Creating a Visual Company: What it means and why productivity hinges upon it

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In a Visual Company people communicate visually with flowcharts, mind maps and other visuals just as frequently as they do with written documents. Why?

We live in exponential times. It’s estimated that more unique information will be generated this year alone than in the previous five thousand years combined!

We’ve all heard the saying “a picture is worth a thousand words.” Visuals let you condense information into a form that is both quickly digestible and shows connections and relationships. In a fast changing world, using visuals helps solve the information overload problem. I believe that within five to ten years, all companies will be visual companies.

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About the Author

Paul Stannard is the founder and CEO of SmartDraw.com. A self-taught software developer, Paul began his career in the PC industry in 1980, founding a software company that developed software for Apple computers. Since that time, he has written more than a dozen published software applications, primarily graphics software. Paul, himself, wrote the first version of SmartDraw, and continues to play a key role in developing the company’s software products. To read Paul’s complete biography, click here.

StrategyDriven Podcast Special Edition 31b – An Interview with Stacey Hanke, author of Yes You Can!, part 2 of 2

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StrategyDriven Podcasts focus on the tools and techniques executives and managers can use to improve their organization’s alignment and accountability to ultimately achieve superior results. These podcasts elaborate on the best practice and warning flag articles on the StrategyDriven website.

Special Edition 31b – An Interview with Stacey Hanke, author of Yes You Can!, part 2 of 2 explores the internal and external communications factors that help us positively influence those around us to take the actions we desire. During our discussion, Stacey Hanke, author of Yes You Can!: Everything You Need From A to Z to Influence Others to Take Action and President of 1st Impressions Consulting, shares with us her insights and illustrative examples regarding:

  • key actions that make meetings more effective, including:
    • the purpose for holding a meeting versus other forms of mass or group communication
    • when meetings should be scheduled and agendas provided
    • rules of thumb for determining who to invite to a meeting
  • how to overcome one’s fear and deliver great presentations
  • presentation bad habits and why they should be avoided

Additional Information

In addition to the outstanding insights Stacey shares in Yes You Can! and this special edition podcast are the resources accessible from her website, www.1stImpressionConsulting.com.   Stacey’s book, Yes You Can!, can be purchased by clicking here.

Final Request…

The strength of our community grows with the additional insights brought by our expanding member base. Please consider rating us on iTunes by clicking here. Rating the StrategyDriven Podcast and providing your comments online improves our ranking and helps us attract new listeners which, in turn, helps us grow our community.

Thank you again for listening to the StrategyDriven Podcast!

About the Author

Stacey Hanke is founder of 1st Impression Consulting, and author of Yes You Can!: Everything You Need From A to Z to Influence Others to Take Action. Her client list is vast; including Coca-Cola, Kohl’s, United States Army, Navy and Air Force, Leo Burnett and the FDA. She has been featured by SmartMoney magazine, Business Week, Chicago WGN and WLS-AM. To read Stacey’s complete biography, click here.

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StrategyDriven Podcast Special Edition 31a – An Interview with Stacey Hanke, author of Yes You Can!, part 1 of 2

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StrategyDriven Podcasts focus on the tools and techniques executives and managers can use to improve their organization’s alignment and accountability to ultimately achieve superior results. These podcasts elaborate on the best practice and warning flag articles on the StrategyDriven website.

Special Edition 31a – An Interview with Stacey Hanke, author of Yes You Can!, part 1 of 2 explores the internal and external communications factors that help us positively influence those around us to take the actions we desire. During our discussion, Stacey Hanke, author of Yes You Can!: Everything You Need From A to Z to Influence Others to Take Action and President of 1st Impressions Consulting, shares with us her insights and illustrative examples regarding:

  • what it means to ‘communicate with influence’
  • Attitude, Authenticity, and Audience – the three most essential skills to communicating with influence
  • why consistency in communication is important to communicating with influence and building trust

Additional Information

In addition to the outstanding insights Stacey shares in Yes You Can! and this special edition podcast are the resources accessible from her website, www.1stImpressionConsulting.com.   Stacey’s book, Yes You Can!, can be purchased by clicking here.

About the Author

Stacey Hanke is founder of 1st Impression Consulting, and author of Yes You Can!: Everything You Need From A to Z to Influence Others to Take Action. Her client list is vast; including Coca-Cola, Kohl’s, United States Army, Navy and Air Force, Leo Burnett and the FDA. She has been featured by SmartMoney magazine, Business Week, Chicago WGN and WLS-AM. To read Stacey’s complete biography, click here.

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Can You Hear Me Now? Top Tips To Make Sure Your Communication Isn’t Breaking Up

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We don’t know what we don’t know and this is why communication can be challenging. How many of us can honestly say we’re 100% sure our messages are heard and that we’re always perceived as confident, credible and trustworthy? Have you ever walked away from a meeting, media interview or face-to-face conversation with a client saying to yourself, “I shouldn’t have said what I said,” or “I can’t believe I forgot to say…?”

As a leader, you must be able to clearly communicate your purpose and value. Most of us are under the blurred assumption, “If I communicate a message it’s heard.” In reality, your message may not have been heard at all.

Lindsay Edmonds Wickman, Associate Editor for the Chief Learning Officer magazine, states: “…we are are good at analyzing business situations and making decisions, but what we aren’t as good at is communicating with others.”

How do you know if your communication is breaking up? When what you say isn’t consistent with how you say it. For example, when someone tells you “I’m so excited to have this opportunity to work with you,” and they communicate this statement in a monotone and boring voice. Their facial expressions are lifeless. They never look you in the eye and they’re fidgeting with a pen. You’d question their credibility and knowledge, and not take action on what they have to say. To guarantee your message is heard so that you’re communicating with impact and influence, make sure you’re always following these five tips.

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About the Author

Stacey Hanke is founder of 1st Impression Consulting, Inc. and co-author of Yes You Can! Everything You Need From A to Z To Influence Others To Take Action. Her client list is vast from Coca-Cola, Kohl’s, United States Army, Navy and Air Force, Leo Burnett and the FDA. She has been featured with: SmartMoney magazine, Business Week, Chicago WGN and WLS-AM.

Visit Stacey at: www.1stimpressionconsulting.com.

StrategyDriven Podcast Special Edition 23 – An Interview with Susan Scott, author of Fierce Leadership

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StrategyDriven Podcasts focus on the tools and techniques executives and managers can use to improve their organization’s alignment and accountability to ultimately achieve superior results. These podcasts elaborate on the best practice and warning flag articles on the StrategyDriven website.

Special Edition 23 – An Interview with Susan Scott, author of Fierce Leadership explores how how executives and managers can transform their organizations through candid, meaningful dialogue with each other, their employees, and their customers. During our discussion, Susan Scott, author of Fierce Leadership: A Bold Alternative to the Worst “Best” Practices of Business Today and Founder and CEO of Fierce, Inc., shares with us her insights and illustrative examples regarding:

  • what Fierce Leadership is
  • developing and using ‘squid eye‘ to recognize business practices that challenge individual and organizational success
  • engaging in ‘mineral rights‘ deep dive converations to gain full understanding of a situation including one’s personal contributions and impacts
  • the six worst ‘best’ business practices and their Fierce Leadership alternatives
  • how to promote Fierce Leadership and Fierce Converstations throughout one’s organization

Additional Information

In addition to the outstanding insights Susan shares in Fierce Leadership and this special edition podcast are the additional resources accessible from her organization’s website at www.FierceInc.com and her books’ websites at www.FierceLeadership.com and www.FierceConversations.com. Susan’s book, Fierce Leadership, can be purchased by clicking here.

Complimenting Fierce Leadership, is Susan’s book, Fierce Conversations: Achieving Success at Work and in Life One Conversation at a Time. Fierce Conversations can be purchased by clicking here.

Final Request…

The strength of our community grows with the additional insights brought by our expanding member base. Please consider rating us on iTunes by clicking here. Rating the StrategyDriven Podcast and providing your comments online improves our ranking and helps us attract new listeners which, in turn, helps us grow our community.

Thank you again for listening to the StrategyDriven Podcast!

About the Author

Susan Scott, author of Fierce Leadership, is Founder and CEO of the global training company Fierce, Inc.. For over two decades, Susan has helped executives at companies such as Microsoft, Coke, Starbucks, Cisco, and Google transform their companies by teaching them how to engage in more vibrant dialogue with one another, their employees, and their customers. She is a globally recognized thought leader, the bestselling author of Fierce Conversations, and recipient of the 2008 Stevie award for Entrepreneur of the Year. To read Susan’s full biography, click here.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 43:20 — 59.6MB)

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