Hearing or Learning?

I’ve heard many different presentations, lectures, seminars and general talks, amounting to hours of arguments, explanations, persuasion, debate, facts, figures, methods and madness.

But after all my hearing, how much did I actually learn?

The answer is probably not that much.

Let me explain. It is easy to sit and listen to what people have to say. But all too often ‘it goes in one ear and out of the other.’ We hear the words but they don’t engage with our mind; they just pass through.

What was it that made me listen and learn?

I think the most influential factor was the presenter, rather than the subject material.

Some years ago I was undertaking some presentation training. I remember one trainer having a coloured star that they threw on the floor before we gave a talk. We were to stand on the star and then give our presentation. It all seemed a bit bizarre at the time, but their strap line was ‘You are the star, you are the presentation.’ They were saying, what we deliver is influenced by who we are and how much we can engage with the material we present: how much of ourselves we put into the presentation. We need interest and passion to stimulate our hearers and to engage them in our ’story’.

I think this is true to a point, but I think there is another essential quality we overlook and that is the ability to engage with our audience; who they are and where they are at.

We’ve probably all listened to experts in various fields giving talks on their pet subjects and areas of speciality. The content of their talk is rarely in question. However, their ability to connect with what they are saying often is. No matter how passionate, knowledgeable and interested they are in their subject, unless they can express things in terms, methods or pictures which which their audience can engage, their valuable knowledge will either ‘go in one ear and out of the other’ or even ‘float straight over the audience’s heads’.

Sometimes we will be introducing new ideas so it is not easy for our audience to understand, but we still need to give them the best chance of engaging with what we have to say and being able to apply it for themselves.

It’s not something we learn once and then we’ve got it made. like any skill, we need to refine it, hone it and practice it.

I recently learned the hard way on exactly this point. I was to give a talk to a group of people which was to be interesting and engaging. I was given a profile of the audience and put together my talk accordingly. I decided I’d try something a bit different and rather than simply giving them a ‘this is how you do it’ type of presentation, I decided that I’d give them something that they could use in their own lives to enhance what they do and how much they enjoy life. I spent hours preparing the talk (mainly because it was some time since I’d done anything like this). I gave the talk and received good applause at the end.

I then did something which was very risky; I asked for feedback on my presentation. This was done low key and one-to-one by the organiser. The feedback showed that many had interpreted my style as rather egotistical (I have been giving examples from my own life story where I had made mistakes and looked at how I could have avoided these), that there seemed to be a lot of theory and that on the whole, although it was interesting they didn’t feel as if they had learnt anything.

I found this feedback interesting and a bit ironic, as part of my theme had been ‘unless we try something we’ll never know whether it succeeds’! But whose fault was this? It certainly wasn’t my audience. Despite my research and care in preparing my talk, I had missed the mark; I had failed to measure my audience and in so doing, had largely wasted their time.

I hadn’t wasted mine; I made a mistake and learned from it.

So, if you give talks and presentations, give them with enthusiasm and passion, but never forget to gauge your audience so what you know can be passed on and they can both hear what you’re saying and learn from it.

Until next time …

Can We Afford to Suspend Training in Our Organisations?

With the credit crunch and current downturn in the economy, the greatest temptation is to pull in our belts, cut back on our spending, save what we can and try to weather the storm.

Unfortunately, life in the turbulent waters continues for everyone and some will successfully ride that storm whilst others will capsize, sink and drown.

Can we predict who will survive?

In all honesty, probably not BUT we can say who has the best chance of survival.

The survivors are those who will become creative with their time, their staff, their talents, their money, their business practice and more. They will see new ways of doing things, identify new niches, identify staff who can perform new roles and new tasks and create strategies that will enable them to negotiate the obstacles and steer towards fertile fishing grounds.

But in order to do this, there is still the need to train staff, not only for now but also for the future. Failure to do so will lead to inertia and a lag-phase before they can take full advantage of the new scene. Failure to do so will allow others in to steal the goods and opportunities.

Planning for the future involves taking steps now. Training is a key part of the success strategy and planning process. And it needn’t cost very much, especially if companies learn how to look within themselves for the talent they need. Part of that process involves a reorientation to find out what talents lie within that are currently hidden and capitalising on those to help on the road to the future.

Perhaps it’s time to stop looking outward for talent and look for help that will enable us to discover the talent we already have. With so many current recommendations NOT to cut back on training, can we afford to ignore the calls?

Karate, Kata, Kumite & Kime: A Business Model

The idea of drawing parallels between martial arts and business practice is not new. John Barnes and Richard Richardson, two highly successful businessmen and entrepreneurs (Harry Ramsdens) liken business to Judo in their excellent book Marketing Judo. They show how it is possible for the small players to compete and in many cases succeed over larger corporations.

As a practitioner of Shotokan karate, I understand the importance of training, fitness, discipline and tenacity.

Within karate there are different components which, when practiced make up the whole picture. The main components are Kata and Kumite.

Kata comprise structured sequences of moves which include attacks and blocks (defences) using hands, feet and body. Traditionally, a karateka (practitioner of karate) progresses through different kata as a structured route to the black belt. Once attaining black belt, we continue to improve these kata whilst learning new more advanced kata containing further techniques and their combinations.

Kumite is basically fighting; the application of attacks to specific parts of the body, mainly nerve plexus' and key sensitive spots, and blocks. During kumite we learn control, stealth, tenacity, surprise and control. I mention control twice because when you are facing someone with the tools to inflict serious damage, the understanding of body position and distance is paramount, not inly to survival but to success.

Kata and kumite both depend on learning the basics; how to punch, how to kick, how to move the body by transfer of weight, how to transfer power, how to remain strong whilst being relaxed and how to use different muscle sets in harmony to achieve maximum power.

The basics depend on a potentially 'mystical' and often misunderstood word, Kime. Kime is probably best described as being when both the body and brain are executing sharp, crisp, penetrating, and hard techniques that utilizes the entire person. Kime is when technique is 'grounded', when it 'comes up through the floor', where the body’s entire musculature is used in a sudden explosive moment, and when the mind is linked to the technique. (Mark Groenewold).

It doesn't take a lot to start drawing parallels between business practice and these different components. Here are a few to start with:

Basics - Have we got our basics right; knowledge, process, relationships, targets, aims etc?
Kata - Do we construct our basics into structures that help us progress, using them to shape what we do and how we move, build our skills, check and refine what we're doing?
Kumite - Do we apply our basics and structures in such a way that we are able to out-manoeuvre our competitors, know where to target our efforts, defend our resources, develop and hone what we have so that it is even more effective?
Kime - Have we learnt how to use what we have to its maximum potential? Are there things that we can combine in a new way to produce even greater results, greater service, greater enjoyment and fulflment, greater satisfaction, greater growth ... etc?
Control - Have we assessed our position and that of our competitors? Do we see how they are moving? Can we implement strategies that won't cause undue injury? Are we willing to take the risk to win?

When myself and my children gained our black belts we were told, "Now is the time that you start to learn." I think that is a good reminder to each and every one of us that no matter how long we have been in business, or working in a particular field or doing a particlar job, we can always improve IF we are willing to learn from what we have done and what we are doing and apply it to the future.

Tools for doing this? God gave us brains, common sense and the ability to relate to others (relationships). I would argue that these are the best tools we have to start on the road.

Perhaps when we appreciate our interdependence rather than striving for continual independence we will learn some of these 'mysteries' of life and business.

You may not practice karate, but you can apply the principles.

Bridge Builder, Pace Setter or Record Breaker?

How often do we come up against an issue or problem and immediately think,
"I can't do that"?

How often do we look to others to solve our problems because we feel inadequate?

Why do we think others find things easier than we do?

In reality, our insecurities and failure to identify our own strengths can be a real barrier to our success ... as can our fear of criticism of others if we fail.

But take heart! Just about all of the most successful people in every walk of life have made serious mistakes. In fact some of them even declare that they expect to make mistakes in order to succeed. Many of today's multi-millionaires have failed badly, to the point of bankruptcy. But their main strength is a failure to accept defeat when they are down. They learn from their mistakes, apply that knowledge and continue to strive for success.

Look at the competitors in the Beijing 2008 Olympic games. We see the victors, who have trained hours each day for many years to achieve their peak which enables them to take on the rest of the world and win.

But think also about those athletes who don't come in the top 3 positions ...

• Do they see that as failure?
• Does that make their efforts a waste of time?

I think you only need to listen to some of the interviews to realise that for many, simply making it to the Olympic games was their dream. Having competed, they are now spurred on to try even harder and improve their performance.

Think also of the bigger picture ...

• National pride (such as the Afghan Taekwondo bronze medal winner who won his much troubled country's first ever Olympic medal)
• Potential for improvement
• Opportunity to learn from errors and improve

All oftese things have significant value; value which is key to future success, not just today's glory.

And for those medal winners (in some spectacular cases, previously unknown athletes) who have dedicated themselves to training and discipline; they have reaped rewards beyond their expectations. But they can't just stop here. The will need the same (possibly greater) focus and dedication to stay at the top of their sport until the decide to retire.

We may all have different goals, different reasons for doing things, different abilities and different strengths, but we all have the ability to try for somthing we currently find impossible and achieve it. The sub-4-minute mile was considered impossible until Roger Bannister achieved it. Interestingly, when that barrier had been overcome, many other athletes broke the same barrier within a short time after the original record had been set. Why was that? perhaps it was simply the fact that their targets had been re-set because of the achievement of one other person. The impossible had become possible.

So what are our targets? Do we want to be the pace setters or the followers? Both are important. We need to decide in our own mind and then head for that target, and in order to achieve that goal we may need to rethink about ourselves, what we are achieving and what we can achieve.

Pablo Picasso wrote, "I am always doing that which I can not do in order that I may learn how to do it"

Interestingly, Sir Kenneth Robinson also wrote, "Creativity suppressed either deserts or subverts."

Are we going to suppress our own abilitites through lack of self belief or fear of failure?

I hope not.

Until next time ...