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 UPCOMING EVENTS WITH MERYL

Join me for these upcoming events!

FREE WEBINAR! 12 Administrative Assistant and Office Pro Roadblocks and Remedies

I’m offering a free webinar Wed, Oct 17th,  at 11:15 am MDT, which is 1:15 EDT. It’s called The 12 Administrative Assistant and Office Pro Roadblocks and Remedies. It’s a dual-purpose webinar – to give you quick tools to deal with your office challenges and to provide a preview into some of the areas we’ll tackle at : The Executive Administrative Professional Online Training Camp. Check it out and register here.

FYI, I plan to start a paid webinar series with limited registration. This may be my last free webinar for a while.

The Executive Administrative Professional Online Training Camp

My Executive Assistant Training that used to be only available onsite is now also avaialble online. Develop your skills at home or in your office: Tuesdays, Nov. 13 – Dec. 4, 2012 1-4pm ET. Learn more and register here. (Click the Virtual Training tab at the top.)

Mid-Atlantic Lean Conference

I’m presenting at the Mid-Atlantic Lean Conference November 7th. We’ll be talking about Communication Kata and taking a Kata Quest to improve processes. Join us. More info here.

SYNERGIZE THIS! WHERE’S YOUR HEART?

In the Legend of the Holy Grail, after years of languishing, the Fisher King is revived when the knight Parsifal asks:

                • Whom does the grail serve?

The King can represent thinking, or our inner CEO. Asking the King whom the grail serves is similar to asking our inner CEO:

                • Where’s your heart?

When people want help with phrasing I inquire (often indirectly) where their heart is at the deepest level. My method is more about perspective than advice. Find The Synergy Center between your heart and your mind, and you more easily find the words for clarity and the strength for action. 

A gentle-spirited friend recently became a political activist when corporate interests conflicted with community values. She knows whom she serves. She knows where her heart is. She serves her family, community and the earth. That synergy of heart and mind gives her a strong clear voice and the will to use it. She is Speaking Strong.

What ails you? And where’s your heart? It’s a good thing to know. As with the Fisher King, even just asking the question can cure and enliven action.

COMMENT

SPEAKSTRONG FROM THE SYNERGY CENTER: SOMEONE WAS INDISCRETE AND I WAS INJURED 

It starts with passive or aggressive communication. Often the next stage is to swing to the opposite polarity – the passive communicator gets heavy-handed and the aggressive communicator goes soft. Eventually we develop balance – which is assertiveness – yet can look like passiveness or aggression at times.

Don was rightfully upset that his bank told another interested buyer that he had already inquired about a specific property. That prompted the other buyer to put in their offer immediately and helped the other buyer win the contract.

The damage is done. Don wondered if he should just let it go, or write a scathing and threatening letter to the bank president. His initial considerations had no middle ground.

Don isn’t mean-spirited, so when the choices are so extreme, he is likely to say nothing – and let it eat away at him.

The fact is, Don was wronged, and leadership at the bank needs to know about it. One option moving forward is to go to the president and say:

Someone at this bank was indiscreet and I was injured. I don’t see any way to make it right now. However, I do want to let you know what happened so you can make it right moving forward.

COMMENT

SYNERGY SABOTAGE: NOT WALKING THE TALK

I used to write about Poison Phrases . Who knows – I might start again. But I felt limited by that category because what is poison in one situation is helpful in others. So I’m working with the header Synergy Sabotage – trying it on for size.

Mark works for a company that manages by consensus. Everyone needs to agree before they can move forward with a decision – in theory, anyway.

In terms of The Synergy Center, requiring unanimous consensus for everything can be too extreme and cumbersome. It  over-compensates for command-and-control leadership. While it assures every voice is heard, it can be unmanageable. But this post is about something else.

At a company meeting, Mark strongly disagreed with a decision that the IT director favored. The group overrode Mark because “only one person objects.”

Not walking the talk is synergy sabotage. If your principles say you decide by consensus and then you don’t, you’ve lost a lot more than the support of the person whom you overrode. You’ve lost your compass. You’ve lost trust. People get the message that principles don’t matter when they are inconvenient.

While I don’t recommend unanimity for all decisions, I’m even more passionate about the need to say what you do and do what you say. If you find that unmanageable, don’t just throw your principles under the bus. Live them or revise them and live that.

Now Mark is actively looking for other employment.

Another option would be to address the inconsistency. To say:

• Either we decide by consensus or we don’t. If you override my objection and end the discussion, it’s clear we’re not walking our talk. We need to decide how we decide for real, and then do it. 

COMMENT

 Thanks! I hope to see you at one of my events!

SpeakStrong Updates from Meryl Runion Rose September 14, 2012

SpeakStrong. Say what you mean and mean what you say without being mean when you say it. We all have a part in the well being and evolution of our families, communities and world, and we all have our own unique contributions.

What are you not saying that people need to hear? None of us knows everything, but we all do know something. Your perspective contributes to the shaping of what happens.

Don’t wait until you have it perfect. That won’t happen. Give it your best effort and learn from responses. Sometimes communication just shakes the trees to see what comes out. It’s not necessarily a final word. It can be a step closer to deeper understanding and expressing your essence with authenticity. Sometimes your step forward can look like a step back. Keep learning and walking and putting yourself—your deepest self—out there.

I’m honored to be a part of your communication journey.

What can I help you say today?

Networking Webinar Tuesday with Diane Windingland

Free: Networking Tips for Effective Engagement

Tuesday, September 18 at 11:00 AM MDT

See Time in Your Time Zone When You Register

Diane Windingland with Meryl Runion Rose

(Diane Windingland is the Coauthor of Perfect Phrases for IceBreakers)

Improving your people skills doesn’t have to be boring. This interactive presentation will help you learn to become better connected by first showing you what to avoid. Using reverse psychology, Diane Windingland will reveal some of the worst networking techniques before wrapping up with practical ways you can effectively engage people and build business relationships.

Diane and I are collaborative buddies because she walks her talk. She reached out to me, and became an essential part of my network. I discovered her PowerPoint for this presentation and was intrigued, so I invited her to offer it as a conversational webinar with me. Join our discussion about how to network effectively. More info and registration here.

A case for action

Diane said something that really struck me in a conversation yesterday. She said, 

• You don’t have to know everything to find success. You do have to act.

What do you think about “synergy”?

When Stephen Covey popularized the idea of synergy, I was delighted. I also wondered why the concept didn’t take off more than it did. To me, it seems so basic to success. Synergy is the emergence of a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. When people connect dynamically, they create things, have conversations and succeed in ways none of them could have done on their own.

Yesterday someone told me the word synergy is dated in business circles. To me, that’s like suggesting that exercise is out of fashion so we shouldn’t talk about it or do it anymore. 

Well, I figure anyone who dismissed the idea of synergy hasn’t experienced its magic. What do you think?

• • • Do you like the word?
    • Do you consciously strive toward synergy in your conversations?
    • Why would the word fall from fashion?
    • What creates synergy for you?
    • What comes to mind when you hear the word?

Today, an editor of a magazine I write for told me she loves an article I wrote about synergy. She noted that the article empowers people who often feel “less than” and it cements the fact that we all have a part of creating, and each part is needed. So maybe there’s hope for synergy after all! There is if I have anything to do with it!

Comment here.

What can a GPS for sensitive people teach us about feedback? Quite a bit, actually. We got some great input from my request for phrases for a GPS designed to avoid stepping on people’s self-esteem issues and help them move forward. And while actually creating a GPS like that might be pandering, the phrases offered give insight into qualities of effective feedback that can help us give awesome feedback ourselves.

Have a chuckle and vote for your favorites at: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/H6XQZSP 

Use any criteria you like. If you will, share what you liked in particular about the phrases you chose. The winner gets $100 in SpeakStrong products. So vote early and often. You also can still contribute ideas on my blog at: http://www.speakstrong.com/speakstrong-news/689-gps . You have until Monday evening, August 15th to submit your phrases.

Late entries can still win, but the sooner you get yours in, the sooner I’ll add them to the list and the greater your chances. I’ll announce the winning phrase at my How to Give Awesome, Effective Feedback Webinar Wednesday.

Wednesday, August 15th: How to Give Awesome, Effective Feedback Webinar

11:00 am MDT – check your time zone. That’s mountain daylight. This is a slide preview. Or you can go straight to the registration page. 
http://www.speakstrong.com/services/webinars/704-feedback 

Find out how to give feedback people can hear. Plus, how you can flip feedback into feed-forward to use the power of pull communication over the pressure of push. We’ll expand on lessons from a GPS for sensitive people into a very practical and useful set of tips and techniques to be able to give feedback people can hear.

• Learn six phrases to help you shift feedback into feed-forward
• The top five qualities of effective feedback
• How to flip feedback into feed-forward and leverage the power of pull communication over the pressure of push
• When to coach and when to let people find their own way
• How to shift the focus from right and wrong to opportunities and possibilities

and much more.

Register now. http://www.speakstrong.com/services/webinars/704-feedback 

The Beyond-Busy Webinar is posted

Click below to view the slides and/or the replay. Here’s one comment: “It was a great use of my time” Webinar participant

http://www.speakstrong.com/services/webinars 

GPS Phrases for Super-Sensitive People

Here’s a fun one for you. Imagine you were tasked with creating GPS phrases for sensitive people. What kinds of things would your GPS guide say when the driver ignored your advice, took a wrong turn…that kind of thing?
 

I posted this yesterday and already have several really creative and entertaining contributions. When I have enough and I’m ready—I’m thinking by next Wednesday—I’ll post them in a survey for you to vote.  There’s even a prize.
 

Here’s one I like. When someone turns left when the GPS says to go right:

• I meant the other left.

Visit my blog to read the current offerings and get a great laugh. Wanna play? Just post. (My site ws hyjacked a few montha ago, and a lot of things went awry, even after it was fixed. I disicovered last week my blog post option didn’t work – but now it does!)

www.speakstrong.com/blog

 While you’re there, follow my blog. I post more often than I email. Thanks!

Beyond Busy communication – Free Webinar

“When people get too busy, it changes how they communicate.” Jill Konrath.

Ever since I heard Jill say that, I’ve been noticing how true it is. I’ve also been collecting ideas about how to SpeakStrong in a beyond-busy world. I’ve observed how people talk with one foot out the door, answer emails without having read them (if they answer at all), and listen while texting their friends. I’ve noticed people ask questions I answered already, answer questions I didn’t ask, and make assumptions that don’t apply.
But mostly, I’ve noticed how much time is wasted correcting errors that would not have happened if people knew how to communicate in a beyond-busy world.

It takes a lot more time to correct errors due to hasty communication than it does to say it right the first time.

Busy-ness changes the rules and requirements of successful business communication.

In this free webinar you will discover:

• What going on? How busy-ness has changed the way people communicate
• What five assumptions you can no longer make in a beyond-busy world
• One very counter-intuitive tip that will increase the effectiveness of your communication
• What you can do up front to minimize the fall-out from “gotta-go-communication”
• The top ten PowerPhrases you can use to cut through the noise of your busy-ness world
• Where you need to be assertive and where you need to cut people some slack in this new world

Lots of practical tips in this one, so register now. 

SpeakStrong Summer School Intensive Starts Thursday August 2nd

My SpeakStrong Summer School Web Intensive will launch next week. Registration is limited to 8 participants, so let me know right away if you’re interested. Cost is $225 and that includes assessments, unlimited email support, optional between session private coaching calls and five 1 to 1 1/2 hour small group conference/web sessions. 

Learn how to really say what you mean and mean what you say without being mean when you say it. Email questions.

www.speakstrong.com/webinars (scroll down.) 

Opportunitynowhere webinar slides and handouts

If you missed the webinar Friday, you didn’t miss much. No, I’m not being modest. I had technical difficulties and had to abort the mission. The good news is I recorded an audio and sent the link out to people who registered. I got some great feedback about it, so clearly all was not lost. More good news is the fact that I’m much more excited about my new webianr alternative.

But I didn’t stop there. I wanted to keep improving the presentation, so I reworked it and reworked it. It’s on my site and on SlideShare (where you can download it). Mike, one of my mentors, and I will be discussing it later today, so I expect  the presentation will keep evolving.

Scroll on through the OpportunityNOW here SlideShare where you can see the PowerPoint notes, or on my site, where you can also download the audio and handout. 

www.speakstrong.com/webinars (Scroll down). 

.

THE WALDO CANYON FIRE: A PERSONAL LOOK

Hi from Cascade, Colorado, where the forests behind our enclave are burned, but the community is fine. It seems like yesterday that we watched the fate of our homes change in the form of a red fire line that Type I fire incident commander Rich Harvey pointed to on a map on television. That line was yards away from our enclave and home. We  were preparing ourselves to lose everything. In the end we lost nothing. Instead, our friends on the other side of the ridge are now homeless. It was a dramatic experience for the entire community. I share my experience of it in my Cascade Chronicles at: www.speakstrong.com/fire.

I’ve never known this as much as I know it now – words are important, but have their limit. The pictures help me convey what it was like for us.

Scroll on through. www.speakstrong.com/fire. Then I invite your comments on one of my blog posts: www.speakstrong.com/blog  

SPEAKSTRONG SUMMER SCHOOL WEBINARS Start Friday

Ann’s New Dream Job – the Organic Path to Excellence

Ann and I got out for a hike in our charred trails this week. That’s our last trip on those trails – the signs to stay out are very forbidding now, and we happened to run into our state senator, mayor, fire chief, and others who reminded us that the forests are closed. Okay, we get it. Thanks for being so gracious about it. 

Anyway, Ann has her dream job. Her new team is delightful but disorganized, and Ann is all about organization. (Her tea cabinet in her home is a thing of beauty.) They’ll decide what to do with the information, but as with all great reports, Ann told a story, made the story credible with data, and painted a picture so clear that the action plan almost is creating itself. 

In a previous job, Ann’s clarity threatened her team. In this one, they love it. So how did she get where she is? By trial and error and studying what didn’t work out as a guide to finding a career opportunity that is. Yes, she plans, but she also follows an organic path to excellence. Others might not have even recognized the breadcrumbs that marked the path that led to her success. 

SpeakStrong Summer School Webinars Starts with an unusual career path webinar – this Friday!

Okay, a wedding, a honeymoon, four trainings and a fire evacuation later, I’m ready to rock and roll. I’m creating a webinar series. Two of the webinars are free. Five of the webinars will be for a small group of 5-8 people who are interested in what I would call both remedial and advanced communication development.

I say remedial because we’ll go over communication basics that we should have learned, but most of us haven’t. Many are communication skills that I still practice deliberately after all
these years. I also say advanced because we’ll be exploring communication subtleties that require a high level of communication consciousness. I still catch myself “going unconscious” at times.

Summer Webinar Schedule

FREE SpeakStrong Summer School series: attend either one or both

1. Friday July 20th: 11 AM Mountain Time
Opportunitynowhere (now here) SpeakStrong and an Organic Path to
Career and Personal Excellence
Expanded description below
Register now: www.speakstrong.com/webinars 

 2. Friday July 27th: 11 AM Mountain Time
Communication Skills in a Beyond-busy World

SpeakStrong Summer School Small Group Intensive, just $225 for the intensive series 

Highly interactive. Limit 8 participants This will include assessments, individual guidance, exercises, copies of my SpeakStrong book and much more. This will give a great boost to your practice of saying what you mean and meaning what you say without being mean when you say it. 

Session 1. Thursday August 2nd: 11 AM Mountain Time
SpeakStrong Summer School Launch,
Your SpeakStrong Communication Reality and Possibility:
Assessments and Vision 

Session 2. Monday August 6th: 11 AM Mountain Time
Say What You Mean: How to Find and Empower Your Individual Voice

Session 3. Thursday August 9th: 11 AM Mountain Time
Mean What You Say: Protect the Power of Your Voice Through Verbal
Precision, Intention and Commitment

Session 4. Monday August 13th: 11 AM Mountain Time
Don’t Be Mean When You Say It: Influence Through Grace, Not
Persuasion, Manipulation or Power

 Session 5. Thursday August 16th: 11 AM Mountain Time
Success From Finesse: How to Polish Your Life and Career by Polishing Your
Communication

Registration will open soon. 

REGISTRATION

The first free webinar is available for registration. You can read more about it and register here. www.speakstrong.com/webinars

I’ll be posting the slides and some worksheets on that page and the landing page before Friday.

The second webinar will open for registration later this week. 

The SpeakStrong Summer School will only cost $225 and is limited to eight participants, so you might want to let me know if you want me to hold a spot for you before registration opens. It comes with all kinds of extras, including the SpeakStrong book and personal assessments. Also, the times are preliminary, so if you’re interested, but the specific dates don’t work for you, email me.

SpeakStrong Summer School Launch:
OPPORTUNITYNOWHERE (NOW HERE) SPEAKSTRONG
AND AN ORGANIC PATH TO CAREER AND PERSONAL EXCELLENCE

www.speakstrong.com/webinars 

How did Ann end up in her dream job on her dream team? How did Nancy become Medical Staff Coordinator? How did I go from never having written anything to writing a book that sold over 300,000 copies? How did Betty change her work from something that was “killing her” into what she now considers a ministry that she is grateful for? 

They (and I) followed an Organic Path to Career Excellence.

Speaking Strong is about saying what you mean and meaning what you say without being mean when you say it. That practice and the philosophy behind it leads to a different, more essential way of living. That includes career planning and goal setting. This webinar will help you find success principles you can live by.

This presentation evolved out of an Executive Admin training I gave last April in Dallas. The group wanted more emphasis on career planning. That led me to some deep thinking about what I know about career planning, advancement and success. That led me to write an article about it in my Office Pro Magazine column. That evolved into this webinar.

Office Pro Magazine Article:
http://officepro.iaap-hq.org/DigitalAnywhere/viewer.aspx?id=11&pageId=40

In other words, this webinar came about organically. I’m excited about it, because there are things in it I don’t hear other places.

So register now 

Miss the Weekly Newsletters? Register for the Blog

I have lots of blog posts, so if you’re not subscribed to it, I invite you to. You can register here:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/feedburner/efvWy

Here’s one of my favorites. I overheard a young girl talk about the fire.
http://www.speakstrong.com/character-based-communication/682-conflation

Thanks! I hope to see you Friday!

#405, December, 2011 www.speakstrong.com
Contents: Humble Leadership: Tim Tebow is a game changer – and i’m not talking football NIA and SpeakStrong make great gifts Lean PowerPhrase: What is preventing the operator from running this way? LuAnn and Creating Your Own Job Opportunities What are you courting? Books by the box   Check out my other blog articles!   Books to help you find the perfect words to collaborate without compromise: Subscribe to my blog feed SS Method Handbook Twitter Posts Facebook Pledge Meryl on Facebook Blog Free stuff Subscribe to Newsletter  Services Speaking Custom Webinars Training Coaching	SpeakStrong Newsletter Please do not hit reply.Email me: MerylRunion(at)SpeakStrong.com Humble Leadership: Tim Tebow is a game changer – and I’m not talking about football Broncos football got interesting again, thanks to quarterback Tim Tebow. He’s starting a lot of conversations, and the conversation that interests me most is about how he models humble leadership. In a world of narcissistic celebrities it’s a breath of fresh air to hear the voice of one who doesn’t let success go to his head. It’s quotes like this one that are the real game changers.  I know I had a lot of help. Offensive line did a great job and receivers stepped up and made me look a lot better than I really am. The more Tebow talks, the more inspiring he is. He continually says the “right” things in ways that only sincere people can. Is this guy for real? It sure seems like it. And that pleases and encourages me. We get to see what humility looks like in someone whose star is rising. comment ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* NIA and SpeakStrong make great gifts: Free upgrade to priority shipping in the US Have you ever danced your way to clarity? I offer NIA dance DVDs because I love them. Plus, there’s nothing like freeform dance and exercise to help you find your voice to SpeakStrong. If I’m stuck on how to say something, a good dance session will shake me loose. So check out my dance DVDs. And also, many people tell me my books are very welcome gifts among people of all ages. Like in this pic. Thanks Paul, for sending it! For the rest of this week, I offer a free upgrade to priority shipping for all US orders. Just note in the special instructions that you’d like the upgrade. Visit my store ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Lean PowerPhrase: What is preventing the operator from running this way? In my last newsletter I featured the PowerPhrase: How do you want the process to operate? This week I have the follow-up to that phrase. What is preventing the operator from running this way? In our offices, we might adapt the question to things like, What is preventing the sales force from recording their sales the way we instruct them? The point is, we know how we want the process to work and if it’s not working that way, instead of going into blame, we go into problem-solving. This phrase assumes – as lean managers do – that people want to do good work and need support in overcoming obstacles, not criticism when their work falls short. So here’s an example most everyone will relate to. Your overloaded inbox. I totally overbooked myself this summer and am still playing catch up. My inbox topped 2000 emails. So I have a process – a system to catch up. I have a target ideal for number of emails in my inbox on an ongoing basis. To get there, I have a target to reduce my inbox by each week and a target for each day. My initial target numbers were much higher than the targets I set now, because initially I had a lot of low-hanging fruit – emails that I didn’t need to take action on. I also have systems to manage the emails that come in. My process is to handle most email as it arrives, and every one by the end of the day. I’m not quite there yet. So to get there, Manager Meryl asks Operator Meryl, What prevents you from acting on that email now? Sometimes the answer is that I don’t have a place to file it. That gets me improving my filing system. The key is to observe my thinking when I process each email. That’s where I get the data I need to work ON my email management system as I work IN it. So what prevents you from operating at the highest level? There could be quite an opportunity in your answer. comment ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* LuAnn and Creating Your Own Job Opportunities I was in Phoenix last week, leading The Ultimate Admin, where we talked about how important it is to create your own job opportunities by seeing the needs in the workplace and filling them. The comic Luann illustrated this well. When TJ’s new boss hands him a list of tasks, he responds by defining his job for himself. His list says he won’t do toilets, empty trash or run errands but he will double sales. (Click here for the blog post for a larger version of the strip.) Okay, if you take this example too literally, it could get you fired. You might not want to start out with what you won’t do. But TJ does illustrate the concept of upshifting your job by adding value. And once you’re doing work that uses your very best skills, you have a strong case for moving away from the work that doesn’t.  What an awesome group of professionals we had in Phoenix! Several had done just that – seen a need and filled it, making their jobs more interesting, productive and fun. Are you working by your own design, not default? comment ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* What are you courting? Rhonda posted an interesting article about her speed-dating experience. In ten "dates," not one man asked her about herself. She has since married a wonderful man, but he triggered her ire when she called home each day while travelling to have him tell her about his day, but never inquire about hers. On day five, Rhonda asked, "Don’t you even want to hear about my day?" He noticed his omission, apologized, inquired about her day, and has been more attentive ever since. A success story? Yes… and… In my way of thinking, if ten men and her wonderful hubby all talk about themselves and don’t think to inquire about her, it might be a trait, not a flaw. continued… ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Books by the box With the holidays coming up, consider giving people the gift of the perfect words. You can get books for you whole team at a great price when you order books by the box. Or, just get yourself a book or two to prepare yourself to communicate effectively throughout the holiday rush. That’s it for now. It’s so nice to be back.
SpeakStrong and collaborate without compromise Got a communication question? Ask me!