but in the meantime you can visit here to learn more. Intrigued and want to read the whole book? There’s still time to participate in the launch! Sign up here to receive a free copy of the book in exchange for sharing a review of it on your blog.

Also, mark your calendar for January 5th! We’ll be hosting John in a thoughtful and inspiring free one-hour webinar that describes the disguises these thieves wear, the tools they use to break into our hearts, and how to lock them out once and for all. Register here.

 

What thief is robbing YOU of happiness? We’d love to hear your results! 

 

Image credit: 72soul / 123RF Stock Photo

Unlikely People – Better Results

This post is part of our 2016 Team Buzz Builder Guest Blogger series. Today we are pleased to introduce you to passionate communication coach, Dawn-Marie Cornett.

You know those movies with the wise but overlooked janitor or gardener? Most of us love a character in a film that quietly goes about their work while noticing everything and occasionally dispensing that all-important bit of advice that saves the day. Why don’t we believe that people like this exist?

We tend to think that only those with specifically relevant knowledge and experience will have value in coming up with new ideas and problem-solving. Have you ever asked someone to be involved in a meeting that seemed to have little ability to contribute?

My son, who is now 24, told me when he was 2 that I was driving the wrong way. He was 2! How would he know where I needed to drive? I had told that tiny person, before we left, what we were going out to do and in what order; and halfway down the on-ramp, I realized he was right. I apologized to him and promised to try to be a better listener.

This one event changed my perspective on how I look for solutions and build teams. In my work, I’ve often run ideas by individuals with no relationship to the projects, sometimes inviting them to meetings precisely because they were naturally outside the box. Simply explaining a situation to a new person can significantly clarify what needs to be done. Their questions and possible confusion can potentially lead to some really creative and productive ideas. Even if their participation is not immediately fruitful, that moment of inclusion can make a difference in their performance of their regular work, because they have a slightly better understanding of the bigger picture.

One particularly humbling experience for me was when I was sure I had the best way to get my own work done, and an unlikely individual tried to share their alternative. Unfortunately, I was in a hurry and unwilling to change gears. This brave soul went away and created an example of what she meant. It was brilliant. Not many people have courage like that. She shouldn’t have had to try so hard, but at the very least, she knew she could keep pushing because she had already been invited in with good past results.

The more each person knows about what other people do, the more likely it becomes that unlikely people will have good ideas and effective solutions. It also becomes likely that teams will begin to understand how they can help each other more and will reach out unprompted.

When people are invited into new spaces, even briefly, most of the time something original and unique happens. It may not be the day-saving, sage wisdom of the angelic elderly gardener — but actually, sometimes it will be. Either way, your employees will begin to feel more of a personal investment in the overall success of the business because they understand better how they can help.

And if you are still not convinced, remember the story of the boy who sat watching drivers, firefighters, and police try to figure out how to get an overly-tall truck unstuck from under a bridge. After many attempts to get someone’s attention, the boy was finally able to say, “Why don’t they just let the air out of the tires?”

Sometimes it takes a totally fresh, and unlikely, perspective to make a difference. So, who will you invite to your next meeting?

Dawn-Marie Cornett has spent more than 20 years helping people learn communication skills and conflict resolution in both their personal and business lives. She’s given talks and seminars throughout the US and Canada on topics such as self-care and understanding, partner and family communication skills, productive communication across corporate silos, creating harmony and cooperation in an increasingly diverse workplace, and more. Her passion for her work has led her to spend much of her volunteer time helping young people learn to know and appreciate themselves and how to use that productively in all their work and relationships. 



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