Pablo's Pen

To anyone’s measurement, Pablo Picasso was one of the most talented artists of all time. His complicated life mixed with inspired work continues to make him a fascinating subject to study and learn about. 

As legend has it, Pablo and a friend were having lunch one day and one of the other patrons recognized the great master. After some hesitation, she approached him with a napkin. She asked Picasso if he would take a moment and do a quick drawing for her. 

 He said it would cost one million dollars. Shocked, she questioned why a simple drawing would be that much. Picasso replied that it took him thirty years to perfect his talent and it is not free. 

We shouldn't put a price on every moment of the day, and none of us is Picasso, but we should be careful not to always give away our experience simply because it would take just a minute to share it. 

Free is rarely free. 

 __________________________________________________________________

Got a Pen?

To anyone’s measurement, Pablo Picasso was one of the most talented artists of all time. His complicated life mixed with inspired work continues to make him a fascinating subject to study and learn about.

As legend has it, Pablo and a friend were having lunch one day and one of the other patrons recognized the great master. After some hesitation, she approached him with a napkin. She asked Picasso if he would take a moment and do a quick drawing for her.

He said it would cost one million dollars.

Shocked, she questioned why a simple drawing would be that much. Picasso replied that it took him thirty years to perfect his talent and it is not free.

We shouldn't put a price on every moment of the day, and none of us is Picasso, but we should be careful not to always give away our experience simply because it would take just a minute to share it.

Free isn't the best price.
__________________________________________________________________

Collaborative Culture

As much as it’s funky to have exposed brick, a foosball table in the lunch room, and lattes at 3pm, those won’t ensure your company has engaged employees who will do passionate work. Culture is much deeper. It’s a feeling and an instinct that can’t be forced or faked. And it takes work to upkeep. Every day. From everyone.

Here are seven areas to consider in making your company a great place to work.

Give – No matter the survey, compensation always makes it into one of the top reasons people stay or leave a company. But if money is the number one concern of employees, you have a serious issue. Pay people properly.

Define – What makes people want to bring their best every day and feel appreciated? If you can’t explain it in a sentence or two, dig deeper.

Value – What does your company stand for and what won’t it do? Two significant questions that seem easy enough to answer yet most struggle with them. We want to be a part of something that aligns with our values.

Open – Not all decisions can be made by committee. In fact most people want leadership to guide the way, but keep communication open enough for people to feel you genuinely want their input and ideas.

Stretch – Departments are created for a reason. Sales focuses on revenue while product design improves the offering. But don’t box people in so they can’t offer input to areas where they might not be subject matter experts. Some of the best ideas may come from the most unexpected places.

Lead – From small companies with a handful of employees to the Fortune 50, the relationship people have with their direct report and the people closest to them in their day-to-day work experience, will be the single biggest reason they stay or leave. Model the behavior you want from others.

Together – Teamwork and collaboration are a core elements to great culture. We want to belong and contribute so afford everyone the chance to do both.

Like trust, respect is earned not mandated by an org chart. So if you want great company culture, create an atmosphere of respect and trust and watch what happens.

Or work on your foosball skills
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Bitcoin and Painters

To anyone’s measurement, Pablo Picasso was one of the most talented artists of all time. His complicated life mixed with inspired work continues to make him a fascinating subject to study and learn about.

Pablo and a friend were having lunch one day and one of the other patrons recognized the great master. After some hesitatation, she approached him with a napkin. She asked Picasso if he would take a moment and do a quick drawing for her.

He said it would cost one million dollars.

Shocked, she questioned why a simple drawing would be that much. Picasso replied that it took him thirty years to perfect his talent and it is not free.

We shouldn't put a price on every moment of the day, and none of us is Picasso, but we should be careful not to always give away our experience simply because it would take just a minute to share it.

Go a pen?
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Be Picasso

I love this story.

To anyone’s measurement, Pablo Picasso was one of the most talented artists of all time. His complicated life mixed with inspired work continues to make him a fascinating subject to study and learn about.

Pablo and a friend were having lunch one day and one of the other patrons recognized the great master. After some hesitation, she approached him with a napkin. She asked Picasso if he would take a moment and do a quick drawing for her.

He said it would cost one million dollars. Shocked, she questioned why a simple drawing would be that much. Picasso replied that it took him thirty years to perfect his talent and it is not free.

We shouldn't put a price on every moment of the day, and none of us is Picasso, but we should be careful not to always give away our experience simply because it would take just a minute to share it.

Got a napkin?
__________________________________________________________________

Great Culture in Seven Steps

As much as it’s funky to have exposed brick, a foosball table in the lunch room, and lattes at 3pm, those won’t ensure your company has engaged employees who will do passionate work. Culture is much deeper. It’s a feeling and an instinct that can’t be forced or faked. And it takes work to upkeep. Every day. From everyone.

Here are seven areas to consider to make your company a great place to work.

Give – No matter the survey, compensation always makes it into one of the top reasons people stay or leave a company. But if money is the number one concern of employees, you have a serious issue. Pay people properly.

Define – What makes people want to bring their best every day and feel appreciated? If you can’t explain it in a sentence or two, dig deeper.

Value – What does your company stand for and what won’t it do? Two significant questions that seem easy enough to answer yet most struggle with them. We want to be a part of something that aligns with our values.

Open – Not all decisions can be made by committee. In fact most people want leadership to guide the way, but keep communication open enough for people to feel you genuinely want their input and ideas.

Stretch – Departments are created for a reason. Sales focuses on revenue while product design improves the offering. But don’t box people in so they can’t offer input to areas where they might not be subject matter experts. Some of the best ideas may come from the most unexpected places.

Lead – From small companies with a handful of employees to the Fortune 50, the relationship people have with their direct report and the people closest to them in their day-to-day work experience, will be the single biggest reason they stay or leave. Model the behavior you want from others.

Together – Teamwork and collaboration are a core elements to great culture. We want to belong and contribute so afford everyone the chance to do both.

Like trust, respect is earned not mandated by an org chart. So if you want great company culture, create an atmosphere of respect and trust and watch what happens.

Or you could order the latte machine and hope for the best. 
__________________________________________________________________

Giving Away Experience

To anyone’s measurement, Pablo Picasso was one of the most talented artists of all time. His complicated life mixed with inspired work continues to make him a fascinating subject to study and learn about.

Pablo and a friend were having lunch one day and one of the other patrons recognized the great master. After some hesitatation, she approached him with a napkin. She asked Picasso if he would take a moment and do a quick drawing for her.

He said it would cost one million dollars.

Shocked, she questioned why a simple drawing would be that much. Picasso replied that it took him thirty years to perfect his talent and it is not free.

We shouldn't put a price on every moment of the day, and none of us is Picasso, but we should be careful not to always give away our experience simply because it would take just a minute to share it.

Got a napkin?
__________________________________________________________________
Kneale Mann | People + Priority = Profit
New Book out in 2016 – Details soon!

Seven Ideas for Great Company Culture

As much as it’s funky to have exposed brick, a foosball table in the lunch room, and lattes at 3pm, those won’t ensure your company has engaged employees who will do passionate work. Culture is much deeper. It’s a feeling and an instinct that can’t be forced or faked. And it takes work to upkeep. Every day. From everyone.

Here are seven areas to consider to make your company a great place to work.

Give
No matter the survey, compensation always makes it into one of the top reasons people stay or leave a company. But if money is the number one concern of employees, you have a serious issue. Pay people properly.

Define
What makes people want to bring their best every day and feel appreciated? If you can’t explain it in a sentence or two, dig deeper.

Value
What does your company stand for and what won’t it do? Two significant questions that seem easy enough to answer yet most struggle with them. We want to be a part of something that aligns with our values.

Open
Not all decisions can be made by committee, in fact most people want leadership to guide the way, but keep communication open enough for people to feel you genuinely want their input and ideas.

Stretch
Departments are created for a reason. Sales focuses on revenue while product design improves the offering. But don’t box people in so they can’t offer input to areas where they might not be subject matter experts. Some of the best ideas may come from the most unexpected places.

Lead
From small companies with a handful of employees to the Fortune 50, the relationship people have with their direct report and the people closest to them in their day-to-day work experience, will be the single biggest reason they stay or leave. Model the behavior you want from others.

Together
Teamwork and collaboration are a core elements to great culture. We want to belong and contribute so afford everyone the chance to do both.

Like trust, respect is earned not mandated by an org chart. So if you want great company culture, create an atmosphere of respect and trust and watch what happens.

Or you could order the latte machine and hope for the best. 
__________________________________________________________________
Kneale Mann | People + Priority = Profit

deviantart

A Gift Idea

Canadian television personality and comedian Rick Mercer has a wonderful gift idea this year for all of us. We have enough coffee mugs.

Watch this


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Kneale Mann | Leadership Strategist, consultant, writer, speaker, executive coach facilitating performance growth with leaders, management, and teams.

Rick Mercer

Free Experience

To anyone’s measurement, Pablo Picasso was one of the most talented artists of all time. His complicated life mixed with inspired work continues to make him a fascinating subject to study and learn about.

Pablo and a friend were having lunch one day and one of the other patrons recognized the great master. After some hesitatation, she approached him with a napkin. She asked Picasso if he would take a moment and do a quick drawing for her.

He said it would cost one million dollars.

Shocked, she questioned why a simple drawing would be that much. Picasso replied that it took him thirty years to perfect his talent and it is not free.

We shouldn't put a price on every moment of the day, and none of us is Picasso, but we should be careful not to always give away our experience simply because it would take just a minute to share it.

Got a napkin?
__________________________________________________________________
Kneale Mann | Leadership Strategist, consultant, writer, speaker, executive coach facilitating performance growth with leaders, management, and teams.

Pablo Picasso | Three Musicians

The Art of Asking

Amanda Palmer rocks! If you don’t know her, go look and learn from this wonderful creative inclusive soul who brims with life and music. Her bands The Dresden Dolls and Grand Theft Orchestra showed how fans will support you through their own generosity in the face of cynicism.

If you want to create a community and connect on a deep human level, watch Amanda’s TEDTalk on the art of asking. She blogs and tweets and connects everywhere she goes and it all started with an eight foot bride and a handful of flowers.

Watch This


Kneale Mann

Amanda Palmer

Both Sides of Customer Service

Completing the Circle

It may be safe to say that I am among the vast majority of people who don’t like to go to the doctor or dentist. We scaredy cats would rather do just about anything to avoid it. Perhaps it's fear of pain or worry they will find something wrong.

After a couple of years, I went to the dentist this week. All the fretting and avoidance was for not. From the moment I walked through threshold of the office, I was greeted with a friendly face, sat in a nice waiting room, spent an hour with my hygienist who rocked and the dentist herself was kind and friendly. Despite wanting to have been just about anywhere else, the experience was enjoyable.

Managing Expectations

Our hope is to get good service when we buy something from a store or online portal. Sadly, the bar is low. So if it’s reasonably enjoyable or maybe even somewhat hassle free, we’re good. That is simply not acceptable. Yet we are customers and providers giving and taking, selling and buying all day long. Customer service is not a one-way experience. If you're not prepared to give great customer service, don't be surprised if your revenue line decreases.

Now you could argue that the guy behind the sandwich counter at lunch doesn’t need to be friendly when you have 20 minutes to keep the wolf from the door, but these things build up. We can’t turn on our good customer service for the things we deem important and do the minimum for the rest.

Beyond Skills

The dentist’s office doesn’t just clean and fix my teeth. The friendly competent nice people provide a safe place where a fully grown man can be a big baby for no concrete reason. And in this particular case, they seem to enjoy what they do. And that's the second part of providing great customer service.

The cliché that we're all in sales is not the whole story. Don’t sell me; show me why I should engage with you. And I won’t sell you; I will show you how I can enhance what you need. And floss daily!

What are your thoughts?

Kneale Mann

Movember Is On

Growing a 'stache for an important cause.

November marks the beginning of a fundraising effort in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, United States, United Kingdom and Ireland.

The concept is simple.
The results can be life changing.

One in six men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer and it is up to us – not some mystical group called ‘them’ - to lower that through education, prevention and research.

Here's more from the official Movember site.

The Movember Foundation is a non-profit organization that runs the global men's health initiative, Movember.

Each year, Movember, the month formerly known as November, is responsible for the sprouting of thousands of Mo’s (Australian slang for moustache, where the movement began) on men’s faces around the world, raising vital awareness and funds for men’s health - specifically prostate cancer.

Men who grow moustaches for the month of Movember, called Mo Bros, become walking, talking billboards for the cause, raising awareness by prompting private and public conversation around the often ignored issue of men’s health.

Supported by the women in their lives, Mo Sistas, Movember Mo Bros raise funds by getting friends and family to donate to their Mo-growing efforts. The rules are simple; register online at Movember.com and start the month of Movember clean-shaven, then grow a moustache for 30 days.

Last year, 255,722 men and women across the globe raised $42 million (CAD) - all through the power of the Mo.

The money raised as a result of Movember is channeled by our beneficiary partners into a number of world class and innovative research, support, education, and awareness initiatives.

This is something that touches all of us and my tiny part is to grow facial hair for the next thirty days. I think I can handle it.

So I will be among the thousands growing a moustache to raise money and awareness for the cause. Tom Selleck is safe but in a former life I actually had one for real!

The MovemberYow team includes captain Allan Isfan along with Bill Love, Ash Soomro, Claudia Petrilli, Harry Sharma, Krunal Sagan, Rebecca Happy, Hedrick Pape,
Rob Moore, Mark Saunders, Rolly Renaud and me.

If you would like to donate to my whisker grow, feel free to click here. Every dime goes directly Prostate Cancer Canada. Or pick someone else or start a team or donate directly. Thanks!

knealemann
work with me: contact

image credit: Movember

Stop Selling | Start Building

It Takes a Community to Raise a Relationship.

If you have spent time on the social web, you have seen and read about relationships and sharing, building trust and giving more than receiving. If you participate - really participate - something will begin to happen. People will show up.

Others will begin to give back and ask for help (not freebies) and you really will build trust with people you may not have otherwise met.

Just Like The Real World.

These things take time and hard work. It also requires getting off the social channels and meeting others face-to-face or speaking with them on the phone. Or as a Mike Kujawski calls it - taking it offline.

Social media can eliminate the cold part of the call and open up opportunities to warm up a potential new relationship.

I am not a social media expert and neither are you.

Real conversations and actual collaboration with other humans remains the best way to network socially. The door can open to new possiblities through the social web but then it is up to us to decipher between an opportunity to build another real human relationship and junk mail for the recycle bin.

Keep building your community and let me know how it's going.
knealemann[at]gmail[dot]com

@knealemann
strategy. marketing. social media.

image credit: bspc