Paper or Coin

Recently I heard a story on NPR about approximately one billions dollars of dollar coins that are in storage at the U.S. Mint.  There have been several attempts to convert Americans from using dollar bills, which have a relatively short lifespan, to dollar coins, which can remain in circulation for decades.  In 1979 the Susan B. Anthony coin (left) was produced.  The Sacagawea coin (center) has been minted since 2000 and the presidential coins (right) were created in 2005.

 

In 2005 Congress passed a bill that authorized a presidential line of dollars.  Beginning with George Washington, eventually all presidents will end up on coins.  An amendment to the legislation required that for every four presidential coins, one Sacagawea coin would be minted.  Each coin costs about thirty cents to produce.

The story was presented from the perspective of legislation gone wrong and how that has now resulted in an unnecessary cache of coins no one wants, but are still produced.  However, I think it is more interesting to think about this from the perspective of human factors design.  How can we get people to start using coins and stop using dollars?

When I visited Canada earlier in the month I discovered that the smallest denomination of paper money Canada uses is a five dollar bill.  Images of the "tooney" ($2) and "looney" ($1) coins are below.

Most men carry a wallet, an accessory designed perfectly, regardless of style or size, for transporting and storing credit cards and paper money.  Paper money is convenient.  One of my friends, while traveling, attended a professional baseball game.  When Chris purchased fare for the subway system, he used a $20 bill.  He received about $15 of change in dollar coins.  For the remainder of the evening Chris had to carry around a pocket full of heavy coins!

In my view, if the U.S. government truly wants Americans to stop using paper one dollar bills, it has to remove them from circulation.  As long as we have the choice between paper and coins, I believe that paper will win - at least that's what I prefer!

Thoughts from Niagara Falls

Yesterday I returned from a week-long trip to Toronto, Canada.  A highlight of the trip for me was a visit to Niagara Falls.  The falls themselves are located on the American side of the Niagara River, so the best view is from the Canadian side.  Before leaving the area, I visited one of the many gift shops in the area.

I purchased a book entitled, It Happened At Niagara, a collection of stories about 78 famous and infamous visitors to Niagara Falls.  These visitors ranged from Father Louis Hennepin, the first European to see the falls in 1678, to Abraham Lincoln, Marilyn Monroe and Princess Diana.

Charles Dickens, author of A Christmas Carol, visited Niagara Falls in 1842.  He was accompanied by his wife, Kate, and his maid, Anne.  Charles described his feelings:  "I never in my life was in such a state of excitement" and referred to the falls as a "tremendous spectacle" and a "peaceful eternity."  His maid, Anne, felt differently about their visit and summed it up this way:  "It's nothing but water and too much of that!"

My father used to say "Opinions are like belly buttons:  everyone has one and they're all different."  There are several variations of this simile, but this is a clean one! 

Remember that your positive outlook or view of a situation may be different than that of other people.  You might have just made the best presentation in your life and there may still be people who didn't connect with your message.  There will always be people who believe in you and those who don't.  Nurture relationships with those who support you.  For those who don't, identify what you can learn to improve yourself and your message ... and then move on. 

How to Win Friends & Influence People

In 1912, the same year the Titanic sank, a young teacher began offering courses in human relations and communications at the YMCA in New York City.  His approach was to teach and demonstrate everyday skills rather than formal speech tips that did not translate into the real world of communication.  Over time, Dale Carnegie revised and improved his curriculum.  A significant part of his content can be found in How to Win Friends and Influence People.  This is an essential book to read and reread many times.

The book is comprised of 30 principles organized into four sections:  Fundamental techniques for handling people, Six ways to make people like you, How to win people to your way of thinking, and Changing people effectively as a leader.  Each principle is illustrated with numerous stories, either experienced personally by Dale Carnegie or based on his extensive study of historical figures.  Though some stories are dated, the principles are timeless and will improve how you communicate with others.

The first nine principles are:

1. Don't criticize, condemn, or complain.
2. Give honest and sincere appreciation.
3. Arouse in the other person an eager want.
4. Become genuinely interested in other people.
5. Smile.
6. Remember that a person's name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language.
7. Be a good listener.
8. Talk in terms of the other person's interests.
9. Make the other person feel important - and do it sincerely.

You can download a free copy of Dale Carnegie's Secrets of Success booklet from DaleCarnegie.com.  This small booklet contains the principles from How to Win Friends and Influence People and How to Stop Worrying and Start Living.  A free iPhone app is also available at the iTunes store.

Lessons from Osama bin Laden, Part 2

On May 1, an elite military special operations unit stealthfully traveled from Afghanistan into Pakistan and landed in a compound where Al-Qaida terrorism chief Osama bin Laden was thought to be hiding.   Osama was there and was killed during the raid on his compound.  The political ramifications, conjecture, and facts will no doubt be discussed for years.  In my May 9 post, I shared Lessons, Part 1.

The special forces team was successful in large part because they built a replica of bin Laden's compound and practiced extensively for several months to maximize the chances of success. 

Most likely, national security is not at stake if you have less than stellar results from your next presentation or slip up on the delivery.  However, you can take the same steps to maximize your success. 

Take the time to determine the purpose for your presentation, plan your key points and sub-points, and how you will illustrate these with visuals and relevant stories. 

Once you've designed your presentation, practice it.  You should not have it so scripted that it sounds like you are reading, but you should be familiar with the content so that your audience can recognize your ownership of the content.  Rather than rehearsing in front of the mirror, practice in front of supportive friends and family.  You can also share parts of the presentation as part of conversations during the day.

Lessons from Osama bin Laden, Part 1

On May 1, an elite military special operations unit stealthfully traveled from Afghanistan into Pakistan and landed in a compound where Al-Qaida terrorism chief Osama bin Laden was thought to be hiding.   Osama was there and was killed during the raid on his compound.  The political ramifications, conjecture, and facts will no doubt be discussed for years.

The duration of time that the soldiers were in the compound (from when they landed to when they departed) was only forty minutes.  Forty minutes!  How long was your last staff meeting?

Many large organizations with a multi-use conference room schedule the room in one-hour blocks.  In my experience, I have found that most meetings tend to stretch out to the time allotted.  If you plan for a two hours for a meeting, there is a great likelihood it will last that long.

In the book Quiet Leadership author David Rock challenges readers to decrease the meeting time to one-fourth of the regular allotted time.  For example, an hour meeting would be conducted in 15 minutes.  How could this be possible?  I believe that the following tips will help you decrease meeting times.

1. Identify, in writing, the purpose for the meeting.
2. Create an agenda based on the purpose.
3. Assign responsibilities for each agenda item.
4. Create the expectation that any items or files to be discussed should be reviewed prior to the meeting.  This, of course, means that as the meeting organizer you should have the materials ready and available, either via e-mail or shared network space.
5. At the start of the meeting, remind participants to remain focused on the agenda items.
6. Create a "parking lot" for items not on the agenda.  A parking lot allows for items to be mentioned but saved for later.
7. Thank participants for remaining focused.

Start With Small Changes

Recently I conducted a seminar entitled ConsultantAdvantage, which guided participants through a number of stories, activities, and concepts in order to be better consultants in their chosen fields.

One component of the training involved showing participants how to upload documents to a shared file space.  If you can attach a file (photo, document, ext.) to an e-mail you can upload to a share space.  However, many people were challenged by this "new" method of file transfer and resisted trying it.  Some professed technical challenges while others questioned the reasoning behind using a new method.

There are two variables to change.  Readiness refers to the readiness for change to occur.  If you have a life situation that is less than ideal - stress at work or home, in the process of moving, etc. - you may not be ready to handle additional changes, even small ones.

I have a friend who is engaged with plans to marry in September.  Right now she is preparing her house to be put on the market, helping renovate her fiance's house, finishing orientation on a new job, and dealing with family members who are trying to "help" plan her wedding!  Psychologists have studied stress for many years and have discovered that the level of stressful events has an almost direct correlation to physical health.  How stressed are you?  Take this test and find out.

The second aspect of change is the capability to change.  Of course, everyone has the capability to change.  Under the right conditions you will change, although you may resist the change.  What I'm really talking about is the perception of the capability to change.  The first step to making changes is to believe that you are able to make the changes.  After that it's just a matter of learning what you need to learn and stepping out by taking action.

I don't like it when people say "If life gives you lemons, make lemonade."  The events of life don't always have a pleasant outcome, but viewing change as an opportunity for personal growth is a healthy perspective.

About a year ago, my in-laws lost nearly everything when their house was overcome by flash floods.  After an hour of hanging on to a post to avoid being swept away, the waters receded.  Thankful to be alive, they began to pick up what they could, clean up where they need to, and make plans for the future.  We've seen similar perseverance in Japan - even though people lost loved ones, pets, homes, and employment.

The best way to ensure that you are ready for change and demonstrate to yourself that you have the capability for change is to make small purposeful changes as an everyday part of living.  Instead of taking the interstate, take back roads.  Instead of mowing the lawn in circles, mow in rows.  Eat at a new restaurant.  Sit in a different area at church.  Being flexible and adaptable when you don't really need to will strengthen your change muscles.

Are Youth To Blame?

It seems like every generation blames the succeeding generation for a level of moral decay and weakening of the fabric of society.  The quote below is from Hesiod.  He was a contemporary of the Greek poet Homer and lived around 750BC.

“I see no hope for the future of our people if they are dependent on the frivolous youth of today, for certainly all youth are reckless beyond words. When I was a boy, we were taught to be discrete and respectful of elders, but the present youth are exceedingly wise and impatient of restraint.”