More importantly, do you know when to not get in there and muck about?

I had an instructor once who spoke about the difference between delegation and abdication. She really helped me understand the difference between rolling up your sleeves only when I needed to and always putting yourself in a place to have to.

Delegation – Assigning duties to someone, providing parameters and having them meet scheduled milestones.

Abdication – Assigning duties to someone, and getting mad when the result doesn’t turn out the way you secretly wish it did.

What’s the key difference? Set expectations.

For instance, when I was in charge of Marketing for my Toastmasters District, I would have to delegate Demonstration Meetings for prospective clubs (groups that wanted to start a new club). I let the lead know how many people and what roles needed to be filled, gave some advice on certain skill sets, and required them to provide me a draft agenda three weeks out and a final agenda two weeks before the event.

If they missed the first milestone, I could roll up my sleeves and help them finish the draft (getting the last few volunteers to sign up). That way we didn’t miss the second deadline, or have a poorly planned event.

Rolling up your sleeves at the right time can help your team be more successful, and setting the right parameters up front can make sure you only have to do it when absolutely necessary.

For me, I just bought and set up a new site that I plan to launch by 1 June. My next “if I had time” task is to create 3 videos, one as a promo for the site, one as the initial lesson for folks that sign up and also the second lesson.

Take that next item on your list and figure out how to chop it down and get it done.

Tonight I’m writing the script for the promo video.

What is your next step? Go!

About 200-300 people filled a local church to here Willie speak on attitude. Specifically, Willie talked about the need to take on an Attitude of Excellence. He said there were 5 simple steps. But before that, we heard 7 principles that I thought were just as important:

1. Don’t panic – remember, this to shall pass
2. Don’t buy into the gloom and doom
3. Don’t let your pride poison your prosperity. He told the story about having an MBA … a Mob and Bucket Attitude – willing to do the hard work to have success…this is not personal and it is not permanent…get over it…if its legal and moral, it’s honorable work
4. Don’t stop thinking about the power and possibilities of tomorrow…keep one eye on the problem and one on your dreams
5. Be proactive…don’t wait for your ship to come in, swim out to it. 
6. Be creative
7. Be prayful — actually number one. He saved it ’til last because he doesn’t want us to just pray and do nothing else.

The 5 simple steps?

1. Wake up and dream
2. Show up … They only lane where there isn’t any traffic is the extra mile. If you do the things others won’t do, you’ll get things that others won’t have. – Les Brown
3. Stand up – become the leader of one. Become a life long learner…read more books. Commit to one per month.
4. Step up – to the plate and swing for the fences. Go all out. The doctors can give you the diagnosis, but God gives you the prognosis.
5. Make up your mind to win.

Change is good when your attitude is great
Your best is yet to come

I looked at the clock at the top of the iPad, and noticed that in the last few minutes, Willie had been speaking for over an hour. Yeah, he was that good.

In his wrap up, he quickly ran through the steps: Wake up, Show up, Stand up, Step up and Make up…your mind to be successful. When you think about it that way, doesn’t it make sense?

Willie was awesome, and worth the side trip on my way to Joplin for the weekend. If you aren’t familiar with him, I’d say take a look at http://www.williejolley.com and see for yourself.

If you had been sitting there at the Toastmasters District 22 Conference in Joplin, Missouri…

“Don’t overdo it.” – Craig Valentine

Okay!

Sunday we had Craig Valentine for a 2-hour mini-coaching session on storytelling. There isn’t enough pure unadulterated awesomeness in the English language to help you understand what you missed. But I’ll try…

(Actually, these are my notes)

Why use the stage?
- make a point
- transition – structure your speech
- best: the action in your story prompts you movements on stage
- timeline
Make everything clarify your message, not confuse it
Don’t overdo it – subtle 

Don’t tell … Ask
Most people don’t want to be most people
If you want to know when to say “you and I” or “you and me”, remove the “you and” from the sentence and see which one makes sense

Coached Arlen
Leave your embarrassment in the lobby
Be more subtle in your vocal changes (character voices)

Curiosity – tease them before you tell them
- tap, tease and transport … 
  – Tap “what’s the number one thing standing between most people and their dreams?”
  – Tease – elicited answers and told the audience they were wrong
  – Transport – put them in the scene – Check the VAKS

If all of the questions are answered, your story is over. Even if you keep talking.

Circumstances - 

Characters – Just a few facts 

Coached Heather
Maybe change “perfect family” question
“Have you ever” felt there was a barrier to 
Figure out your foundational phrase – your tap should tie into their takeaway

First check in – 10:05 – these are things the audience took from the first hour:
Timeline on the stage
How to measure a pause (inner voice exercise)
Tap tease and transport
Don’t speak like I write- i.e. “get over here” she said
Don’t speak to impress, speak to inspire
Don’t tell…ask
Speaking is not a monolog , it’s a dialog
Check the VAKS

Conflict
when you introduce your character, throw them into the conflict
Conflict is the hook
Conflict invites them to solve the problem
Establish the conflict as early as possible 
Conflict – titanic hits the iceberg
Escalation – water raises in the titanic 

Come up with two or three events or conversations that escalate the conflict
Escalate until “the battle at boiling point”
Then comes the cure – with the guru – never be the guru of your own story
Be similar, not special
Put the process, not the person on the pedestal 

Ed – Better voices for better choices

Change 
After the cure, how did that cure change you?
What’s the delta

Credibility – who has more credibility about your story than you
Connection - 

We all have different stories, but we all have the same emotions – David Brooks

Conversations and dialog
Never add humor, uncover it
Use dialog – humor is in the reactions
It’s the look before and after the line that makes the line
The need to hear it just how you heard it
Always put the conflict before the cure

Last discuss and debrief – 11:10
What you pick up in the cure, you hand them out the door
Don’t re-tell it, re-live it
DC – be under the influence of your own emotions 
The cure can’t be in the title
If it’s too emotional, rehearse until you can give it without getting visibly emotional
Cliche – have them fill in the blanks
Most people don’t want to be most people

Awesome!

I’ve only had mine for a day, but I feel ready to pass judgement. Awesome!

Going from an iPad version 1 to the iPad 3 clearly seems worth it to me. Here are a few reasons:

The enhanced display. This new “Retina display” is fabulous. Although it isn’t significant in the HD movies (already HD on the iPad 1 & 2), apps and pictures look a whole lot better. One small detractor (for non-models) – the hi-res is a bit too good for looking at yourself in the camera.

Cameras. Not a big deal to iPad 2 owners, but having the two cameras is a great reason for iPad 1 owners to upgrade. Although I still intend to use my flip for videoing my speeches, the iPad 3 will make a great option and allow me to capture stuff I might otherwise miss. (It’s drastically better than my android phone’s camera).

Footprint. A little lighter and thinner than the iPad 1. Not a deal maker, but a plus.

Facetime. Video conferencing can be a nice perk, especially for travelers.

iCloud. I haven’t tried this yet, since I need to upgrade the OS on our home system to use the full features. I’ll post an update once I try it.

There are a couple of small detractors – nothing new to Apple fans:

Every extra thing costs more than it should. Although, you can find some iPad 2 products on sale now, even though they fit the 3.

Right this second, really, a woman two seats over (at Barnes & Noble) is on Facetime on her iPad (could be a 2 or 3). I’m trying to be at Barnes & Noble, here…

Everyone in the family will want to borrow it. Yeah, that happens. Deal with it.

Overall, I’m glad to have The New iPad. I think it’s worth a look for iPad 1 owners, and stupid-rich iPad 2 owners could do worse with their money…

Note: This post was written on the Worpress app for iPad. All hail WordPress.

Over the last few months (maybe more), it’s normally taken me a week or more to finish a 200-300 page business book. And those are ones I find interesting. Contrast that with works of fiction.

Saturday, I saw The Hunger Games, a movie based on the book of the same name by Suzanne Collins. It was good! On Sunday I decided to read the second book, Catching Fire. On Monday, I finished the nearly 300 page book, and decided to read the final book, Mockingjay. I finished that today (Tuesday).

It probably helps that the fiction is well written, compelling, and paints a picture of a world we could very well become.

But, the other books I’ve read have been really good too – what’s the difference?

Compelling
Well written fiction is a page-turner. Always leaving you thinking, “What will happen next?” while also keeping the overarching conflict present in your mind. In a business book, very few chapters contain danger, love, or characters for us to get invested in.

Entertaining
Entertainment can be tough to turn away from. Not that those business books aren’t good, but there is a certain distinction between interesting and entertaining.

Makes you think
I never put down Catching Fire to wonder, “how would I handle President Snow at my job?” (Note: growing up I had a rather solid talent with my compound bow). But when I read Drive, I found myself stopping to make notes, or even send an e-mail to someone with an idea that the book generated. In a number of cases the books have led not only to a Book Review, but other blog posts on related topics.

There is certainly a difference in how we process entertainment vs. self improvement in our lives. So it isn’t surprising that reading books would follow that same pattern. But is there a solution? Do you need it a badly as I do?

First, accept the distraction. Do read some for entertainment as well as self-improvement.

Second, find the right mix. Even if that means stopping mid-book to read something different. I’m actually in the middle of Imagine right now. Don’t feel bad if this seems like trial and error…it is.

Finally, don’t get wrapped up in the hype. Don’t fall for every “great read” you hear about. In fact, try before you buy. I read the first two chapters of Catching Fire on my Nook for free (at B&N) before I decided to buy it.

There probably isn’t one good answer for everyone, but if you’re struggling to get through that business book, study guide or other serious work take a break and read something fun!

It’s harder to get an interview in 2012 than it was in 2007. Period. If you haven’t been job-hunting lately, I can tell you from experience that the landscape has changed. There are more people than ever out there “pounding the internet” looking for work. Once you get in the door, you need to be prepared.

Poundstone delivers on his promise of “Trick questions, zen-like riddles, insanely difficult puzzles, and other devious interview techniques you need to know to get a job in the new economy”.

The title implies these questions may be just for job seekers at Google. However, many of the examples of other difficult questions came from not just high-tech companies, but other names like KPMG, Johnson and Johnson, JP Morgan Chase, and General Motors. Also, this isn’t just about IT jobs, but some questions have been applied to positions in Marketing, Sales and Accounting to name a few examples.

One small caution – This is not an all-encompassing “how to ace and interview book”. Having said that, this book does an outstanding job of preparing you for the types of questions (including specific ones in each category) you may have to face beyond the mundane “what’s your biggest weakness” variety.

What’s great about this book:
This isn’t just for pain-stick seeking job seekers. It’s also entertaining to read. Plus, if you are looking for some great questions to ask as an employer, you’ll find out the why and why not of questions you may think are “cool to ask”.

Rather than telling stories of his own success, and maybe using some borrowed success stories from others, Robin Sharma gives us a fictional work that could easily be “based on a true story”.

While this may feel a bit obvious, I’ve seen many speaker break one or both of these rules and suffer as a result.

Note: Comedians are an exception, since many have the ability to pull off “stupid”. By the way, I mean professional comedians, not you.

The trick for speakers here is that it’s all relative to your audience. Remember, they decide what is interesting and what is stupid.

Don’t confuse “on stage” to mean only a physical stage in front of a large audience. “On stage” can include a job interview, talking to your kid, training some coworkers, or even taking on a leadership role.

No matter what “on stage” means for you, both the question and the correct answer are the same. If you are there for yourself, you’re doomed from the start.

No matter what the role, your first question should be, “how can I best serve my audience?”

Start there and you’ll never be received as a selfish speaker.