Friday 27 February 2015

10 Tips on How to Co-present a Presentation

This week, I co-presented a webinar with Jocelyn Bérard called Change Agility: Mastering Constant Change

We gave a similar keynote presentation at the Canadian Society for Training and Development (CSTD) Conference in November. Although the content was similar, the format was very different. The biggest change was that we couldn't see any of the over 500 participants. 
In many ways, webinars are easier to lead than in-person presentations: you can use your notes, you are sitting down and you don't have to think about your gestures.

There are also some challenges with this format: vocal mistakes are more noticeable, any background noise is a distraction and the only way to convey emotions is through your voice. 

Technical risks are just as big. Fortunately, we had Sarah managing IT and production. She flawlessly managed the communication software, emceeing, polling questions and choreography.

What I loved most was the partnership the three of us shared. Like any productions, it takes a well-coordinated team to make them work well.


Here are some tips on how to partner on a presentation:
  • Write a script―it improves flow and leaves little to chance
  • Listen and be open to your partners' recommendations―it leads to better quality and personal growth
  • Show up well-rehearsed―this is a given for trust-building and ability to perform
  • Arrive very early―remove a risk that would let down your audience and partners
  • Practice as a team―co-presentations are like dances: you must be in step with your partner for them to look good
  • Focus your practice time on transitions―hand-offs have the highest risk of going wrong
  • Know the technology―Sarah was the expert, but she needed to educate us on its fine points for the recording to work well
  • Discuss what could go wrong―contingency plans lead to fast corrections
  • Have an sense of humour―it builds and communicates rapport
  • Eat together―I remember Neil Peart, of the band Rush, talking about the importance of sharing meals with his band mates (Jocelyn shared his lunch with me twice!)
The presentation went well and as planned. We had a great time interacting with participants and ourselves. When we finished our closing comments and the recording ended, my first thought was 'when would we get the opportunity to partner again?' A partnership doesn't get any better than this.

Phil

Friday 20 February 2015

How to Make the Most of Business Travel

My flight from Zurich to Munich was on time, which was a good start to journey home to Toronto. It has been a year since I have traveled outside of North America and a few since I did so almost weekly.

The rituals of business travel came back to me faster than I thought, from packing efficiently to researching local transit and store schedules. I even remembered to take melatonin pills on the overnight flight to regulate my sleep cycle and minimize jet lag. I was back in the business traveler zone.

What I had forgotten were the many benefits of international travel, which help counterbalance the losses of leaving your family. They are often unexpected, exciting and inspiring. Here are the ones that I noticed this week:

  • Experience a new culture -- day-to-day differences in culture are fascinating. I feel like pinching myself every time I am abroad
  • Increase your knowledge -- reading local magazines and newspapers provide glimpses of what is important
  • Broaden your perspectives -- talking with people about their lives expands your frame of reference and makes you more tolerant of different realities
  • See old friends -- this trip I saw great people who I had worked with many years ago The highlight was being invited out to dinner by an old friend and his wife (a new friend)
  • Practice your manners -- a test of character, especially when things go wrong and you don't speak the local language
  • Take time for reflection -- the best time to reflect is when you are in a new environment, without distraction of your regular commitments and schedule 

My second flight of the day, from Munich to Toronto, is also posted as being on time. It looks like I will return home without incident, tired and motivated. I don't want to forget my new experiences so I can make the most of my business travel. 

Phil



Friday 13 February 2015

How to Help Someone Who is Lost

Yesterday, we headed off on a family skiing vacation at Mont Tremblant, 130 kilometres north of Montreal.

The drive went well, especially using GPS. Other than a few twists and turns through Montreal, travel was smooth and on time.

We eagerly watched satellite navigator click down the kilometres to our checkered flag destination marker. "You have arrived at your destination, the route guidance is now finished," it confidently exclaimed. The problem was that we were still on an unlit, two lane highway with only trees on both sides to welcome us.

We kept driving until we reached the Mont Tremblant Village. There were no passersby to ask at 11:00 pm in -25 degrees Celsius weather so we kept going.

After confirming we were lost by driving in all directions, we headed to the only resort we could see. We asked the the person at the front desk if this was where we check in to the place we were staying, he said, "no." We then asked how we could get to where we were going. He gave us a map of the area, drew a line to our destination and then pointed out our mistake, which sounded like the old Bugs Bunny line, "You should have taken a left at Albuquerque." 

We headed off again but realized that where we were to check-in was not where we were staying. We called the registration office and the woman said that our mistake was using GPS: "You shouldn't have used GPS. It doesn't work here." When we mentioned a restaurant that was in sight, she confirmed we were lost. "No, that's not where you should be." 

Our guide directed us to go past the golf course heading toward to mountain. Since it was completely dark and being our first visit to the area, we didn't know where either of them were. It now seems amusing exchanging comments in the care like, "Do you see the mountain...I don't see the mountain...could it be over there...is that a golf course under the snow?" 

The good news is that we were only a minute away. The bad news is that we continued driving in the wrong directions for ten. The only remaining option was to backtrack the way we originally came past the invisible GPS checkered flag point. In minutes, we arrived at our destination an hour after estimated arrival time.

Travel stories are excellent metaphors for working through change. There are clear start and end points, landmarks define the path and usually there are people available to help them to get to where they are going.

Here are some tips to help travelers of any kind:

  • Be clear on where people need to go, including landmarks they will see along the way
  • Tell people multiple times where they are going―repetition and accuracy are connected
  • Check in with people to make sure they are on track
  • Put yourself in their shoes―no one tries to get lost and they can't always see the mountain to show them where they are
  • Inform people that they are not the first to get lost―confidence and success are connected
  • Assure people they will get to where they are going
  • Confirm that people get back on track when they are lost
These may seem like simple tips, but many change initiatives focus on the destination without checking in to make sure people are progressing toward it. The destination becomes the focus over how people are getting there. 

Mont Tremblant is beautiful, especially when you can see it. We have reached the checkered flag and it feels good.

Phil

Friday 6 February 2015

Ten Tips on How to Measure Change Management Success

I have an opportunity to present "How do we Measure Success in Change Management?" to a group of change management consultants, my peers.

Selecting key performance indicators (KPIs) continues to be a hot topic for organizational initiatives, from learning & development to large scale transformations: how do you measure the benefits of this type of investment?

There are many ways to do this incorrectly, such as measuring things that:
  • aren't directly connected to the initiative, e.g. an office relocation measured by website traffic levels;
  • are influenced by multiple factors, e.g. leadership training measured by net profit gains;
  • can't be measured with data, e.g. goodwill;
  • leaders do not care about;
  • no one is responsible for measuring;
  • are not reviewed with leaders after they are measured; or
  • claim to calculate return on investment (ROI) without stating how.
ROI is the Holy Grail of performance measurement because it implies financial significance and accuracy. A good investment is one where the tangible benefits gained are greater than the costs incurred to secure them.

Measuring change in this way is challenging, if not impossible, because the numbers are typically based on subjective estimates. For example, I heard someone proclaim that sales training resulted in 25 percent of his company's annual sales increase. Based on what? Usually these estimates are guesses based on impressions, or wishful thinking, versus facts, which negates the significance and accuracy they are intended to establish.

Here are some suggestions on how to measure change management success:
  • Set expectations that change management (or any organizational initiative) is a contributor to hard results, not the only contributor.
  • Pick a few strong KPIs versus a long list of them―it focuses the evaluation exercise and reduces resource requirements.
  • Focus on the metrics that leaders value―others may help you but they will be viewed by the organization as irrelevant.
  • Gain agreement on what data will be tracked by whom at the beginning of an initiative―the data and the resources to collect it may not exist.
  • Include tracking responsibilities in people's goals―it will increase the likelihood they will be tracked well and people will be rewarded for doing so.
  • Be clear on how long KPIs will be measured―most benefits are realized months or a year past implementation.
  • Gain leaders' commitment to review results for the duration―what gets reviewed by leaders gets measured.
  • Gather anecdotal feedback from people who are working with the changes―verbatim comments help describe benefits and lessons learned.
  • Use tracked results to support business cases for future initiatives―this is often a missed opportunity.
  • Communicate results to the entire business―it increases engagement and invites people to celebrate wins and learn from mistakes.
I am looking forward to discussing the measurement of change management with my peers. It will be difficult to measure how much I will learn, but I know it will be a lot. 

Phil