ISPI MEMBER since 2009, former VP of Logistics, President (and current Past President).

Inge Zegel is literally a “high flyer”. As a former skydiver with over 500 jumps to her credit, she often motivated and trained others to “take the leap”. This evolved into her current role as a trainer and facilitator.

Although her skydiving days are behind her, she continues to elevate in other ways. She recently hiked the French Alps: 670 km from Lake Geneva to the Mediterranean, with a total ascent of 34,000+ meters.

She also fulfilled a lifetime dream by attending “circus school”, learning to fly on the trapeze and even participating in a corporate event. One way or the other, our Past President will find a way to soar – both literally and figuratively, as flying through the sky is in her genes.

Professional and contact information.

Inge Zegel
Facilitation & Instructional Design
www.zegel.ca / 604-317-7109

“The potency of love in organizations is largely denied and repressed,” he says in the article. “We experience the same fear of it that we previously did with sex and power.” And he goes on to quote Kahlil Gilbran (“The Prophet”, 1969): “Work is love made visible. And if you cannot work with love, but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of those who work with joy.”

Why talk about love in the workplace now? Because we all need to give and get love, he says. “If nothing else, love is made necessary by the fact that there is no such thing as independent life. It arises from our fundamental connectedness.”

The dark side of any human motivation, however, can lead us to behaviour that looks and feels less than loving. Fear acts to block and muddy motives and actions such that it may become difficult to discern the individual’s original motivation. And for people to be fully engaged in their working lives, we need to drive out the fear, to allow people to find genuine satisfaction in all that they do in the workplace.

“It is worthwhile to make as many aspects of the workplace as possible into something that people can and will love, to find ways of doing work that give people experiences of giving their best, of serving the work and others in ways that satisfy their need to love,” he says.

Dr. Harrison asks us to consider these points and a number of significant questions, and the ISPI Vancouver “salon” on February 14 is designed to pose such queries and provide a forum for discussion of your thoughts and answers. For instance,

· What have you observed people in the organization doing that might be motivated by love, rather than by other wants and desires?
· Is love the opposite of fear?
· Where does the need and/or desire for power fit into the scenario of “love made manifest” at work?

That’s on Tuesday, February 14. See you there!

Pre-reading

Contributed by Carol Sutton, VP Logistics and Marketing Coordinator

During this meeting, Greg Nichvalodoff and David Cory walked us through a mock interview/debrief with fictitious employee, Mary Middle, who completed a self evaluation using the EQ-i 2.0 Model of Emotional Intelligence. The report generated clearly defines the areas where emotional experiences have delimited Mary’s ability to contribute effectively as an employee. And although, it didn’t look good for Mary, one thing was clear, if she had the courage to challenged her emotions, then change is possible. This was clearly illustrated by Greg who shared his experiences providing executive coaching and leadership development services to an anonymous corporate client.

Greg and David also presented research that supports their view that emotional intelligence is a major determinant of a person’s success. The models included:

1. Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni, (2002)
2. BarOn EQ-i by Reuven Bar-On, (1997).
3. The Center for Creative Leadership Model which includes 3 orientations (people, process and organization) and 4 behavioural pillars (centered and grounded, action-taking, participative and tough-minded)
4. The LEADS capability framework for leadership (leadersforlife.ca) which is being adopted by Health Authorities across Canada includes 5 areas (lead self, engage others, achieve results, develop coalitions, systems transformations)

Find out more about Emotional Intelligence

Find out more about Greg’s consulting company

In keeping with the spirit of Valentine’s Day, we will convene a conversation (AKA Salon), facilitated by David Gouthro, about the power of love in the workplace and how its presence can enhance performance improvement.

Topics covered in the conversation include:
• What we mean by the power of love in the workplace
• How we have used it successfully
• How can we imagine using it even more effectively in the future

The entire evening will be a series of interactive conversations about the role and power of love in the workplace. We will be learning from each other. Everyone is encouraged to bring their curiosity, experience, and expertise to enhance our capacities to infuse our performance improvement technologies with altruism, respect, and mutual interdependence.

David Gouthro is a skilled facilitator who has led ISPI events many times in the past. He is currently the national president of the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers. David possesses a rare talent for instilling inspiration, courage and innovation in audiences and individuals engaged in his programs and presentations. For over twenty years, he has been encouraging others to seize the day and act to develop greater personal effectiveness, regardless of their situation.

If you’re interested in some pre-reading, try Roger Harrison, “Accessing the Power of Love in the Workplace: an Emerging Theory”. Access at http://globaltransformingensemble.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/power-of-love.pdf

Register today

Ken teaching the Straw through the Potato trick.

Ken Bellemare – member since 2005, presenter and former VP of Marketing.

OCCUPATION: train-the-trainer specialist and magician

DID YOU KNOW that while in Bahrain, Ken played cards and entertained Shaikh Fawaz in his weekly medullas at the King’s palace.  Ken was in the Kingdom of Bahrain to train sports coaches as part of the Canada National Coaching Certification Program of which Ken was a founding member. This was a natural offshoot of Ken’s background as a college football player and athletic director.

Ken and his court - sport coaching workshop in Bahrain.

To “do away with boring presentations” phone Ken at (778) 327-9624 or email him at kbellemare@shaw.ca

As we arrived, we got to create new names based on the children’s book: Captain Underpants and the Perilous Plot of Professor Poopypants by Dave Pilkey.  In case we were tongue-tied during our salmon dinner, a variety of provocative questions were scattered around: “You have just discovered a large cookie jar full of something wonderful  It isn’t money.  What’s in there?”

Each game focused on a different learning objective.  The learning point for the “I’m A…” game, for example, stressed that there are more dimensions to an individual than race or national origin. “Your initial needs”, on the other hand, helped to identify learner expectations at the beginning of a session.  Another well-received ice-breaker was “Imaginary Ball Toss” in which the control of the imaginary object gradually changes from trainer to participant in a safe and creative way.

Ken Bellemare also contributed a number of games to the mix, including his “Really like/Really don’t like” activity. This Wizbanger activity forces participants to take a different point of view and opens your mind to new possibilities.  Ken’s “Stop, Look & Listen” activity provided an excellent way for participants to provide instant feedback without speaking. It also forces participants to take a stand without the influence of peer pressure.

In the energizers department, participation was paramount and the attendees gleefully joined in for a rousing and energizing chorus of “My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean” in which the group was divided into 6 parts and stood when (and only when) their part was called for. The “Follow the Leader Waka Waka” dance sequence was also a blast. I have to honestly say I don’t remember the learning objective for either of these but it was fun!  The objective may well have been just to get us moving and that it did!

For closing, we did a number of activities including one of my favourite Thiagi exercises “opened my eyes, got me on my feet, touched my heart, made a 360 degree change”.  Snoopy creative learnings and paper airplanes flying with “what I’ll use from tonite” made an energizing ending to a session where time too managed to fly.

Thank you, Carol Ann for facilitating an enjoyable, educational and engaging evening!

David Cory

Greg Nichvalodoff

featuring Greg Nichvalodoff, MBA and David Cory, MA
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
5:30 to 7:30 pm

Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver
950 West 41st Avenue (41st & Oak, southeast corner)

Register now: http://www.gifttool.com/registrar/ShowEventDetails?ID=1647&EID=11204

Think of a company or an organization you are familiar with. Visualize yourself having the opportunity to help them build capacity and improve results through specific tools and follow-up coaching. Now, imagine you are presenting the exciting, positive results of this work to ISPI Vancouver chapter members.

That’s exactly what our guest speakers – Greg Nichvalodoff and David Cory, will be doing on January 10 (2012) – and you’re invited to hear all about it.

And, you will hear the really big news: the gains this organization has made as a result of the initiative.

Whether your work is focused on instructional design, organizational performance, or process improvement, you will find something this session that applies to your concerns.

Register now: http://www.gifttool.com/registrar/ShowEventDetails?ID=1647&EID=11204

Greg Nichvalodoff, BSc. BM (Honors), MBA, CPC, Greg specializes in Organizational and Leadership Development, Executive Performance Coaching, Business Diagnostics and Strategic Planning. Greg is a former CEO and COO, with over 25 years of organizational experience.

David Cory, B.Ed., M.A., David specializes in leadership development based on the concept of emotional intelligence. David has coached and trained leaders in world leading corporations in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, the Caribbean, and all over North America.

If you are a real keener, do some homework. Have a look at Stein, Steven and Book, Howard, The EQ Edge: Emotional Intelligence and Your Success, third edition, 2011.

What did we do?

The technology used at the recording end was an iPad, loaded with Skype. Sheryl, at the receiving end, had Skype on her MacBook. Since this is technology that should just be placed in one location and ‘turned on’, we chose to focus on the screen where the slides were projected.  Sound was picked up well by the iPad so microphones weren’t needed.

What was the result?

The sound quality was quite good – Here’s an excerpt which covers slides 14-15 in the handout.  ISPI_11.2011_clip It’s a lively presentation and discussion facilitated by Linda Gross about developing a key message for your presentation.   

With respect to the visuals, most of the slides did not record well.  There was some discernment of images on slides will a high degree of contrast but on the whole, the visual recording was disappointing.  Sadly, at the receiving end, Sheryl was staring at a blank screen.  She did have a copy of the handouts and was able to hear the lively discussion – so all was not lost.

What does the future hold?

I’m not deterred by this little recording glitch – there will be more experiments in the future!

Stay tuned

Be There! Live Event Studio at Support Services Unlimited
102 – 211 Columbia Street, Vancouver

Attend in person at the studio or
 join us online for this interactive event from this state-of-the-art studio.

 Register Now: http://bit.ly/sozxIS

Is your business sitting on a goldmine, and you just don’t know it?
Is your wealth right before your eyes, but you can’t see it?
Perhaps you don’t know what you’re looking for, or where to look.

Lean profit expert Phil Kirby, founder of the performance improvement company Organization Thoughtware^® International Inc., guarantees that with the right “thoughtware” and effective processes, any business can achieve a minimum 50% performance improvement.

He says that today’s competitive edge is about processes. And chances are that only about 10% of our processes add value. The other 90% is waste. There – deep beneath the waste of your processes – is where the treasure can be found.

This special session with Phil Kirby will show you how to engage new thoughtware^®; i.e. how to think differently about your business.

It’s simple – and hard, but best process always wins. Phil’s “treasure hunters” revolutionize their bottom lines.

Phil’s axiom: Whenever you manage resources – costs go up; when you manage workflow – costs go down – always!

When using Phil’s methods, people, process and performance improvements align. Unprecedented results await the fearless. Come find out how. 

Phil Kirby founded Organization Thoughtware^® International Inc. some 20 years ago; www.thoughtware.ca/index.html  or http://www.philkirbylive.com. His education includes economics at Concordia University, and an MBA (organization behaviour) from the Schulich School of Business,  York University. He practised labour relations at Texaco; was a corporate OD and Divisional HR Manager at Westinghouse, and was the first non-engineer to head that corporation’s Plant, Engineering and Marketing divisions. Author of Thoughtware®: Change the Thinking & the Organization Will Change Itself and The Future: You Can’t Get There From Here, Phil’s hands-on experience encompasses an impressive list of blue-chip clients. As Phil Kirby, Treasure Hunter, he mesmerizes audiences worldwide with passionate, provocative and practical ideas that make sense – and money.

The International Society for Performance Improvement is a voluntary organization of professionals dedicated to the development of Human Performance Technology”(HPT); i.e. the systematic approach to improving productivity and competence based on a set of recognized methods, procedures, and problem-solving strategies.

Phil’s Tips & Strategies

Phil Kirby says, “Forget what you know, and begin to think like a treasure hunter.” And he offers 5 helpful tips to get you started.

1. Problems lead to treasure. Stop hiding them and instead, go looking for “trouble”. Experiment and learn.
2. Think process and workflow. To see a process, look where information is exchanged. Measure process capabilities and stop managing resources (people and equipment). Process is where the treasure is hidden.
3. The treasure usually is well hidden: the ratio generally is 10 times waste to work, or 10 per cent treasure hiding beneath 90 per cent waste.

So stop measuring results; instead, understand the purpose of the process, and measure your capability to achieve that purpose. The only value of a measure is to understand and improve a process.

1.  Limit technology; stop automating everything. Today’s processes require flexibility, responsiveness and variety, and variety is best handled by people, not computers. Choose “thoughtware” over hardware or software.
2. Save your money; stop throwing it at problems. Increased spending will not fix bad process. Only process thinking will generate breakthrough results.

There’s lots more of Phil’s wisdom to come, on Jan 12^th.

Register Now: http://bit.ly/sozxIS

• Engage quickly
• Connect deeply
• Motivate now

1.  Engage quickly

Linda’s charming, vibrant and compassionate personality was evident as soon as you entered the room.  She greeted each participant with a warm and enthusiastic welcome. 

2.  Connect deeply

The stories Linda recounted were ones that I could personally relate to and she provided suggestions and examples of how to overcome many common presentation pitfalls.

3.  Motivate now

I left the meeting motivated to find out more about story telling and am currently on the waiting list at the Vancouver Library for a book that Linda recommended called “The Story Factor” by Annette Simmons.

To get a sneak peek at the topics covered, check out the participant handout that Linda used during her presentation.