August 2007

Yo Peggy!

Ever since I've known Peggy O'Neill (since the late 1970's) she's been something of a celebrity. She's always been a vortex of energy and the center of attention wherever she goes. People love being around her.

Simply put, Peggy has always stood out in the crowd. Which, in a way, is really kind of surprising. For one small reason.

Peggy O'Neill is only 3 feet, 8 inches tall.

And tall she is. Call her "little person" if you want--after all, that is the politically correct term nowadays. But it's a misnomer. There's just nothing little about her.

In her usual generous manner, she's taken her unique perspective on life and turned it into a lesson for all of us through her skill as a talented keynote speaker.

Last year, Peggy was the subject of a wonderful documentary by independent filmmaker, Danielle Lurie, for the Elevate Film Festival. With Peggy's permission, I've posted it here (linked to Google Video).

Please enjoy, Walking Tall. Ladies and gentlemen...Peggy O'Neill:

Posted by steve at 08.27.2007 | Comments (3)

GTY Mashup Part 3: Replicate Yourself

Here's the last reader-written-Farber-edited installment of the Greater Than Yourself discussion. (You may want to review Part 1 and Part 2). Thanks again to all who contributed--you've been immensely helpful in my writing and thought process...

Replicate Yourself:

Leave behind lessons you learned from those who taught you, and add your flair. Acknowledge that what you do every day effects others, so make your actions positive to keep the world turning in the right direction.

Teach Others to Teach Others to Fish, but first learn how people learn to fish. Change The World by changing yourself.

Too often people don’t want to learn to fish because it is so much easier to ask for the fish. How do I do this or how do I do that? These are questions we need to ask ourselves, not others. We live in a time that all these questions can be answered by going to Google and typing in what it is you want to know. So stop asking others. Make the time to answer the questions yourself.

Giving to others for their benefit can also be an impartation of the lifestyle I have chosen. They can learn in such a way that it helps them, and also helps them do the same for many others.

I teach what I most need to learn, so as I teach others to teach others to fish, it starts with what I BE. This is most effective, I think, when we are authentic with the BEING part, otherwise it could feel like manipulation, especially from the follower perspective (the teachee).

As we all learn together, we expand our total awareness, and the teachers as well as the students shift and grow and learn. When we can inspire others instead of motivate them (I love Lance Secretan’s distinction, and it fits with what I’m learning from A Course in Miracles: motivation is more fear-based and inspiration is more love-based), we all expand in our consciousness and awareness and impact.

Knowledge is not power -- it's a commodity. It's how that knowledge is shared that gives it power. The best way to keep people down is by keeping them in the dark. Sharing knowledge shares your power.

Teach others the way of your happiness to gain absolute happiness for yourself. If you are truly happy with yourself then others will want to know why you are so happy. It is the happiness that you give to others that makes you so happy.

Sure, replicate yourself, but you also need to be constantly learning and finding those people – or parts of them – that you want to replicate IN yourself. I don’t know if that’s what you mean, but this sounds very “I know it, you don’t, and I have to teach you” to me. Isn’t it really bidirectional?

We’ve all been taught that it’s better to teach someone something than to do it for them – but who’s teaching the teachers! This is a real commitment to giving back and understanding that the job is so big and diverse that there will always be a need for more teachers. If you truly believe what you say and want to impact the world you need a bigger multiplier than just teaching others to do – you MUST teach them to teach.

Don’t tell me how, teach me how; subtle, maybe, but a HUGE difference. But educating others to educate is maybe the bigger goal. Making sure others understand the value is critical. I feel you do that through example/educating freely – people who get those educations are typically more likely to give them. The one obstacle in the corporate world is the power of knowledge and the greed associated with knowing something others don’t. So from a success standpoint, breaking that barrier is the key.

When you teach, teach with purpose to change the world around you.

Posted by steve at 08.22.2007 | Comments (0)

Now There's a Sales Pitch

Kevin Eikenberry's new book, Remarkable Leadership, launches today. Looks like he's engaged a salesperson who'll be sharing in the royalty revenue for the rest of her life:

Posted by steve at 08.22.2007 | Comments (1)

Pat's New Masterpiece

I first met Pat Lencioni in 1994 shortly after I'd joined the Tom Peters Company. He was, at the time, vice president of organizational development at Sybase, and he'd hired us to help facilitate a leadership development program that he and his team had put together for Sybase managers from around the world.

One day, after watching me do my thing in front of a group, Pat came up to me and said, "Someday, I want to do what you do."

I can't tell you how many times I've heard that over the years. A lot of people want to do what I do (it's a freakin' great job), and I'm sure that many have a helluva lot more talent than I--but few actually take the leap.

But Pat? Sheesh...talk about a leap. Right over my head and into the stratosphere.

He's a bona fide guru now--a management rock star, even--and deservedly so. He's authored a pile of brilliant bestsellers (If you haven't read Five Dysfunctions of a Team, for example, you have some serious catching up to do), and has become a perennial favorite on the elite speaker circuit.

Not only is Pat Lencioni a brilliant thinker and creative genius, he is simply one of the nicest, most authentic people I've ever met, and his team at his consulting company, The Table Group, (many of whom came with him from the old Sybase days) are all cut from the same fine cloth.

Pat's new book, The Three Signs of a Miserable Job was just released, and he's done it again.

In his own words:

"My passion around this topic is central to my firm’s mission, 'to make people more fulfilled in their work.' We hope that in some small way, this book can start a mini-revolution of managers who want to empower and encourage job satisfaction with their people. Given how many hours people spend at work and the reports that cite misery is on the rise, this unspoken national problem needs to be addressed. The solutions offered in The Three Signs of a Miserable Job are simple, effective and free to implement." (Curious what the Three Signs are? He explains them in this short video).

Another great book, Pat! (Insert sound of freakish leaping here).

Go to Barnes and Noble (or wherever) and buy it, then send Pat an email, and he'll put you in a drawing to win a copy of The Three Signs of a Miserable Job – A Video Presentation and Companion Guide($495 value), the Comprehensive Five Dysfunctions of a Team Kit ($1,200 value), or a ticket for HSM’s Lencioni two-day event called Building Winning Teams ($4,000 value).

And if you don't win? Not to worry.

The book is prize enough.

Posted by steve at 08.16.2007 | Comments (2)