Archive for May, 2009

CONNECTING WITH ANYONE

Thursday, May 21st, 2009

Hello Again,

Two things I’ve learned through experience:  1) Smiles are a universal happy signal and 2) Every sane person wants to be liked.  These truths were amazingly evident to me last week when I was privileged to speak before over 100 leaders from ExxonMobil. There were people there from every continent and dozens of countries.  I had a wonderful time. Though I’m sure I didn’t pronounce every name accurately, I did feel  welcomed during my talk and had a blast during the night-before reception and dinner the night of my talk.  It was also encouraging to see a microcosmic example of how people from diverse cultures can work and play together.

Here’s what the experience helped me to know more deeply about people and how to connect with any audience—it’s all about

being . . .

real. Don’t try to act in a way that isn’t true to your nature.

interested in other people. By being interested in everyone I met last week I learned so much! I llearned about the food people eat in South America; what TV programs are popular in Japan; energy challenges around the world and what the night life is like in Singapore along with many positive personal stories.

upbeat and fun. There is no barrier between people when they are laughing together.  And if you are happy it is contagious.

helpful.  The best talks are the ones that help other people not just show how smart you are as a speaker or prove a point. Though you have to show you are credible, what every audience wants besides having a good time (fun!) is to discover something they can use to evolve as a person.

passionate.  It’s got to matter to you first before you can stir other peoples’ desire to join you in whatever it is you’re suggesting. You’ve got to care on and off the stage.

How about you? What have you found to be important to every audience (person) you share time with.

‘till next time.

Richard

Director—Richard Hawk Inc.

www.richardhawkinc.com

PS: Here’s a link to a song-video entitled “People Want The Same Everywhere” which I enjoyed thoroughly. http://truelovetoo.blogspot.com/2009/05/people-want-same-everywhere.html

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MORE THAN HARD HATS

Tuesday, May 12th, 2009

Do you exercise? I have an on and off love affair with exercising. I’m in love right now. It’s worth the effort for sure. I’m going to add some Yoga exercises into my workout. Here’s a site I just checked it is featured in Health and Safety Bulletin this week. A great link for beginners.

http://www.ecua2006.org/using-yoga-to-improve-your-health-and-well-being/

Yoga is a great stress reliever not just for you mind but your body too. Companies with advanced Health and Safety Programs are realizing the importance of educating their employees (and providing services) about topics that are outside traditional “safety” such as healthy dieting, helping teenagers handle depression (of course if the companies large enough there are many employees that have teenagers at home), stress management, and overcoming insomnia. It’s makes my heart glad to see this. It indicates two things: one, that “safety” has developed into something much more sophisticated than just “wear your hart hat” and “do this don’t do that” and two, that the leaders at these companies are savvy enough to realize that the healthier and happier employees are the better they’ll perform. My hope is that this trend continues and that profits (or the lack of them) doesn’t slow it down. During times when people are frightened (which is almost always by the way) it is even more important that those of us who are leaders continue to help the “whole person” and realize that the time taken to encourage healthy mental and physical habits (like stretching, and taking time to relax the mind i.e. Yoga for me) will help their company and our society.Let me know if you or your company is doing anything outside the traditional to encourage employees to improve their lifestyle.‘till next time.Richardwww.makesafetyfun.com

www.attackstrtess.com

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TEXTING ON THE ROAD

Tuesday, May 5th, 2009

Last week a friend told me he almost ran into a car that swerved into his lane on a local road. The person driving the car was texting! I wonder how prevalent that is. I’ll bet a lot more than we realize.

Well, Monday night I saw a short segment on the television about a group of high school students who agreed to have their cell phones taken away from them for ten days. I was amazed at how often some of the teenagers text. One young man said he would sometimes text over a hundred times a day. Some of the students looked like they were of driving age. So, it made me think about their texting habits while driving. I did a little research. Wow! Here’s a few statistics with links to some of the articles where I got them from:According to SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) and Liberty Mutual Insurance Group, instant and text messaging lead the list as the biggest distractions while driving.

http://parentingteens.suite101.com/article.cfm/teen_driver_menace_textmessaging 

In 2007, driver distractions, such as using a cell phone or text messaging, contributed to nearly 1,000 crashes involving 16- and 17-year-old drivers.

Over 60 percent of American teens admit to risky driving, and nearly half of those teens admit to text messaging behind the wheel.

Each year, 21% of fatal car crashes involving teenagers between the ages of 16 and 19 were the result of cell phone usage. This result has been expected to grow as much as 4% every year.

Almost 50% of all drivers between the ages of 18 and 24 are texting while driving.

Over one-third of all young drivers, ages 24 and under, are texting on the road.

Teens say that texting is their number one driver distraction.

 http://www.edgarsnyder.com/auto-accident/auto/cell/statistics.html

And it’s not just teens: 

A study of dangerous driver behavior released in January 2007 by Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. found that of 1,200 surveyed drivers, 73 percent talk on cell phones while driving.

The same 2007 survey found that 19 percent of motorists say they text message while driving.

This would be a great topic to include as part of a safety campaign at your company. Even if only as a theme for a safety meeting. Also, do you have a texting story or thought you’d like to share? I’d love to hear about it. 

Finally, the reporter on the television segment interviewed some of the parents of the teenagers who gave up their cell phones and here’s one interesting comment from a mother “I get to see my son’s eyes because he’s not always looking down.” It made me wonder if texting is also affecting the in-person social skills of people who do it all the time. I don’t have any qualms about texting. I do it some myself. Yet, do it enough, and it’s got to be a distraction (and a hazard) from noticing your surroundings and enjoying the sounds, tastes and sights that life offers.

‘till next time.

Richard

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GOOD NEWS!

Friday, May 1st, 2009

Hello Again Friends,

Here’s something positive to add to your Friday. While driving in my Mountaineer a couple days ago I listened to an interview with Geri Weis-Corbley who runs a “Good News Network.” Can you believe it, a network designed for Good News! That’s good news. Here’s a link to the site: http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/

For many years I have been suggesting to my audiences to cut down on their popular news consumption. Two reasons: one–it’s not designed to inform but just to get and keep your attention and, two–it’s almost all negative! It makes it seem like humans are mostly murderers or regulalry commit all kinds of harmful acts.

Sometimes I’ll pick out a person in the audience and ask them if they think their mug will ever be on the major networks around the country. The person usually says “no.” Or, occasionally “I hope not!” Almost all of us will never have that distinction. Why? Because most humans are basically good. We all have habits and traits that we want to improve (i.e. nobody is perfect). But overall we want to do helpful things. Same goes for your employees. Almost all of them want to do a good, safe job.

So, check yourself and your programs. See how much they are like the “popular news” and mostly broadcast the problems and mistakes. Hopefully they are more like Geri’s Good News Network?—publicizing the “good news” about your employees.

Hope you have a refreshing weekend. I’ll be working on an outline for a talk and smoozing with friends and family.

‘till next time.

Richard

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