Anthony Robbins & Psychology

I find that at least once a month I am going back to my collection of psychology text books from grad school to refresh my mind on a particular approach to counseling or clinical psychology. What usually triggers this can be simple curiosity or a client who presents a particular challenge.

I was not a student who followed any particular discipline or branch of psychology. I had, and still have, a rather eclectic interest in all things psychological. It was a couple of years after grad school that a buddy of mine gave me an Anthony Robbins archaic tape collection from the mid-80's. I listened to it and thought it was interesting enough, but it really didn't spark that intense of a curiosity.

It was not until a few years later that I was again reintroduced to Robbins by another friend who this time gave me an mp3 collection. By this time, Robbins had been in the business of helping people for 20 to 25 years. This time when I listened to him he caught my attention. He still had the same vitality and energy in his voice, but now it was tempered with experience and humility. I listened and I learned. What he had to say added very much to my schooling in psychology.

Back to my main point. When I return to my book case or my iTunes library, I find that I am listening more to Anthony Robbins. His way of helping people is highly-effective and compliments much that I learned studying clinical psychology.

So for any of you coaches out there (or anyone who is looking to change for the better), I would suggest listening to anything Robbins in the last decade or so.

I find listening to his audio products very engaging. As for seeing him live, I have not done that, yet. I don't think I would either. Why is that? It seems so evangelical and cult-ish. With the chanting and the cheering.

Perhaps with time my views will change. Until that time, I think I'll stick with the mp3s and the insight and useful skills and techniques for helping people.

Planning & Running Effective Meetings

Managing Business Meetings

Blog contribution by BNET Editorial

Meetings are a necessary part of everyone’s working life. Handled well, they present an opportunity to gather everyone together to review activities and plan new ones, or to examine a particular situation, agree on actions, and act in a coordinated manner. Handled badly, they can be boring and ineffectual. The most effective meetings are short and to the point, allowing people to get on with the rest of their day. This checklist offers advice for anyone who has to plan or chair a business meeting.

What You Need to Know

Aren’t there more time-efficient ways of making decisions?

Meetings may not always be the best use of people’s time and effort. If you are thinking of holding a meeting to discuss an issue related to your project, team, or department, give serious thought to whether gathering the attendees in one place is really the most efficient use of everyone’s time. There are some good alternatives to gathering everyone together for a meeting. For example, you could try:

• conference calls or videoconferencing: if these are viable alternatives for you they offer a good way of holding a discussion without having to disrupt the attendees’ day too much;
• an e-mail discussion: You can easily facilitate this by sending a message to all relevant parties. Your e-mail should set out the issue clearly, ask for a response, and give a deadline—and double-check that you’ve included everyone before sending it! Also, let people know whether you want their responses sent to you alone or to all the recipients.
• If all else fails, and a face-to-face meeting seems to be the best and least unwieldy way of arranging a plan of action, prepare as much as you can in advance and delegate where appropriate.

What to Do

Control Your Invitation List

Good planning goes a long way in assuring a successful meeting, and an important first step is deciding who to invite. Remember that the most productive meetings are usually those with the fewest number of people attending, so try to limit your list by only inviting those who really need to be there. These will be people directly involved in the decisions that need to be made during the meeting, those significantly affected by the decisions, or those who have some specific knowledge to contribute. If the meeting is to cover a variety of issues and may be lengthy, consider asking people to drop in and out when their part of the agenda comes up.

Circulate Relevant Information Out to Attendees in a Timely Manner

Give everyone plenty of notice regarding the time and place of the meeting, and circulate a draft agenda outlining the topics to be discussed and the time limits assigned to each topic. A good agenda will clearly state the purpose of the meeting, so attendees will know why they’ve been called together, and what needs to be accomplished. Setting time limits is also a good idea, as it creates a healthy sense of urgency. By stipulating the start and finish time of the meeting, as well as setting time limits for each topic on the agenda (particularly important if you’re holding a lengthy meeting and asking people to drop in and out), you’ll encourage people to stay focused. Sticking to these fixed times is essential, of course, for this to work.

Other information you should provide for attendees prior to the meeting includes:

• directions to the venue in case they haven’t been there before;
• information on who else is attending (this will be particularly helpful if you’re going to be joined by people external to your company such as consultants, freelance contributors, or designers) ;
• background information or documents that are relevant to the meeting. For example, if you’re going to discuss an overhaul of your product catalog, send everyone a copy of your existing brochure so they can look it over before the meeting. You might also include copies of similar publications whose style you admire, so people can get ideas about new ways of presenting your products.
• your contact details and those of one other person in the office (such as your assistant or a coworker) in case of emergency.

Arrange Catering Requirements if Appropriate

If you’ve scheduled your meeting to take place over lunch, or if it will last more than a couple of hours, you’ll need to plan food and drink. Remember to ask all attendees whether they have any special dietary requirements. This will save a lot of time and stress on the day of the meeting. However, research shows that the best time to hold a meeting is just before lunch or toward the end of the day—this motivates attendees to focus on the agenda and keeps the meeting from running long.

Delegate Minute-Taking

It’s best to find someone other than yourself to take the minutes. You will want to be free to steer the meeting as appropriate. If that person is new to the project or issue you’re going to discuss, you might want to go over some relevant key words or acronyms so that he or she is not baffled by the jargon—you and the other attendees may be well versed in the relevant vocabulary, but you want to make sure there is no confusion on the part of the minute-taker.

Find and Prepare the Meeting Venue

Once you are sure about holding a meeting, the next step is to find an appropriate space for it. If your company has a reservation system for meeting rooms, get your plans in well in advance to make sure that you can get an appropriately sized room for the date and time you want. Plan early and don’t assume that the room you want will be available at the last minute.

As the meeting draws near, make sure that:

• the room is clean and doesn’t contain unnecessary materials or supplies;
• you have enough tables and chairs to accommodate everyone, and they are arranged to best suit your needs;
• the flip chart, if you’re using one, has enough paper and pens ready;
• there is enough light, heating, or ventilation for the time of day and year;
• there are enough power outlets, and that they’re in the right place if you’re going to be using an overhead projector or laptop;
• any equipment in the room is ready to use and is working properly.

Once your numbers are confirmed you can make further catering arrangements. If your company has a restaurant, arrange well in advance for someone to bring refreshments such as coffee and water to the meeting. If your organization is small or doesn’t have a catering facility, coworker or assistant to be prepared to go out to a nearby coffee shop or café to bring in what’s needed. Again, this will free you up to attend to other tasks.

Make Sure That Your Meeting will Proceed As Planned

Plan to arrive early on the day of the meeting, arrive in plenty of time so that you can double-check that everything is in place and ready to go. Once the attendees have arrived, there are a few steps to follow which will help things run smoothly:

• begin on time.
• welcome everyone, and briefly explain basic issues such as where the restrooms are located (particularly helpful for anyone who hasn’t been to your offices before) and what the catering arrangements are.
• ask everyone to make sure they’ve turned off their cell phones and other devices so that the flow of discussion isn’t interrupted.
• clearly state why the meeting is being held, what you hope to achieve in the meeting, the timescale, and finishing time.
• explain the agenda of each item on the agenda.

Keep a Tight Rein

You will want to give everyone an opportunity to contribute to points raised on the agenda. At the same time, don’t forget that it’s your responsibility to make sure that you keep roughly on schedule (and on topic). For example:

• make sure that attendees keep to one agenda point at a time;
• summarize at appropriate intervals and restate agreed-upon points clearly (the person taking the minutes will be particularly grateful for this);
• firmly but politely move the discussion forward if a subject has become exhausted.

Prevent the Meeting from Being Dominated By Others

One or two vociferous attendees can sometimes dominate a meeting, so in your role as chair you need to make sure that there is only one discussion at a time. Sometimes, people start their own “private” meetings during the main session. This may be limited to a few whispered asides, or involve notes being passed around the table, or even a full-blown separate discussion. Stop these diversions by addressing directly the people involved and asking them politely but assertively if there’s something they’d like to raise. For example, you could say: “If there are issues that people aren’t happy with, let’s raise them now before we go any further. We have a lot to get through today.”

Strategies for dealing with difficult people
Talkative people	There will always be people who just like the sound of their own voice. In this case, you must be assertive enough to interject politely but firmly, reminding everyone of the agenda point you’re discussing and steering the discussion back to it. You may also want to recap how the meeting is progressing and remind attendees of your target finish time. If interruptions continue, suggest that the parties involved carry on their discussion on their own time.
Passionate people	Your meeting may also be attended by people who feel very strongly about the issue under discussion and who may feel that others do not share their interest and commitment. Again, make sure that advocates of one particular position are given the chance to voice their point of view, but also that they give others the opportunity chance to express theirs. Interject as appropriate and summarize if you sense they’re about to repeat something. Remember that a meeting is a discussion with objectives, not an opportunity for attendees to rehearse an extended monologue.
Angry people	Tempers may flare if the topic you’re discussing is particularly contentious. When you sense that la situation is getting heated and insults rather than well-considered opinions are being traded, step in to defuse the tension. Suggest a break outside of the meeting room for 15 minutes or so, giving people time to calm down and assess what has happened. If voices are being raised, match your voice to the level of other people’s, then reduce the volume back down to a normal speaking pitch. This will allow the discussion to get back to a more stable footing.

Wrap It Up

Wrap up the meeting by thanking everyone for their attendance and contribution. If there is to be another meeting, let attendees know when it is to be held. If that can’t be arranged immediately, do so as soon as possible. This will encourage the attendees not to forget about the topics discussed the moment they leave the room.

Be Sure Everyone Is Clear on Any Follow-up Action Required

Clarify with the person taking the minutes that they need to write them up as soon as possible so that they can be distributed to all the attendees promptly. Most will only glance briefly at the meeting minutes, or refer back to them in order to locate a specific piece of information. This means that they need to be extremely concise and clear. The key things to note are:

• agreed-upon actions dealing with the issues raised;
• the people responsible for implementing them;
• deadline or timing for interim reporting back;
• date of next meeting if you agreed to arrange another one.

What to Avoid

You Procrastinate about the Meeting Preparation

You’re only going to make things more difficult for yourself by procrastinating. Although it may be hard to get started on planning your meeting, allow some extra time in case some of the arrangements don’t work out. It will be much more enjoyable to be able to relax a bit before things get going than to be anxiously rushing around tending to last-minute chores that should have been taken care of earlier.

You Don’t Delegate the Taking of Minutes

You’re not shirking responsibility if you ask someone else to take the meeting’s minutes for you. Remember that you don’t have to do everything. Finding someone whose sole responsibility will be to take minutes will free you up to make sure that the meeting starts and ends on time, is well organized, and achieves its objectives. This way you’ll have made everyone’s life a lot easier and you’ll also end up with a set of minutes that mean something.

You Allow the Meeting to Get Off Track

Don’t be afraid to move things along as appropriate if the meeting seems to be getting bogged down in one particular area. The other participants will be eager to finish on time and get on with the rest of their day, so, in your role as chair, shape the discussion and sustain the meeting’s impetus.

Book Review: DEATH by Meeting

Blog contribution by Fletchboy's Follies

I have decided to try to do a review of the books I read, so you can get a preview of some of the things I read. I hope you find this useful. I will start with a book I just finished, and in a couple of days, I will do a review of a book I finished about a week ago. "DEATH by Meeting", I really enjoyed and think it will be a very useful book to anyone who has to run meetings in their work. The next book I review will be one I loved to hate for most of my reading of it. :-)

"DEATH by Meeting" is by Patrick Lencioni, and is written in the form of a "fable" to teach a new concept. For that reason, it is actually a pretty light read. If you are one who skips to the end to decide if they will like the book or not, you will get a complete misconception, since Lencioni recaps some of the key concepts taught by the fable in a couple of chapters at the end.

I won't steal any thunder from the book by telling any more details that to say that Lencioni advocates through the story, the idea of doing your meeting "on purpose". Don't expect one kind of meeting to be a "one-size-fits-all" affair. Conflict, drama and context are your friends in getting vital information onto the table in your meetings.

Lencioni's protagonist in the fable gets the executives to understand that the first 10 minutes of any meeting, like in a movie, will set the stage for the rest of the movie, and will probably determine whether people are engaged or bored by the rest of the piece. Meetings are no different.

The idea of doing meetings in varied ways to match the topic and purpose should NOT be news to any of us, but the fact is that in MOST organizations, a meeting is a meeting is a meeting. They are all the same and most of the participants would give their left arm to have an acceptable excuse to miss the meeting. Lencioni crafts a wonderful story to help executives grapple with some concepts that will help protect their organization from "DEATH by Meeting". I would encourage anyone who needs to run meetings in their role in their organization to read this book and implement as much as possible. It is a good read and makes some excellent points!

As a final point, I would say that my wife commented on the speed with which I finished this book... I usually plod carefully through non-fiction to make sure I get the point. Since Lencioni wrote this like a well-lubed work of fiction, I flew through it and couldn't get enough!

How Groups Form, Conform, Then Warp Our Decision-Making, Productivity and Creativity

Blog contribution from Psyblog

Discover the essentials of group psychology.

When we're in a group other people have an incredibly powerful effect on us. Groups can kill our creativity, inspire us to work harder, allow us to slack off, skew our decision-making and make us clam up.

The keys to understanding human behaviour—our lives as citizens, as workers, as friends—are in the research on group psychology, which PsyBlog has been exploring over the past few months.

This post provides an overview and you can follow the links to explore the experiments that reveal the power groups hold over us.

Formation, influence and leadership

The seeds of group behaviour are sown even before its members meet. Just knowing that some people are on 'our side' and others are not begins to shape our social identity. Group affiliation soon grows even stronger, though, bending our behaviour further, if we undergo an initiation rite. A rite as simple as reading rude words out loud can produce a measurable effect (see 10 rules that govern groups, #1, #2).

Once we are in a group it starts to shape us through conformity, pulling our attitudes and behaviour in line with others, threatening us with ostracism if we dare to rebel and, when facing rival groups, firing our competitive spirit (see 10 rules that govern groups, #3, #4, #10).

We try to shape the group as well, perhaps by repeating our opinions. This helps to convince others we are voicing the majority view. Still, people are notoriously resistant to change. One way newcomers can influence groups is by displaying loyalty, toeing the line and by creating psychological distance from previous group affiliations.

A group takes its cue from a leader, but where do leaders come from? When leaders are allowed to emerge naturally from a group, they do so first by being the ultimate conformers, then later starting to lead in new directions (see 10 rules that govern groups, #6). Whether conforming or not, a sure sign of a leader is someone who talks first, and most often.

By the time groups are well-established chatter flows easily up and down the grapevine. This is not just rumour and suspicion, though, as research has found that grapevines are surprisingly accurate with up to 80% being true (see 10 rules that govern groups, #9, #6).

Productivity

The amount and quality of the work we do (or don't do) is regulated by the group. Sometimes groups have a social facilitation effect on performance, spurring us on to greater achievements. This is most likely to happen when our own contribution is obvious and when we are judged in comparison to others.

At other times groups encourage social loafing, resulting in a drop in our productivity—sometimes by as much as 50%, perhaps more. This is likely to happen when it's easier to hide in the group, when we think the task isn't important and when our individual performance isn't being judged separately.

Psychologists have found that social loafing can be decreased by boosting group and task importance as well as decreasing the 'sucker effect': the feeling that others are slacking off.

Decision-making

One of the most important functions of modern groups is decision-making. The fates of our families, our corporations, even our nations, hang on our collective ability to make good decisions.

Unfortunately psychologists have found that groups suffer all kinds of biases and glitches that lead to poor choices. Happily, though, experiments have revealed some straightforward remedies for these failings.

Because group members are often very similar in background and values they are quick to adopt majority decisions. Psychologist call this groupthink. We can combat groupthink by nurturing authentic dissent. This is no mean feat as dissenters are often shunned because of the challenge they present. Support for dissenters needs to come from leaders.

It seems only natural that groups will average out the preferences of its members, but psychologists have shown this often isn't true. In fact people are likely to display group polarization when together: initial preferences actually become exaggerated by group discussions. We can reduce this by avoiding homogeneity in group composition.

Finally, the most baffling of our behaviours in groups is our inability to share information effectively. Instead of revealing vital information known only to ourselves, time and again research has shown that we talk about things everyone already knows. We can reduce this counter-productive behaviour by recalling relevant information before meetings and ensuring each is aware of others' expertise.

Creativity

Creativity fosters economic growth, artistic innovation and technical breakthroughs, on all of which our society thrives. Groups, though, if badly organised, can stifle lofty ambitions.

Psychologists have long known that the practice of 'brainstorming' is a sure road to fewer new ideas and less innovation than that produced when we work individually. In groups we loaf, feel anxious and our own ideas are soon forgotten while we listen to others.

It turns out that groups are better at evaluating ideas than they are at their generation. Despite its longevity, brainstorming is best avoided for its original purpose.

Even when we are physically distant from our groups they can still impede creativity through the unconscious standards they impose on their members. What psychologists call group norms can kill creativity by redefining it as mere conformity. It's no accident that some of the greatest breakthroughs in science and the arts have come from those working outside the orthodoxy. Sometimes it really is better to go it alone.

The power of groups

Groups may impose unwritten norms on us, warp or exaggerate our decisions, even dull our creativity, but these effects are often the flip side of forces that make groups strong. Despite the modern trend towards fractured neighbourhoods, families and workplaces, humanity cannot survive without banding together. We draw our psychological identity and strength from belonging, and groups provide us support when times are hard (see the research on mutual support groups).

We just need to be careful that leaders are chosen for the right reasons, that conformity doesn't trump reason, strangle creativity or limit our options. We must try to understand and respect the power that groups hold over us so that we can benefit from them rather than becoming their victims.

Be Inspired - Photos by Veronika Pinke

Creative and super professional nature photography by Veronika Pinke, female photographer, based in Germany. Beautiful pictures with absolutely amazing colors.































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