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Reflections on TED: Should Workers Have More Choice?

admin — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 19:31:54 +0000

Re: The TED lecture from Sheena Lyengar on Choosing

In Sheena Lyengar's lecture on Choosing, she discusses the American culture of choice. While another favorite TED lecture – Malcolm Gladwell on Spaghetti Sauce – reinforces our desire (or is it a compulsion?) for choice. Lyengar's lecture contrasts America vs. other culture's perspective on choice, which is interesting. But the question within the question is: if choice is so important to us, and having a choice even can significantly increase our efficiency and accomplishment, then how can we use this information to improve our workplace productivity?

Lyengar discusses a study where a group of children were given a project to work on. Some were told which activity to do, and some were given a choice in which activity to work on and how they could perform it. The result? Although they all performed the same activity, the American children performed 2 1/2 times better when empowered with choice. But, to quote Ms. Lyengar, "If the task was dictated to them by another, their performance suffered."

So,again, the question: what would happen to American productivity if people had more of a choice in what jobs they do and how they do them?

Recently, when I was on a panel of "Innovation Experts" a member of the audience asked if the people who come up with the ideas for a project should be the ones who work on the project, or if it should be delegated to the people who normally fill the jobs. While one of my fellow panelists said the latter, more traditional approach, I strongly disagreed. The question I asked:

Where is the Ownership?

If employees don't have a chance to choose the projects they work on – and, especially if they can't work on their own ideas, companies are significantly reducing their efficiency and effectiveness.

Choice is a critical component of Ownership.

Ownership is crucial.
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Ownership enhances employee engagement.
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Ownership improves retention.
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Ownership increases productivity.

How would you rate your company on choice, ownership and productivity? What improvements could you make? Please share your thoughts below.

DrawSuccess, when implemented effectively, is a key influencer or Ownership. Now only do teams get an opportunity to generate their ideas and solutions, the process itself, being a "bottom-up" approach vs. the traditional, yet oppressive top-down management style, empowers employees to significantly higher levels of engagement.

All this from a Game?

You won't believe it until you try it. To learn more about DrawSuccess, Contact Us.

Gross Employee Happiness?

admin — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 00:25:34 +0000

The King of the country of Bhutan decided, in 1999, to measure "Gross National Happiness," considering happiness a more important measurement than Gross National Product.

Makes you wonder – what would happen if companies measured "Gross Employee Happiness?"

The Bhutan 72-page survey is interesting (download below), including the following questions:

What are the six or seven things that you consider to be most important in leading to a happy and contented life?
How much do you enjoy life?
How often is each of the following kinds of support available to you when you need it? – Someone to help you when you are sick – Someone to help you when you have problems (decision making, financial, emotional, etc.)
What are your main sources of stress?
Do you consider Karma in the course of your daily life?
What types of songs do you usually listen to most?
How would you describe your sense of belonging to your local community?
How much do you trust Bhutanese people in general?
We would like to know how you spent your time yesterday. Beginning with when you woke up, can you please recount various activities you performed and how long they took? How did you feel doing this activity?

1=impatient for it to end
2=happy
3=frustrated/annoyed
4=depressed
5=competent/capable
6=hassled/pushed around
7=warm/friendly
8=angry/hostile
9=worried/anxious
10=Enjoying myself
11=tired

At DrawSuccess, our mission is to "Change the world in a fun and profitable way." We believe that all of these elements are necessary – change – the world – fun – profitable.

Change – positive change of course!
The World – indicates global reach and the desire to impact as many people as possible
Fun – certainly an important component of happines
Profitable – not only does profit indicate monetary reward but profit is also defined as "advantage; benefit; gain." And it's vital to quantify!

What do you think? Any suggestions? Please provide your comments below.

Vol.7.A3: Your Answer: Green Genius!

admin — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 18:12:11 +0000

The answers below indicate the Inner Genius Styles for this question.*

If you were to get a new supervisor, what would you *suggest they not* do?**
Please don’t overwhelm me with too many issues or details.	RED
Please don’t take advantage of my tendency to take on extra duties.	GOLD
Please don’t be too critical or judgmental of me – or others.	BLUE
Please don’t try to control me.	GREEN

Your answer was GREEN: "Please don't try to control me."

Green Geniuses can't stand being controlled. They prefer to be given a challenge and figure out the solution themselves. If you supervise a Green Genius, it's important to recognize their approach to solving problems and accomplishing tasks. If you try to control or micromanage them, watch out! Either they'll challenge you, do it their own way anyway or get frustrated and burned out.

*For a complete profile, more questions must be explored. For more information, Contact Us.

Some questions to ask yourself:

If you're a Green Genius, what are some situations where someone tried to control you? How did you respond?
Conversely, what are some experiences where you had an ideal supervisor, one who understood and leveraged your strengths?
What is the Inner Genius Style of your manager? How could the differences potentially cause problems?

For more information about the Inner Genius Styles, click here.

For more information about being a GREEN GENIUS, click here.

Are you a Green Genius? Please share your related stories below.

Vol.7.A3: Your Answer: Red Genius!

admin — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 17:45:56 +0000

The answers below indicate the Inner Genius Styles for this question.*

If you were to get a new supervisor, what would you *suggest they not* do?**
Please don’t overwhelm me with too many issues or details.	RED
Please don’t take advantage of my tendency to take on extra duties.	GOLD
Please don’t be too critical or judgmental of me – or others.	BLUE
Please don’t try to control me.	GREEN

Your answer was RED:: "Please don’t overwhelm me with too many issues or details."

Red Geniuses simply aren't the detail people. You know the expression, "the devil's in the details?" Well, their interpretation of this adage is very different from it's intent. They consider detail work to BE the devil! If you supervise a Red Genius it's important to recognize this and, instead recognize and leverage their strengths (which are many!)

*For a complete profile, more questions must be explored. For more information, Contact Us.

Some questions to ask yourself:

If you're a Red Genius, what are some experiences where you were expected to manage details? How did it affect your energy?
What's a solution to help Red Geniuses in more isolated, detail-oriented jobs?
Conversely, what are some experiences where you had an ideal supervisor, one who understood and leveraged your strengths?
What is the Inner Genius Style of your manager? How could the differences potentially cause problems?

For more information about the Inner Genius Styles, click here.

For more information about being a RED GENIUS, click here.

Are you a Red Genius? Please share your answers and related stories below.

Vol.7.A3: Your Answer: Gold Genius!

admin — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 17:14:42 +0000

The answers below indicate the Inner Genius Styles for this question.*

If you were to get a new supervisor, *what would you suggest they not* do?**
Please don’t overwhelm me with too many issues or details.	RED
Please don’t take advantage of my tendency to take on extra duties.	GOLD
Please don’t be too critical or judgmental of me – or others.	BLUE
Please don’t try to control me.	GREEN

Your answer was GOLD: "Please don’t take advantage of my tendency to take on extra duties."

If you've been through the DrawSuccess program, you've participated in the "going to lunch" discussion. Remember the answers for the Gold Genius? They are the ones who would send out a notice with a map and menu, make a reservation, predetermine the tip and take care of all of the other details. From their eyes, doing things RIGHT is the only way to do them! However, if you supervise of a Gold Genius, you need to know what makes them tick. Be very, very specific about what you want – by when. Otherwise they can often go "beyond the call of duty" which can overwhelm both them and you.

*For a complete profile, more questions must be explored. For more information, Contact Us.

Some questions to ask yourself:

If you're a Gold Genius, what are some situations where you felt like someone took advantage of you?
Does your perfectionism sometimes get in the way? For many Gold Geniuses, they feel like "if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself." If that's the way you feel, NO WONDER people let you do all the work! Remember: sometimes good enough is good enough. Learn to delegate!
What is the Inner Genius Style of your manager? How can you coach him or her to help balance the workload and expectations?

For more information about the Inner Genius Styles, click here.

For more information about being a GOLD GENIUS, click here.

Vol.7.A3: Your Answer: Blue Genius!

admin — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 16:45:25 +0000

The answers below indicate the Inner Genius Styles for this question.*

If you were to get a new supervisor, what would you *suggest they not* do?**
Please don’t overwhelm me with too many issues or details.	RED
Please don’t take advantage of my tendency to take on extra duties.	GOLD
Please don’t be too critical or judgmental of me – or others.	BLUE
Please don’t try to control me.	GREEN

Your answer was BLUE: "Please don’t be too critical or judgmental of me – or others.."

Blue Geniuses recoil from conflict of any kind. They don't consider wars the solution, nor would they ever say that a warrior was "great." (That is, unless they're protecting their loved ones). Blue Geniuses seek the most peaceful solution – and situations.

*For a complete profile, more questions must be explored. For more information, Contact Us.

Some questions to ask yourself:

If you're a Blue Genius, what are some situations where someone's critical or judgmental nature affected you? How did you respond?
Conversely, what are some experiences where you had an ideal supervisor, one who modeled the behavior that you prefer?
What is the Inner Genius Style of your manager? How could the differences potentially cause problems?

For more information about being a BLUE GENIUS, click here.

Are you a Blue Genius? Please share your related stories below.

Please share your answers and related stories below.

Vol.6.S2: Your Answer: Red Genius!

admin — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 19:34:21 +0000

The answers below indicate the Inner Genius Styles for this question.*

Looking at the following list, select the movie quote that best fits each player:
“Houston, we have a problem.” (Apollo 13)	GOLD
“Do, or do not. There is no try.” (Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back)	GREEN
**“All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” (The Shining)**	RED
"Oh, great warrior, hmm? Wars not make one great." (Star Wars)	BLUE

Your answer was RED:: "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.."

If you know the movie (or book), "The Shining" you'll remember that too much isolation made Jack Nicholson go crazy! Red Geniuses need to have "social breaks" throughout the day. Don't expect them to sit at a desk (or silently in a meeting) without an outlet for interaction and even fun.

*For a complete profile, more questions must be explored. For more information, Contact Us.

Some questions to ask yourself:

If you're a Gold Genius, what are some experiences where you went a little crazy when isolated from others? How did you react?
What's a solution to help Red Geniuses in more isolated jobs?
How can you help the Red Geniuses on your team get an outlet for their gregarious nature?

For more information about the Inner Genius Styles, click here.

For more information about being a RED GENIUS, click here.

Are you a Red Genius? Please share your answers and related stories below.

Survey: Is DrawSuccess for You?

admin — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 19:03:14 +0000

If you checked one or more of the above, DrawSuccess is for you! Contact Us.

Welcome

admin — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 12:25:11 +0000

Welcome to DrawSuccess!

DrawSuccess provides Leadership Training, Team Development and Organizational Transformation Programs which are highly interactive, experiential and transformative and proven to deliver measurable, sustainable results.

In Latin "to educate" means "to draw out." In the same way, DrawSuccess Training Programs use a unique, experiential learning process designed to "draw success" from every employee in your organization.

Fun & Games Vol.5.H2

admin — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 08:01:06 +0000

Each week we'll have something fun to explore, learn and share more about DrawSuccess and the Inner Genius Styles, including:

Prizes for the best Comments posted on our blogs
Contests for New DrawSuccess Question Ideas, and
Fun questions to share with your colleagues, family and friends!

This week: A Circle Question from the DrawSuccess Game!

Contest: Answer the question below and submit your answers in the comments section below.

Bonus Questions:

How has achieving these accomplishments changed your life?
In what ways does your Inner Genius Style influence your desire to achieve?

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