Seeing Red Cars: Company uses book on annual 100% Club trip to Hawaii

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Team members find focus on wants rather than barriers a freeing experience

 

In February, a Minnesota company that connects the IT experience, knowledge and resources of some 1,200 member companies throughout North America, took 17 of its 40 team members on an annual 100% Club trip to Hawaii—and spent time reading and discussing the concepts in the book Seeing Red Cars. The company provided the books Seeing Red Cars and StrengthsFinder 2.0 for everyone on the trip, and has since given copies to the rest of its staff.

 

Joe Reger, vice president of the firm, asked the participants to read the book in advance so they could discuss it as a group. “I read the book ahead of time to figure out where good breaks would be,” Joe explained. “We started out discussing the first 38 pages, the primary concept, and then the following days we covered about 25 to 40 pages at a time and did the exercises.” Readers can download the Seeing Red Cars Toolkit from the book’s website, seeingredcarsbook.com, so they can follow along with the book and complete the exercises to determine their personal and professional “I wants.”

 

Joe said he received very positive feedback on the book. “It’s a valuable exercise to discuss this with your team,” he said. “We were able to find a lot of examples in our jobs where we were focusing on the barriers. What we liked about it is, rather than focusing on the negatives—the things we hope don’t happen—it teaches us to focus on positive outcomes and to visualize ourselves getting there. For many on our team, that was actually a freeing experience; it was a revelation.”

 

One of Joe’s top salespeople provided feedback once they returned from the trip: “I really enjoyed the books we read at Club this year. Both contained concepts that are attitude changing—and even life-changing. They allowed me to understand that I do, in fact, have some defined areas of strength, and I don’t need to keep beating my head against the wall in my areas of weakness. The analogy of Seeing Red Cars—focusing on the things you WANT in your life—provided me with a clear picture of how to be more effective in both my business and personal life. I think if we can truly keep focused on those ‘red cars,’ the positive outcomes will be a natural reality.”

 

Later this month, management is meeting with the rest of the company for a two-hour session on Seeing Red Cars. “We’ll streamline what we did in Hawaii, but we want to make sure everybody is on the same page regarding the concepts and the terminology. We’re using the phraseology—in public emails and public announcements— we want you to keep Seeing Red Cars. We’ve tied it into the theme throughout the workplace here.” They also displayed a red Thunderbird model car in their common area, and bought 40 red Matchbox Hot Wheels cars for everyone’s desks.

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The toy car on the company's conference room table keeps Red Cars top-of-mind during meetings.

 

If you want to drive yourself, your team and your organization to a positive future, I am excited to offer the process and toolkit that can get you there. Check out these resources at seeingredcarsbook.com.

 

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How could you use Seeing Red Cars the book with your work team?

How would your organization benefit if most people focused on wants instead of barriers?

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Laura Goodrich

Innovator l Author l Expert Speaker

Radio l TV l Program Host

Internationally Recognized Expert in Workplace Dynamics and Change

 

Email: laura@onimpactproductions.com 

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Author: Seeing Red Cars: Driving Yourself, Your Team and Your Organization to a Positive Future is available at Amazon  http://amzn.to/aj0IUm or Barnes and Noble http://bit.ly/c5F1j7

Seeing Red Cars — Mindset to Win — Forbes Magazine

http://blogs.forbes.com/mindmakeover/2011/02/03/seeing-red-cars-mindset-to-win/

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Film: www.seeingredcars.com

Book: www.seeingredcarsbook.com

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App: Seeing Red Cars “I Want Statement” iPhone/ iPad http://bit.ly/afWHOx

Seeing Red Cars Products: http://bit.ly/cB29Tq

 

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Radio Host: FutureWork http://www.blogtalkradio.com/laura-goodrich

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Seeing Red Cars Book: Amazon ( http://amzn.to/aj0IUm ) or Barnes and Noble ( http://bit.ly/c5F1j7 .)

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“That’s the Way We (Used to) Do Things Around Here”

 Republished with permission from strategy+business magazine.

With a little knowledge of neuroscience, reframing behavior can be the essence of organizational change.

by Jeffrey Schwartz, Pablo Gaito, and Doug Lennick

When corporate leaders talk about change, they usually have a desired result in mind: gains in performance, a better approach to customers, the solution to a formidable challenge. They know that if they are to achieve this result, people throughout the company need to change their behavior and practices, and that can’t happen by simple decree. How, then, does it happen? In the last few years, insights from neuroscience have begun to answer that question. New behaviors can be put in place, but only by reframing attitudes that are so entrenched that they are almost literally embedded in the physical pathways of employees’ neurons. These beliefs have been reinforced over the years through everyday routines and hundreds of workplace conversations. They all have the same underlying theme: “That’s the way we do things around here.”

This phrase (and others like it) typically refers to the complex, subtle practices that become ingrained in an organization’s culture, to the point where they become part of its identity. Habitual thoughts and behaviors are not bad in themselves; indeed, they are often the basis for what a company does well. But when circumstances shift or the company becomes dysfunctional, those habits may need substantive change.

We teamed up to write this article, despite our disparate backgrounds — in neuroscience (Schwartz), learning and development in a major international corporation (Gaito), and ethics and leadership in the financial-services industry (Lennick) — because during the past six years, we each came to recognize the power of conceptual focus in organizational change. Altering habits is difficult enough for individuals. Studies suggest that the number of people who voluntarily shift away from addictive or obsessive-compulsive behavior, even when they know their lives are at stake, is staggeringly low, perhaps one in 10. At corporations, the complexity of collective behavior makes the challenge even greater. Furthermore, as with repairing a ship while it is at sea, these changes must be made at the same time that the company continues to operate.

But there is a particular type of highly charged conversational process that leads to changes in the neural patterns of people throughout an organization — a process that works with, not against, the predisposition and capability of the human brain.

Cargill’s Strategy Transformation

Consider, for example, the way that Cargill, a major agricultural and food products company, applied knowledge of the human brain to raise its game in collaboration and innovation across business units. Cargill had already undergone one major shift, starting in 1999, toward becoming a more agile, solutions-based organization. The company’s executives had defined the “heart of leadership” for their company as integrity, conviction, and courage. They had also set out to create a “culture of freedom,” empowering and encouraging employees at every level to act with decisiveness and accountability on behalf of customers.

But some elements of the company’s culture and practice still did not fully support the customer-focused culture that they were developing. One customer, a large packaged-foods manufacturer, told a Cargill executive, “You send 15 different people to our offices each week from different businesses, and they all ask us some of the same questions, but they never try to understand exactly what we do with all of your ingredients. If you brought all those people together, you could potentially offer much more to us.”

The situation clearly called for new behaviors. Better collaboration among Cargill employees, for example, would not just solve the problem of redundant sales calls. It could lead to new logistics, risk management, and quality assurance practices. But that type of collaboration, especially across Cargill’s 70-plus businesses operating in 66 countries, would be a stretch — particularly since in Cargill’s culture, it would require bottom-up commitment.

In 2006, the company renewed its commitment to move to the next level in fulfilling its strategic objectives in serving customers more effectively. Corporate leaders described some major behavioral, structural, and cultural changes that were needed — in effect, a major shift in “the way we do things around here.” This initiative sparked a new interest in understanding and working with the realities of the human brain.

Ameriprise: Cultivating the Counterintuitive

Around the same time, the leaders of Ameriprise Financial — a US$7 billion company that is the leading source of financial advice in the United States — began taking a fresh, dispassionate look at their own behavior. In 2007, an annual investor performance study from the research firm Dalbar showed that most investors consistently did less well as individuals than the market as a whole. Their instincts led them to miss some of the gains inherent in a volatile market. For example, when stocks fall sharply, a fully rational investor should step back and wait for a signal of what is going to happen next. But many investors rush to sell, fearing a further downturn, and move their money into cash or related interest-bearing products. This exacerbates their losses, because stocks often rise again soon afterward.

Ted Truscott, CEO of U.S. asset management at Ameriprise, stated it this way: “Remember, when you have the price, you don’t have the proof, and when you have the proof, you don’t have the price.” In other words, by the time investors felt comfortable with a stock (the “proof”), it was probably already priced too high to be a good investment. By seeking reassurance, investors were undermining their own portfolios.

The Ameriprise leaders prided themselves on building a better future for their customers, and the study results suggested an opportunity to enhance their own practices. Their advisory teams (either on staff or franchise holders) were not consistently giving clients the advice that would have helped them avoid this trap. “Being a great financial planner and advisor requires not only technical expertise,” concluded Kris Petersen, then the Ameriprise senior vice president of financial planning, “but an understanding of how people make decisions. Our clients are misbehaving with their money, and we have to do a better job of helping them.”

Jeff Marshall, a franchise leader in the Pacific Northwest, moved rapidly to put in place a new training program to change the company’s approach. But response was very limited at first. Of the 12,000 Ameriprise advisors, only several hundred signed up for that first round of training in 2007. Even many who were initially enthusiastic expressed doubt when they discovered that the training would take several months. Interest grew broader in late 2008, of course, after the financial crisis began. By then, Ameriprise leaders had recognized that they needed to confront deeply ingrained habits of thought, which required a thorough understanding of the limits and capabilities of the human brain.

The Principles of Change

A viable approach is emerging today that applies neuroscience to organizational change at dozens of companies like Cargill and Ameriprise. Specific practices vary from one workplace to the next, but they are always based on principles grounded in brain research:

• Habits are hard to change because of the way the brain manages them. Many conventional patterns of thinking are held in circuits associated with deep, primal parts of the brain that evolved relatively early. These include the basal ganglia, or the brain’s “habit center,” which normally manages such semiautomatic activities as driving and walking; the amygdala, a small, deep source of strong emotions such as fear and anger; and the hypothalamus, which manages instinctive drives such as hunger, thirst, and sexual desire. Information that is processed in these parts of the brain is often not brought to conscious attention.

The basal ganglia’s processing, in particular, is so rapid compared to other brain activity that it can feel physically rewarding; people tend to revert to this type of processing whenever possible. Moreover, every time the neuronal patterns in the basal ganglia are invoked, they become further entrenched; they forge connections with one another and with other functionally related brain areas, and these neural links (sometimes called “action repertoires”) become stronger and more compelling. This helps explain why when people in a workplace talk about the way to do things, they often reinforce the link between their own neural patterns and the culture of the company. If an organizational practice triggers their basal ganglia, it can become collectively ingrained and extremely difficult to dislodge.

Similarly, if you want to create permanent new patterns of behavior in people (including yourself), you must embed them in the basal ganglia. Taking on new patterns (also known as learning) often feels unfamiliar and painful, because it means consciously overriding deeply comfortable neuronal circuitry. It also draws on parts of the brain that require more effort and energy, such as the prefrontal cortex, which is associated with deliberate executive functions such as planning and thinking ahead.

In financial services, for example, when the market goes down, selling equities feels reassuring, because the news about the market has triggered habitual attitudes about risk (stored in the basal ganglia) and fears (generated by the amygdala). Holding on to the stock may be more prudent, but that decision requires activity in the prefrontal cortex, which requires extra effort and energy. Similarly, if people at a company such as Cargill find it difficult to innovate in teams across business units, they may be collectively protecting their basal ganglia– and amygdala-driven instincts (the attractions of habit and the fear of change) at the expense of the new goals of the organization.

At work, being forced to try something new can trigger fear and anger (sometimes called the “amygdala hijack”), the urge to flee, or exhaustion disproportionate to the actual provocation. In the grip of such emotions, people resist change. Their capacity for rational and creative thinking is also diminished; they revert to their rote behaviors, such as arguing, passive-aggressive compliance, or covert resistance. To overcome this reversion, people need to prepare for organizational change in advance — they must train to recognize the source of a strong emotion even as it is triggered, and to find more effective ways of responding.

• Despite the seeming inflexibility of the brain, neural connections are highly plastic; even the most entrenched thought patterns can be changed. The kind of mindfulness that accomplishes this combines metacognition (thinking about what you are thinking) and meta-awareness (moment-by-moment awareness of where your attention is focused). Adam Smith, the 18th-century economic philosopher, understood this. He described self-directed reflection as an “impartial spectator” and commented on its importance.

A growing body of neuroscience research confirms the power of the impartial spectator. For example, a person with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) might ruminate on a single belief, such as “I have to wash my hands to make sure they’re clean.” Day after day, this thought reinforces neural connections in parts of the brain such as the basal ganglia, gaining influence over the individual’s behavior. But MRIs show that asking people to observe their own thinking process as they ruminate can cause activity to move to more deliberate, conscious brain regions such as the prefrontal cortex. Research at the University of Toronto shows that moment-by-moment self-observation activates executive planning areas in the prefrontal cortex and deactivates areas involved in attention-distracting rumination.

Working in any corporation may lead people to adopt repetitive patterns of behavior. But the neural connections remain plastic. Once people know how to bring the impartial spectator into play, they can recognize when their old habituated neural patterns no longer serve them (or their company) well, and reshape those patterns in new directions.

• Paying attention to new ways of thinking, however uncomfortable at first, can rewire people’s thinking habits. The name given by neuroscience to this phenomenon is “attention density.” When a person repeatedly pays conscious attention to desired thoughts and related goals, the processing of these thoughts and goals stabilizes and moves to the part of the basal ganglia called the caudate nucleus, which lies deep beneath the prefrontal cortex and processes a massive number of neural signals from it. MIT neuroscientist Ann Graybiel has referred to the basal ganglia–caudate nucleus complex as the habit center of the brain. It shifts circuits into place so that ways of thinking and acting that at first seemed unfamiliar soon become habitual. The power of focused attention is enhanced further by the “quantum Zeno effect”: just as quantum particles become more stable when observed, neuronal patterns solidify more rapidly when repetitive attention is paid to them.

In focusing attention, don’t tell people what they’re doing wrong. Instead, accentuate what they’re doing right. Most brain activities don’t systematically distinguish between an activity and the avoidance of that activity. When someone repeatedly thinks, “I should not break this rule,” they are activating and strengthening neural patterns related to breaking the rule.

Therefore, to engender change among people in an organization, it’s important to keep attention focused on the desired end state, not on avoiding problems. This goal-directed positive reinforcement must take place over and over. The most effective way to achieve this is to set up practices and processes that make it easy for people to do the right thing until it becomes not only second nature, but an ethic taken to heart (and to the brain) by the entire company.

• Cultivate cognitive “veto power.” Veto power is the ability (among both individuals and groups) to rapidly consider outside provocations and choose to stop dysfunctional impulses before they lead to action. In one of the most discussed experiments in the history of neuroscience, preeminent researcher Benjamin Libet used electroencephalographic equipment to measure the brain functions underlying simple finger movements. He discovered that three-tenths of a second before people are aware of the will to move their finger, there is a brain signal related to a desire for finger movement. A person may have the desire to move, but then choose not to move; these two thoughts — the desire and the choice — are separate.

Many people believe that their control over their impulses is limited, particularly in the face of such strong emotions as anger, frustration, enthusiasm, or grief. To an extent, that is true, but Libet’s work shows that people can always constrain (or choose not to follow) a particular impulse. People may have only limited free will, but they have powerful “free won’t.” In organizations, when a strong impulse reflects “the way we do things around here,” there is always the option to veto the action, especially if people have practiced this ability. Even as simple a response as counting to 10 when stressed opens up possibilities for responding in more functional ways.

• The capability for focusing attention needs to be built over time. Few companies have established a strong capability for focused attention. For that reason, we suggest a path for getting there. The six steps that follow are a synthesis of work the authors conducted separately: Schwartz in helping OCD patients and then organizations, Gaito in leadership development work at Cargill, and Lennick at Ameriprise and other companies. These steps, which we have seen applied in practice, allow you to build a company’s capacity to refocus its attention on its most desired goals. They also create a virtuous cycle. (See the exhibit below.)

Step 1: Recognize the Need for Change

“Every organization wants to be in a groove,” says venture capitalist Jeff Stiefler. “But no one wants to be in a rut. The problem is when grooves become ruts. The key is to be able to recognize when you’re in a rut and then [figure out] how to get out of it.”

That’s the essence of this first step, which is particularly important for leaders of a change initiative. You cannot expect others to reflect on their behavior if you have not started to look dispassionately at yourself and to recognize where you need to change. After all, you are one of those responsible for painting a positive vision of the future, articulating the new possibilities in the collective mind, and calming the sense of upheaval. Your behavior therefore gives employees a highly charged impression of the changes you espouse, directly affecting many circuits of the brain.

But participation in this step is not limited to leaders. Anyone enlisted for change, at both an individual and a group level, should take part. For individuals, this means reflection. You must build greater awareness of your thoughts, emotions, and actions and their connection to real-life outcomes. After a difficult exchange or episode, you can step back and ask yourself: “What was I thinking? How am I feeling now? Was my behavior aligned with my goal at hand and with the big picture?” You can begin to recognize the effect that high-energy emotions have on your rational judgment and decision making — and the changes worth making in your own thinking and behavior.

At a group level, the recognition step involves bringing a group of self-aware people together to talk about the possibilities for change, with the premise that the current approach — “the way we do things around here” — cannot continue.

Practice of this step can send an emotionally charged signal to others, because it often means rejecting or abandoning some convenient but counterproductive actions. For example, Jim Cracchiolo, the CEO of Ameriprise, recognized the need for change in the financial-advice industry, which influenced him to decline TARP funding in May 2009. Government funding, he said, would hinder the company’s pursuit of its potential. This explanation resonated strongly with the people of the firm.

Step 2: Relabel Your Reactions

This step is an analogy to a necessary process in cognitive therapy for obsessive-compulsive disorder. By giving a new name to maladaptive behavior, an individual with OCD can override the content of dysfunctional thoughts (“I have to wash my hands to make sure they’re clean”) with the knowledge that they are merely thoughts (“Here comes that urge again, but it is simply a thought that my OCD condition produces”). The mental act of relabeling enhances your ability to make this distinction and thus decreases your personal attachment to what you are thinking. This improves your ability to clear-mindedly assess the content of the thought. By relabeling these thoughts, you can break the cycle of rumination, emphasizing that these thoughts are driven, not by some external factor, but by the patterns in the brain itself.

Relabeling means giving a new name to something, and though the idea of applying a mental label may seem simple, it has often been shown to have the power to calm emotions and engage the rational centers of the brain. Neuroscience researchers Kevin Ochsner and James Gross, for example, connected people to brain imaging devices and showed them photographs of horrific traffic accidents. There was an immediate rush of anxiety and fear — a classic amygdala hijack. But then Ochsner and Gross asked their subjects to think differently about these upsetting images: for example, to tell themselves, “I’m an emergency medical technician coming on the scene. I have to be calm and clear in my thinking about this.” Subjects in the experiments then found it easier to maintain a clear, calm perspective. In general, the act of relabeling changes the way the brain processes information in such emotion-related and instinct-related areas as the amygdala and hypothalamus. Activity shifts rapidly to the prefrontal cortex.

In this organizational step, you conduct a similar reframing of the collective impulses that don’t work well. “The way we do things around here” may have been unquestioned for years, but now you communicate an accurate assessment about why it no longer works. Cargill’s articulation of its “future state” and Ameriprise’s stated intent to do a better job helping clients were both good examples of reframing.

Step 3: Reflect on Your Expectations and Values

In this step, you set out the nature of the new conditions you believe you can create. You replace old expectations with a new image of the desired state you are trying to achieve. In management circles, this is known as a vision. But unlike some corporate vision exercises, the reflection in this step must result in something specific, tangible, and desirable enough to capture people’s attention.

At Cargill, there is an evolving idea of what the “heart of leadership” means in practice. Recently retired executive vice president Dave Larson points out, “Our good leaders are those who focus on others, give undivided attention, and build trust. Leaders can either give energy to people or drain energy from people.” Many leaders within the company instinctively know how to translate this into their own day-to-day behavior. For others, including some who have been at the company for 15 years or more, this concept requires a major shift.

Your new expectations and values could reflect aspirations for your company as the leader of a shift in your larger industry. Don Froude, president of the Personal Advisors Group (which includes coordinating franchisees at Ameriprise), raised the stakes for the firm in 2009 when he said: “The [financial-services] industry needs to consolidate to regain client trust. We can’t pretend the financial crisis, the problems with derivatives, and the TARP bailout haven’t happened. We have to be proactive — to take advantage of the dislocation in the industry to bring more advisors and more clients to Ameriprise. We believe we can do [financial advising] better than others, and better than we’ve ever done it before.”

Both Cargill and Ameriprise offer internal sessions on the skill of collective reflection. Participants talk about the type of company they are trying to create and the leadership behavior that will foster it, as well as the needs and values of their clients and customers (individual investors for Ameriprise, and food manufacturers and other customers at Cargill).

In this reflection, the company uses the expectation of better conditions as an effective tool for reinforcing productive neural patterns. The power of expectations has been demonstrated in neuroscience, notably by Donald Price at the University of Florida. Price set up a carefully executed series of experiments with volunteers who had a medical condition that made them particularly sensitive to certain kinds of pain. He gave some subjects a placebo along with a specific suggestion that led them to expect a reasonable chance of pain relief. This expectation, in itself, was enough to relieve pain as effectively as real medicine would. It also calmed down the brain’s pain and visceral centers — the thalamus and insula.

For neuroscientists, this is a fascinating finding because the thalamus is a primitive part of the brain, and both it and the insula are often considered centers of “automatic” sensation, beyond conscious control or thought. But Price’s experiments — and those of other researchers, such as Robert Coghill of Wake Forest University — suggest that effectively communicating that “things will feel better if we change” can produce a powerful range of assuaging reactions. (In fact, expectations of relief can have a calming effect akin to a 6 milligram dose of morphine.)

Financial advisors at moments of economic crisis have experienced this phenomenon firsthand. When they field calls from panicked clients, they routinely open the call by saying, “It is going to be OK. Let’s not forget the big picture. Don’t forget that we have prepared for uncertainties like this crisis. Let’s stay focused on your values and what really matters.” After reflecting on the fact that it is possible to navigate the storm, clients are more prepared to make the necessary counterintuitive moves, and advisors are more prepared to suggest them.

Similarly, during the economic crisis in late 2008, the Cargill leadership encouraged employees to manage for the future by “hunkering down wisely” — cutting expenses with confidence that it would make life better for them. This phrase helped calm anxiety about Cargill’s ability to weather the crisis, and it empowered people to come up with creative ways to save money for the company. Reflection led to a far greater sense of ownership and effectiveness than would have been produced by across-the-board budget cuts or other top-down directives.

In the reflection stage, you may find yourself rethinking the purpose of your business. Is it making money by any means necessary? Or are you seeking to make some other contribution — through what you create, what you protect, or the wealth you hope to engender around you? For example, you might decide that in your current cultural and economic environment, enhancing the stability of society and the free enterprise system is particularly important.

In the spring of 2009, Ken Chenault, the chairman and CEO of American Express, set a pattern for that type of reflection at his company. The company’s first-quarter earnings had not yet been posted, but the 2008 results, like those for most other companies, were dismal. It was late on a rainy afternoon, and as Chenault looked out from his 51st-floor office in the World Financial Center in lower Manhattan, he could see much of New York harbor. “There has not been a compelling articulation of the importance of capitalism to a well-functioning society since Adam Smith,” he said. “What’s the role of business in society? We need some renewed thinking, and we need to update our view of capitalism.”

Statements like this might seem cause for anxiety themselves — business is difficult enough without setting out grandiose new purposes — but the act of reflection calms people down and improves access to more rational thought. It reduces the chances of either amygdala hijack or habitual, basal ganglia–style response to the need for change. The real-world results are evident, particularly when CEOs and other leaders channel reflection into a recurring gesture, reminding employees, day after day, of their goals and aspirations. This repetition helps people create new neural patterns and sets the tone for the all-important next step.

Step 4: Refocus Your Behavior

In this stage, you bring your habits in line with your goals. You identify the practices you need to follow and begin to set them in motion. For example, Cargill executives have been trained to refocus (although they don’t call it that) by classifying difficult situations as problems, predicaments (impasses), and polarities (situations with conflicting goals). “If it’s a problem, we work on solving it,” explains a Cargill executive. “If it’s a polarity, it’s not an ‘either-or’ situation but an ‘and’ issue that requires management. And if it’s a predicament, you have nothing to solve or manage; you can only accept and endure.”

In companies navigating traumatic situations (such as an economic crisis), refocusing may mean pursuing deliberate practices for triggering people’s impartial spectators. If you’re a leader in such a situation, you can start by talking openly about how you feel, ask others to talk about how they feel, and then help others take a broader perspective: They are still OK, they still have jobs, their families are intact. Next, try to engender an emotional state that is calmer, and that draws people back to more effective frames of mind and more deliberate thinking. At American Express, Chenault did exactly this after one of the most shocking moments of his professional life: the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. He called the company together at Madison Square Garden, told people how he felt, acknowledged how they must feel, and then drew the conversation to the things that they might think about as they moved forward.

The refocusing step provides the most powerful change of the entire sequence: It has the greatest impact on the prefrontal cortex, where new behaviors must be processed and integrated into complex response patterns. When people focus repeatedly and bring this part of the brain into play, their new neuronal connections can become stabilized by attention density and the quantum Zeno effect; as a result, a more productive set of brain functions are put into play, and the potential for developing new action repertoires is established. This is often experienced as having one’s beliefs open up, and as becoming more capable and productive. When practiced regularly and consistently, the change rewires the basal ganglia and becomes a set of adaptive new habits. A prefrontal cognitive process has become internalized into deeper parts of the brain. People can now do the right thing without having to think consciously about it.

Step 5: Respond with Repetition

Hold yourself and others accountable for responding consistently with the needed new or improved behaviors. One example at Cargill is the use of metrics to set leadership priorities and track the day-to-day behaviors that managers are expected to demonstrate. As Cargill CEO Greg Page puts it, “As leaders at Cargill, we measure our collective efforts in terms of engaged employees, satisfied customers, enriched communities, and profitable growth. In this very deliberate way, we’re telling people we’re focusing not only on their sales and profits, but also on other key drivers of business performance.”

It takes discipline to develop new habits; they feel difficult at first. Once again, if you are a leader, your behavior makes all the difference. Other people closely watch what you say, what you do, and where you pay attention. Of course, leading requires a high level of self-awareness, which is one reason the recognition step (step 1) is so important.

Step 6: Revalue Your Choices in Real Time

The sixth step is the step of progressive mindfulness. Individuals gain the capacity to recognize their own thoughts in the moment, resist the amygdala hijack, and take crises in stride. In organizations, instead of automatically reverting to the idea that “that’s the way we do things around here,” people begin to think, “That’s how we used to do things around here. Now, we do things better.” When these automatic responses change in enough people, a new way of operating is instilled in the ethic of the company. More productive values become the basis of management decisions, especially at times of stress.

Over time, in the same way that individuals who change their health habits gradually come to crave healthier foods and exercise, people in an organization will come to choose and expect higher-performance forms of operation. Change then becomes truly generative: It is no longer something imposed on the brain or on people’s desire, but something chosen and instilled by the participants. They may have wanted to change before, but only now does the new way seem the natural way to operate.

The Way We Will

The initiatives at Cargill and Ameriprise have been in place since the late 2000s, and they are starting to show results. At Ameriprise, for example, 85 percent of the advisors who participated in the new program training report that they are becoming more effective at advising clients. Client acquisition, client retention of assets, financial planning fees, and referrals of new business from existing clients are rising, in ways that are linked to the new training.

Setting this type of cycle in motion is not easy in real life. The probability of falling back into old habits and old ways of doing things is very high. But for those who can follow the practice, the payoff is enormous.

The concept of organizational reframing is still relatively young. The potential impact of neuroscience on management practice is mostly unrealized. But processes like the steps we have outlined represent a starting point, focusing attention where it should be focused: “From now on, that’s how we’re going to do things around here.”

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Booz & Company
101 Park Ave, 18 FL
New York, NY 10178
http://www.strategy-business.com
http://www.booz.com

Author Profiles:

  • Jeffrey Schwartz is a research psychiatrist at the School of Medicine of the University of California at Los Angeles. His books include You Are Not Your Brain (with Rebecca Gladding; Avery/Penguin, 2011), The Mind and the Brain (with Sharon Begley; Regan Books/HarperCollins, 2002), and Brain Lock (with Beverly Beyette; HarperCollins, 1997).
  • Pablo Gaito is the vice president of learning and development at Cargill, an international producer and marketer of food, agricultural, financial, and industrial products and services, based in Minneapolis, Minn.
  • Doug Lennick is the author of Financial Intelligence (with Kathleen Jordan; FPA Press, 2010) and the co-author, with Fred Kiel, of Moral Intelligence (Wharton School Publishing, 2005). He is an advisor to Ameriprise Financial and many other companies, the CEO of Lennick Aberman, and a former executive vice president of American Express.

 

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Laura Goodrich

Innovator l Filmmaker l Author l Expert Speaker
Radio l TV l Program Host

Internationally Recognized Expert in Workplace Dynamics and Change

Email: laura@onimpactproductions.com
Website: www.onimpactproductions.com
Business: 952-856-6071
SKYPE: laura.goodrich
OOVOO: Laura Goodrich

Author: Seeing Red Cars: Driving Yourself, Your Team and Your Organization to a Positive Future is available for pre-sale! Amazon http://amzn.to/aj0IUm or Barnes and Noble  http://bit.ly/c5F1j7
Seeing Red Cars — Mindset to Win – Forbes Magazine
http://blogs.forbes.com/mindmakeover/2011/02/03/seeing-red-cars-mindset-to-win/
Seeing Red Cars Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/SeeingRedCars

Program Host and Author: Seeing Red Cars
Film and Book: www.seeingredcarsbook.com
Seeing Red Cars Conversation Starters:  Amazon Instant Video http://amzn.to/eUdiGA
FB: http://www.facebook.com/SeeingRedCars
App: Seeing Red Cars “I Want Statement” iPhone/ Ipad http://bit.ly/afWHOx
Seeing Red Cars Products: http://bit.ly/cB29Tq
 
Program Host and Author: Shifting Years: Leverage the Power of Generations
Film: www.shiftingyears.com
FB Shifting Years: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Shifting-Years-Leverage-The-Power-of-Generations/129830580411162
 
Radio Host:FutureWork http://www.blogtalkradio.com/laura-goodrich
TV Host and Producer: Life to the Max
http://www.lifetothemax.tv/about.html

Laura Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/LauraGoodrichOnImpact
Twitter: http://twitter.com/lauragoodrich
Blog: http://lgoodrich.posterous.com/
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/lauragoodrich
Seeing Red Cars FB: http://www.facebook.com/SeeingRedCars
Seeing Red Cars Book Amazon http://amzn.to/aj0IUm  and Barnes and Noble  http://bit.ly/c5F1j7
Shifting Years FB: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Shifting-Years-Leverage-The-Power-of-Generation...
Slideshare: http://www.slideshare.net/LauraGoodrich
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/35914444@N07/

There Is No “Back To Normal”

There Is No “Back To Normal”: Why CEOs Must Adapt to Change

For powerful insight on how business leaders can seamlessly adapt to change, don’t miss out on Vistage’s recent thought-provoking dialogue with workforce innovator and author of Seeing Red Cars, Laura Goodrich. She explains how CEOs can leave their comfort zones and look for opportunities, define where adjustments are needed, and then take action.  Plus—valuable advice on how to systematically engage the various personalities in your organization.

 

http://bit.ly/ep171P

 

Vistage:The world’s leading chief executive organization

With more than 14,000 members worldwide, Vistage International provides unparalleled access to new business perspectives, innovative strategies and actionable ideas to chief executives and business leaders.

Vistage FB http://www.facebook.com/VistageInternational

Vistage Twitter https://twitter.com/#!/vistage

Vistage LinkedIn:http://www.linkedin.com/company/vistage-international

Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/vistagechannel

Laura Goodrich

Innovator l Filmmaker l Author l Expert Speaker
Radio l TV l Program Host

Internationally Recognized Expert in Workplace Dynamics and Change

Email: laura@onimpactproductions.com
Website: www.onimpactproductions.com
Business: 952-856-6071
SKYPE: laura.goodrich
OOVOO: Laura Goodrich

Laurabookcar

Program Host and Author: Seeing Red Cars
Film and Book: www.seeingredcarsbook.com
Seeing Red Cars Conversation Starters:  Amazon Instant Video http://amzn.to/eUdiGA
FB: http://www.facebook.com/SeeingRedCars
App: Seeing Red Cars “I Want Statement” iPhone/ Ipad http://bit.ly/afWHOx
Seeing Red Cars Products: http://bit.ly/cB29Tq

Author: Seeing Red Cars: Driving Yourself, Your Team and Your Organization to a Positive Future is available Amazon http://amzn.to/aj0IUm or Barnes and Noble  http://bit.ly/c5F1j7
Seeing Red Cars — Mindset to Win – Forbes Magazine
http://blogs.forbes.com/mindmakeover/2011/02/03/seeing-red-cars-mindset-to-win/
Seeing Red Cars Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/SeeingRedCars


Square_shifting_years
 
Program Host and Author: Shifting Years: Leverage the Power of Generations
Film: www.shiftingyears.com
FB Shifting Years: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Shifting-Years-Leverage-The-Power-of-Generations/129830580411162
 
Radio Host:FutureWork http://www.blogtalkradio.com/laura-goodrich
TV Host and Producer: Life to the Max
http://www.lifetothemax.tv/about.html

Laura Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/LauraGoodrichOnImpact
Twitter: http://twitter.com/lauragoodrich
Blog: http://lgoodrich.posterous.com/
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/lauragoodrich
Seeing Red Cars FB: http://www.facebook.com/SeeingRedCars
Shifting Years FB: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Shifting-Years-Leverage-The-Power-of-Generation...
Slideshare: http://www.slideshare.net/LauraGoodrich
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/35914444@N07/

 

 

 

FutureWork Radio Laura Goodrich and Peter Bailey

 

Fw_partner

The Vision of FutureWork is to discover and influence the future of the workforce by conducting insightful interviews.

FutureWork will feature reoccurring guests that are engaging and insightful, commenting on the subjects of innovation, future trends, change, and forward thinking workplace solutions that we believe will inform the most successful people, teams and organizations now and into the future.

Laura Goodrich

Innovator l Filmmaker l Author l Expert Speaker

TV l Radio l Film Host.

Internationally Recognized Expert in Workplace Dynamics and Change, Laura Goodrich hosts the radio show FutureWork, a part of Linked2Leadership Radio Network.

Welcome once again to Peter Bailey!

Peter Bailey is the Senior Vice President of the Prouty Project, a Minneapolis based strategic planning and organizational development firm.

Peter has a particular passion for possibility-thinking and cross-culture communication, and has been fortunate to have traveled and worked in over 40 countries in Asia, Africa, and Europe.

He joined the Prouty Project team in May of 2008. Prior to joining, he served for nine years as a Global Performance Consultant with Wilson Learning Worldwide, where he was a writer, designer, and lead facilitator for programs focusing on global effectiveness, customer service, principled negotiation, virtual teams, and executive coaching.

The most effective global business people fall in to two camps: Unconscious competents and conscious competents. Which do you have on your team? 

Listen to FutureWork with Laura Goodrich and Peter Bailey as they talk about Cultural Competents!  http://www.blogtalkradio.com/laura-goodrich/2011/03/30/futurework-with-laura-...

Peter can be reached

peter.bailey@proutyproject.com

6385 Old Shady Oak Road, Suite 260 | Minneapolis, MN 55344 

www.proutyproject.com

Connect with, Join In and Share your stories and questions with Laura Goodrich.

laura@onimpactproductions.com, stories@onimpactproductions.com

Twitter: http://twitter.com/lauragoodrich

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/lauragoodrich

Facebook: http://bit.ly/bqiqjf

www.onimpactproductions.com

Seeing Red Cars Film and Book: www.seeingredcarsbook.com

Seeing Red Cars/Driving Yourself, Your Team and Your Organization to a Positive Future. Amazon: http://amzn.to/aj0IUm or Barnes and Noble: http://bit.ly/c5F1j7

 

Laurabookcar

 

Seeing Red Cars: Leadership Academy group in Bangkok poses for a picture with their red cars

Header

Seeing Red Cars helps top performers internalize ‘The Leading Mindset’

Chard_bangkok_group_pic

Even teaching the Seeing Red Cars mindset does not automatically equate to using it. When David Chard was leading an annual regional academy in Bangkok for Edelman, an international public relations firm, he experienced his own Red Car moment and had to have his memory jarred into action by his assistant.

 

The academy had been conducted for five years, and its focus was on The Leading Mindset (2009 group pictured above). Chard uses the Seeing Red Cars film, discussions and activities to help participants see how they can use the Red Cars methodology in their business and in their daily experiences in their offices.

 

In 2010, as Chard’s team was preparing for the annual academy, they encountered a roadblock. “We had 66 people flying to Bangkok for one week for the academy.” Upon arrival, Chard and a few of his staff members went to retrieve their pre-shipped materials from customs. The customs officials were concerned about something and denied the request to release the boxes. All of the materials for the academy were in those boxes. They tried unsuccessfully to reason with the customs officials. Nothing worked. Finally, Chard sat down in frustration. The academy was scheduled to begin in a matter of hours, and they had no materials. They felt defeated.

 

After a few minutes, his assistant turned to him and said, “David, we have to focus on what we want right now. What do we want?” At that very moment, he explained, they all became completely resourceful. They got the approval. They went into town. They found the resources that they needed to make T-shirts, copy the materials, and create the welcome bags and everything else they needed to do the Seeing Red Cars High Potential Leadership Academy. Chard said that once they changed their thinking, they were able to immediately come up with innovative solutions to turn the situation around.

 

Moments of stress and moments of change are ideal situations to jog your mind back to awareness. Catch yourself before your emotions get the best of you. These are the times when the natural tendency to focus on what you don’t want typically bubbles up to the surface and consumes you. Knowing how you behave and how you respond to stress gives you the awareness you need to deal with these situations.

 

See the YouTube video where Chard’s Academy participants talk about how Seeing Red Cars has helped them: 

 

====================

How can you keep the Red Cars mindset top-of-mind in moments of stress?

What visual triggers can you use to jog your mind back to what you want so you can take action?

====================

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Seeing Red Cars the book is available from popular retailers through our book website, seeingredcarsbook.com.

 

____________

Laura Goodrich

Innovator l Author l Expert Speaker

Radio l TV l Program Host

 

Internationally Recognized Expert in Workplace Dynamics and Change

Email: laura@onimpactproductions.com 

Website: www.onimpactproductions.com 

Business: 952-856-6071

Mobile: 952-240-1516

SKYPE: laura.goodrich

OOVOO: Laura Goodrich

 

Author: Seeing Red Cars: Driving Yourself, Your Team and Your Organization to a Positive Future is available at Amazon  http://amzn.to/aj0IUm or Barnes and Noble http://bit.ly/c5F1j7

Seeing Red Cars — Mindset to Win — Forbes Magazine

http://blogs.forbes.com/mindmakeover/2011/02/03/seeing-red-cars-mindset-to-win/

Program Host and Author: Seeing Red Cars

Film: www.seeingredcars.com 

Book: www.seeingredcarsbook.com 

FB: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Seeing-Red-Cars-with-Laura-Goodrich/179858525374208?v=wall 

App: Seeing Red Cars “I Want Statement” iPhone/ iPad http://bit.ly/afWHOx

Seeing Red Cars Products: http://bit.ly/cB29Tq

 

Program Host and Author: Shifting Years: Leverage the Power of Generations

Film: www.shiftingyears.com 

FB Shifting Years: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Shifting-Years-Leverage-The-Power-of-Generations/129830580411162

 

Radio Host: FutureWork http://www.blogtalkradio.com/laura-goodrich

TV Host and Producer: Life to the Max http://www.lifetothemax.tv/about.html

Laura Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Laura-Goodrich/164266833612423?v=wall

Twitter: http://twitter.com/lauragoodrich

Blog: http://lgoodrich.posterous.com/

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/lauragoodrich

Seeing Red Cars FB: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Seeing-Red-Cars-with-Laura-Goodrich/179858525374208?v=wall

Seeing Red Cars Book: Amazon ( http://amzn.to/aj0IUm ) or Barnes and Noble ( http://bit.ly/c5F1j7 .)

Shifting Years FB: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Shifting-Years-Leverage-The-Power-of-Generations/129830580411162?v=wall

Slideshare: http://www.slideshare.net/LauraGoodrich

Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/35914444@N07/

 

 

 

 

 

Seeing Red Cars: Focus your attention and actions on the areas of your life that are out of whack

Header

In a world of inevitable imbalance, strive for harmony

 

Focusing on what you want extends beyond your job and career and must be intentional in all areas of your life.  Otherwise, you might wind up in a scenario like these:

  • Mark is a well-paid attorney with an established practice, however he is 80 pounds overweight and has difficulty climbing a flight of stairs.
  • Jennifer is married with three children and prides herself on her circle of friends and involvement with her kids’ schools, however she has been job-searching off and on (mostly off because she’s “too busy”) for three years, and her husband feels mounting financial pressure.
  • Liam traveled and worked short-term jobs in various countries for 10 years after college. Now he feels a yearning to marry and start a family.

It is not uncommon for people to focus greater attention on certain aspects of their lives based on their age, circumstances or external factors, such as the economy. At some point, most people will feel a want or need (e.g. if they are excessively overweight) to regain control of those areas of their lives that are out of whack.

 

In my new book Seeing Red Cars—Driving Yourself, Your Team and Your Organization to a Positive Future, the Red Cars Toolkit offers a series of exercises to help individuals:

  • Clarify their passions, interests, strengths and values
  • Brainstorm what they want in their personal and professional lives
  • Rate where they are currently in their quest for their goals on a Well Rounded Wheel
  • Plot prioritized targets, and
  • Create an action plan to work purposefully toward their goals

I believe there is no such thing as balance in our lives, because more attention inevitably needs to be paid to certain areas while less attention is paid to others, based on current circumstances and demands. What we should instead strive for is harmony—the amount of attention and focus in each area of our lives to feel happy and fulfilled, have positive relationships inside and outside our families, and be contributing members of society.

 

If you want to drive yourself, your team and your organization to a positive future, I am excited to offer the process and toolkit that can get you there. Check out these resources at seeingredcarsbook.com.

 

====================

In what areas of your life are you focusing which is causing others to be out of whack?

What can you do to focus just 5% more time on your greatest “I want”?

====================

 

Srcbookcover

Seeing Red Cars the book is available from popular retailers through our book website, seeingredcarsbook.com.

 

____________

Laura Goodrich

Innovator l Author l Expert Speaker

Radio l TV l Program Host

Internationally Recognized Expert in Workplace Dynamics and Change

Email: laura@onimpactproductions.com

Website: www.onimpactproductions.com

Business: 952-856-6071

Mobile: 952-240-1516

SKYPE: laura.goodrich

OOVOO: Laura Goodrich

Author: Seeing Red Cars: Driving Yourself, Your Team and Your Organization to a Positive Future is available at Amazon  http://amzn.to/aj0IUm or Barnes and Noble http://bit.ly/c5F1j7

Seeing Red Cars — Mindset to Win — Forbes Magazine

http://blogs.forbes.com/mindmakeover/2011/02/03/seeing-red-cars-mindset-to-win/

Program Host and Author: Seeing Red Cars

Film: www.seeingredcars.com

Book: www.seeingredcarsbook.com

FB: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Seeing-Red-Cars-with-Laura-Goodrich/179858525374208?v=wall

App: Seeing Red Cars “I Want Statement” iPhone/ iPad http://bit.ly/afWHOx

Seeing Red Cars Products: http://bit.ly/cB29Tq

Program Host and Author: Shifting Years: Leverage the Power of Generations

Film: www.shiftingyears.com

FB Shifting Years: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Shifting-Years-Leverage-The-Power-of-Generations/129830580411162

Radio Host: FutureWork http://www.blogtalkradio.com/laura-goodrich

TV Host and Producer: Life to the Max http://www.lifetothemax.tv/about.html

Laura Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Laura-Goodrich/164266833612423?v=wall

Twitter: http://twitter.com/lauragoodrich

Blog: http://lgoodrich.posterous.com/

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/lauragoodrich

Seeing Red Cars FB: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Seeing-Red-Cars-with-Laura-Goodrich/179858525374208?v=wall

Seeing Red Cars Book: Amazon ( http://amzn.to/aj0IUm ) or Barnes and Noble ( http://bit.ly/c5F1j7 .)

Shifting Years FB: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Shifting-Years-Leverage-The-Power-of-Generations/129830580411162?v=wall

Slideshare: http://www.slideshare.net/LauraGoodrich

Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/35914444@N07/

 

 

 

 

10 Ways Technology Supports 21st Century Learners in Being Self Directed by Lisa Nielsen

Every week I post a blog that I think is really pertinent!  This one is by Lisa Nielson.  She is directing her message to teachers and administrators, but the message is applicable and timely for leaders in organizations far and wide! Lisa frequently refers to self-directed learning.  I call this "Taking the Wheel" and believe it is the way of the world!   I look forward to hearing your thoughts!  Enjoy

Laura Goodrich

Here is the link to the blog: http://techlearning.com/Blogs/36832

Life in the 21st century provides a whole-new world of opportunities for self-directed, passion-driven, personalized learning. Educators who are ready to move on from teaching the way they were taught, and administrators who will let them, can begin supporting students using tools and strategies available to the 21st century learner. 

 

  1. Personal Learning Networks
    Perhaps the core of passion driven, self-directed learning is the development of personal learning networks which can be developed through blogs, social networks like Facebook, Ning, or Group.ly, Twitter, and discussion boards.  Read
    5 Things You Can Do to Begin Developing Your Personal Learning Network, The PLN Matures. The Progression of the 21st Century Personal Learning Network and 5 Ways to Build Your 1.0 and 2.0 Personal Learning Network to learn how to get started.

  2. Tweet to Connect with Experts
    If you have an interest, Twitter is the place to connect with others who share that interest.  Simply do a search on Twitter for the topic and you’ll be connected to a many others interested in the same topic. Follow them. Reply to them. Use the search term in your Tweets and others interested in that topic will see your Tweet.  Students can even have their own newspapers created instantly about their topic of interest using a service called
    Paper.li.   

  3. Skype an Expert
    You can
    make your classroom a global communication center for free with Skype by connecting with anyone around the world about topics of interests.  These experts may be people you have conversations with or perhaps they are people you learn from.  Author, blogevangelist, teacher, thought leader and father, Will Richarson uses Skype to supplement his children’s learning. Paul Bogush, an 8th grade social studies teacher not only supports his students in doing this, they take it up a notch with a program they produce called Lunchtime Leaders.  Students interview leaders from around the world on their opinions about what they should do to be prepared for the future. Paul and his students do most of their interviews using Skype and they turn the interviews into Podcast. You can listen to their podcasts at http://lunchtimeleaders.podbean.com.  where students choose to interview experts in topics they are interested in and then turn their interview into a podcast.  

  4. Free Online Educational Resources
    Learn about whatever you want with
    free online education resources (OER).  The purpose of this coordinated movement is to move toward a common goal of providing quality courses for learning for free. “At the heart of the movement toward Open Educational Resources is the simple and powerful idea that the world’s knowledge is a public good and that technology in general, and the Worldwide Web in particular, provide an extraordinary opportunity for everyone to share, use, and re-use knowledge.” – The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. Many of these resources do not require a teacher for students to learn
    .  
  5. Online Learning
    When given the choice,
    students often say they LOVE learning online and not just because it lets them sleep in.  They find that they are exposed to many more possible courses in alignment with areas of interest and moving at their own pace without distractions of classmates enables them to learn more effectively.  Many public schools, universities, and colleges are starting to jump on board and companies like Zulama.com are popping up which offer High-interest online courses students can’t find at their high school. Access to unique subjects they’re passionate about makes Zulama a place teenagers want to go to learn. With Zulama, students connect, teachers simplify, parents stay involved, and schools get ahead.

  6. Authentic Publishing In the 21st century, irrelevant hand-it-in teaching should be a thing of the past.  If a student’s work has no authentic audience beyond the teacher, it shouldn’t be assigned.  A student who is self-motivated to do something, counts, btw.  A teacher directing him/her to do it does not.  Most 21st century kids love to share with real audiences and are doing it outside school already.  Inside school, work should not sit lifeless on a computer, or even just the school website.  Support students in finding real audiences for their work in their Global Community.  If you’re not sure how find out by reading, “21st Century Educators Don’t Say, “Hand It In.” They say, “Publish It!”

  7. Use YouTube and iTunes to Learn Anything It’s rather outrageous that many schools still block one of the most powerful tools for learning available for students today. YouTube.  While iTunes is a powerful option for learners on the go, YouTube adds the visual element, making learning even more powerful and FREE!  With YouTube Education and iTunes University, more and more colleges, universities, and their professors are sharing content for free.  While some schools are paying for pre-packaged online learning options, they’re really all already out there for free.  Empower teachers and/or students to design their own learning and learn about whatever they want with these free resources.  Not only are these good resources to go to learn from others, they’re also a smart place to ask for help like this student did who needed help with his bowdrill set.  

  8. Passion (or talent) Profiles
    When we start collecting
    profiles of students passions, talents, interests, abilities and learning styles, suddenly students and teachers have an awareness that they may never have considered previously. A passion (or talent) profile is not only value for teachers and student self-awareness, it is also a helpful tool for students to connect with others who might share a passion.  These students could connect on a topic of interest, collaborate, and share ideas.  These profiles can be purchased using a company like Renzulli learning or they can be made for free with Google Forms and Spreadsheets.  Either way, it’s much easier to differentiate instruction when teachers and students can quickly and easily see where they stand and sort by interest, learning style, talents, or abilities.  

  9. Develop Authentic Learning Portfolios
    When done write ePortfolios can be a powerful tool that not only helps remind students of all their accomplishments, but it also enables them to share these with the world.  In the 21st century, creating an ePortfolio is free and easy.  Student simply select a container (blog, wiki, website, Google site), decide how they’d like to organize it, and then post their work.  I strongly advise against using any paid for portfolio site.  It is important that students have ownership of their own work and that it can travel with them wherever they are.  When it comes to ePortfolios, Helen Barrett is the go-to person.  To learn more, visit her blog
    http://blog.helenbarrett.org where she shares fantastic ideas.  

  10. Empower Students to Assess and Learn Themselves
    The days of teacher as gatekeeper of the answer key or teacher edition are gone!  Educators need to stop hiding and start sharing information with students including enabling them to learn how to assess themselves.  If a student wants to know their reading level, show them how with resources like those you can find
    here.  If a student creates a video, honor the built in authentic assessment like number of views and comments and the child’s ability to find audience.  Show him/her how to share with appropriate audiences and get feedback for improvement.  If a student wants to know how well they might do on a test let them find a test prep review site where they can take practice tests and see how they’ve done.  Empower students to develop their own learning plans and assessments so they can learn and assess independently.  After all, they are the ones who own the learning.  

In our globally connected world, it is no longer acceptable for teachers to teach the way they were taught nor is it okay for administrators to allow it.  It is also no longer acceptable for administrators to take the easy way out and require connected kids to learn in a disconnected environment where they are banned from accessing sites or bringing to school the tools and technologies they love and need to succeed in the world.  In the 21st century, if we truly care about student success we will lift the bans, unblock the filters and connect our students to the world so they can learn effectively. 

Cross posted at The Innovative Educator. http://theinnovativeeducator.blogspot.com/

Lisa_nielson

Lisa Nielsen is best known as creator of The Innovative Educator blog and Transforming Education for the 21st Century  learning network. International Edublogger, International EduTwitter, and Google Certified Teacher, Lisa is an outspoken and passionate advocate of innovative education. She is frequently covered by local and national media for her views on "Thinking Outside the Ban" and determining ways to harness the power of technology for instruction and providing a voice to educators and students. Based in New York City, Ms. Nielsen has worked for more than a decade in various capacities helping schools and districts to educate in innovative ways that will prepare students for 21st century success. You can follow her on Twitter @InnovativeEdu.

Disclaimer: The information shared here is strictly that of the author and does not reflect the opinions or endorsement of her employer.


Laura Goodrich

Innovator l Filmmaker l Author l Expert Speaker
Radio l TV l Program Host

Internationally Recognized Expert in Workplace Dynamics and Change

Email: laura@onimpactproductions.com
Website: www.onimpactproductions.com
Business: 952-856-6071
SKYPE: laura.goodrich
OOVOO: Laura Goodrich

Author: Seeing Red Cars: Driving Yourself, Your Team and Your Organization to a Positive Future is available Amazon http://amzn.to/aj0IUm or Barnes and Noble  http://bit.ly/c5F1j7
Seeing Red Cars — Mindset to Win – Forbes Magazine
http://blogs.forbes.com/mindmakeover/2011/02/03/seeing-red-cars-mindset-to-win/
Program Host and Author: Seeing Red Cars
Film and Book: www.seeingredcarsbook.com
Seeing Red Cars Conversation Starters:  Amazon Instant Video http://amzn.to/eUdiGA
FB: http://www.facebook.com/SeeingRedCars
App: Seeing Red Cars “I Want Statement” iPhone/ Ipad http://bit.ly/afWHOx
Seeing Red Cars Products: http://bit.ly/cB29Tq

 Seeing Red Cars Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/SeeingRedCars
Program Host and Author: Shifting Years: Leverage the Power of Generations
Film: www.shiftingyears.com
FB Shifting Years: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Shifting-Years-Leverage-The-Power-of-Generations/129830580411162

 Radio Host:FutureWork http://www.blogtalkradio.com/laura-goodrich
TV Host and Producer: Life to the Max
http://www.lifetothemax.tv/about.html

Laura Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/LauraGoodrichOnImpact
Twitter: http://twitter.com/lauragoodrich
Blog: http://lgoodrich.posterous.com/
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/lauragoodrich
Seeing Red Cars FB: http://www.facebook.com/SeeingRedCars
Seeing Red Cars Book Amazon http://amzn.to/aj0IUm  and Barnes and Noble  http://bit.ly/c5F1j7
Shifting Years FB: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Shifting-Years-Leverage-The-Power-of-Generation...
Slideshare: http://www.slideshare.net/LauraGoodrich
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/35914444@N07/

 

Seeing Red Cars: The swiftly moving marketplace is brutal to ‘sit and wait’ folks

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Transitions and changes send signs and signals before they launch. Be alert.

 

 

Do you know people who say, “I just take things as they come. It’s worked for me so far.” HAS it?  The marketplace will be brutal to these people in the next decade!

 

 

The speed of technology, innovations and change is rapid and accelerating. The way to be alert to the changes going on around you, and nimble enough to respond, is to know your interests, strengths and values while scanning the marketplace for changes. In my new book Seeing Red Cars—Driving Yourself, Your Team and Your Organization to a Positive Future, I refer to this as “driving with intention and your high beams on.”

 

 

Many people resistant to change think that things will resume as usual. I don’t think it’s true! In Microwikinomics, author Don Tapscott states, “We are in the early days of a fundamental change and we need to reboot business and the world. To effect positive change and make it stick, be keenly aware of and curious about marketplace dynamics and trends so you can steer your thoughts, actions and learning in ways that are relevant and valuable.”

 

Talk to people inside and outside your industry for insights on trends, changes and how the marketplace is transitioning.  Ask how these changes might impact you, your team and your organization, and what you can do to stay in the driver’s seat. This may require learning a new skill, understanding a new process, or being open to a new innovation.

 

It’s easy to find naysayers in times like these. The "sit and wait" folks will experience the harsh reality of the swiftly moving marketplace. A new innovation today could all but eliminate the need for their products and professions. Be alert. Be proactive. Transitions and changes send signs and signals before they launch, but we have to have our high-beams on to be able to see them and prepare for them.  

  

====================

Have you identified your passions, interests and strengths?

How do you use this knowledge to align yourself with desired jobs, projects, people and opportunities?

====================

Srcbookcover

Seeing Red Cars the book is available from popular retailers through our book website, seeingredcarsbook.com.

 

____________

 

Laura Goodrich

Innovator l Author l Expert Speaker

Radio l TV l Program Host

 

Internationally Recognized Expert in Workplace Dynamics and Change

Email: laura@onimpactproductions.com

Website: www.onimpactproductions.com

Business: 952-856-6071

Mobile: 952-240-1516

SKYPE: laura.goodrich

OOVOO: Laura Goodrich

 

Author: Seeing Red Cars: Driving Yourself, Your Team and Your Organization to a Positive Future is available at Amazon  http://amzn.to/aj0IUm or Barnes and Noble http://bit.ly/c5F1j7

Seeing Red Cars — Mindset to Win — Forbes Magazine

http://blogs.forbes.com/mindmakeover/2011/02/03/seeing-red-cars-mindset-to-win/

Program Host and Author: Seeing Red Cars

Film: www.seeingredcars.com

Book: www.seeingredcarsbook.com

FB: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Seeing-Red-Cars-with-Laura-Goodrich/179858525374208?v=wall

App: Seeing Red Cars “I Want Statement” iPhone/ iPad http://bit.ly/afWHOx

Seeing Red Cars Products: http://bit.ly/cB29Tq

 

Program Host and Author: Shifting Years: Leverage the Power of Generations

Film: www.shiftingyears.com

FB Shifting Years: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Shifting-Years-Leverage-The-Power-of-Generations/129830580411162

 

Radio Host: FutureWork http://www.blogtalkradio.com/laura-goodrich

TV Host and Producer: Life to the Max http://www.lifetothemax.tv/about.html

 

Laura Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Laura-Goodrich/164266833612423?v=wall

Twitter: http://twitter.com/lauragoodrich

Blog: http://lgoodrich.posterous.com/

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/lauragoodrich

Seeing Red Cars FB: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Seeing-Red-Cars-with-Laura-Goodrich/179858525374208?v=wall

Seeing Red Cars Book: Amazon ( http://amzn.to/aj0IUm ) or Barnes and Noble ( http://bit.ly/c5F1j7 .)

Shifting Years FB: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Shifting-Years-Leverage-The-Power-of-Generations/129830580411162?v=wall

Slideshare: http://www.slideshare.net/LauraGoodrich

Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/35914444@N07/

 

 

 

 

Four New Rules for 21st Century Leaders By Shawn Murphy

Each week I identify a blog or exchange that really catches my eye! 

It's early but,  I've already found my choice!

It's brought to you by a couple folks who's friendship and opinion I really appreciate!

The blog is hosted by @tedcoine! Be sure to read future posts.  I assure you, they'll be well worth your time. http://savvycapitalist.blogspot.com

This week Shawn Murphy @ is his guest blogger and did he ever deliver! 

Here is the post!  http://savvycapitalist.blogspot.com/2011/03/4-new-rules-for-21st-century-lead...

Laura Goodrich

Tuesday is guest blogger day, and today I have the honor of hosting Shawn Murphy.  

Shawn is the founder and President of Achieved Strategies. Achieved Strategies is a organizational change and transformation firm that helps organizations weave together people, technology, and process and business to achieve results. Shawn is an unabashed supporter of the belief that "the business of business is people." He blogs weekly at www.achievedstrategies.com/blog. He also tweets at@shawmu. You can also contact Shawn at info@achievedstrategies or calling 888.361.5181.


Shawnmurphy

 

 

 

Ted Coiné is a kindred spirit. We both are impassioned by the opportunity to spread the beliefs, words, and behaviors of 21st Century leaders. We see a shift away from arrogant, self-indulgent, controlling, and self-centered leaders driving businesses. Yes these leaders exist today in major corporations, in politics, in small businesses, and in our community. Slowly, however, these leaders will become irrelevant as humanity is added back into how organizations partner with employees, and emerging community-focused and driven companies become more the norm.

The 21st Century Leaders are learning from the power of social technology and the way it unites people. They are observing, taking note on what NOT to do when the company finds itself in a PR nightmare. They are learning to speak the truth when called to do so, take the resulting lumps, and move forward. These are but a few of the influences on Generation Y current and future-leaders, Gen X and even Boomer leaders.

People are more connected than ever before. They want to be heard. They want to make a difference. This is a powerful influence on leadership. The observant leader will find new ways to invite people to make a difference. In the context of business, 21st Century Leaders know how to invite people to contribute at work.

Inviting employees to contribute in the changed workplace will need a new set of “rules.” The header on Ted’s blog states, “Welcome to the new rule book.” Here are some new rules to put in your rulebook.

Transparent intentions. We’ve grown disgusted by CEOs, other executives, and politicians’ inability to speak the truth. From infidelity to corruption, we all want to hear the scandalized speak the truth, to fess up to and own their mistakes. We want to see what they’ve learned. Until then, we’re skeptical of their intentions, of their words.

For 21st Century Leaders, they know to “own” the outcomes of their decisions. And they speak openly, in public with their people, about difficult decisions and about their potential impacts. People can handle the truth. It’s time to start talking about how company’s can move forward from the tough decisions made over the past three years.

Embrace the virtual workplace. With the cloud growing in importance, and mobile technology abundantly available, leaders will allow work to occur anywhere. Why not allow people to work wherever and whenever. Employee isn’t the only role people fill in their life. Work and personal life will be better integrated to bring greater satisfaction in both worlds. It means quality and efficiencies are to be gained. The 21st Century Leader embraces the virtual workplace because successes aren’t achieved between 9-5.

Employees are first. The axiom “customers are always right” is turned on its head by leaders of the 21st Century. It’s about employees first. They get that when employees are heard, encouraged to “leave their fingerprint” on the organization’s offerings, and invited to transform the company, customers are taken care of. It’s an outcome of focusing on employees. There’s no relevance for the old saying about customers coming first. It’s a moot point. Why does this work? It’s because there is a clear purpose and meaning in the work.

Create meaning at work. It’s human nature to want to make a difference. Leaders understand that human need and find ways to maximize it. 21st Century Leaders mobilize their people to invent/improve better services and products. They encourage cross-collaboration across the organization. They allow employees to interact with customers to improve the company’s products and services. This new’ish leadership approach weaves the company’s values, mission, and vision in interactions with others. This type of leader wants to help employees succeed. When meaning is present at work, conversations about profitability become easier. Why? Because employees see how what they do impacts the success of the company.

These four rules are merely the tip of the iceberg for 21st Century leaders. The social, technical, economical, and political changes are in hyper-drive and changing how people relate to one another. And since leadership is about relating and helping people, your style of leadership must, too, change. Inspired leadership is influenced by the surrounding environment. It cannot exist in a vacuum. Today and future leaders see how their leadership and the environment are interconnected, evolving together. This is the 21st Century Leader

Shawn Murphy

Laurabookcar

Laura Goodrich

Innovator l Filmmaker l Author l Expert Speaker
Radio l TV l Program Host

Internationally Recognized Expert in Workplace Dynamics and Change

Email: laura@onimpactproductions.com
Website: www.onimpactproductions.com
Business: 952-856-6071
SKYPE: laura.goodrich
OOVOO: Laura Goodrich

Author: Seeing Red Cars: Driving Yourself, Your Team and Your Organization to a Positive Future is available for pre-sale! Amazon http://amzn.to/aj0IUm or Barnes and Noble  http://bit.ly/c5F1j7
Seeing Red Cars — Mindset to Win – Forbes Magazine
http://blogs.forbes.com/mindmakeover/2011/02/03/seeing-red-cars-mindset-to-win/
Seeing Red Cars Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/SeeingRedCars

Program Host and Author: Seeing Red Cars
Film: www.seeingredcars.com
Book: www.seeingredcarsbook.com
FB: http://www.facebook.com/SeeingRedCars
App: Seeing Red Cars “I Want Statement” iPhone/ Ipad http://bit.ly/afWHOx
Seeing Red Cars Products: http://bit.ly/cB29Tq
 
Program Host and Author: Shifting Years: Leverage the Power of Generations
Film: www.shiftingyears.com
FB Shifting Years: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Shifting-Years-Leverage-The-Power-of-Generations/129830580411162
 
Radio Host:FutureWork http://www.blogtalkradio.com/laura-goodrich
TV Host and Producer: Life to the Max
http://www.lifetothemax.tv/about.html

Laura Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/LauraGoodrichOnImpact
Twitter: http://twitter.com/lauragoodrich
Blog: http://lgoodrich.posterous.com/
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/lauragoodrich
Seeing Red Cars FB: http://www.facebook.com/SeeingRedCars
Seeing Red Cars Book Amazon http://amzn.to/aj0IUm  and Barnes and Noble  http://bit.ly/c5F1j7
Shifting Years FB: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Shifting-Years-Leverage-The-Power-of-Generation...
Slideshare: http://www.slideshare.net/LauraGoodrich
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/35914444@N07/

Seeing Red Cars: Blogger sees only focus on wants; book delves much deeper

Src_header

Seeing Red Cars also addresses fear avoidance, social conditioning, rapid change, and much more

Finally!  A workforce blogger did a quick scan of my new book and said: “I didn’t find anything new or original in it. The concept of focusing your mind on what you want is thousands of years old.”

I LOVE having the opportunity to point out WHY my message is different. Here’s what I told him:

I agree! The idea of positive focus has been around forever. What has NOT been discussed as thoroughly is the unconscious—and often more powerful—focus on what we fear and are trying to avoid. It takes acute and intentional awareness of both of these forces, consistently and over extended periods, to effect meaningful behavior change. To truly accomplish the positive outcomes we desire, we must practice vigilance and perseverance.

 

And this is just the beginning.  Adding to the difficulty of retaining our positive focus are additional powerful factors, such as:

  • Our social conditioning—the way we were raised—teaches us to fear such things as horrible bosses, rejection, or looking stupid. These unconscious thoughts create circumstances that are not conducive to accomplishing our bigger picture objectives.
  • Our world of rapid change and technological advancements further exacerbate feelings of uncertainty: Will I lose my job? Does what I think matter? Why can’t I get ahead?

What changes the game is the understanding—and leveraging—of these forces. In Seeing Red Cars the book I address the brain research that helps us understand how our inner systems work. Once we understand, we can work on plans to move ourselves in positive directions.

Seeing Red Cars offers the framework and a toolkit to chart a course toward your personal and professional “I wants.” I welcome you to take the journey!

Thank you, Mr. workforce blogger, for asking the question. Please let me know if you have others.

====================

When does your mind tend to drift off and think about fears?

What can you do to “catch yourself” and instead focus on the positive outcomes you want?

====================

 

Srcbookcover

Seeing Red Cars the book is available from popular retailers through our book website, seeingredcarsbook.com.

____________

Laura Goodrich

Innovator l Author l Expert Speaker

Radio l TV l Program Host

Internationally Recognized Expert in Workplace Dynamics and Change

Email: laura@onimpactproductions.com

Website: www.onimpactproductions.com

Business: 952-856-6071

Mobile: 952-240-1516

SKYPE: laura.goodrich

OOVOO: Laura Goodrich

Author: Seeing Red Cars: Driving Yourself, Your Team and Your Organization to a Positive Future is available at Amazon  http://amzn.to/aj0IUm or Barnes and Noble http://bit.ly/c5F1j7

Seeing Red Cars — Mindset to Win — Forbes Magazine

http://blogs.forbes.com/mindmakeover/2011/02/03/seeing-red-cars-mindset-to-win/

 

Program Host and Author: Seeing Red Cars

Film: www.seeingredcars.com

Book: www.seeingredcarsbook.com

FB: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Seeing-Red-Cars-with-Laura-Goodrich/179858525374208?v=wall

App: Seeing Red Cars “I Want Statement” iPhone/ iPad http://bit.ly/afWHOx

Seeing Red Cars Products: http://bit.ly/cB29Tq

 

Program Host and Author: Shifting Years: Leverage the Power of Generations

Film: www.shiftingyears.com

FB Shifting Years: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Shifting-Years-Leverage-The-Power-of-Generations/129830580411162

Radio Host: FutureWork http://www.blogtalkradio.com/laura-goodrich

TV Host and Producer: Life to the Max http://www.lifetothemax.tv/about.html

Laura Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Laura-Goodrich/164266833612423?v=wall

Twitter: http://twitter.com/lauragoodrich

Blog: http://lgoodrich.posterous.com/

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/lauragoodrich

Seeing Red Cars FB: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Seeing-Red-Cars-with-Laura-Goodrich/179858525374208?v=wall

Seeing Red Cars Book: Amazon ( http://amzn.to/aj0IUm ) or Barnes and Noble ( http://bit.ly/c5F1j7 .)

Shifting Years FB: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Shifting-Years-Leverage-The-Power-of-Generations/129830580411162?v=wall

Slideshare: http://www.slideshare.net/LauraGoodrich

Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/35914444@N07/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

About

Laura is an innovator l video Producer l author l host and speaker specializing in change and the future of work and life! She is passionate about helping people, teams and organizations navigate these wild roads of change! Her book and film Seeing Red Cars – Driving Yourself, Your Team and Your Organization to a Positive Future – are described as transformational, relevant and timely. Recently named honorable mention in the business category at the San Francisco book festival. It’s ranked #2 on Amazon in Business/Work Life Balance. Her short video “Positive Future” received 1st place in Training Magazine’s video competition in 2011 http://ow.ly/5zaxa Her film Shifting Years – received 2nd place in Training Magazine’s video competition in 2011 Is change in your future? Her new Embracing Change video is set to release soon! Get them talking.

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