Is Free Ever Really Free?

This is a test. There is a lot of hype among social media and online marketing gurus these days about how the new "free enterprise" is just that - give it to them free.  I'll buy that (pardon the pun) for the most part, but I received an interesting email that normally I might have thrown into junk mail. This time, instead, I am trying it out.

There is utility in this (again, pardon the pun) since the freebie in question is a Registry Cleaner and my old worn-out laptop with Windows could sure use some help - lots of help.  Here is the email, in it's entirety.

Dear Mark Sturgell,

Could you please write a short review or place a link bellow to Digeus Registry Cleaner 5.4.34600 on your blog? I will give you a full-time license in exchange.

Here is the link:

Registry Cleaner

You may place this link alone without description or on existing post or create new post with a short description (language and text is up to you)

Here is a brief information about the tool:

Digeus Registry Cleaner 5.4

Award winning software starts by conducting a deep scan of your registry,
checking for file extension errors and other registry conflicts.
With Digeus Registry Cleaner you’ll see immediate increases in performance and decreases in system conflicts.

Here is the list of the most commonly reported computer problems which will be solved:
- Slow Boot up
- Longer Machine Response Time
- Unexpected System Crashes
- BSOD (Blue Screen of Death)
- Unresponsive System
- Slower Internet Browser Response
- Slow Start Up of Your Favorite Software

For more information please visit http://www.digeus.com/products/regcleaner/registry-cleaner.html

Sincerely,
Stacy Jeanne
Tech Writer
Digeus, Inc
http://www.digeus.com

Ok, there it is Stacy.  Now what?

What Teachers Make

What do teachers make? Some of them? The best of them?

The ones who understand routine, spontaneity, discipline, innovation, challenge and being challenged? The ones who know that loving students is their most important quality and most important job? The ones who love in a way that shows they care more about students than they do about compliance? The ones who chip away the rough stuff until we become the best works of who we are?



Taylor Mali is a poet. A living, contemporary poet who "gets it", at least about teaching, in this case. I found his powerful message and video via Seth Godin's blog. 

"Linchpin teachers engage in the act of pushing people to have the sort of breakthroughs Taylor talks about. They're scarce, and precious." ~Seth Godin

When you meet a "linchpin" teacher, as Godin calls this increasingly rare breed, thank them.

Why is Good Training Such a Lousy Investment? Part 2

Do you provide training? How valuable is the training you attend either for professional or personal development?  

In our post yesterday, I discussed typical experiences people describe about training, and I shared six key things that should be shaping the future of personal and professional development.  We discussed what training is, and what it is not, and listed some key elements that shape the human development processes that we provide.

And in yesterday's article, I closed with another question: with the average person's experience with training being less than desired (and the average company's expectations from training seldom met), does my company provide training?
Well, no, we do not provide what could be classified as "entertrainment" anyway. 

First, we're in the performance development business. We develop people who seek to make a difference in the world around them, regardless of the training, education or experience they already have, and this varies widely among our clients. When we get people focused on their own clearly articulated search for meaning, self-motivation kicks in and the outcome of "training" becomes transformational for both the individual and for the relationships, organizations and communities in which they play roles. (For example, it's amazing how salespeople sell more once they discover a powerful personal reason for selling more!)

Second, we avoid the "one-hit wonder" approach to learning with our clients, instead providing multiple exposures to information and practice. You learned everything from your multiplication tables in elementary math to the theme song to "Fresh Prince of Belair", not always through conscious practice but sometimes through quite unintentional repetition. For some reason adults come to believe they have outgrown the need for repetition, yet it is still how we learn most and how we learn best. So we build in repetition of concepts, tools and their applications to produce intended results.

Third, most training relies on discovery and impact within the confines of the training event. I like to believe I am a presenter and speaker that people enjoy and come to admire; I certainly get that kind of feedback from participants. But any charisma or lack thereof on my part won't mean a lick of difference to you within hours of leaving my presence! You may come across a great idea that creates enormous impact with you, yet by the time you get back to your work floor it neither will seem as clear or as great as it was in the workshop. 

Most training relies on discovery and impact learning, yet these are hard to replicate or the impact is negative and destructive rather than performance-enhancing. Development opportunities must be designed to help you put ideas into practice by developing new attitudes and habits to compliment your skills and knowledge. This emphasis, along with repetition, creates lasting impact. With the addition of goal-setting and achievement, not only will you create lasting impact, you will produce measurable results.

Fourth, most training concepts remain external to the personal motivations of participants. Well-designed development processes allow participants to discover the concepts and applications that mean the most to them now.  This is one of the reasons I introduce my Leadership Institute kickoff sessions by stating that my intent is less about "teaching" a particular set of leadership competencies or techniques and more about providing a safe place to ask dangerous questions, about yourself or anything. Rather than leadership "training", consider the PDN Leadership process as the opportunity to envision, practice and become the kind of leader you really want to be.

But the intention here is not so much to "sell" you on our leadership development or other processes, although we would love to partner with you in your continuing development. My intention is to challenge you to rethink your own approach to human development and performance improvement. 

I hope I've given you ample food for thought. Keep checking back at The Intersection of Purpose and Now for more information.

Why is Good Training Such a Lousy Investment? Part 1

Do you provide training? How valuable is the training you attend either for professional or personal development? These seem like simple questions requiring simple "yes or no" answers, but often they are not.

We have found that most training leads to very little, if any change: in human performance, satisfaction, or business results. Training often makes us feel good and sometimes leaves us believing that "things are going to be different from now on", as one of my clients puts it. We have great expectations from training, yet little changes. Seldom after training do we really do anything new, at least for very long. Old habits win out, usually within hours or days of training.

I have asked hundreds of people, "What happens within the first 1-14 days after a seminar, workshop or conference?" and the answer is nearly unanimous: there is an initial intention to do something new, but the handouts soon get "round-filed", life gets in the way and nothing really changes at all.

Training is about learning new knowledge and skills. We find that most people have the basic knowledge and skills they need to be successful. So what is missing? What do people really need? What do they really want?

We have asked many people about their experience with training, and we've learned six key things that should be shaping the future of personal and professional development.

1. The average learner rates training based on the entertainment value and ideas discovered during training rather than the lasting effect on performance that occurs by applying those ideas.
2. The average training participant has very low expectations from training expressed by the common phrase, "If I can take away just one idea from training it will be worth it."
3. Most learners admit they forget what they learned through traditional training within 24-48 hours of the training event. Moreover, they typically "throw away" training notes within a couple of weeks.
4. Most learners recognize the training ideas and skills that make a difference in their work or daily lives are due to repeated application of those ideas and skills following the training. Yet few trainers provide a proven method to help learners build repetition and application into their daily schedules following training. Few employers provide any ongoing support or expectations that ensure transfer of learning from the workshop to the work floor.
5. Few learners, fewer trainers and even fewer training decision-makers seem to know how to really "make training stick".
6. On average, ideas or new "skills" from training are seldom applied on the job.

We find people gain little from most training because knowledge and skills - the basic products of training - aren't what they really want or need most. New ideas and skills will not make much difference unless accompanied by new attitudes and habits that will allow them to get more from the knowledge and skills they already have. 

 Knowledge and skills provide only part of the solution for getting to the other side of the challenges you face, or from getting to where you want to be from where you stand now.

These findings have shaped our developmental processes, which are unlike anything most people have experienced before. Human development processes should lead to:

1. Change in human performance, life/job satisfaction, or business results.
2. Repeated exposure to information and ongoing practice.
3. Discovery and impact within the confines of the training event coupled with spaced repetition of concepts and skills outside of the training event, including practice in the intended context of application.
4. Supporting opportunities, tools and discipline for learners to retain and apply the product of training and development.
5. A means to internalize training concepts, directly connecting them to the personal motivations of participants.
6. Direct ties to trainee and company goals before, during and after training.

So do we at PDN provide training? I'll cover this tomorrow with Why is Good Training Such a Lousy Investment? Part 2

Someone is waiting for YOU to come along

I don't usually post at The Intersection of Purpose and Now on Saturday, so I hope someone finds this to be a special treat (honestly, I hope someone FINDS it!).  

My friend Julie Causey shared the following Leo Buscaglia quote that she has carried with her for years. To know her is to know she has read it so many time that now her life - her words, actions, habits - "says" the same things daily.

Julie's borrowed affirmation reminded of my own, so I offer hers as a gift for my readers today:

The majority of us lead quiet, unheralded lives as we pass through this world. There will most likely be no ticket-tape parades for us, no monuments created in our honor. But that does not lessen our possible impact, for there are scores of people waiting for someone like us to come along; people who will appreciate our compassion, our encouragement, who will need our unique talents. Someone who will live a happier life merely because we took the time to share what we had to give.

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring; all of which have the potential to turn a life around. It's overwhelming to consider the continuous opportunities there are to make our love felt.

Leo Buscaglia

• What is your "grand aim", your grand affirmation?
• What simple philosophy guides your life's journey?
• How well do your daily words, actions and habits reflect your virtuous ideal? How do you know?
• How would your life be different if you had such an aim?
• How would your life be different if you lived according to your Grand Aim even more fully? 

Don't look up to find the greatest people, look down - they're probably serving you. #BeOriginal

Part 2: Is The Cost of Personal Development Too High? - The Three Currencies of Cost.

Yesterday I asked you to consider which was most important to you, your personal entertainment or your personal development.  Then I asked you to take the "Calendar and Check Register Test" to measure your actual values.

I have asked this question of many people, and the overwhelming response is... guilt. Most people want to say they value personal development more highly than they do personal entertainment.  The "Calendar and Check Register Test" tells them otherwise.

Possible conclusion: the cost of personal and professional development may not be too high, but your investment may be too low. And I mean your investment of money, time AND emotion.

I always look forward to discussing cost with potential coaching clients, both individuals and corporate coaching prospects. Why? After all, "pricing" discussions make most people uncomfortable.  For me, the cost discussion reveals whether coaching is a sound investment for my prospective clients, it reveals possible ROI, and it reveals whether it is a sound investment for me. One thing I have learned in 20 years of coaching: I cannot be more invested in your success than you are.

I discuss Three Elements of Cost with every potential personal, professional or organizational prospect I serve. In fact, this may be one of the most valuable yet free services I provide to everyone, because it includes free coaching. Our conversation goes something like this:

First, there is the Cost of Money. The currency of financial cost, of course, is dollars and cents. I am sure, if you are like me and most people, no matter what I tell you about financial investment, it will be more than you want to pay. Correct?

Second, there is the Cost of Time. Of course, the currency of time cost is hours, days, maybe weeks, months or even years. I am sure, if you are like me and most people, no matter what I tell you about the cost of time may be, it will be more than you want to spend. Correct?

Third, there is the Cost of Change. The currency of change is not so obvious. The currency of change is commitment.  Would you agree that until we accurately determine your commitment to change, the cost of time and money is irrelevant? 

At this point in our discussion, whether this individual or organization ends up hiring me or not, our coaching relationship begins (because I find few people are able to pinpoint the source of their motivation and commitment without asking at least a few more questions).  These questions reveal, for me and for the person-being-coached, actual commitment to success and change that allows us both to make wise decisions.

In summary, if you are unhappy, dissatisfied, want improved results or simply to want to take your life and/or business "to the next level and beyond", your investment of time and money cannot possibly be "too high" if your commitment to success is real.

Besides, aren't you worth it?

Part 1: Is the Cost of Personal Development Too High?

Which is most important to you: personal entertainment or personal development?

How do you know?  

Two sure-fire ways to measure importance is to look at how you allocate time and money - your calendar and finances. Let's do some quick math regarding finances.  First, tally up on paper how much you spent on personal entertainment in the past year.  Look for this information in your personal accounting software, if you have it, or just look through your checkbook and credit card statements. 

To estimate your investments in entertainment, look for the obvious like new home entertainment purchases including technology like televisions, MP3 players and DVR machines... music, book and video purchases, rentals, Netflix or pay-per-view subscriptions, downloads and the like... and the not-so-obvious such as alcohol and dining out...  wine and book clubs, magazines, etc... vacations, even day trips (travel, lodging, food, other expenses)... sporting events and concerts... Get the idea?

As you did this, you probably ran across some travel expenses that were related to business or professional development - those don't count as entertainment, at least not entirely.  Count them toward personal development, that is if YOU made some investment (not just your employer). Be honorable and separate out what might legitimately be considered an investment in personal or professional development. (Note: a night out at Hooters during your professional conference should most likely be counted as entertainment, regardless of who you were with!)

Now tally up any other development expenses, including the obvious like school tuition and training fees, personal development books and recordings, journal subscriptions (that you actually read), executive coaching fees, Weight Watcher membership, personal trainers, athletic club or professional memberships (only the ones you actually use; remember, be honorable)...  Include anything and everything you have done to develop yourself further as a person and as a professional in the past 12 months.

• So where are you investing more? Which is most important to you: personal entertainment or personal development?  
• How does that make you feel? 
• Is there anything you would change?

Tomorrow, Part 2: Personal Development and the Three Currencies of Cost.

What Inspires You?

"100 Dreams? I can barely think of 10 big things that I want, big enough to call them dreams anyway!"

This is a common response to one of the first activities I ask my coaching clients to begin. That's right, I ask them to make a "Dream Inventory" of at least 100 dreams - a list of all that you want to HAVE, want to DO, want to BECOME.

I give people a lot of help to get them started, but sooner or later my clients are left with themselves and their own ability to conceive their deepest, perhaps God-given, inspirations and desires.  Some go way beyond the 100-mark and keep adding to the list, and marking things off as they achieve them, for the rest of their lives. Others struggle with inspiration. Why is this?

What inspires you? What are your dreams? 

I know two sure sources of inspiration for me. First, I read a lot and am constantly inspired by what I read. Novels, non-fiction, business books, devotionals, scripture, purposefully inspirational stuff...I find inspiration in all these sources. But books and magazines aren't the only sources.  I find much on Twitter to inspire me, sometimes on Facebook, LinkedIn, Plaxo, even an occasional billboard!

I also find inspiration in my relationships. I need people. I need conversation with people. Not idle "cocktail" conversation but the kind of conversation that peels away masks, day-to-day boundaries, and superficial dribble. I want conversation that causes people's eye to light up, ideas shared that bring people alive, including me. Conversations that create a safe place to ask dangerous questions of myself and others - this is what brings me alive, inspires me, brings out my best thinking.

I was reading an article called "Provoking Thought" in Ryan S. Fortney's blog, The Pax Integral, where Ryan asks:

What gets you to write? What inspires you? 

Another shares that her writing "exposed myself for the nut that I really am" and another says he's in it "for the love of the game" - I love that. Why not dream a little, just for "the love of the game"?

That's what I want to know; What inspires you? How do you "prime the pump" to get you thinking about the Big Things in life, or at least the momentarily profound? What are your dreams and what are their inspirations?  What takes you to The Intersection of Purpose and Now?

Please, share your stories (better yet, share your dreams!).  Please, use the comments section of this blog - DREAM A LITTLE!

P.S. One of my favorite books to help you "Leave the Land of Ordinary" is Bruce Wilkinson's The Dream Giver.  

Before There Was a Blog...

Before there was The Intersection of Purpose and Now, there was an inspiring moment that I acted on...

...that's what happens at the Intersection of Purpose and Now - external inspiration, leads to internal motivation, leads to intention and purpose, leads to action, leads to results.  

I literally got off the phone about four years ago and got started. It wasn't always The Intersection of Purpose and Now. For a day, it was Improving Quality of Life. The Intersection of Purpose and Now started gradually a few months later, including one of my favorite all-time posts, Why Fly?  


Below is that very first post from December 2004, Living on Purpose, slightly edited.  I think it's fun and thought-provoking to read again. Maybe you will, too!


We Coach. You Get Results.
So i got off the phone with a coaching client -- I call him Mike The Serial Entrepreneur -- and I started my own blog. His productive rambling and eagerness for me to help him FOCUS to get what/where he wants...to become WHO he wants to BE - all inspiring me to start sharing my experience from the Coach's side of things.

Most people I work with, 1on1, in groups, teams and even large orgs, want to go somewhere they have never been, you might say. I help them discover where they are now, to BEGIN, then where they want to go, as well as how to get there.

I know a guy who wanted to go to The Middle of Nowhere...he's been there now. 

Mike is creating an incredible new thing that brings the ol' mom-n-pop neighborhood store to the 21st Century -- Hey, if you're going to shop the Net, why not still buy locally, right?

I'm blessed. I get to help people achieve more of their goals more often. It's amazing...I get hired to help them build their business, become more successful ($$$ and time), experience what they want to experience, become who they want to become, get happy, contribute the value they want to contribute.

And yet the most common goals that really get people fired up about themselves are things like 'becoming a better spouse', 'better parent', 'better friend', 'better Christian', 'better leader' or cleaning the gutters, losing weight and reading more books. Yet, along the way they learn to master their daily, weekly, monthly, annual routines (the future belongs to those who create it) and before long they, too, know their Purpose (deeply), start living On Purpose and a Goal-Directed Life, and begin to achieve Their Wildest Dreams.

Want some? Hey, its for sale (www.pdncoach.com). For now, why don't you just join me in my discussion. I look forward to your posts.

posted by The PDN Coach @ 2:47 PM, December 15, 2004

On Purpose Urgency

"Oh my gosh, I have to go!"


Have you ever realized, just in time, that you are supposed to be somewhere or do something different than what you are doing?  Think about it - that time you were engrossed in one thing and suddenly were reminded of something completely different that you "MUST DO NOW'.  


In that very moment, the thing you were doing is not quite as important as it was an instant earlier. You MUST DO something else NOW, with urgency.


The On Purpose Scenario
Now consider a different scenario: This time you recognize the same sense of urgency long before it catches you off-guard while focusing on something completely different.  This time, circumstances did not dictate your sense of sudden urgency because you did, well in advance of the moment in which you intended to take action. This time, you created your own sense of urgency because you are choosing to shift your focus and actions On Purpose.


How might your life be different if you had more moments like this, the second scenario? The On Purpose Scenario. These are not moments in which you are caught by surprise by a sudden crash of urgency, but moments created by you with a sense of urgency that is grounded in your own Purpose and timing.


This is The Intersection of Purpose and Now - when you know (really know) that you are doing the right thing, in the right way, at the right time, for the right reasons, to achieve the right action, to serve a greater Purpose.


If you struggle to find The Intersection of Purpose and Now, or if you struggle with time "management", let me know. Maybe I can help.

If you want to be a thief, start stealing

"If you want to be a thief, start stealing."

Jared Vogel said this; he is one of my devotional Band of Brothers, with whom I meet each week at Panera Bread.

Such a simple, profound thought applies to so many, many human desires and conditions.

If you want to be an explorer, start exploring.

If you want to be generous, start giving.

If you want to be a listener, start listening.

If you want to be a writer, start writing.

If you want to be a lover, start loving.

If you want to be a good neighbor, start being neighborly.

If you want to be more humble, start avoiding recognition.

If you want to be more patient, slow down, wait.

If you want to be a leader, start leading.

If you want to have a Purpose, start thinking and doing things with great intention...Now.

NOTE: please, please feel free to add to this list in Comments! Thank you, Mark.

The Operating System for Motivating People

"The secret to high performance isn't rewards and punishments, but that unseen intrinsic drive - the drive to do things for their own sake, the drive to do things because they matter."

~Daniel Pink

Inevitably, participants in the kickoff sessions for my leadership development programs identify one of their top expectations for learning as "how to better motivate employees". Organizations try to motivate people in three ways: more often than not through two forms of Extrinsic Motivation, and seldom through Intrinsic Motivation.

1. Fear - we've all experienced fear as a motivator at some time in our lives. Fear is an extrinsic motivator that only produces short-term benefits in a few circumstances. In the long run, people can learn to live with fear, or they simply leave. In either case, fear produces a negative lasting impact on both the organization and the lives of the people in it.
2. Incentives and Rewards - while fear provides the "stick", incentives are extrinsic motivators that provide the "carrot". They seldom have lasting impact but can be useful for short-term purposes if carefully selected - very carefully. One of the biggest problems with this form of motivation is that "this year's bonus often becomes next year's entitlement."
3. Intrinsic Motivation - traditional notions of management, like fear and rewards, work great if all you want is compliance, but if you want engagement self-direction works much better. People will do more, produce more and perform better if they want to. This is one of the most simple and true facts of human behavior and yet most leaders don't get it.

Daniel Pink, in an address at the 2009 TED Global conference in Oxford, England, (video is available below) superbly makes the case for intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation. He also lays out the three elements that make Intrinsic Motivation work:

• Autonomy - the urge to direct our own lives
• Mastery - the desire to get better and better at something that matters
• Purpose - the yearning to do what we do in service to something larger than ourselves

Pink refers to these three elements as the "building blocks of an entirely new operating system for business"...and he is absolutely correct.

Rewards and incentives do work, but there is a vast amount of scientific evidence that incentives and rewards only work on a narrow band of mostly mechanical applications or with repetitive tasks. Yet organizations continue to pour resources into Pay-for-Performance and similar systems. Extrinsic rewards not only reduce productivity and performance, they destroy creativity and innovation.

Want to create a motivating environment in your organization? Provide autonomy, mastery and purpose. Leaders who create this kind of motivating environment are the best leaders of all. Help employees develop a line of sight to something important that transcends their self-interest, giving them a "true north", a sense of purpose. Begin by helping employees identify their goals, what they want to achieve, where they want to go with their lives, what they want to have, the kind of people they want to become.

I want to be an Archer...

Leadership Development and Strategic Planning - these are keys to success and core services provided by my business. Individuals, teams and for-profit, government and non-profit organizations - everyone wants a plan for future well-being. Everyone has the same concern: How can we ensure that we come up with an achievable plan that will actually get implemented?

I believe there are at least five key elements for leading yourself and others to achieve On-Purpose results, whether through personal leadership, as part of a team, or if your aim is to help your organization grow.

To illustrate these qualities, I like the "Archer analogy", shared by Mark Winton, owner of an electrical manufacturing company in South Africa.

You might have the best long bow in the world, with a quiver of the best arrows that are hand-crafted with lethal tungsten tips. But without the Archer (leader) to pull back the string with massive force (intent) and aim it toward a target (purpose and vision), then let the arrow fly (action), you have just a nice ornament, not a lethal weapon. (It would probably be better up on the wall next to your company's mission statement)

So you need all of the following to hit your target:

• Leadership
• Intent
• Purpose
• Vision
• Action

When you have all of these elements you have a rare combination of purpose and meaningful action necessary to arrive at The Intersection of Purpose & Now.

Having "Vision" alone is like saying "I want to be an Archer!" So what's the plan...will you simply run at the target with arrows in your hand?

Pick up your powerful bow and your sharpest arrows with the straightest of shafts. Take aim and hit your target. Win!

Success is the continual achievement of your own pre-determined goals, stabilized by balance and purified by belief.

"Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes the time. Vision with action can change the world."

~Joel Barker