Recent Releases

Little Things Mean A Lot?
DVD-Based training program that teaches strategies you can use to eliminate microinequities and promote inclusion. With Brigid Moynahan.    More Information

AWESOME!
A unique, entertaining and insightful view of Generation Y both from their own perspective and the perspective of older managers. More Information

Flawless Leadership
Leading teams through powerful briefing and debriefing processes. More Informaion

Diversity: Face To Face
An innovative and unique training program that explores four main aspects of diversity in the workplace - stereotypes, similarities, unity and benefits.    
More Informaion

E-Learning - Mixing Four Generations in the Workplace

For the first time - ever - we've got four generations on the payroll at the same time. Managing this phenomenon is one of the biggest challenges facing today's managers.

Effective training is critical. In 2007, we introduced the first video-based generations title for classroom learning - Mixing Four Generations in the Workplace. Over 1000 organizations are now using this great course featuring Cam Marston. Now we're pleased to introduce the online learning version of the course for training all your employees in how to recruit, retain, and motivate across the generations. Cam Marston will take your employees through the defining characteristics and values of the four generations in the workplace and explain how to deal with each of them to maximize productivity, and create a respectful corporate culture. The course takes about one hour to complete.  Click here to learn more.

Product Reviews - The Leadership Secret of Gregory Goose Gets 3.5 Stars - Review by Libby Wagner of Training Media Review

I recommend this as a resource, especially for the coaching of brand new supervisors or managers. Often those of us who are leadership "experts" think that everyone else has been reading all the latest books and research about leadership and so we think common sense practices are, well, common sense.

However, in addition to introducing some contradictory thinking that surrounds leadership, I think that Glaser helps the new leader develop his or her vocabulary and pay attention to key concepts about how leadership has changed over the years.

The Leadership Secret of Gregory Goose is a good introduction and would be a great companion to a performance management system that helps leaders incorporate coaching and performance management behaviors.

And it could be really fun to hear your co-workers talk about wing flapping, loud honking, pecking, and strutting. That in itself makes it worth it!

 Read more of this review at Training Media Review .

Order or preview online - The Leadership Secret of Gregory Goose

Onsite Workshops - Count Me In®: For Engagement, Teamwork, and Innovation

Don't let subtle exclusion and put downs become a major barrier to performance and innovation in your organization. Instead, discover the hidden yet pervasive impact of "microinequities," small daily acts of exclusion that damage morale, undermine teamwork and chip away at productivity and employee engagement. Unlike traditional diversity programs, Count Me In® facilitators teach you how to counter this effect using micro-affirmations, small yet effective daily behaviors that value the differences among employees and increase employee engagement, productivity and creativity.

Click here for more information on this workshop.

Click here to view Learning Communications' Onsite Workshops and Subject Matter Experts.

Heed The Dalai Lama - Don't Be Lazy - by Bud Bilanich, The Common Sense Guy

I search wide and far to find information I can pass on to readers of my www.SuccessCommonSense.com blog. A while back, I came across a Buddhist web site that had some interesting information on self confidence. You can check it out at http://www.buddhism.kalachakranet.org. I particularly liked the quote from the Dalai Lama that I found about halfway down the page:

"One can be deceived by three types of laziness:
the laziness of indolence, which is the wish to procrastinate;
the laziness of inferiority, which is doubting your capabilities;
and the laziness that is attached to negative actions, or putting great effort into non-virtue."

I really like this quote because it drives home an important point about personal responsibility and becoming an outstanding performer. The Dalai Lama doesn't let us off the hook by saying, "I didn't think I could do it." Instead, he says that doubting our abilities is a form of laziness. That's some tough love!

And, if you think about it, he is right.  All too often, we let ourselves off the hook by saying, "I'm not going to try that, because I don't think I can do it." This is being lazy. "I can't do it, so I won't even try." As I read these words out loud, they sound pretty lame. Agree? If you do, you'll stop using lack of self confidence as an excuse for not doing the work it takes to become an outstanding performer.

In the fall of 2006, Fortune published a special issue called Fortune: The Excellence Issue . The cover story was entitled "What It Takes to be Great." It began with this point: "Research now shows that the lack of natural talent is irrelevant to great success. The secret? Painful and demanding practice and hard work."

Bad news for the get-rich-quick crowd.

The article debunks the myth that some people have an innate talent that makes them great. It ends on an interesting good news/bad news note:

"The critical reality is that we are not hostage to some naturally gifted level of talent. We can make ourselves what we will. Strangely, this idea is not popular. People hate abandoning the notion that they would coast to fame and riches if they found their talent. But that view is tragically constraining, because when they hit life's inevitable bumps in the road, they conclude they just aren't gifted and give up. Maybe we can't expect most people to achieve greatness. It's just too demanding. But the striking, liberating news is that greatness isn't reserved for a preordained few. It is available to you and to everyone."

As you read the passage immediately above, think about what the Dalai Lama has to say:

"One can be deceived by three types of laziness:
the laziness of indolence, which is the wish to procrastinate;
the laziness of inferiority, which is doubting your capabilities;
and the laziness that is attached to negative actions, or putting great effort into non-virtue."

I find it fascinating that Fortune Magazine and the Dalai Lama both agree that blaming your failures on your lack of talent rather than your lack of hard work is futile. Again, the good news: we can all become high performers. The bad news: we have to work hard to do it.

Here are three things to practice if you want to become an outstanding performer:      

1. Approach everything you do with the explicit goal of getting much better at it.
2. As you do your work, focus on what you're doing and why you're doing it the way you are.
3. After you finish a piece of work, ask for feedback on your performance from multiple sources. Listen to what these people say. Make the changes they suggest.

If you follow these steps and do them regularly, not sporadically, you'll be on your way to becoming an outstanding performer. These are simple, straightforward, common sense steps. But, like most common sense, they take real commitment to put into play.

This article is an excerpt from the book, Straight Talk for Success (Front Row Press, March, 2008) by Bud Bilanich, The Common Sense Guy.  Bud is an executive coach, motivational speaker, author and blogger.  He is the Official Executive Coaching Guide at SelfGrowth.com, and the Careers Group Coordinator at FastCompany.com.  He helps his coaching clients succeed by applying their common sense.  Dr. Bilanich is Harvard educated but has a no nonsense approach to his work to goes back to his roots in the steel country of Western Pennsylvania.  He writes the popular career and life success blog www.SuccessCommonSense.com .  Visit his website, www.BudBilanich.com.

Leaders face dilemmas every day. Decisions we make are translated into real-world outcomes, with each decision cascading into other actions. Sometimes, we mentally frame difficult choices and decisions in terms that simplify them - at least on the surface. We turn them into black or white just to get some clarity around them, yet in reality, they are not black or white, not either/or - they are gray.

How we address them - as black and white, or as gray - will determine the feel of our organization. It will determine how people interact, and how work gets done. It will determine the strategies of both our present and our future.

The need to demonstrate creativity when solving problems is a core principle of gray area management. For example, a popular puzzler used in leadership seminars paints an intriguing scenario:

You are driving in a two-seater car and it begins to rain heavily. Stopped at a traffic light, you notice three people standing in the pouring rain: an elderly woman clearly in need of medical attention, a good friend that you haven't seen in years, and the love of your life. Whom would you pick up?

You are driving in a two-seater car and it begins to rain heavily. Stopped at a traffic light you noice three people standing in the pouring rain: an elderly woman clearly in need of medical attention, a good freind that you haven't seen in years, and the love of your life. Whom would you pick up?

It's often enlightening to observe people discussing this situation. Some, based on principles of "highest need," will choose to rescue the elderly woman. Some choose their loved one. Occasionally, a creative answer will emerge that doesn't assume the solutions are mutually exclusive. Instead, it focuses on addressing all the needs, at least as well as possible. One such solution reported was to lend the car to the friend and have him or her drive the elderly woman to the hospital while you walk with the love of your life in the rain. While there is no right or wrong answer, this does give us insight into a person's thinking style. Legend has it that one organization used this question as part of their CEO hiring process to test the applicant's creative thinking skills.

Culture guru Fons Trompenaars wrote a book titled, Did the Pedestrian Die? The title takes its name from a puzzle that he posed to thousands of workshop attendees worldwide (I've paraphrased the puzzle below):

You were a passenger in your friend's car when he hit a pedestrian. He had been driving at least 35 miles per hour in a 20 miles per hour zone. There were no other witnesses. Your friend's lawyer states that if you testify that he was driving the speed limit, it may save him from dire consequences.

Workshop attendees were asked if the friend has a definite right, some right, or no right, to expect loyalty in this situation. Trompenaars found that the answer greatly depended upon the culture of the attendee, with French, Latin, and Asian cultures valuing friendship above all, and German, English, and American cultures more likely to observe the rules. Moreover, regardless of the cultural bias, if the workshop attendee found out that the pedestrian had died, it further solidified their stance.

One exception was noted. A Japanese participant said that he would ask his friend to tell the truth in court, while at the same time he would plead to the judge for leniency due to his friend's honesty and misfortune. Again, this is a creative solution that attempts to reconcile seemingly opposing choices. Indeed, as Trompenaars states, the ability to integrate opposing values is essential to effective leadership. In the book, Built to Last , Jim Collins and Jerry Porras talk about "the tyranny of the OR" and "the genius of the AND." When managing the gray areas, we always want to aim for integrating and reconciling opposing choices, and not assume we're faced with an either/or situation or with compromising one side or the other.

While it's important to have values - and to recognize that there may be alternate and equally compelling values - there is no doubt that creativity is a key ingredient for bridging any gaps between value systems.

This article is an excerpt from the book, Managing the Gray Areas (RMC Publications, January 2008), by Jerry Manas. Jerry is also the author of Napoleon on Project Management (Nelson Business, April 2006), and president of The Marengo Group. An organizational architect specializing in creating high performing virtual teams, he is passionate about helping leaders create flexible, yet integrated, organizations. Jerry is a founding member of The Creating We Institute , a think tank dedicated to harvesting new forms of engagement and innovation, and co-founder of PMThink! , a popular project management blog site. Visit his website at www.marengogroup.com

"Have you ever heard someone say something biased or demeaning and you didn't know whether to speak up? Have you ever said something unintentionally offensive and wished you could take it back? Would you like to know how to present information and lead discussions in ways that include everyone and avoid bias, stereotyping, discounting or potential discrimination?" If you've answered "yes" to any of these questions, Ouch! That Stereotype Hurts is the book and video for you.

People are naturally biased. We all have a tendency to let some of our biases slip into our conversations whether we do so consciously or unconsciously. When that happens, we all lose. Relationships can suffer, cooperation can decrease and our ability to lead or influence others can diminish. The great news is that Leslie Aguilar's book, Ouch! That Stereotype Hurts can help us:

• Ensure our message gets across - while conveying respect for others.
• Gain insight into the impact of our language choices.
• Learn ways to successfully recover when we put our foot in our mouth.
• Speak up effectively if others stereotype or make biased or demeaning comments. 
• Enhance our credibility and influence as a communicator.

Women's Edge had the opportunity to speak with both the author, Leslie Aguilar and the executive producer from Learning Communications, Joel Marks. 

W.E.: What inspired you to write this book? Was there a particular catalyst or event that was the tipping point?
Leslie: It actually began as a workshop. In 1996, a client company asked me to coach their team of trainers on how to model "valuing diversity" during training sessions. We focused on awareness and skills the facilitators would need to ensure the training message got across while modeling inclusion and respect for all audience members. Over 150 trainers and group facilitators completed the workshop. We then realized the importance of these skills for all leaders and communicators within the organization. That’s how the "Inclusive Communication"™ workshop was born and since then, over 5,000 individuals have participated in this training.

W.E.: How did the video come about?
Leslie: Nearly ten years after I began training in this area, I met Joel Marks, a longtime executive producer for training and educational films and videos. As a result of brainstorming with Joel, the idea of the Ouch! That Stereotype Hurts book and video-based training program emerged. Joel guided me through the creative process. He also brought together the teams to make it all possible. We worked with an outstanding producer, Joel Leskowitz of SunShower Learning and with Walk The Talk Company editors Michelle Sedas and Steve Ventura. So, I owe thanks to a lot of people.

W.E.: As a result of writing this book, what have you learned personally?
Leslie: Over the years, I have been amazed to learn how many people sit silent in the face of stereotypes or other demeaning comments. Not because they agree, but simply because they are too uncomfortable to speak up, or just don’t know how. This is why I chose Chapter Three from the book, "Speaking Up Against Bias without Blame or Guilt," as the focus for the video.

I’ve also learned that verbal disrespect is not just an interaction between two people - it’s often a group event. The bystanders create the audience or the context for the demeaning joke, slur or statement. So, the bystander is an important player in the scene and he or she has a choice to make, which affectsthe outcome. The bystander can speak up or can silently collude. Silence is often interpreted as support.

W.E.: What feedback have you received from your readers?
Leslie: Overall, readers have given me very positive feedback and have thanked me for Ouch! That Stereotype Hurts.They share with me situations they are in or have been in and how the book has given them a way to approach conversations that previously they hesitated to discuss. I believe the message of respect and inclusion is reaching people at the right time.
Joel: Leslie’s book and video has had such an incredible impact on people. It’s powerful, personal and practical. The beginning of the video is very powerful. Her stories about people not speaking up, why they didn’t and the impact it’s had on them for not speaking up, is quite impactful. It’s personal because it makes us see we have a choice in these situations. That it is our responsibility to speak up. And it’s practical because it gives valuable techniques that empower us to speak up without blaming or placing guilt on others.

W.E.: We’re in the middle of an election year. How does Ouch! That Stereotype Hurts apply to this?
Leslie: I think election year is an interesting time to test ourselves for our own ability to communicate in respectful, non-biased ways, whether we agree or not with the person’s viewpoint or political affiliation. When I began writing Ouch! That Stereotype Hurts in 2005, I chose Senators Hillary Clinton and John McCain as an example of equitable treatment across genders. I had no way of knowing the two would emerge in the media spotlight during the presidential race. Nor that there would be so much political discussion in this country about racial, ethnic, religious, gender, or age diversity. I’m glad we are addressing important questions related to diversity and I believe it’s possible to do so in a respectful, non-stereotypical way. We have a lot to learn in this regard.

W.E.: What are some key messages you want Women’s Edge readers to take away from Ouch! That Stereotype Hurts?
Leslie: I want your readers to remember that one person taking action can inspire others to do the same. We can identify our own biases, explore ways to reduce them and work to communicate in more inclusive, bias-free ways. That’s what this book and video are about. So I say, "Go ahead - Use your voice! Speak up on behalf of respect."

Reprinted with permision from Women's Edge Magazine, June 2008.

Preview OUCH! That Stereotype Hurts

For more information about Leslie Aguilar click here.