Excel Column Headers

Public Failure

I've been watching America's Got Talent, or AGT for short, for a couple of seasons.  Each year contestants compete for $1,000,000 and a chance to headline a show in Las Vegas.  After a couple rounds of performing before the judges, the last 48 contestants compete for a chance to be on of 24 acts in the final rounds.  For these rounds it is the American public that votes via phone or text.  The acts perform before a studio audience and the show is broadcast live to the nation.

The "talent" varies considerably from people dressed like elves to dancers, magicians, singers, and child acts.  One act this season is "The Kinetic King" aka Tim Fort.  Tim creates chain-reaction structures from pop-sickle sticks and other items to create entertaining displays similar to domino layouts that you may have seen others setup and perform.

At last night's performance, when the Kinetic King was introduced, he initiated the structure that he had spent two days creating.  The reaction didn't start.  Tim tried again to trigger the reaction.  After just a few inches the reaction stopped again.  Tim tried several times to start the reaction before giving up and announcing that it wasn't going to work.  His explanation is that humidity affected the wooden pop-sickles causing the pieces of wood to stick together.

Remember that last night's show was live.  Even though he handled it well on stage and in front of the audience, I'm sure the Kinetic King was embarrassed and upset. 

Think about a time you may have been embarrassed.  It really doesn't matter whether it is in front of family, friends, or in public.  It doesn't feel good.  The good news is that people will usually move on to something else and the effects of your embarrassment will only be temporary.  The best thing to do is try to avoid reacting, acknowledge the situation, and move on.

Motive

Today I watched the movie Aliens on Netflix.  The sequel to Alien, Aliens is set about 60 years into the future from the time when Aliens occurred.  Aliens begins with the main character, Ellen Ripley, played by Sigourney Weaver, awakening from a medically-induced inter-space coma meant to ease the long travel burdens when traveling to distant galaxies.  Carter Burke, played by Paul Reiser, is one of the first characters to speak with Ripley and tells her that many things have changed in 60 years.

One of those things is that the planet where Ripley successfully battled the alien in the first movie is now a colonized planet with over 70 families living there.  At first, no one believes Ripley's story about her alien encounter, but soon contact is lost with the people currently on the planet.  Burke, who is a representative of "the company" asks Ripley to act as an adviser and accompany a marine expedition to the planet .  Though hesitant at first, Ripley agrees only if the company and Burke agree to kill any extra terrestrials encountered rather than bringing specimens back for research.

Despite his promises, once aliens are encountered - and even after several characters are killed and turned into hosts for the alien hatchlings - Burke attempts to convince Ripley that two of the aliens that remain  alive in research containers should be returned to earth for bio-weapons research.  This would mean millions of dollars that Ripley and Burke could split.  Ripley refuses and further adventures ensue.  If you haven't seen Aliens - and like suspenseful movies - and have an opportunity to watch this classic movie, you will be entertained.

Greed has always been a popular plot in movies and probably always will be.  Aliens is a good reminder that, even in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds and clear danger, some people will try to take advantage of the situation for personal gain at the loss of others.

The desire to be successful, no matter how you define success, is worthy, however not at the expense of others.  If you are honest with others about why you are contributing to a project or working in a certain area, they will be accept your honesty.  Problems usually arise when you present one motive to others and conceal another personal motive. 

What happens is movies is one thing:  how you live real life is another.  Be open and honest in your communication with others.  If your only reason for being involved in a project is personal gain, people may not like it, but they will accept your honesty.

Instructions

One of my friends shared this hilarious "I Love Lucy."  Given the task of wrapping chocolates, the only goal given to Lucy and her partner is to wrap the chocolates before they enter the packing department.  Without any further instruction or guidance, except for a stern warning that failure will result in termination, the conveyor belt begins and the women start wrapping.

Expecting people to produce consistent, high-quality results without any instruction or training is about as silly as this clip.  Take the time to work patiently with new employees (or your children) to provide as much support and training as needed to ensure that they are equipped to give their best effort.

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.