International Association of Teamwork Facilitators

How to Build a Bulletproof Company Culture -- GET NAKED!

In this new and provocative book, Pat unveils a revolutionary approach to client service that yields uncommon levels of trust and loyalty.

In Getting Naked, Pat challenges service providers to be completely transparent and vulnerable with clients in order to overcome the three fears that ultimately sabotage client allegiance.

Written for internal or external consultants, financial advisors or anyone serving long-term clients, Getting Naked will provide powerful, actionable tools to help readers overcome the three fears and gain a real, lasting competitive advantage.

FREE BOOK RESOURCES

CLICK HERE to read a great article based on this book from INC Magazine entitled "How to Build a Bulletproof Company Culture"

CLICK HERE to access all the free resources provided by the author including the outline of the model, a summary article, author Q&A, brief examples of the Getting Naked Approach.

 

How To Lead Successful Team Building Programs by Michael Cardus

IATF member Michael Cardus of Create-Learning.com has a new book!

Did you ever wonder “How does one lead AWESOME team-building programs? The ones that ensure that content and learning take place. A teambuilding program that is fun, and teams leave better than when they arrived?” Now you can find out. In this 55 page E-book you will find applicable strategies, team-building activities, facilitation, de-briefing, and processing activities + theory that you can use immediately.

CLICK HERE to read a preview and purchase!

Leadership Book: "A New Earth" -- Oprah interviews author Eckhart Tolle

Oprah just finished a fantastic 10-week webinar on a must-read personal and leadership development book entitled "A New Earth -- Awakening To Your Life's Purpose" by Eckhart Tolle.

If you've had a desire to become a more conscious leader then download and listen to (or watch) all 10 sessions for free HERE.

In A New Earth, author Eckhart Tolle shows how transcending our ego-based state of consciousness is not only essential to personal happiness, but also the key to ending conflict and suffering throughout the world.

Tolle describes how our attachment to the ego creates the dysfunction that leads to anger, jealousy, and unhappiness, and shows readers how to awaken to a new state of consciousness and follow the path to a truly fulfilling existence.

A New Earth is a profoundly spiritual manifesto for a better way of life—and for building a better world.

Building a better world is what leadership is all about.

Silos, Politics, and Turf Wars -- Patrick Lencioni does it again

Marketing won't speak to engineering.

Sales thinks production hogs the budget.

Front desk believes back room's lazy.

If this sounds anything like what you deal with on your team then you need to read Patrick Lencioni's latest book entitled Silos, Politics, and Turf Wars (buy the book at amazon)

Lencioni presents a model for achieving alignment across departments within an organization and thus, eliminating unnecessary and costly infighting.

Whereas Lencioni's book The Five Dysfunctions of a Team is a fantastic tool to be read and used by the entire team/organization, Silos, Politics, and Turf Wars is designed more for the leadership team within the organization. 

Silos helps you understand the critical leadership lesson of: "If everything is important, then nothing is." Lencioni has a nice article about this lesson in his latest newsletter (read it here).

Death By Meeting - taking on the oldest and most dreaded complaints in the working world: bad meetings!

Are your meetings dull and uninspiring?

Do team members question the usefulness of meetings?

Are critical issues avoided or overlooked during meetings?

If you answered YES to any of the above then your team might be suffering from Death By Meeting syndrome - - you know, your meetings STINK and everyone hates them.

Death By Meeting was written by NY Times best selling author Patrick Lencioni who also wrote a fantastic book entitled The Five Dysfunctions of a Team

The biggest mistake Lencioni says is that most every team is using just ONE style of meeting to address all issues and it doesn't work. In fact, it can't work. 

Think of it this way, when building a beautiful piece of furniture, does the carpenter have just one tool - a hammer - to do all the various jobs?  Absolutely not!  Having one tool and forcing it to do everything is what a caveman would do.   

There are four types of meetings and your team needs to use all four types:

1. Daily Check-in
2. Weekly Tactical
3. Monthly Strategic
4. Quarterly Off-site Review

Each meeting requires a different amount of time and each has a different purpose and format. CLICK HERE to view a diagram describing each of the four models. Download an outline of the four meeting types below:

Most teams meet once a week and therefore the weekly meeting is the most misunderstood and abused meeting style.  Lencioni calls the weekly meeting a "Weekly Tactical Meeting" and offers a very specific outline for how this meeting should run.  CLICK HERE to download a Tactical Meeting Guide (PDF).

Click on the link below to download a simple quiz developed by the author that will help you determine how bad your meetings are:

Download death_by_meetings_quiz.pdf

CLICK HERE for a great Q&A with Patrick Lencioni about his book Death By Meeting

CLICK HERE to read 5 Tips for a Better Meeting by Lencioni.

The IATF Leader As Coach Fast Track Program will help you become an INSPIRATIONAL leader so you can lead inspirational meetings.

George Washington -- A Model For Leading Teams In a Crisis

I just finished an amazing and utterly delightful book entitled "1776" which covers that momentous year in U.S. history.

This book by esteemed historian David McCullough had me on the edge of my seat. 

Early on in the book I came to the conclusion that there was NO WAY the Americans were going to win.  How could they?  George Washington was taking a rag tag army (with no navy) up against the most powerful military force the world had yet seen. Right up to the very end of the book I continued to think there was no way to beat the British.

While growing up, my dad had history books all over the house but I was never interested.  My interest in history has grown lately, especially after reading The Fourth Turning.  I'm especially interested in the "winter" phase of history (see the Fourth Turning) - - the American Revolution happened during a winter (crisis) phase (season).

1776 has received a rating at amazon.com of 4.5 stars (out of 5 stars) from 446 reviews because it is THAT good.

Reading this book helped me realize how tenuous the situation was.  I have a great deal of admiration for George Washington and all of the people who helped make the United States of America a reality. 

And on a lighter note...

"Hail To The Chief" (with flourishes) is the song played for and most commonly associated with the president of the US.  Follow this link to view someone who can play this song with their hands (and only their hands)!

Book Study Group: "Attractor Factor"

In November I posted an audio interview with Dr. Joe Vitale in which we discussed his best selling book The Attractor Factor - 5 Easy Steps for Creating Wealthy (or Anything Else) From the Inside Out.

Starting Tuesday January 24 and running four weeks (4 Tuesdays), I will host an author approved book discussion group where we will explore the book and the Law of Attraction outlined in the book. We will be "meeting" on a telephone conference line (aka a "bridge line") from 10--10:55 PM Eastern (New York time zone).

This is a great opportunity to be in the company of others who are learning and applying the information from the book.  Come share your stories of success and realize new insights provided by the group.  It will be magical.

There is no charge to attend other than the fees your phone company charges you for long distance calls.  You should also have a copy of the book - - you can buy the book at this link.  Please read up to page 55 for the first call.

To register for the call, send me an email.  Space is limited.

How to Get Unstuck

As a coach to individuals and teams I often work with people who feel stuck.  I use a number of tools to help people and teams get unstuck and I'd like to tell you about a new one I've found - - it's a book entitled "Get Unstuck & Get Going - - On The Stuff That Matters" authored by certified coach and consultant Michael Bungay Stanier.

Get Unstuck & Get Going is a remarkable tool. I wish I had thought of it myself. It uses an innovative design to tap right and left brain styles of thinking combined with an easy to follow "Action Acceleration Sheet" so that you follow through on the insights you glean from the process.

I've been so impressed with the book that I contacted Michael and arranged an interview - -
click on the link below to listen as Michael and I discuss tools and techniques for helping people get unstuck.
Download michael_bungay_stanier_mp3_sm.mp3

Click here to order the book.

During the interview, Michael mentions something called a "Drama Triangle".  It's worth taking a look at this e-newsletter article