"We don't see things as they are, we see things as we are" - Anais Nin
That's where a Shadow Coach™ comes into play. We don't work with you based on your interpretation; we work with you based on what's real and true. If you can't find the truth right now, right where you are, then where in the world are you going to find it?
People see things through filters, through their past history, cultural background, 'programming' and experience. They rarely see things are they are and once they are interpreted, they fit these experiences into the context of their past history, not experience them for what they are as the moments unfold.
Many of my clients, extraordinary individuals who are in positions of leadership, learn at an amazingly fast rate, however how they integrate what they learned into their ways of being is usually my challenge. They can learn but do they use what they learned to move forward? It's the context and content of their lives that make the difference between what they learn and what they'll use, oftentimes a matter of comfort zone, many a time fear to try something radically new.
Have you taken a moment to think of what your filters might be? For example, judging individuals based on anecdotal history shared by a third party, cultural or linguistic differences, your level of energy or just how much effort you'd put into any initiative. What might you be assuming? That's the biggest filter of all. There are filters such as your belief system, expectations of others (another huge filter), fears, leadership style or how open-minded you are. I could go on forever as there are hundreds of filters at play. different filters on any given day, and we all filter information. You won't get rid of them. You can, however become aware of them, not only for yourself but to better understand those around you so you can communicate with them accordingly.
I'd love to hear what filters come to mind for you as sharing them with others will help them take notice.
Best!
Donna Karlin
*Note: Welcome subscriber from Malta. 97 countries and territories and counting!
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Thursday, February 01, 2007
Dealing With a Bully?
Or "Dealing with a Critic, Control Freak or Verbal Bully?"
When I received this article in my inbox I knew whatever Sam Horn (author of Tongue Fu!), wrote would be something invaluable. And when I read the article, “Dealing with a Critic, Control Freak or Verbal Bully?” I knew I had to immediately send it to some of my clients who were living just that. Hey…who isn’t? Show me a person who isn’t dealing with someone in one of these categories and I’ll show you a person who’s living in denial.
Sam’s book “Take the Bully by the Horns” shows us that "Bullies come in all shapes, sizes, genders, ages and professions". And they do! Here’s an excerpt from the article. For the full article, click on Dealing With a Critic and click on the links to order either of her books, Tongue Fu? Or “Take the Bully by the Horns”.
If you do in fact ‘live’ with someone like this, work or home and have a way to deal with them that’s worked for you, please let us know how you do it as I know your help will be very much appreciated.
Best!
Donna Karlin
* Excerpt from “Dealing With a Critic”…
"Actions lie louder than words." Carol Wells.
The Characteristics of a Control Freak Checklist
1. Dissonance. Psychologists agree that one of the primary indicators of a troubled person is incongruent behavior. As Dave Barry pointed out, someone who is nice to you and nasty to "the help" is not who he or she seems. Someone who makes racist remarks and then tries to laugh them off is revealing his or her true character (or lack of). Someone who says s/he loves children but seems remote or rigid when around them is displaying dissonance -- defined as "inconsistency between one’s beliefs and one’s actions." What this means is that you cannot take this person at his or her word. Everything they say will be suspect because you won't know when they're telling the truth and when they're not.
2. Possessiveness. Someone who comes on strong and wants (or has!) to be with you constantly is showing a dangerous need to have you all to him or herself. Possessiveness is defined as "a desire to own or dominate." Bullies often don't have many (or any) friends of their own which means they grow to resent your other relationships. Does this person pout or try to make you feel guilty for abandoning him or her when you spend time with others? Does this person want to know all about your previous partners/bosses, and somehow resent the fact that you've been with or worked for someone other than him or her? Bullies are so insecure they see everyone you care for as competition and as a threat to their dominance. This reluctance to share you with others will only get worse and become more perverse.
3. Secrecy. People who don't want to discuss their background and don't want you to meet their family or colleagues may have something to hide. People who refuse to reveal anything about their past are often concealing emotional baggage. What you don't know can hurt you. Someone who doles out self-revelations in small quantities may seem mysterious and alluring in the beginning. In the long run, being with a private person who withholds most of himself or herself gets lonesome.
4. Bitterness. Does this person have a lot of animosity for his or her parents, former spouse, or previous managers? Please understand you will be reliving and working out the unresolved traumas of this individual's childhood and prior work relationships. You've heard the Zen saying, "Wherever you go, there you are?" This person hasn't yet figured out that his or her source of bitterness is internal, not external. If this individual is lugging around deep-seated resentments, it is only a matter of time before s/he starts accusing you of the same "crimes" former significant others supposedly perpetrated upon him or her.
5. Twists words. Does this person take what you say and turn it into something you didn't mean? Do you sometimes feel on the defensive and don't even know why? Does this person obfuscate - make confusing statements and then accuse you of misunderstanding? Bullies often make commitments and then claim they never made them in the first place. This is a crazy-making ploy designed to turn you inside-out so you don't know what's up.
6. Holds you responsible for their unhappiness. Does this person blame you for his or her bad moods? If they're sad, it's because you didn't ask about their day? If they're depressed, it's because you don't take them anywhere anymore? If they're angry, it's because you said something that provoked them? There will be no pleasing this kind of person. They essentially haven't grown up, and never will as long as they continue holding everyone else but themselves accountable for how they feel.
7. Perfectionist. Does this person nit-pick? Does he or she have such high standards no one ever measures up? Does this individual have to do things himself because anyone else would just "mess it up"? If you're still in the honeymoon or courting phase, you may be temporarily exempt from this person's unceasing criticism. In time though, their insistence on things being done a certain way (their way) will transfer to you and then you'll never be able to do anything right. Jimmy Hoffa once said, "I may have my faults, but being wrong isn't one of them." Tyrants won't admit to any faults, least of all being wrong.
8. Pinpoints your weakness and uses them against you. Tyrants have a talent for ferreting out your emotional Achilles Heel and hobbling you with it. If you don't want to be considered selfish, they'll call you selfish. If you don't want to be perceived as controlling, they'll accuse you of being controlling. If you're unsure of your parenting skills, they'll attack your parenting skills. This is a classical Machiavellian method of exploiting your weakness so you're impotent (lacking power or strength) and they're omnipotent (having unlimited influence or authority.) Their goal is to make you doubt yourself so you're vulnerable to their attempts to own you.
9. Plays martyr. Does he or she try to lay on the guilt trip by saying things like, "Go ahead and go skiing with your friends. I don't mind. I mean, who wants to spend time with an old fogie like me anyway? I'm sure I'll find something to do." Does this person play the long-suffering individual who's unappreciated? Is it a common theme that s/he is the only one holding the office together and everyone else is frivolous, hedonistic, incompetent, or selfish?
10. Hates to have authority questioned. Does this person take umbrage if you dare dispute his or her facts or opinions? Does s/he come across as a "know-it-all" who has to have all the answers? Bullies can't stand to be challenged because they're afraid their "power-house of cards" could come falling down. Their "my way or the highway" communication style is based on their need to be in control and beyond reproach.
If you disagree with this person, does he or she escalate their intensity in an effort to force you to concede? If so, it means that every conversation is going to turn into a verbal battleground. It means this person will start disparaging your intelligence, expertise, and experience so you no longer know what you know and won't have the intellectual confidence to challenge them.
11: Lies, Lies, Lies: Mark Twain once commented that "Truth is more of a stranger than fiction." Does that description fit the person you're dealing with? Does he or she self-aggrandize and exaggerate his or her achievements? In order to win respect, bullies often claim to have been to places they've never been, boast of knowing people they've never met, and excel at things they've never tried.
In the mid 1970's, I had the privilege of working with Grand-Slam tennis champion Rod Laver at his Hilton Head Island resort. A couple times a year we sponsored national tennis camps. Every once in awhile, someone would blow in and we would sense that we were able to deal with a type of individual the Aussies playfully refer to as "all flap and no throttle." These "blowhards" always talked a bigger game than they delivered.
Does the person you're dealing with display "blowhard" tendencies? Does he or she wax eloquently (or not so eloquently) about past accomplishments? Did this individual somehow manage in the first few minutes of meeting you to let you know how much money he made, what degrees she had, or what awards he's won? Was she so intent on impressing you with her curriculum vitae that she failed to ask about yours? Watch out. Red alert. Bully on the loose.
*Reprinted with permission
When I received this article in my inbox I knew whatever Sam Horn (author of Tongue Fu!), wrote would be something invaluable. And when I read the article, “Dealing with a Critic, Control Freak or Verbal Bully?” I knew I had to immediately send it to some of my clients who were living just that. Hey…who isn’t? Show me a person who isn’t dealing with someone in one of these categories and I’ll show you a person who’s living in denial.
Sam’s book “Take the Bully by the Horns” shows us that "Bullies come in all shapes, sizes, genders, ages and professions". And they do! Here’s an excerpt from the article. For the full article, click on Dealing With a Critic and click on the links to order either of her books, Tongue Fu? Or “Take the Bully by the Horns”.
If you do in fact ‘live’ with someone like this, work or home and have a way to deal with them that’s worked for you, please let us know how you do it as I know your help will be very much appreciated.
Best!
Donna Karlin
* Excerpt from “Dealing With a Critic”…
"Actions lie louder than words." Carol Wells.
The Characteristics of a Control Freak Checklist
1. Dissonance. Psychologists agree that one of the primary indicators of a troubled person is incongruent behavior. As Dave Barry pointed out, someone who is nice to you and nasty to "the help" is not who he or she seems. Someone who makes racist remarks and then tries to laugh them off is revealing his or her true character (or lack of). Someone who says s/he loves children but seems remote or rigid when around them is displaying dissonance -- defined as "inconsistency between one’s beliefs and one’s actions." What this means is that you cannot take this person at his or her word. Everything they say will be suspect because you won't know when they're telling the truth and when they're not.
2. Possessiveness. Someone who comes on strong and wants (or has!) to be with you constantly is showing a dangerous need to have you all to him or herself. Possessiveness is defined as "a desire to own or dominate." Bullies often don't have many (or any) friends of their own which means they grow to resent your other relationships. Does this person pout or try to make you feel guilty for abandoning him or her when you spend time with others? Does this person want to know all about your previous partners/bosses, and somehow resent the fact that you've been with or worked for someone other than him or her? Bullies are so insecure they see everyone you care for as competition and as a threat to their dominance. This reluctance to share you with others will only get worse and become more perverse.
3. Secrecy. People who don't want to discuss their background and don't want you to meet their family or colleagues may have something to hide. People who refuse to reveal anything about their past are often concealing emotional baggage. What you don't know can hurt you. Someone who doles out self-revelations in small quantities may seem mysterious and alluring in the beginning. In the long run, being with a private person who withholds most of himself or herself gets lonesome.
4. Bitterness. Does this person have a lot of animosity for his or her parents, former spouse, or previous managers? Please understand you will be reliving and working out the unresolved traumas of this individual's childhood and prior work relationships. You've heard the Zen saying, "Wherever you go, there you are?" This person hasn't yet figured out that his or her source of bitterness is internal, not external. If this individual is lugging around deep-seated resentments, it is only a matter of time before s/he starts accusing you of the same "crimes" former significant others supposedly perpetrated upon him or her.
5. Twists words. Does this person take what you say and turn it into something you didn't mean? Do you sometimes feel on the defensive and don't even know why? Does this person obfuscate - make confusing statements and then accuse you of misunderstanding? Bullies often make commitments and then claim they never made them in the first place. This is a crazy-making ploy designed to turn you inside-out so you don't know what's up.
6. Holds you responsible for their unhappiness. Does this person blame you for his or her bad moods? If they're sad, it's because you didn't ask about their day? If they're depressed, it's because you don't take them anywhere anymore? If they're angry, it's because you said something that provoked them? There will be no pleasing this kind of person. They essentially haven't grown up, and never will as long as they continue holding everyone else but themselves accountable for how they feel.
7. Perfectionist. Does this person nit-pick? Does he or she have such high standards no one ever measures up? Does this individual have to do things himself because anyone else would just "mess it up"? If you're still in the honeymoon or courting phase, you may be temporarily exempt from this person's unceasing criticism. In time though, their insistence on things being done a certain way (their way) will transfer to you and then you'll never be able to do anything right. Jimmy Hoffa once said, "I may have my faults, but being wrong isn't one of them." Tyrants won't admit to any faults, least of all being wrong.
8. Pinpoints your weakness and uses them against you. Tyrants have a talent for ferreting out your emotional Achilles Heel and hobbling you with it. If you don't want to be considered selfish, they'll call you selfish. If you don't want to be perceived as controlling, they'll accuse you of being controlling. If you're unsure of your parenting skills, they'll attack your parenting skills. This is a classical Machiavellian method of exploiting your weakness so you're impotent (lacking power or strength) and they're omnipotent (having unlimited influence or authority.) Their goal is to make you doubt yourself so you're vulnerable to their attempts to own you.
9. Plays martyr. Does he or she try to lay on the guilt trip by saying things like, "Go ahead and go skiing with your friends. I don't mind. I mean, who wants to spend time with an old fogie like me anyway? I'm sure I'll find something to do." Does this person play the long-suffering individual who's unappreciated? Is it a common theme that s/he is the only one holding the office together and everyone else is frivolous, hedonistic, incompetent, or selfish?
10. Hates to have authority questioned. Does this person take umbrage if you dare dispute his or her facts or opinions? Does s/he come across as a "know-it-all" who has to have all the answers? Bullies can't stand to be challenged because they're afraid their "power-house of cards" could come falling down. Their "my way or the highway" communication style is based on their need to be in control and beyond reproach.
If you disagree with this person, does he or she escalate their intensity in an effort to force you to concede? If so, it means that every conversation is going to turn into a verbal battleground. It means this person will start disparaging your intelligence, expertise, and experience so you no longer know what you know and won't have the intellectual confidence to challenge them.
11: Lies, Lies, Lies: Mark Twain once commented that "Truth is more of a stranger than fiction." Does that description fit the person you're dealing with? Does he or she self-aggrandize and exaggerate his or her achievements? In order to win respect, bullies often claim to have been to places they've never been, boast of knowing people they've never met, and excel at things they've never tried.
In the mid 1970's, I had the privilege of working with Grand-Slam tennis champion Rod Laver at his Hilton Head Island resort. A couple times a year we sponsored national tennis camps. Every once in awhile, someone would blow in and we would sense that we were able to deal with a type of individual the Aussies playfully refer to as "all flap and no throttle." These "blowhards" always talked a bigger game than they delivered.
Does the person you're dealing with display "blowhard" tendencies? Does he or she wax eloquently (or not so eloquently) about past accomplishments? Did this individual somehow manage in the first few minutes of meeting you to let you know how much money he made, what degrees she had, or what awards he's won? Was she so intent on impressing you with her curriculum vitae that she failed to ask about yours? Watch out. Red alert. Bully on the loose.
*Reprinted with permission
Saturday, January 27, 2007
And The Results Are...
The question I asked last week was "If you had an extra 15 minutes in your day, how would you use it?"
The answers were as follows:
The answers were as follows:
- Get back into my reading
- Journal
- Talk to my partner/spouse/kids
- Visit my grandmother
- Cook
- Take a bubble bath
- Sleep/cat nap
- Meditate
- Practice/play piano
- Clean my car
- Play!
- Relax with a cup of tea/coffee
Many said it was impossible to answer. Others said "What can I do in 15 minutes?" (now there's a question a Coaches LOVE to wrap their minds around). These answers were given by high level executives. Notice none of those answers had anything whatsoever to do with work.
Those asked had a really hard time answering. It took them longer to answer the question than the 15 minute time allotment. Fascinating hmm? So what comes to mind is, if you really did have an extra 15 minutes in a day, would it fluster you so much to figure out what to do with it that the time would go poof into thin air? More than likely.
15 minutes to me, as a Shadow Coach™ to high level executives and global leaders is a gift from heaven! We rarely have the luxury of time. Often our feedback sessions are 2 - 3 minutes as we run into elevators (private elevators or unoccupied...confidentiality is paramount), in and out of cars on the way back from meetings, escaping for a short walk or to buy a coffee. 15 minutes would be 5 times that amount of feedback time.
15 minutes extra with no interruptions, pressures, commitments with my son or anyone special in my life would be a gift. It could mean a conversation with someone I hadn't had a chance to speak to in way too long. It could be picking out the perfect greeting card for someone.
I received many answers but would like to share one specifically with you as it's from someone I virtually met through my blog and have been in contact with over the years. He is someone I respect very highly, who teaches me through contemplative, words of wisdome and a wealth of experience. I asked him if I might share his response with you, not in its entirety as it's quite long, but the points of it to make you wonder, perhaps and look at time as the gift it truly is....and, as Asmir pointed out, an equalizer for it makes us all the same. We are all gifted with the same amount of time. No more. No less. It doesn't matter our standing in life, class, race or religion. What we do with time is up to us.
An excerpt from Asmir's response: "The question of: "If you had an extra 15 minutes in your day, how would you use it?" perhaps meant to ask: Your time in fact is 100% yours and it ticks at its own speed, nothing can be done about it. Everybody makes decisions. Those who say that they do not actually, do make decisions. They decide not to make decisions."
When I asked Asmir if I might share this because he teaches me so much with his wisdom, his answer was this: "My answer? Follow your heart, you have the answer there. As I said before, life is actually a journey about knowing who we really are. In reality, we keep on manifesting who we really are through what we say or do.
At last, I do not believe in teaching anybody. I think you are like that too. You are right, I was sharing and you know that actually you are the one that teach yourself. All the good things in the world multiply rather than deplete when they are shared. It is true with things like courage, love, knowledge etc."
Only in sharing through this medium could I have connected with him, with all of you, learn from you and hopefully, through sharing teach you something about yourself, about life as well, though what you do with my words, how you listen and process them is your choice and yours alone.
I leave you with this question: If you really were gifted with an extra 15 minutes, would you know what it is you'd do with it? Chunks of 15 minutes appear all the time and many are so flustered by what to do with such a small amount of time, that it evaporates before they know it. What will you do to make sure that doesn't happen so it doesn't tick away all on its own?
Best!
Donna Karlin
Friday, January 19, 2007
The Concept of The Gift of Time
Recently I was asked a fascinating question which, of course, I asked others in turn (hey I AM a Coach and we do questions very well). The question was "If you had an extra 15 minutes in your day, how would you use it?"
The first thoughts that came to mind were clarifying questions as I know my clients would ask me the same ones. "Do you mean during the work day? at home? my day overall?" Valid questions, however the truth comes through return questioning, as often people want you to give them permission (in this indirect way) to choose to take a special gift such as extra time and use it in a specific way that means a lot to them and that might mean being a bit selfish. There isn't a right or wrong answer to this. It's not a trick question. And as it's not possible, at least in this day and age, it's a hypothetical one...but an important, valid one.
Some of the answers were fascinating. I'll share them with you next time around because for now I would really love to hear how you would answer it.
Best!
Donna Karlin
The first thoughts that came to mind were clarifying questions as I know my clients would ask me the same ones. "Do you mean during the work day? at home? my day overall?" Valid questions, however the truth comes through return questioning, as often people want you to give them permission (in this indirect way) to choose to take a special gift such as extra time and use it in a specific way that means a lot to them and that might mean being a bit selfish. There isn't a right or wrong answer to this. It's not a trick question. And as it's not possible, at least in this day and age, it's a hypothetical one...but an important, valid one.
Some of the answers were fascinating. I'll share them with you next time around because for now I would really love to hear how you would answer it.
Best!
Donna Karlin
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Yes...No....Maybe?
How many work for leaders who can’t make a decision come love or money? Unfortunately that seems to be a state of affairs way too often, especially in smaller businesses. In the corporate world, a leader who can’t make a decision won’t last long enough to waffle, but in smaller businesses, where leaders second guess where they should be and where they need to go, the staff flounder and eventually (sooner than later) leave.
Many wait for direction, for the markets, professional trends and the trades to give them some sense of what’s to come in their marketplace however in these days of constant change, that’s not necessarily a wise move. Stop looking for direction and just get on a path. You have to start something to finish something and paralyzing yourself without choosing direction isn’t any way to go. It’s more like stop! Either you’re going to create your vision for the future or circumstances will dictate what it will look like. As a leader which do you want?
Take that first step. See it as if it’s tangible and ask yourself "What will it look like"? The moment you can answer that question watch the energy and momentum increase. Those that follow you, will be jumping right in.
Best..
Donna Karlin
Many wait for direction, for the markets, professional trends and the trades to give them some sense of what’s to come in their marketplace however in these days of constant change, that’s not necessarily a wise move. Stop looking for direction and just get on a path. You have to start something to finish something and paralyzing yourself without choosing direction isn’t any way to go. It’s more like stop! Either you’re going to create your vision for the future or circumstances will dictate what it will look like. As a leader which do you want?
Take that first step. See it as if it’s tangible and ask yourself "What will it look like"? The moment you can answer that question watch the energy and momentum increase. Those that follow you, will be jumping right in.
Best..
Donna Karlin
Monday, January 15, 2007
The Future of Business Communications
I've been working with the Microsoft UCG Vision Team for the past 10 months or so, to (as they say) provide valuable, contextual insight into technology, business and workplace issues and trends. I am not a technologist by any stretch of the imagination, though am fascinated by technology and how to best use it within my profession. The concepts of collaborative technology intrigues and fascinates me though, I must admit much of it escaped me in how it would be applied and best used, not only in my world but those of my clients.
Just before the holidays (2006) I was invited to Objectworld to see a demonstration of how this technology works. It blew me away, answered all the questions I had and then some and left me with the perspective "Why in the world are we working any other way?" I believe that in most cases, the answer to that question has a great deal to do with the lack of understanding of just what is possible.
The day I visited Objectworld was also the launch of my article about Rising Stars in Canadian Government Executive Magazine and coincidently in the same issue was a brilliant article by David Levy, the CEO of Objectworld putting into words what most of us can wrap our heads around, just what collaborative technology can mean to an organization. I had asked David and the editor of the magazine if I could reprint it as why reinvent the wheel when this describes it to a "T"? So for all of you who would like to better understand what this might mean for you, and with their gracious permission, here it is.
Best!
Donna Karlin
The future of business communications - by David Levy
Three years ago, keen observers would have noticed the beginning of a new era of organizational communications, or more specifically a new era of how communications are going to be delivered.
The convergence of telephony services (phone calls, voicemail, fax, etc.) into the IT data center (where e-mail, database software and other data services are managed) marks the opportunity for reduced costs, simpler administration and enhanced productivity. This is equally true for businesses and governments, regardless of their size.
Unified Messaging (getting your voicemail in your e-mail inbox or having “Emily” read your e-mails to you over the phone) promises the opportunity to receive messages across a variety of devices, whether these messages are e-mail, voicemail or fax. Unified Communications provides the opportunity to manage your calls and messages in the way that suits you best – that is, to make voice and fax as user-centric as e-mail is today.
For evidence of this ongoing shift, one need look no further than the announcement by Microsoft in June that they plan to develop voice products for the enterprise market. Yes, the largest software company in the world is getting into the telecommunications business, or, rather, they are moving telecommunications into the information systems business. And they are not alone. With Microsoft entering the market through their announced partnership with Nortel, and IBM partnering with 3Com, and the Cisco and Siemens partnership, it is clear all of these moves are about Unified Communications.
All three partnerships between the industry giants take different delivery approaches. Nevertheless, all three describe Unified Communications as the transition of voice and fax services from proprietary, device- and location-centric hardware and software to the delivery of voice and fax services as open, standards-based software. The opportunity to lead this market is substantial and the benefits to delivering all communications in an organization through the IT data centre are tremendous.
You may recall the proprietary nature of computing in the 1980s and 90s. Telephone systems were also proprietary and specialized. Networking systems (hubs, routers, switches) were also largely proprietary and specialized. As was the data center. The specialization of vendors and their offerings reflected, and still does reflect, the separation of these three silos.
However, over the 90s it become financially advantageous to both network and data center vendors to make their products more open and interoperable, and to sell on volume. For telecommunications vendors, however, it remained, and largely remains, business as usual. And yet, the competitive business advantages for a single system to handle voice, fax, e-mail and other kinds of business communications have never been greater. Three seemingly disparate trends have made telephony as software not just possible but inevitable.
First, computing has continued to evolve, becoming more open, more flexible, simultaneously cheaper and yet more powerful. This trend has resulted in the gradual elimination of the need for proprietary, stand-alone and expensive single-purpose hardware.
Second, the number of communication devices has become greater and ways of communicating more diverse. The office phone of the 1970s has given way to today’s feature-rich office phone, the cell-phone, the soft-phone, the home phone, the e-mail, the instant messaging system, the video-conference and more, with an increased need to communicate seamlessly across all these devices.
Finally, with all the technical ground work in place, and a growing demand from the market, the only remaining variable was a matter of logistics: how to standardize the flow of voice and fax traffic over a data network in a way that allows for real-time collaboration. With the wide acceptance of Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), this problem was solved. The rise in easy-to-manage, user-centric IT models, like Microsoft Active Directory, has made it possible to reorganize telephony systems into the IT data center as software that administers users, rather than just their devices or their locations.
The result is a telephony system that's as user-centric, cost-effective and easy to manage as e-mail. With aging, limited and proprietary technology, the traditional telecommunications vendors are unable to accommodate these trends. Relying on a PBX today to meet all your business communications needs is like relying on a corner mailbox rather than selling an e-mail system, or on a calculator rather than a spreadsheet application. Instead, the future is VoIP, Unified Messaging and Unified Communications, Interactive Voice Response, and other services delivered as software. The benefits, particularly to the public sector, are substantial.
For government, Unified Communications lowers cost by being able to use commodity hardware (servers, phones, gateways, Internet, ODBC and SOA implementations), but also eases concerns regarding vendor lock-in and future-proofing. Imagine never being billed for long-distance calls to remote offices and teleworkers, and being able to change desktop phone deployments as easily as you change a printer.
Unified Communications also simplifies and homogenizes network topology and simplifies administration, something especially useful in larger, heterogeneous computing environments in which resources are already stretched. Imagine a single point of administration for each user’s desktop computer, their e-mail, their desktop phone and their cell-phone, all managed by simple Windows-based interfaces, seamlessly and in real-time with centralized security and policy. Unified Communications enhances productivity. Imagine routing calls, faxes and e-mails to an employee wherever they are, whether in a branch office, corporate office, working at home or on the road, with whatever device they happen to be using. Imagine never missing an important call or providing simple, phone-based self-service to customers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Everything from initial purchase, deployment, configuration, operations, management, administration and maintenance of organizational communications will cost less, be easier to manage while providing employees with the tools they need to be more productive.
Already, IT managers are assuming increased responsibility for communications (purchasing, operating and administering), in what analysts described as the coming $40B battleground. It will be interesting to see how many software vendors make announcements to enter the unified communications market and what approaches they will take within the coming months.
David Levy is chief executive officer of Objectworld Communications in Ottawa.
Reprinted from Canadian Government Executive Magazine with permission
Just before the holidays (2006) I was invited to Objectworld to see a demonstration of how this technology works. It blew me away, answered all the questions I had and then some and left me with the perspective "Why in the world are we working any other way?" I believe that in most cases, the answer to that question has a great deal to do with the lack of understanding of just what is possible.
The day I visited Objectworld was also the launch of my article about Rising Stars in Canadian Government Executive Magazine and coincidently in the same issue was a brilliant article by David Levy, the CEO of Objectworld putting into words what most of us can wrap our heads around, just what collaborative technology can mean to an organization. I had asked David and the editor of the magazine if I could reprint it as why reinvent the wheel when this describes it to a "T"? So for all of you who would like to better understand what this might mean for you, and with their gracious permission, here it is.
Best!
Donna Karlin
The future of business communications - by David Levy
Three years ago, keen observers would have noticed the beginning of a new era of organizational communications, or more specifically a new era of how communications are going to be delivered.
The convergence of telephony services (phone calls, voicemail, fax, etc.) into the IT data center (where e-mail, database software and other data services are managed) marks the opportunity for reduced costs, simpler administration and enhanced productivity. This is equally true for businesses and governments, regardless of their size.
Unified Messaging (getting your voicemail in your e-mail inbox or having “Emily” read your e-mails to you over the phone) promises the opportunity to receive messages across a variety of devices, whether these messages are e-mail, voicemail or fax. Unified Communications provides the opportunity to manage your calls and messages in the way that suits you best – that is, to make voice and fax as user-centric as e-mail is today.
For evidence of this ongoing shift, one need look no further than the announcement by Microsoft in June that they plan to develop voice products for the enterprise market. Yes, the largest software company in the world is getting into the telecommunications business, or, rather, they are moving telecommunications into the information systems business. And they are not alone. With Microsoft entering the market through their announced partnership with Nortel, and IBM partnering with 3Com, and the Cisco and Siemens partnership, it is clear all of these moves are about Unified Communications.
All three partnerships between the industry giants take different delivery approaches. Nevertheless, all three describe Unified Communications as the transition of voice and fax services from proprietary, device- and location-centric hardware and software to the delivery of voice and fax services as open, standards-based software. The opportunity to lead this market is substantial and the benefits to delivering all communications in an organization through the IT data centre are tremendous.
You may recall the proprietary nature of computing in the 1980s and 90s. Telephone systems were also proprietary and specialized. Networking systems (hubs, routers, switches) were also largely proprietary and specialized. As was the data center. The specialization of vendors and their offerings reflected, and still does reflect, the separation of these three silos.
However, over the 90s it become financially advantageous to both network and data center vendors to make their products more open and interoperable, and to sell on volume. For telecommunications vendors, however, it remained, and largely remains, business as usual. And yet, the competitive business advantages for a single system to handle voice, fax, e-mail and other kinds of business communications have never been greater. Three seemingly disparate trends have made telephony as software not just possible but inevitable.
First, computing has continued to evolve, becoming more open, more flexible, simultaneously cheaper and yet more powerful. This trend has resulted in the gradual elimination of the need for proprietary, stand-alone and expensive single-purpose hardware.
Second, the number of communication devices has become greater and ways of communicating more diverse. The office phone of the 1970s has given way to today’s feature-rich office phone, the cell-phone, the soft-phone, the home phone, the e-mail, the instant messaging system, the video-conference and more, with an increased need to communicate seamlessly across all these devices.
Finally, with all the technical ground work in place, and a growing demand from the market, the only remaining variable was a matter of logistics: how to standardize the flow of voice and fax traffic over a data network in a way that allows for real-time collaboration. With the wide acceptance of Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), this problem was solved. The rise in easy-to-manage, user-centric IT models, like Microsoft Active Directory, has made it possible to reorganize telephony systems into the IT data center as software that administers users, rather than just their devices or their locations.
The result is a telephony system that's as user-centric, cost-effective and easy to manage as e-mail. With aging, limited and proprietary technology, the traditional telecommunications vendors are unable to accommodate these trends. Relying on a PBX today to meet all your business communications needs is like relying on a corner mailbox rather than selling an e-mail system, or on a calculator rather than a spreadsheet application. Instead, the future is VoIP, Unified Messaging and Unified Communications, Interactive Voice Response, and other services delivered as software. The benefits, particularly to the public sector, are substantial.
For government, Unified Communications lowers cost by being able to use commodity hardware (servers, phones, gateways, Internet, ODBC and SOA implementations), but also eases concerns regarding vendor lock-in and future-proofing. Imagine never being billed for long-distance calls to remote offices and teleworkers, and being able to change desktop phone deployments as easily as you change a printer.
Unified Communications also simplifies and homogenizes network topology and simplifies administration, something especially useful in larger, heterogeneous computing environments in which resources are already stretched. Imagine a single point of administration for each user’s desktop computer, their e-mail, their desktop phone and their cell-phone, all managed by simple Windows-based interfaces, seamlessly and in real-time with centralized security and policy. Unified Communications enhances productivity. Imagine routing calls, faxes and e-mails to an employee wherever they are, whether in a branch office, corporate office, working at home or on the road, with whatever device they happen to be using. Imagine never missing an important call or providing simple, phone-based self-service to customers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Everything from initial purchase, deployment, configuration, operations, management, administration and maintenance of organizational communications will cost less, be easier to manage while providing employees with the tools they need to be more productive.
Already, IT managers are assuming increased responsibility for communications (purchasing, operating and administering), in what analysts described as the coming $40B battleground. It will be interesting to see how many software vendors make announcements to enter the unified communications market and what approaches they will take within the coming months.
David Levy is chief executive officer of Objectworld Communications in Ottawa.
Reprinted from Canadian Government Executive Magazine with permission
Monday, January 08, 2007
High Performance Culture
How do you define true leadership? Many define it as a position within an organization, though that term more defines a level of power rather than someone others will follow. Leadership can be found at every level of an organization by virtue of a person’s way of being. It’s a matter of paying attention so you discover these individuals and then do something to grow them into their level of excellence.
The concept or term of leadership is bantered about, debated and dialogued from more perspectives that I can count, but as an Executive Shadow Coach™ a major focus is to identify leadership capabilities in every level of an organization, and who the rising stars might be. It’s also figuring out the dimensions of leaders and followers and who needs to get out of the way to make sure that evolutionary flow happens.
Leadership is not defined by position of power. I know way too many people in powerful positions that paralyze an organization. From an Executive Coach’s point of view, and in order to look at the dynamics that will help evolve both the organization and the individuals within it, I have to look at what will develop a high performance organizational culture and that is determined by it’s leaders.
A piece of that puzzle is stoking a fire within people, not under them. Once I help them align with their passions, that fire is lit and nothing will stop them. The resulting energy and momentum automatically creates a high performance culture. If that isn’t the status quo within your organization, what are you doing to change it? How often have you seen someone shine and didn’t acknowledge them or do anything about it? Staff retention is one thing, but what caliber of staff do you want to retain? Those who fly or those who coast?
Best!
Donna Karlin
The concept or term of leadership is bantered about, debated and dialogued from more perspectives that I can count, but as an Executive Shadow Coach™ a major focus is to identify leadership capabilities in every level of an organization, and who the rising stars might be. It’s also figuring out the dimensions of leaders and followers and who needs to get out of the way to make sure that evolutionary flow happens.
Leadership is not defined by position of power. I know way too many people in powerful positions that paralyze an organization. From an Executive Coach’s point of view, and in order to look at the dynamics that will help evolve both the organization and the individuals within it, I have to look at what will develop a high performance organizational culture and that is determined by it’s leaders.
A piece of that puzzle is stoking a fire within people, not under them. Once I help them align with their passions, that fire is lit and nothing will stop them. The resulting energy and momentum automatically creates a high performance culture. If that isn’t the status quo within your organization, what are you doing to change it? How often have you seen someone shine and didn’t acknowledge them or do anything about it? Staff retention is one thing, but what caliber of staff do you want to retain? Those who fly or those who coast?
Best!
Donna Karlin
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