Category Archives: BookNotes

Think Like a Director

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Pixar is obsessed with only one quality measurement for every film:

It begins and ends around the story.

Bill Capodagli and Lynn Jackson, writing in Innovate the Pixar Way, want leaders to think of their team or organization as if they were the director of a Broadway play. It’s time to sit in the director’s chair and visualize the major pieces of the production and direction of the play – the story, setting, roles, and backstage processes.

Begin with the Story

What’s your dream? What story are you trying to tell? It doesn’t matter if you are creating the next Pixar animated feature film, designing a new appliance, opening a new store, or planning a new ministry to reach people – you have to bring your vision, your story, your dream to life in an exciting and exhilarating way. Craft your story in a way that will ignite the creative energies of your team and mage magical, dream-come-true moments for your “customers.”

Instead of “meeting customer expectations,” start fulfilling their dreams. Craft the experience in terms of:

  • 3-dimensional Technicolor images
  • Dreams fulfilled
  • Magical moments
  • Doing the impossible
  • Story, plot, theme
  • Unique, memorable, and engaging
  • Passionate belief in values

Build the Set

If you were a director, you would have a set designer whose job it is to make sure the visual journey of the audience complements the overall story. Like Walt Disney, Pixar chief creative officer John Lasseter is fanatical about details:

Every detail has to be thought out, designed, modeled, shaded, placed, and lit…It takes four years to make one of these films and there are no excuses after the movie’s done – it’s going to be that way forever.

The “virtual set” in your organization is immense and includes everything from the parking lot, buildings, and program to the website, graphic displays, and language used. The setting is part of the creative experience – don’t overlook or shortchange it.

Recruit the Cast

As the director of a play or movie you would search the acting community to identify and cast the perfect actor for each role, selecting someone who will make the role come to life, someone who is dynamic, exciting, exuberant, interesting, and believable. Why is it that in the organizational world we tend to look for the candidates who have the best pedigrees, not for the ones who are interesting or diverse or have ideas that might be considered eccentric?

Colorful, unique, memorable, magical moments will seldom be created by boring, myopic, unimaginable people.

Design the Backstage Processes

Imagine it is opening night of your Broadway play. You have an engaging, heartfelt, emotional story. You have an award-winning set designer and have assembled an ensemble of some of the best actors in the industry. You have rehearsed and rehearsed. Fantastic reviews will be forthcoming – or will they?

What if duplicate tickets were sold, the curtain gets stuck halfway up, and the main stage lighting goes out during Act 3? What could have been a colossal hit might struggle to stay open.

Getting your “backstage” support and “onstage” show to all work and play well together can be just as important to the success of your organization as unleashing the creative energies within each department.

Remove the barriers between “backstage” processes and the “onstage” show, and watch the magic happen.

Is it time to stop cutting and pasting your old and frankly boring service and think like a director?

Tomorrow: A New Way to Play “Follow the Leader”

Where Did the Creativity Go?

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Consider the talents of the following two groups who were asked these three questions:

  • How many of you are good singers?
  • How many of you are good dancers?
  • How many of you are good artists?

About 2 percent of the first group responded positively to each of these three questions. That’s a typical response of most business teams. But it’s possible to find a second group in almost any community who would give nearly 100 percent positive responses. Surprised?

Ask any group of first graders these three questions, and the children will respond with an enthusiastic “Yes!” to each one.

All children are creative – they’re born that way!

What happened to the creative gene that was so alive in our childhoods?

Authors and consultants Bill Capodagli and Lynn Jackson have answered that question in their book Innovate the Pixar Way. Subtitled “Business lessons from the world’s most creative corporate playground,” the book details how Pixar provides a working environment that encourages imagination, inventiveness, and joyful collaboration.

The book asks, and then answers, these questions:

  • How do you build an organization that embraces change and delivers an innovative, high-quality service or product?
  • How do you establish a culture of creativity in which the talents and abilities of all are nurtured and honed with great care?
  • How do you unleash the creative genius within your team and still meet budgets and deadlines?
  • How do you establish an environment that awakens dreams?

Going behind the screen at Pixar, Capodagli and Jackson answer these questions and more. Here’s a sample:

Pixar goes to great lengths to hire people who are interested in working together as a network in solving problems, building and supporting each other. Four common proficiencies are vital to making art a team sport.

  • Depth – demonstrating mastery in a subject or a principal skill such as drawing or programming; having the discipline to chase dreams all the way to the finish line
  • Breadth – possessing a vast array of experiences and interests; having the ability to explore insights from many different perspectives; being able to effectively generate new ideas by collaborating with an entire team
  • Communication – focusing on the receiver; receiving feedback to ascertain whether the message sent was truly understood; only the listener can say, “I understand”
  • Collaboration – bringing together the skills, ideas, and personality styles of an entire team to achieve a shared vision; fostering collective creativity and keeping the vibe and energy in the room upbeat and alive

Wouldn’t you want to work on a team in an environment like that?

Maybe the better question is,  Wouldn’t you want to lead your team in an environment like that?

Tomorrow: How to Think Like a Director

Other Posts You Might Be Interested In:

The Creative Process at Pixar

The Secret of Disney World

My Top Ten Takeaways From Disney World

The Disney Job Description

How to Make Your Influence “Stickier”

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Want to make your written communications more likely to be read?

Use a sticky note.

Social scientist Randy Garner ran an intriguing study in which he sent out surveys to people with a request to complete them. The survey was accompanied by either (a) a handwritten sticky note requesting completion of the survey, which was attached to a cover letter; (b) a similar handwritten message on the cover letter; or (c) the cover letter and survey alone.

That little yellow square packed quite a persuasive punch: more than 75 percent of the people who received the survey with the sticky note request filled it out and returned it, whereas only 48 percent of the second group and 36 percent of the third group did so.

Garner suggests that people recognize the extra effort and personal touch that this requires, and that they feel the need to reciprocate this personal touch by agreeing to the request. Reciprocity is the social glue that helps bring and keep people together in cooperative relationships – and you can bet that it’s a stronger adhesive than the kind on the back of a sticky note.

An ounce of personalized extra effort is worth a pound of persuasion.

The above information came from a great book entitled “Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to be Persuasive.” Authors Robert Cialdini, Noah Goldstein, and Steve Martin reveal simple but remarkably effective strategies that will make you much more persuasive at work and in your personal life.

This week I have been looking at some of my favorite examples of persuasion from the book in preparation for a major presentation this fall entitled “Selling Change.” You can see the other posts here, here, and here.

Using a Trimeth Lab to Boost Your Influence

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The chemical and pharmaceutical industries have given us drugs for everything under the sun. You might be surprised to learn, however, that there’s a drug that could make you more persuadable if you take it and make you more persuasive if you give it to others. Perhaps even more shocking is the fact that this drug is now widely available through “trimeth labs” that are popping up in neighborhoods everywhere.

Before we explore that trimeth lab, a quick explanation: I’m wrapping up a series of posts from a great book entitled “Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to be Persuasive” by Robert Cialdini, Noah Goldstein, and Steve Martin. The information above (and expanded below) is a sample of simple but remarkably effective strategies that will make you much more persuasive at work and in your personal life.

Now – back to that trimeth lab.

The drug, known in the chemistry community as 1, 3, 7-trimethylxanthin, is more commonly known as caffeine, and these “trimeth labs” are more commonly known as coffee shops. Be it Starbucks, McCafe, or your local favorite coffee-house, the beverage you get there is a potential tool of influence and persuasion. We all know that caffeine can make us feel more alert, but can it make us more persuasive?

To test coffee’s persuasive prowess, scientist Pearl Martin and her colleagues first asked all of their participants to drink a product resembling orange juice. Half of the research subjects had their drink spiked with caffeine – the approximate amount that you might find in two cups of espresso.

Shortly after drinking the juice, all participants read a series of messages containing very good arguments advocating a certain position on a controversial issue. Those who had consumed the caffeinated beverage before reading those arguments were 35 percent more favorably disposed toward that position than were those who drank the plain juice.

The researchers also tested the effect of caffeine when participants read messages containing weak arguments. The results showed that caffeine has little persuasive power under these circumstances.

Given a choice, the studies suggest that you should make presentations when people are most alert – shortly after they’ve had their morning coffee fix, and never right after lunch. If you can’t choose the time of day, having coffee or caffeinated tea or other drinks on hand should make your audience more receptive to your message. Be aware that it usually takes about forty minutes for the full effect of caffeine to kick in, so time your presentation well!

Remember, the research suggests that this strategy is effective only if your arguments are genuine, thoughtful, and well-reasoned. So pour yourself a cup of coffee and write, edit, and rewrite your next presentation till it is absolutely on point.

Then break out the coffee for your audience.

If you have enjoyed this post as an example of increasing your persuasion, check out the others in the series from Monday and Tuesday. I highly recommend the book as well. The stories and examples contained show that persuasion is not just an art, but has many elements of science to it as well.

Jumping on the Bandwagon

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When you are leading out in new directions, and want to get group buy-in, there’s nothing like using the momentum of the bandwagon.

But remember: the person who asks others to “jump on” is critical.

In a wide-ranging study based on hotel guests buying in to the reusing of towels for more than one night, social scientists were able to increase the frequency of reuse by several different methods. In addition to the standard environmental protection appeal and the social proof appeal (guests in our hotel reused towels x% of the time), the study went one step further.

Using data collected from the housekeeping staff, some guests saw a simple sign informing them that the majority of people who had previously stayed in their particular room participated in the towel reuse program at some point in their stay.

Guests who learned that the majority of the prior occupants of their particular room had participated were even more likely to reuse their towels than guests who learned the norms of the hotel in general. Compared to the standard environmental appeal, there was a 33 percent increase in the likelihood of participation.

It’s usually beneficial for us to follow the behavioral norms associated with the particular environment, situation or circumstances that most closely match our own. The results of this experiment suggest that the more similar the person giving the testimonial is to the target audience, the more persuasive the message becomes.

Here’s the application: say you’re trying to persuade your team to willingly embrace a new system. You should ask for a positive testimonial from others within your group who have already agreed to make the switch. But what if you’ve got a really stubborn team member, maybe one who has the most invested in the old way? Don’t make the mistake of choosing the most eloquent team member to try to convince the holdout. Instead, look for someone to solicit the opinions of another coworker who most closely matches the situations and circumstances of the holdout – even if that particular person happens to be less articulate or popular.

It’s all about understanding the circumstances of those who are most comparable to your target audience.

The above information came from a great book entitled “Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to be Persuasive.” Authors Robert Cialdini, Noah Goldstein, and Steve Martin reveal simple but remarkably effective strategies that will make you much more persuasive at work and in your personal life.

As I prepare for a major presentation this fall, I will be looking at some of my favorite examples of persuasion from the book; here is yesterday’s post.

When Asking a Little Goes a Long Way

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Thinking big by going small is a powerful concept.

Consider the following scenario: you are asking colleagues to support a favorite charity of yours. Even though many would genuinely like to support the charity in some way they say no because they can’t afford to donate very much and they assume the small amount they can afford won’t do very much to help the cause.

Researchers put this hypothesis to the test, going door to door to ask for contributions to the American Cancer Society. After introducing themselves, they asked the residents, “Would you be willing to help by giving a donation?” For half of the residents, the request ended there. For the other half, however, the research assistants added, “Even a penny will help.”

Analysis of the results found that a penny’s worth of ask was worth a pound of persuasive gold. People in the “even a penny will help” condition were almost twice as likely as those in the other condition to donate to the cause.

There are several applications for the “even a penny will help” approach:

  • To friends and members regarding participation in a community project, “Just an hour of your time would really help.”
  • To a colleague whose handwriting is illegible, “Just a little more clarity would help.”
  • To a busy prospective client whose needs must be more fully understood “Even a brief phone call would help.”

The chances are that this little step in your direction won’t prove so little after all.

The above information came from a great book entitled “Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to be Persuasive.” Authors Robert Cialdini, Noah Goldstein, and Steve Martin reveal simple but remarkably effective strategies that will make you much more persuasive at work and in your personal life.

I’m working on a major presentation this fall entitled “Strategic Persuasion,” and this book has been a great help in my research. Look for a few more gems over the next few days.

The Motivating Process

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All communication is selling. People buy on emotion and justify with fact.

– Bert Decker, You’ve Got to be Believed to be Heard

This week I’ve been recapping a section of Bert Decker’s great book on communication, “You’ve Got to Be Believed to Be Heard.” He has created the following chart that shows the path from information to influence.

The end result of the process displayed above (and described in blog posts here, here and here) is that your communication will move from information to influence. You will be able to more effectively persuade your listeners, not just by the power of your person, but by the power of your presentation as well.

As leaders, we often think that if we say words, people will get them. That is not necessarily true. They might get the words and our message if we are enthused and confident – but not if we’re nervous and we block our message by inappropriate behavioral habits.

In the matrix depicted above, your communications reach their maximum effectiveness when they are in the active and emotion quadrant. In Decker’s words, you have moved from merely providing information to a place where you are influencing the listener. You have created a climate for motivation.

John Maxwell has a famous definition of leadership: “Leadership is influence.”

If you believe that, then what are you doing today to make your communications move from information to influence?

The Involving Process, The Memorable Process

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Author and communication expert Bert Decker has developed a matrix that shows how to move your communications from information to influence. A previous post was about the educational process; today  a look at the next two quadrants of his matrix: the Involving Process and the Memorable Process.

The Involving Process

To move people from passive to active, there are many options. One of the most important is to convey our energy and enthusiasm, which resonates in the listener. It’s hard to be passive when someone is excited, but it’s easy when someone is uninteresting, low on energy, and monotonous.

There are several things you can do that deal more with content and process. You can ask questions, getting people to think. You can do interactive exercises, or take people through simulated exercise or though processes. How about fill-in-the-blanks in handouts? However you can, get people involved, and move them from passive to active by interacting with them.

The Memorable Process

Moving people from the intellectual to the emotional realm is more difficult. This idea is not about ignoring the intellectual or reasoning processes in the listener, but adding the emotional dimension to your content. This is not something that is taught to us, but it is a very powerful mindset that you can learn quickly and use continuously.

Emotional perspective comes from the energy of our behavior, of course, but it can also be applied in our content. We want to become memorable by using techniques and methods that get us out of the dry and didactic world of facts and figures. We want to use our creativity, to become storytellers and interesting visualizers, to move deeper into the world of ideation and metaphor.

Decker’s book is entitled “You’ve Got to Be Believed to Be Heard.” It’s a great resource for anyone who speaks before a group of people – from 5 to 500. My focus (which ends tomorrow) has only been on one section – From Information to Influence.  There are four other sections that will help you create, organize, and then deliver – powerfully – your message.

Tomorrow: The Motivating Result

The Educational Process

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Author and communicator Bert Decker developed a chart that illustrates the path from information to influence. In developing it, he starts with a typical four-quadrant diagram, and then expands it one further step, finally adding a diagonal path.

Step one of the path from information to influence starts with the educational process.

Starting in kindergarten and continuing through college into graduate school, we are mostly taught passively. Basically we sit in chairs and teachers lecture at us. They appeal to our intellect, our cognitive side.

That is our educational system, and it continues into business and into life. It is the world of information. It is on the Passive and Intellectual side of Decker’s chart, Create Your Experience.

Take a journey back to high school or college, and remember your favorite teacher. It probably wasn’t the teacher with the longest tenure, or who was most published, or who had the most degrees. It was probably the person who was the most excited about the subject – and that enthusiasm was contagious.

You caught it, and because of that they influenced you to “get” the information and knowledge.

The journey from information to influence has to start with the Educational Process, but there has to be movement: from passive to active, and from the intellectual to the emotional mental states.

Tomorrow: the Involving Process.

From Information to Influence

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Jack Ryan, the historian-CIA-politician hero from author Tom Clancy’s fiction writings of the 1990s is always good for a quote:

Next time Jack, write a #@$!! memo!

He muttered this to himself as he was being lowered in a raging storm from a helicopter to a submarine, on the way to averting WWIII. His research led to an astounding discovery, but it was his willingness in presenting the information first-hand that led to the quote above. It may make for good summertime reading and an action movie, but there is actually an instructive lesson in it for anyone who seeks to become a better communicator.

The written medium is a cognitive, linear, literal, and didactic process that’s great for transferring information.

Speaking is the medium of action and influence. In speaking, we create an experience where people get us and our message together – and the two are inseparable. In speaking, we use information to influence. The power is in the presentation.

The two previous paragraphs come from Bert Decker’s book “You’ve Got to Be Believed to Be Heard.” Whenever I’m working on major presentations I always find myself coming back for a refresher course.

This week I’ll be posting excerpts from this book along with observations for ChurchWorld.