Here's What You Came For...

Issue 31 – August, 2014 www.facethemusicblues.com       IN THIS ISSUE Let's Get Together Team Building 2041-Part 2 (of 3)   Let's Get Together Twitter Text Email Phone Video conferencing In person Meetings are the place where people can get the fullest interaction-dialogue, body movement and language, facial expressions, building rapport and trust-full sensory interaction. Mood, meaning, and intent are easier to gauge, and a sense of connection and relationship more readily developed. The face-to-face experience of gathering a human system in a room creates opportunities for much more complex and developmental interactions that the more easily available alternatives of teleconferencing or video conferencing. If you go with the "data" that only 7% of communication is verbal (The other 93% is made up of tone (38%) and body language (55%), then meetings have the potential of 100% while phone and video conferencing can only capture scraps of the other 93%. But of course, it's what you do with that time together that determines if the investment of time, money, and planning resources reaps the expected benefits and the elusive ROI (return on investment. We've seen hundreds of these meetings, conferences, offsites, retreats, forums, summits, boondoggles, trainings (I know, I've trotted out this list before...), and they run the gamut from extraordinary experiences that set the tone for an organization going forward to, "That was a waste of my time, we could have done all this on a call." All the above-mentioned connecting modalities have a place in the communication spectrum, and there's not much worse than having a meeting that isn't necessary. The key is to access your objectives, and recognize how the different modalities will serve them. What are the limitations of each of the tools?   Satisfied Clients "Face the Music was out of this world! What a way to get people out of their normal mindset. I loved it. It was a completely entertaining, creative way to blend entertainment with fun." –  Laura Whiteis, Field Program Manager Specialty, GE "Face the Music is a terrific idea and a great team building exercise. Our people are still talking and laughing about it. It is a very positive way to vent and vocalize frustrations." –  Carol Urban, Conference Planner, Nestle "Face the Music turned out to be everything I had hoped and more. What an outstanding way to kick off our conference. Writing and singing the blues was a great way to begin the change process. Not only did our members have a great time doing it, they opened their minds to new ideas and new levels of risk taking" –  Kate Spiller, VP, New York Association of Health Care Providers "What organizational development needs is innovation and Face The Music is it!" –  Warner Burke, PhD, Professor of Psychology and Education, Teacher's College, Columbia University "Our concern was that the audience wouldn't buy-in. Not a problem! You engaged them immediately!" –  Sherri Tigner, Senior Performance Consultant, Technical Shared Services, Allstate Insurance Company     For instance, email is great for quick communication and sharing of information, but is not a good place for problem solving, working out roles or interpersonal issues, or anything with emotional content. Or, have you ever tried to have a text conversation? For me it quickly drifts into an asymmetrical tennis match, where I'm answering a message one or two texts back while they are going in another direction than the one to which I am responding, and it's a mish-mash. But it's great for quick updates, check in's, and on the run small batches of info. Conference calls are notorious for frustration and pain: too many of them, tech and connection issues, lack of clear, coherent agenda, inviting too many people (just in case they are needed), long monotone vocalizations with little to the point, going overtime because the agenda wasn't properly moderated, etc. Because of the uni-dimensional nature of the telephone, conference calls need to have clear objectives and desired results with a well-planned agenda to support them. Generally not good for brainstorming, problem solving, creativity, or confrontation. (For a humorous 2-minute break, check out a great FTM client performance of the Conference Call Blues. ...bottom of page, first bullet. "I got to drop off the line-I got another call to dial in to...") For me, meetings are for setting the larger context of the work that you are doing together. They are a chance to deliver messages (but not too much...), but also the chance to interact and co-create; for questions to be posed and answered, for new ideas and approaches to be developed, for roles and relationships to develop and mature, and for the leader(s) to lead their people to a place where they can take over the mission and vision to in turn, lead the people that work for them. The leaders and planners have the responsibility to create a container in which a rich interaction can take place.   Team Building 2041-Part 2 (of 3) In our last issue: It 's 2041 and our team of business partners are on there way to the newly discovered planet of rare beauty, Kepler 69, for a team building experience that one could only dream of... Suddenly I hear my iPhone beeping from across my hotel room. I don't know where I am...? The feeling of the disappointment runs thru my body when I get out of bed to turn the alarm on snooze and the date says August 1, 2014. I now realize that Kepler 69 was going to have to wait for 27 more years. Damn, I have to go to a meeting—one that I've traveled 100's of miles for! I guess it's time to go punch the proverbial clock ("Punch the Clock") It's a day chock full of the year's earnings, new products education, and reconnecting with my associates from across the pond. 6pm rolls around and we're at a local arts center for dinner and some sort of surprise. I keep thinking of my dream; I was so excited to go to the distant Garden of Eden. Now the excitement has almost faded away. In the arts center I sip my Macallan and talk to my new Asian friends. There are wandering musicians playing in groups around the cocktail area. An avant garde Dixieland trio with a trombone plays riffs in the corner of the room. Down the hall in a room that was displaying photographs by a local artist you can hear guitar and singer duo playing country blues. ("Gotta Grow") This isn't so bad, "Kind of New Orleans-like," I think to myself. It's dinnertime; we go into the main room, a dance studio that has been converted into dinning area for the evening. I see a stage with a band set up and screen with a logo that says "Face The Music". That feeling of dread runs through my veins again, no dose of whiskey is going to change what is about to happen... Tune in next month for the exciting conclusion as the minion team explores the possibilities—music at a business meeting?       What event, initiative or challenge do you have coming up that Face The Music can add value to?   To reach us: info@facethemusicblues.com           (845) 687-2100

© Face The Music, 2014. All rights reserved.

Paul Kwiecinski–Managing Partner      Ken McGloin–Musical Director